The Minnesota Timberwolves host the Dallas Mavericks for Game 2 of the West finals tonight, and the game is just about to start.
The game starts at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on TNT, but if you’re looking for some ways to stream the NBA playoffs without cable, we’ve found a number of different ways you can watch a live stream of the Mavs vs Timberwolves online.
You can watch a live stream of the Mavs vs Timberwolves–and every other NBA playoff game–on Sling TV. There’s no free trial, but the “Sling Blue” channel package, which includes TNT, costs just $15 for your first month. Or, if you also want to watch the East finals and NBA finals (all of those games will be on ESPN or ABC), you can sign up for “Sling Orange+Blue” for only $30 for the first month.
If you want to watch this particular game completely free, the options in the next section are going to more up your alley. But if you want to watch every game of the playoffs on one single app for as cheap as possible, then Sling is the clear choice.
You can watch a live stream of TNT on either YouTube TV (“Base Plan”) or DirecTV Stream (“Entertainment” channel package or above), which both come with a free five-day trial. That means that if you sign up for each of them separately and time your free trials out just right, you’ll be able to watch most of the–if not the entire–series for free. Just note that if you keep them beyond your free trial, or you’ve already used your free trial previously, these are much more expensive long-term options than Sling
Both streaming services also include ABC (live in most markets) and ESPN, so you’ll be able to watch the East finals, as well.
If you completely take free trials out of the equation, Max is the absolute cheapest way to watch a live stream of the game. All games that are televised on TNT–which will be every game of this series–stream live on Max, which costs just $10 per month. It’s part of the B/R Sports add-on, which is currently included at no extra cost.
Now, you won’t be able to watch the East finals or NBA finals on Max. But if you do want to watch those games, as well, you can combine Max with Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” bundle ($15 for your first month), giving you everything you need to watch every postseason game for just $25.
A virtual private network (VPN) can hide your IP address and connect you to a digital server in a number of different countries. This allows you to access otherwise location-restricted content from those countries, even if you’re physically somewhere else. As such, you can use a VPN along with one of the aforementioned streaming services to stream the game from abroad.
NordVPN is our recommendation–it’s fast, safe and easy to use, putting it at the top of our rankings of the best VPN services.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.