The 1957 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1956-57 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 14–April 13, 1957 |
| Season | 1956–57 |
| Teams | 6 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Boston Celtics (1st title) |
| Runner-up | St. Louis Hawks |
| Semifinalists | |
It was the first title in Celtics history; as of 2024, they have won the most NBA titles with 18.
The Celtics and Hawks met in 4 out of 5 NBA Finals from 1957–1961, with the Celtics winning 3 out of 4. While the Hawks' dominance of the Western Division was succeeded by the Los Angeles Lakers afterward, Boston missed the NBA Finals just once between 1957–1969, and won the NBA title in every year but two.
In the division semifinals, the Philadelphia Warriors were swept by the Syracuse Nationals 2–0. This was the first time in NBA history that the defending champions were swept in the opening round. The next time the defending champions were swept in the opening round was in 2007. It was also the only time in which the playoff series leading to the Final resulted in sweeps.
Bracket
edit| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 3 | |||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 0 | E2 | Syracuse | 0 | ||||||||
| E2 | Syracuse | 2 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||
| W1 | St. Louis* | 3 | |||||||||||
| W1 | St. Louis* | 3 | |||||||||||
| W3 | Fort Wayne | 0 | W2 | Minneapolis | 0 | ||||||||
| W2 | Minneapolis | 2 | |||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals
Division Tiebreakers
editWestern Division Tiebreakers
editMarch 14
|
| Fort Wayne Pistons 103, St. Louis Hawks 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–21, 18–45, 33–24, 23–25 | ||
| Pts: George Yardley 26 Rebs: Hutchins, Foust 10 each |
Pts: Jack McMahon 24 Rebs: Cliff Hagan 16 | |
| Fort Wayne finishes as the West's #3 seed | ||
March 16
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 111, St. Louis Hawks 114 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–22, 24–21, 29–27, 28–30, Overtime: 11–14 | ||
| Pts: Clyde Lovellette 30 Rebs: Lovellette, Dukes 12 each |
Pts: Cliff Hagan 28 Rebs: Bob Pettit 18 | |
| St. Louis finishes as the West's #1 seed, Minneapolis as the West's #2 seed | ||
Division Semifinals
editEastern Division Semifinals
edit(2) Syracuse Nationals vs. (3) Philadelphia Warriors
editMarch 16
|
| Syracuse Nationals 103, Philadelphia Warriors 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–27, 24–21, 23–18, 32–30 | ||
| Pts: Red Kerr 25 Rebs: Red Kerr 21 Asts: Dolph Schayes 6 |
Pts: Neil Johnston 25 Rebs: Neil Johnston 26 Asts: George Dempsey 8 | |
| Syracuse leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 18
|
| Philadelphia Warriors 80, Syracuse Nationals 91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–20, 20–15, 16–23, 27–33 | ||
| Pts: Joe Graboski 16 Rebs: Walt Davis 10 Asts: Neil Johnston 5 |
Pts: Red Kerr 22 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 20 Asts: Schayes, Conlin 4 each | |
| Syracuse wins series, 2–0 | ||
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers/Nationals winning three of the first four meetings.
| Philadelphia 76ers/ Syracuse Nationals leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Division Semifinals
edit(2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Fort Wayne Pistons
editMarch 17
|
| Fort Wayne Pistons 127, Minneapolis Lakers 131 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–41, 37–29, 28–37, 30–24 | ||
| Pts: George Yardley 34 | Pts: Clyde Lovellette 30 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 19
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 110, Fort Wayne Pistons 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 27–23, 30–24, 28–33 | ||
| Pts: Slick Leonard 19 | Pts: Larry Foust 30 | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 2–0 | ||
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning three of the first four meetings.
| Minneapolis leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Division Finals
editEastern Division Finals
edit(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Syracuse Nationals
editMarch 21
|
| Syracuse Nationals 90, Boston Celtics 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–22, 17–31, 20–30, 26–25 | ||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 21 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 23 |
Pts: Frank Ramsey 20 Rebs: Bill Russell 31 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 23
|
| Boston Celtics 120, Syracuse Nationals 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–26, 23–23, 26–27, 40–29 | ||
| Pts: Tom Heinsohn 30 Rebs: Bill Russell 30 |
Pts: Dolph Schayes 31 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 15 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
March 24
|
| Syracuse Nationals 80, Boston Celtics 83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–23, 17–18, 23–22, 21–20 | ||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 22 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 17 |
Pts: Bill Sharman 23 Rebs: Bill Russell 23 | |
| Boston wins series, 3–0 | ||
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nationals winning four of the first five meetings.
