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How to watch the Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics NBA Playoffs game tonight: Game 5 streaming options, more
The Miami Heat head north tonight for a must-win game against the Boston Celtics. Jayson Tatum’s Celtics team leads the series 3-1, which leaves the Heat facing elimination tonight if they don’t leave TD Garden with a win.
Keep reading for how and when to watch tonight’s high-pressure Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics game.
How and when to watch the Heat vs. Celtics game
Game 5 of the Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics NBA Playoffs series will be played on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT). The game will air on TNT and stream on Sling TV and the platforms featured below.
How to watch the Heat vs. Celtics game without cable
If your cable subscription doesn’t carry TNT or you’ve cut the cord with your cable company, you can still watch today’s game. Below are the platforms on which you can watch today’s Heat vs. Celtics game live.
Save $25 on Sling TV: The most cost-effective way to stream the Heat vs. Celtics game
One of the most cost-effective ways to stream today’s NBA playoff game is through a subscription to Sling TV. To watch today’s game, you’ll need a subscription to the Orange tier, which includes TNT and ESPN. For access to more NBA playoff games, upgrade to the Orange + Blue tier (recommended), which includes the games played on ABC.
The Orange tier is normally $40 per month, but Sling TV has an offer for new subscribers where you can get your first month for $15. The Orange + Blue tier costs $35 for your first month, and $60 per month after that. There’s also an NBA playoffs package deal where you can save $30 when you pre-pay for three months of service on any tier. You can cancel anytime.
Note: Because Sling TV doesn’t carry CBS, you won’t be able to watch CBS-aired live sports, including the NFL. If you’re looking for one live TV streaming platform to watch all your favorite sports, we suggest a subscription to Hulu + Live TV. Note:
Top features of Sling TV Orange + Blue tier:
- There are 46 channels to watch in total, including ABC, ESPN and TNT.
- You get access to NFL games airing on ESPN next season at the lowest price.
- All subscription tiers include 50 hours of cloud-based DVR storage.
Hulu + Live TV/ESPN+ bundle: Watch the Heat vs. Celtics game live for free
You can watch today’s game with the Hulu + Live TV/ESPN+ bundle. The bundle features 95 channels, including ABC, TNT, local network affiliates and ESPN. It also includes the ESPN+ streaming service. Unlimited DVR storage is also included. Watch today’s game, the 2024 NBA playoffs, MLB this season and network-aired NFL games next season with Hulu + Live TV/ESPN+ bundle.
Hulu + Live TV comes bundled with ESPN+ and Disney+. It’s priced at $77 after a three-day free trial.
The best place to get NBA Playoffs fan gear: Fanatics
Rooting from home is more fun while repping your team with the latest NBA fan gear. Fanatics is our first stop for the newest NBA fan gear, our go-to for the latest drop of NBA Playoffs and NBA Finals merch like jerseys, commemorative T-shirts, hats and more. Fanatics also has just-released NFL Draft jerseys, like No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams‘ new Chicago Bears jersey. Shipping is free with code 44SHIP ($44 minimum order required).
2024 NBA Playoffs: Full playoff schedule
The first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs began on April 20.
First round schedule
Below are the dates, times and networks airing each game of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. All times Eastern.
