SPORTS ON WEEKEND TV : NBC Will Air 5 Playoff Games

Five NBA playoff games on NBC will dominate the sports television choices this weekend. ABC and ESPN will counter with two varieties of racing.

Pro Basketball: Channels 4, 36 and 39 will air five NBA games, including three on Sunday, which the network says is unprecedented.

Today’s action begins at 10 a.m. with Game 3 of the Chicago Bulls-New York Knicks Eastern Conference semifinal series. Game 3 of the Portland Trail Blazers-Phoenix Suns Western Conference semifinal series will follow at 12:30 p.m.

On Sunday, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics will play Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at 9:30 a.m; the Utah Jazz will visit the Seattle SuperSonics for Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series at noon; and the Bulls and Knicks will conclude the first-ever tripleheader at 3:30 p.m. with Game 4 of their series.

Auto racing: Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 will air today at 3 p.m. on Channels 7, 3 and 42, and Sunday at the same time on Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42 and ESPN.

Sailing: America 3 will begin the United States’ defense of the America’s Cup against Italy’s Il Moro di Venezia today at noon on Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42. Race No. 2 will get underway Sunday at noon on ESPN.

Baseball: KTTV will air the Dodgers-New York Mets game today at 10:30 a.m. The two teams will play again Sunday at the same time on WWOR. The Angels will play host to the Toronto Blue Jays tonight at 7 on SportsChannel. The game will be available on pay-per-view on participating cable systems.

Boxing: Terry Norris will defend his WBC super-welterweight title against WBA welterweight champ Meldrick Taylor tonight at 7 on HBO.

Pro hockey: Game 5 of the Smythe Division finals between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks will start Sunday at 7 p.m. on SportsChannel. If Game 5 is necessary between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings for the Norris Division championship, it will air Sunday at 4:30 p.m. on SportsChannel.