Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) goes to the basket against Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) and forward Jaden McDaniels (3) during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff in Los Angeles, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Road teams went 2-0 on Monday. Home teams went 3-0 on Tuesday.

Day 4 of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday brought a clean sweep for teams at home — Indiana beat Milwaukee for a 2-0 series lead despite Damian Lillard returning to the Bucks’ lineup, Oklahoma City defeated Memphis for a 2-0 series lead and the Los Angeles Lakers knotted their series with Minnesota at a game apiece.

There are three games on Wednesday, the scenario the same as Tuesday — two home teams seeking 2-0 leads, the other home team trying to get a split. Cleveland takes its shot at a 2-0 lead when it plays host to Miami, Boston looks to go up 2-0 when it plays host to Orlando and Houston will aim for a split when it plays host to Golden State.

Wednesday’s national TV schedule

All times Eastern

7 p.m. — Orlando at Boston (TNT/truTV)

7:30 p.m. — Miami at Cleveland (NBA TV)

9:30 p.m. — Golden State at Houston (TNT/truTV)

Thursday’s national TV schedule

All times Eastern

7 p.m. — New York at Detroit (TNT)

9:30 p.m. — Oklahoma City at Memphis (TNT)

10 p.m. — Denver at LA Clippers (NBA TV)

Friday’s national TV schedule

All times Eastern

7 p.m. — Boston at Orlando (ESPN)

8 p.m. — Indiana at Milwaukee (ESPNU, NBA TV)

9:30 p.m. — LA Lakers at Minnesota (ESPN)

Betting odds

Oklahoma City (+175) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed closely by Boston (+200). After that, it’s Cleveland (+500), Golden State (+1400), the Los Angeles Lakers (+1500), the Los Angeles Clippers (+2000), New York (+4000), Minnesota (+5000) and Indiana (+5500).

The Pacers’ odds moved significantly after they took the 2-0 lead on the Bucks.

From there, it’s Denver (+6600), Houston (+12500), Milwaukee (+30000), Detroit (+35000), then Miami, Memphis and Orlando (all +100000).

Golden State, the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, is favored (-400) to win its series against No. 2 seed Houston. The Warriors entered that matchup favored, and Sunday’s win moved those odds even more.

The Clippers also are a lower seed favored to advance; they’re at -175 in the 4-5 matchup with Denver. The Lakers were underdogs in their series after losing Game 1; they moved barely back into the favorite role (-120) after winning Game 2 against Minnesota.

Award season

The first of the major NBA awards was announced Tuesday, when Boston’s Payton Pritchard won sixth man of the year.

On Wednesday, the clutch player of the year (Jalen Brunson of New York, Anthony Edwards of Minnesota or Nikola Jokic of Denver) will be announced at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on TNT.

And on Thursday, the defensive player of the year (Dyson Daniels of Atlanta, Draymond Green of Golden State or Evan Mobley of Cleveland) will be announced in another 6:30 p.m. TNT broadcast.

The hustle award winner will be revealed Friday at 2 p.m.

Key upcoming events

April 26 — NBA early entry deadline.

May 3 — Earliest possible start date for Round 2 of the playoffs. Series could also start on May 4, May 5 or May 6.

May 12 — Draft lottery, Chicago.

May 18 or 20 — Game 1, Western Conference finals.

May 19 or 21 — Game 1, Eastern Conference finals.

June 5 — Game 1, NBA Finals. (Other games: June 8, June 11, June 13, June 16, June 19 and Game 7, if necessary, will be June 22.)

June 25 — NBA draft, first round.

June 26 — NBA draft, second round.

Stories of note

— Preview of Wednesday’s games: Cavaliers-Heat, Celtics-Magic, Rockets-Warriors

— Best ratings for an opening playoff weekend in 25 years, NBA says

— Mavs GM Nico Harrison didn’t know how beloved Luka Doncic was in Dallas

— The NBA finalists for seven awards are released

— The playoffs could be wide-open. Again

— A look inside the numbers of this season, headed into the playoffs

— Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson wins NBCA coach of the year award

Stats of the day

–It’s very early. Sample size matters, and it is way too early to draw any conclusions — but it is worth noting that scoring so far is down 9.2 points per game in the playoffs from what was the norm in the regular season. The last time a playoff season saw that sort of differential between regular-season and postseason scoring was 1957, when there was a 9.8-point difference.

–The Thunder outscored the Grizzlies by 70 points in Games 1 and 2 of their Western Conference series. That’s the second-biggest combined margin for the first two games of a series in NBA history: the Lakers beat San Antonio by a combined 75 points in Games 1 and 2 of their 1986 first-round series.

–Luka Doncic got his ninth assist with about a minute left in the third quarter of the Lakers’ win over Minnesota. He had 28 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists at that point — but, surprisingly, didn’t get the triple-double. He played nine minutes in the fourth quarter with no assists. It was his fourth time this season playing at least nine fourth-quarter minutes and not getting an assist, with two of those against the Timberwolves.