The NBA playoffs don’t even officially start until Saturday, but already in this postseason the following things have occurred:

— Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball grabbed at Miami’s Bam Adebayo’s foot, Adebayo fell and was knocked out of the game with a back injury, Ball got the game-winning basket in overtime, and then appeared to strike his own team’s mascot in the head during the postgame celebration.

— Portland became the third team in play-in tournament history to rally from more than 10 points down in the fourth quarter to win a game.

— There was the second one-point game in play-in history (Miami has now lost both of those, both on the road).

— Tuesday marked the second day in play-in history where two games were decided by four points or less.

And that was just Day 1 of the postseason.

The Trail Blazers won in Phoenix to secure the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and a first-round matchup with Victor Wembanyama and the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs. Charlotte beat Miami to end the Heat’s season and send the Hornets into an elimination game on Friday night against either Orlando or Philadelphia.

The Magic visit the 76ers on Wednesday to decide the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, followed by a West elimination game between Golden State and the Los Angeles Clippers.

The play-in ends Friday with two games to decide which teams will take on the No. 1 seeds — Oklahoma City in the West, Detroit in the East. The Warriors-Clippers winner will visit Phoenix to decide which team plays the Thunder, and the Hornets will be at the loser of Wednesday’s Orlando-Philadelphia game to decide which team plays the Pistons.

Stories of note

— Avdija scores 41, sends Blazers to playoffs

— Heat furious over how Adebayo got injured

— Amazon Prime has late ‘technical difficulties’

— Doncic, Reaves still out indefinitely, Lakers say

— Thunder hope comforts of home help repeat quest

— Heat equipment manager needs organ transplants

— Natalie Sago the 3rd female ref picked for playoffs

— All eyes on Giannis’ future … after Doc steps down

— The view from Vegas says the West is the best

Friday’s schedule

7:30 p.m. EDT — Charlotte at Orlando-Philadelphia loser (Prime Video)

10 p.m. EDT — Golden State-LA Clippers winner at Phoenix (Prime Video)

Saturday’s schedule

1 p.m. EDT — Game 1, Toronto at Cleveland (Prime Video)

3:30 p.m. EDT — Game 1, Minnesota at Denver (Prime Video)

6 p.m. — Game 1, Atlanta at New York (Prime Video)

8:30 p.m. — Game 1, Houston at LA Lakers (ABC)

Sunday’s games

1 p.m. EDT — Game 1, Orlando-Philadelphia winner at Boston (ABC)

3:30 p.m. EDT — Game 1, TBD at Oklahoma City (ABC)

6:30 p.m. EDT — Game 1, TBD at Detroit (NBC/Peacock)

9 p.m. EDT — Game 1, Portland at San Antonio (NBC/Peacock)

Betting odds

Oklahoma City (+125) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

The Thunder are followed by San Antonio (+450), Boston (+550), Denver (+1000), Cleveland (+1600) and New York (+2000).

Detroit, the No. 1 seed in the East, is +2000.

The Los Angeles Lakers were +2500 before Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves got hurt; they’re +25000 now.

Key dates

— Wednesday and Friday: NBA play-in tournament.

— Saturday and Sunday: NBA playoff series openers.

— May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.

— May 10: NBA draft lottery.

— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.

— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.

— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.

— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).

— June 23: Round 1, NBA draft

— June 24: Round 2, NBA draft

Numbers watch

— There has now been at least one game decided by five points or fewer in each of the first seven play-in tournaments. In 33 total play-in games entering Wednesday, 13 have seen a team win by no more than five points.

Stats of the day

— Miami’s Tyler Herro (178 points) has now passed Washington’s Trae Young (166) as the all-time play-in tournament scoring leader. Golden State’s Stephen Curry (33.8 per game) is the play-in scoring leader per game, among those with more than one game played in the tournament’s history.

— Home teams are now 21-11 in the play-in tournament, not counting Portland’s “home” win over Memphis in the bubble in 2020.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba