NBA and NHL playoffs, Preakness top weekend TV lineup

Will The Truth prevail in our nation’s capital or will the Wizards disappear from the NBA playoffs at the hands of the Hawks?

Those questions will be answered today, when Washington and Atlanta meet in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at 4 p.m. in the opener of an NBA playoff doubleheader on ESPN (30).

Paul Pierce beat the Hawks with a last-second shot in Game 3 and threatened to stun Atlanta again in Game 5 on Wednesday, when he hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 8.2 seconds to play.

But the Hawks were able to handle The Truth, as Al Horford answered with a put-back with one second left to move Atlanta within one win of its first trip to the Eastern Conference finals.

In the 6:30 p.m. nightcap, NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors will try to close out the Memphis Grizzlies on the road in Game 6 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

A win would give Golden State its first appearance in the Western Conference finals since 1976. Game 7, if necessary, would be Sunday at Oakland.

Also worth watching this weekend are the NHL conference finals openers and the Preakness, and you can also check out Las Vegas power hitters Kris Bryant (Chicago Cubs) and Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals).

TODAY

BEST OF REST: MLB: Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs (11 a.m., MLBN (314)), Los Angeles Angels at Baltimore Orioles (4 p.m., FSW (49)), Washington Nationals at San Diego Padres (7 p.m., Cox (96)).

SATURDAY

Horse racing, the Preakness (1:30 p.m., NBC (3)): If Kentucky Derby winner American Pharoah is to claim the second leg of horse racing’s coveted Triple Crown, he’ll have to do it from the No. 1 post position — where only one other horse in the past 53 years, Tabasco Cat in 1994, has won the Preakness.

Despite riding along the rail, American Pharoah is the 4-5 favorite, followed by Dortmund at 7-2 and Firing Line at 4-1 — the same three horses that dueled down the stretch May 2 at Churchill Downs.

BEST OF REST: NHL playoffs: Eastern Conference Finals, Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers, Game 1 (10 a.m., NBC (3)); Motor sports: NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Charlotte Motor Speedway, (4 p.m., FS1 (329)); MLB: Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs (1 p.m., FS1 (329)), Los Angeles Angels at Baltimore Orioles (4 p.m., FSW (49)), Washington Nationals at San Diego Padres (5:30 p.m., Cox (96)).

SUNDAY

Depending on how the NBA playoffs shake out, we could be treated to a tantalizing three-course Sunday dinner of Game 7s. Or we could get nothing and like it.

Either way, we can count on a helping of playoff hockey.

NHL playoffs, Western Conference Finals, Chicago Blackhawks at Anaheim Ducks, Game 1 (noon, NBC (3)): Chicago is gunning for its third Stanley Cup championship in six years while Anaheim, which won the 2007 title, is aiming for the second crown in its 22-year franchise history.

The high-powered teams feature the top two playoff scorers in Ducks right wing Corey Perry (15 points: 7 goals, 8 assists) and Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (13 points: 7 goals, 6 assists), and two of the NHL’s best centers in Chicago captain Jonathan Toews (11 points) and Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf (12 points).

BEST OF REST: MLB: Los Angeles Angels at Baltimore Orioles (10:30 a.m., FSW (49)), Washington Nationals at San Diego Padres (1 p.m., Cox (96)), Detroit Tigers at St. Louis Cardinals (5 p.m., ESPN (30)).

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow him on Twitter: @tdewey33.