Eastern Conference
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Miami Heat
• Game 1: Celtics 114, Heat 94
• Game 2: Heat 111, Celtics 101
• Game 3: Celtics 104, Heat 84
• Game 4: Celtics 102, Heat 88
• Game 5: Heat vs. Celtics; Wednesday, May 1 (7:30 ET, TNT)
• Game 6: Celtics vs. Heat; Friday, May 3 (TBD, TBD)*
• Game 7: Heat vs. Celtics; Sunday, May 5 (TBD, TBD)*
* = If necessary
(2) New York Knicks vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers
• Game 1: 76ers vs. Knicks 111, 76ers 104
• Game 2: Knicks 104, 76ers 101
• Game 3: 76ers 125, Knicks 114
• Game 4: Knicks 97, 76ers 92
• Game 5: 76ers 112, Knicks 106 (OT)
• Game 6: Knicks vs. 76ers; TBD (TBD, TBD)*
• Game 7: 76ers vs. Knicks; TBD (TBD, TBD)*
* = If necessary
(3) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (6) Indiana Pacers
• Game 1: Bucks 109, Pacers 94
• Game 2: Pacers 125, Bucks 108
• Game 3: Pacers 121, Bucks 118
• Game 4: Pacers 126, Bucks 113
• Game 5: Bucks 115, Pacers 92
• Game 6: Bucks vs. Pacers; Thursday, May 2 (6:30 ET, TNT)
• Game 7: Pacers vs. Bucks; TBD (TBD, TBD)*
(4) Cleveland vs. (5) Orlando
• Game 1: Cavaliers 97, Magic 83
• Game 2: Cavaliers 96, Magic 86
• Game 3: Magic 121, Cavaliers 83
• Game 4: Magic 112, Cavaliers 89
• Game 5: Cavaliers 104, Magic 103
• Game 6: Cavaliers vs. Magic; Friday, May 3 (TBD, TBD)
• Game 7: Magic vs. Cavaliers; Sunday, May 5 (TBD, TBD)*
* = If necessary
Western Conference
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (8) New Orleans Pelicans
• Game 1: Thunder 94, Pelicans 92
• Game 2: Thunder 124, Pelicans 92
• Game 3: Thunder 106, Pelicans 85
• Game 4: Thunder 97, Pelicans 89
(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers
• Game 1: Nuggets 114, Lakers 103
• Game 2: Nuggets 101, Lakers 99
• Game 3: Nuggets 112, Lakers 105
• Game 4: Lakers 119, Nuggets 108
• Game 5: Nuggets 108, Lakers 106
(3) Minnesota Timberwolves vs. (6) Phoenix Suns
• Game 1: Timberwolves 120, Suns 95
• Game 2: Timberwolves 105, Suns 93
• Game 3: Timberwolves 129, Suns 109
• Game 4: Timberwolves 112, Suns 116
(4) LA Clippers vs. (5) Dallas Mavericks
• Game 1: Clippers 109, Mavericks 97
• Game 2: Mavericks 96, Clippers 93
• Game 3: Mavericks 101, Clippers 90
• Game 4: Clippers 116, Mavericks 111
• Game 5: Mavericks vs. Clippers, Wednesday, May 1 (10 p.m. on TNT)
• Game 6: Clippers vs. Mavericks, TBD (TBD, TBD)*
• Game 7: Mavericks vs. Clippers, TBD (TBD, TBD)*
* = If necessary
Conference semifinals schedule
The conference semifinals will begin May 6-7, but can move up to May 4-5 if the prior round’s series ends early.
Conference finals schedule
The conference finals will begin May 21-22, but can move up to May 19-20 if the prior round’s series ends early.
NBA Finals schedule
The 2024 NBA Finals will begin June 6, airing on ABC.
- Sunday, June 9: Game 2
- Wednesday, June 12: Game 3
- Friday, June 14: Game 4
- Monday, June 17: Game 5 (if necessary)
- Thursday, June 20: Game 6 (if necessary)
- Sunday, June 23: Game 7 (if necessary)
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What to know about DA Fani Willis’ removal from Trump case
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What is the debt ceiling? Here’s why Trump wants Congress to abolish it before he takes office
Washington — President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and billionaire Elon Musk blew up a GOP-backed deal to fund federal agencies into March, raising the pressure on Republican congressional leaders to craft a plan to avert a government shutdown just before the holidays.
In a statement Wednesday, Trump and Vance lambasted the agreement for including provisions favored by Democrats. But the incoming president and vice president also added a new, significant wrinkle to negotiations when they urged Congress to raise or abolish the debt ceiling now, instead of next year.
“Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch,” Trump and Vance said in their statement. “If Democrats won’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let’s have this debate now.”
What is the debt ceiling?
