1959 NBA playoffs

Postseason tournament Celtics–Lakers rivalry August 2023 NBA playoffs 1959 1958–59 March 13 – April 9, 1959 6 Boston Celtics 2 Minneapolis Lakers St. Louis Hawks Syracuse Nationals 1958 1960 The 1959 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1958–59 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Minneapolis Lakers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. It was the Celtics' second NBA championship. This was the first NBA Finals matchup between the Lakers and Celtics; as of 2020, they have met in the Finals 12 times. Boston won the first eight NBA Finals series of the rivalry, spanning 3 decades – the 1950s, 1960s and 1980s – before the Lakers finally defeated Boston for the title in 1985 and again in 1987. Boston again topped the Lakers in 2008, but the Lakers gained revenge in 2010. This was the only Celtics/Lakers NBA Finals series that took place while the Lakers were based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They remained in Minneapolis one more year before moving to their current home of Los Angeles, California. Bracket Division Semifinals Division Finals NBA Finals Eastern Division Western Division E3 Syracuse 2 E2 New York 0 W3 Detroit 1 W2 Minneapolis 2 E1 Boston* 4 E3 Syracuse 3 W1 St. Louis* 2 W2 Minneapolis 4 E1 Boston* 4 W2 Minneapolis 0* Division winner Bold Series winner Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals Division Semifinals Eastern Division Semifinals (2) New York Knicks vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals #eee March 13 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 129 New York Knicks 123 36–29 31–27 40–38 22–29 Dolph Schayes 35 Richie Guerin 24 Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan, New York Syracuse leads series, 1–0 March 15 Boxscore New York Knicks 115 Syracuse Nationals 131 27–26 25–37 25–29 38–39 Willie Naulls 26 Red Kerr 34 Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Syracuse wins series, 2–0 This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with both teams splitting the first four meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=NYK&opp_id=PHI&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — New York Knicks versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021Tied 2–2 in all-time playoff series#fff 1950 New York Knicks 1 Syracuse Nationals 2 1950 Eastern Division Finals #fff 1951 New York Knicks 3 Syracuse Nationals 2 1951 Eastern Division Finals #fff 1952 New York Knicks 3 Syracuse Nationals 1 1952 Eastern Division Finals #fff 1954 New York Knicks 0 Syracuse Nationals 2 1954 Eastern Division Round Robin Semifinals Western Division Semifinals (2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Detroit Pistons #eee March 14 Boxscore Detroit Pistons 89 Minneapolis Lakers 92 23–26 15–19 29–23 22–24 Phil Jordon 22 Larry Foust 17 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 March 15 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 103 Detroit Pistons 117 21–32 19–20 31–40 32–25 Elgin Baylor 26 Gene Shue 32 Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan Series tied, 1–1 #eee March 18 Boxscore Detroit Pistons 102 Minneapolis Lakers 129 28–25 26–31 26–33 22–40 Gene Shue 31 Elgin Baylor 30 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis wins series, 2–1 This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning four of the first five meetings while the Pistons were based in Fort Wayne. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=DET&opp_id=LAL&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021Minneapolis leads 4–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1950 Fort Wayne Pistons 0 Minneapolis Lakers 2 1950 Central Division Finals #fff 1953 Fort Wayne Pistons 2 Minneapolis Lakers 3 1953 Western Division Finals #fff 1954 Fort Wayne Pistons 0 Minneapolis Lakers 2 1954 Western Division Round Robin Semifinals #fff 1955 Fort Wayne Pistons 3 Minneapolis Lakers 1 1955 Western Division Finals #fff 1957 Fort Wayne Pistons 0 Minneapolis Lakers 2 1957 Western Division Semifinals Division Finals Eastern Division Finals (1) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals #eee March 18 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 109 Boston Celtics 131 17–27 38–42 26–29 28–33 George Yardley 30 George Yardley 17 Tom Heinsohn 28 Bill Russell 32 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Boston leads series, 1–0 March 21 Boxscore Boston Celtics 118 Syracuse Nationals 120 25–28 35–29 31–35 27–28 Bob Cousy 27 Bill Russell 19 Dolph Schayes 34 Schayes, Kerr 17 each Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Series tied, 1–1 #eee March 22 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 111 Boston Celtics 133 27–31 18–34 33–37 33–31 Dolph Schayes 21 Connie Dierking 11 Frank Ramsey 24 Bill Russell 27 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Boston leads series, 2–1 March 25 Boxscore Boston Celtics 107 Syracuse Nationals 119 21–22 32–40 30–27 24–30 Frank Ramsey 29 Bill Russell 21 Dolph Schayes 28 Dolph Schayes 18 Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Series tied, 2–2 #eee March 28 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 108 Boston Celtics 129 32–35 27–28 26–30 23–36 George Yardley 23 Schayes, Kerr 11 each Bob Cousy 27 Bill Russell 32 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Boston leads series, 3–2 March 29 Boxscore Boston Celtics 121 Syracuse Nationals 133 28–29 30–38 31–32 32–34 Frank Ramsey 26 Bill Russell 24 Dolph Schayes 39 Dolph Schayes 12 Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Series tied, 3–3 #eee April 1 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 125 Boston Celtics 130 32–26 36–34 26–35 31–35 Dolph Schayes 35 Dolph Schayes 16 Schayes, Costello 9 each Frank Ramsey 28 Bill Russell 32 Bob Cousy 10 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Boston wins series, 4–3 This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nationals winning four of the first six meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=BOS&opp_id=PHI&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021Syracuse leads 4–2 in all-time playoff series#fff 1953 Boston Celtics 2 Syracuse Nationals 0 1953 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1954 Boston Celtics 0 Syracuse Nationals 2 1954 Eastern Division Round Robin Semifinals #fff 1954 Boston Celtics 0 Syracuse Nationals 2 1954 Eastern Division Finals #fff 1955 Boston Celtics 1 Syracuse Nationals 3 1955 Eastern Division Finals #fff 1956 Boston Celtics 1 Syracuse Nationals 2 1956 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1957 Boston Celtics 3 Syracuse Nationals 0 1957 Eastern Division Finals Western Division Finals (1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Minneapolis Lakers #eee March 21 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 90 St. Louis Hawks 124 20–27 18–30 30–30 22–37 Elgin Baylor 21 Cliff Hagan 40 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis leads series, 1–0 March 22 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 98 Minneapolis Lakers 106 20–29 25–21 21–24 32–32 Cliff Hagan 27 Bob Pettit 7 Elgin Baylor 33 Elgin Baylor 15 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Mendy Rudolph, Arnie Heft Series tied, 1–1 #eee March 24 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 97 St. Louis Hawks 127 21–34 18–29 28–30 30–34 Baylor, Fleming 15 each Elgin Baylor 8 Bob Pettit 39 Cliff Hagan 18 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri 9,324 Sid Borgia, Jim Duffy St. Louis leads series, 2–1 March 26 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 98 Minneapolis Lakers 108 22–36 23–23 35–19 18–30 Cliff Hagan 38 Elgin Baylor 32 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Sid Borgia, Jim Duffy Series tied, 2–2 #eee March 28 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 98 St. Louis Hawks 97 OT 31–23 18–25 22–25 19–17 8–7 Elgin Baylor 36 Bob Pettit 36 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Minneapolis leads series, 3–2 March 29 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 104 Minneapolis Lakers 106 28–32 22–24 29–32 25–18 Bob Pettit 24 Clyde Lovellette 15 Elgin Baylor 33 Boo Ellis 15 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota 10,179 Mendy Rudolph, Arnie Heft Minneapolis wins series, 4–2 This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning the first two meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=ATL&opp_id=LAL&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021St. Louis leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1956 St. Louis Hawks 2 Minneapolis Lakers 1 1956 Western Division Semifinals #fff 1957 St. Louis Hawks 3 Minneapolis Lakers 0 1957 Western Division Finals NBA Finals: (E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W2) Minneapolis Lakers 1959 NBA Finals #eee April 4 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 115 Boston Celtics 118 29–29 24–36 31–19 31–34 Elgin Baylor 34 Larry Foust 19 Frank Ramsey 29 Bill Russell 28 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 8,195 Boston leads series, 1–0 April 5 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 108 Boston Celtics 128 17–32 31–40 37–28 23–28 Vern Mikkelsen 24 Steve Hamilton 13 Bill Sharman 28 Bill Russell 30 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 11,082 Boston leads series, 2–0 #eee April 7 Boxscore Boston Celtics 123 Minneapolis Lakers 110 35–27 34–26 32–32 22–25 Tom Heinsohn 26 Bill Russell 30 Larry Foust 26 Larry Foust 22 St. Paul Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota 11,272 Boston leads series, 3–0 April 9 Boxscore Boston Celtics 118 Minneapolis Lakers 113 34–34 30–28 24–25 30–26 Bill Sharman 29 Bill Russell 30 Elgin Baylor 30 Elgin Baylor 14 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota 8,124 Boston wins series, 4–0 Vern Mikkelsen’s final NBA game. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=BOS&opp_id=LAL&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021 References External links Basketball-Reference.com's 1959 NBA Playoffs page Category:NBA playoffs Playoffs fi:NBA-kausi 1958–1959#Pudotuspelit