Rockets 2nd Round Playoffs Begin Sunday Afternoon

HOUSTON, TX — The Houston Rockets will play the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at the Toyota Center on Sunday. The game will tip at 2:30 p.m. Texas time and will be broadcast on ABC. Game 2 is set for Wednesday (May 2) at the Toyota Center, but the time for the game scheduled to air on TNT is still to be determined.

Here's the preview section on nba.com for the series.

Houston, the top seed in the Western Conference, defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves four games to one in the opening round. The Rockets closed out the series with a 122-104 win in Game 5 at home on Wednesday night.

The Utah Jazz, the fifth seed in the West, closed out its opening round against fourth-seeded Oklahoma City on Friday night with a 96-91 win.

The other semifinal in the Western Conference tips Saturday with second-seeded Golden State against sixth-seed New Orleans Pelicans. Golden State has won two of the last three NBA titles, and New orleans swept third-seeded Portland in the first round. Their game tips at 9:30 Saturday night on TNT.

No teams have closed out any of the first round series in the Eastern Conference as of Saturday at noon.

Image: James Harden (13) of the Houston Rockets reacts in the second half during Game Five of the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Toyota Center on April 25, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)