Set by Congress, the debt ceiling, or limit, is the maximum amount of money the U.S. Treasury is authorized to borrow to pay debts incurred by the federal government. Lifting the debt ceiling does not authorize new spending, but instead lets the government spend money on obligations that Congress has already been approved.
Failing to address the debt ceiling could lead the U.S. to default on its debt, which would have devastating effects on the economy. The government has never defaulted, and the Treasury typically uses accounting moves, known as “extraordinary measures,” to delay breaching the debt ceiling.
While raising the debt ceiling used to be routine, legislation addressing it has in recent years been used as leverage to force policy concessions and fuel debates over government spending.
Congress last addressed the debt ceiling in June 2023 as part of a legislative package negotiated by President Biden and then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. That deal suspended the debt ceiling through Jan., 1, 2025, ensuring any fight over it would take place after the 2024 elections.
The Treasury Department will likely implement extraordinary measures to stave off a default in the new year. It will also announce an “X date,” the estimated point at which the government will no longer be able to pay its obligations. The Economic Policy Innovation Center, a conservative think tank, projected in an analysis released Monday that it’s possible the debt limit will be reached by June 16.
While the Treasury Department’s use of extraordinary measures would give Congress more time to address the debt ceiling, Trump is now urging lawmakers to take action now, before he takes office.
Why does Trump want to raise the debt ceiling?
The president-elect will come into office with a legislative to-do list that includes securing the border and extending provisions of his signature Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was enacted in 2017 and overhauled the tax code. But a fight over the debt ceiling could complicate efforts by the Republican-led House and Senate to focus on those legislative initiatives and pass them quickly.
Trump is urging lawmakers to eliminate the debt ceiling altogether, a position that some prominent Democrats have endorsed in the past.
“Number one, the debt ceiling should be thrown out entirely,” Trump said in a phone interview Thursday with CBS News’ Robert Costa. “Number two, a lot of the different things they thought they’d receive [in a recently proposed spending deal] are now going to be thrown out, 100 percent. And we’ll see what happens. We’ll see whether or not we have a closure during the Biden administration. But if it’s going to take place, it’s going to take place during Biden, not during Trump.”
Trump separately told ABC News that “there won’t be anything approved unless the debt ceiling is done with,” indicating any spending deal to prevent a shutdown must address the debt limit.
“If we don’t get it, then we’re going to have a shutdown, but it’ll be a Biden shutdown, because shutdowns only [injure] the person who’s president,” he told ABC News.
Whether Republicans and Democrats would go along with such a plan, though, is far from clear. GOP lawmakers in both chambers have opposed raising the debt ceiling without spending reforms, and debates over the debt limit often give way to broader fights over the federal budget, which conservatives in Congress have said is bloated and should be reduced. Plus, Democrats still control the Senate and the White House.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Wednesday that shutting down the government would harm families and endanger services Americans rely on.
“Republicans need to stop playing politics with this bipartisan agreement or they will hurt hardworking Americans and create instability across the country,” she said. “President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Vance ordered Republicans to shut down the government and they are threatening to do just that — while undermining communities recovering from disasters, farmers and ranchers, and community health centers.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries suggested Democrats would not go along with a plan pushed by Republicans to raise the debt limit.
“GOP extremists want House Democrats to raise the debt ceiling so that House Republicans can lower the amount of your Social Security check. Hard pass,” the New York Democrat wrote on the social media platform Bluesky.
Jeffries also told reporters “the debt limit issue and discussion is premature at best.”
CBS News
Read the Luigi Mangione federal criminal complaint
NEW YORK – Luigi Mangione is being charged with four federal crimes Thursday in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
This is in addition to the 11 charges he faces in New York, including first degree murder in furtherance of terrorism.
The federal charges are significant because they open the possibility of him facing the death penalty.
Mangione has been federally charged with two counts of stalking, murder, and using a weapon with a silencer.
Read the full federal criminal complaint against him below.
Luigi Mangione Federal Criminal Complaint by CBSNewYork Scribd on Scribd