1) Basketball, 8 p.m. ET, ABC. Indiana had its back to the wall, one loss away from being eliminated. Then it came up with a huge second quarter (36-17) and a win. Now the teams (shown here) are tied at three apiece, in the best-of-seven finals; they move back to Oklahoma City for the championship game.
2) “Patience,” 8 p.m., PBS. This wraps a two-parter, introducing one of TV’s best characters. Burrowed in a police records section, Patience Evans is young, autistic and intense. Now a case she’s familiar has her reluctantly relating to people. The case is a stretch, but Patience (perfectly played by Ella Maisy Purvis) is instantly fascinating and likable.
3) “Underdogs,” 7:14 to 10:45 p.m., National Geographic. This starts with the delightful episodes that debuted last week. We see creatures that are terrible parents and (at 8:06) ones with great defense mechanisms. Then come new looks at sex and courtship (9) and schemers (9:53). The latter is a gem, with monkeys who steal things, then trade them for food.
4) “The Walking Dead: Dead City” season-finale, 9 p.m., AMC. There have been lots of talky moments, but now it all boils over. By midway in this hour, we’ve had a huge (and nasty) battle. Then, with some brutal bits, the season heads to its morose ending.
5) “The Gilded Age” season-opener, 9 p.m., HBO and Max. For two seasons, Agnes (Christine Baranski) was in control, with old money and a grand home for her widowed sister Ada (Cynthis Nixon) and others. Now Agnes’ son has been bilked of the family fortune … and Ada has learned her late husband was rich. Fortunes shift in 1880s New York.