| Syracuse leads 4–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Division Finals
edit(1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Minneapolis Lakers
editMarch 21
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 109, St. Louis Hawks 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–30, 26–31, 37–27, 23–30 | ||
| Pts: Vern Mikkelsen 24 Rebs: Clyde Lovellette 11 Asts: Slick Leonard 9 |
Pts: Slater Martin 24 Rebs: Bob Pettit 16 Asts: Jack McMahon 9 | |
| St. Louis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 24
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 104, St. Louis Hawks 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–26, 24–25, 30–26, 25–29 | ||
| Pts: Clyde Lovellette 33 Rebs: Walter Dukes 20 |
Pts: Bob Pettit 30 Rebs: Jack Coleman 15 | |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–0 | ||
March 25
|
| St. Louis Hawks 143, Minneapolis Lakers 135 (2OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 28–26, 27–32, 38–33, Overtime: 17–17, 12–4 | ||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 35 | Pts: Slick Leonard 42 | |
| St. Louis wins series, 3–0 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning the first meeting.
| St. Louis leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
NBA Finals: (E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W1) St. Louis Hawks
editMarch 30
|
| St. Louis Hawks 125, Boston Celtics 123 (2OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–21, 18–26, 22–27, 31–28, Overtime: 11–11, 12–10 | ||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 37 Rebs: Bob Pettit 14 |
Pts: Bill Sharman 36 Rebs: Bill Russell 18 | |
| St. Louis leads series, 1–0 | ||
- Tom Heinsohn hits the game-tying lay-up with 6 seconds left in regulation to force the first OT; Bob Cousy hits the game-tying shot with 15 seconds left in the first OT to force the second OT.
March 31
|
| St. Louis Hawks 99, Boston Celtics 119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–31, 22–31, 27–32, 29–25 | ||
| Pts: Ed Macauley 19 Rebs: Bob Pettit 13 Asts: Slick Leonard 4 |
Pts: Cousy, Ramsey 22 each Rebs: Bill Russell 25 Asts: Bob Cousy 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 6
|
| Boston Celtics 98, St. Louis Hawks 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–19, 25–21, 28–29, 26–31 | ||
| Pts: Bill Sharman 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 19 Asts: Bob Cousy 8 |
Pts: Bob Pettit 26 Rebs: Bob Pettit 28 Asts: three players 5 each | |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–1 | ||
- Bob Pettit hits the game-winner with 45 seconds left.
April 7
|
| Boston Celtics 123, St. Louis Hawks 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–36, 35–17, 30–37, 27–28 | ||
| Pts: Bob Cousy 31 Rebs: Bill Russell 20 Asts: Arnie Risen 9 |
Pts: Bob Pettit 33 Rebs: Bob Pettit 16 Asts: Martin, Hagan 6 each | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 9
|
| St. Louis Hawks 109, Boston Celtics 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–21, 30–38, 25–35, 24–30 | ||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 33 Rebs: Bob Pettit 15 Asts: Med Park 6 |
Pts: Bill Sharman 32 Rebs: Bill Russell 23 Asts: Bob Cousy 19 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 11
|
| Boston Celtics 94, St. Louis Hawks 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–22, 28–27, 27–28, 16–19 | ||
| Pts: Tom Heinsohn 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 23 |
Pts: Bob Pettit 32 Rebs: Bob Pettit 23 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
- Cliff Hagan hits the game-winner at the buzzer.
April 13
|
| St. Louis Hawks 123, Boston Celtics 125 (2OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–26, 25–25, 24–32, 26–20, Overtime: 10–10, 10–12 | ||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 39 Rebs: Bob Pettit 19 Asts: Martin, Coleman 7 each |
Pts: Tom Heinsohn 37 Rebs: Bill Russell 32 Asts: Bob Cousy 11 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–3 | ||
- Bob Pettit hits the game-tying free throws with 7 seconds left in regulation to force the first OT; Jack Coleman makers the game-tying basket with 9 seconds left in the first OT to force the second OT. Bob Pettit misses the game-tying shot at the buzzer to force a third OT.
- Only NBA Finals Game 7 to date to go past the first overtime, and as of 2021, the only Game 7 in NBA history to go past the first overtime.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Boston Celtics (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.