2007 NBA playoffs

Postseason tournament August 2023 NBA playoffs NBA 2007 Playoffs logo.png 2007 April 21–June 14, 2007 2006–07 16 San Antonio Spurs 4 Cleveland Cavaliers Detroit Pistons Utah Jazz Scoring leader(s) LeBron James (Cavaliers) 25.1 PPG MVP Tony Parker (Spurs) 2006 2008 The 2007 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2006–07 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeating the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. Tony Parker was named NBA Finals MVP, making him the second Spur after Tim Duncan and the first European–born player to receive the award. The Miami Heat were the defending champions, but lost to the Chicago Bulls in the first round by a sweep. Overview The Dallas Mavericks entered their seventh consecutive postseason. In addition, the Mavericks started the playoffs with a league best 67–15 regular season record, the best in franchise history. The Mavericks also became the first team since 2000 to finish the regular season with 65+ wins. Their in-state rivals, the San Antonio Spurs, entered their tenth consecutive postseason. The defending champion Miami Heat entered the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Despite winning their third consecutive Southeast Division title, the Heat opened the playoffs on the road against the Chicago Bulls (thanks to the Bulls’ 49–33 record versus the Heat's 44–38 record), marking the second consecutive postseason that a division winner opened the playoffs on the road. This was also Pat Riley's final NBA playoff appearance as a head coach, as the Heat would miss the playoffs the following season. The Houston Rockets returned to the playoffs after a one-season absence, and opened the playoffs at home for the first time since 1997. This would also be Jeff Van Gundy's last postseason appearance as a head coach. Their first round opponent, the Northwest Division leading Utah Jazz made the playoffs for the first time since 2003. Like the Heat, the Jazz opened their postseason on the road. The New Jersey Nets and the Detroit Pistons entered their sixth consecutive postseason. The Denver Nuggets entered their fourth consecutive postseason. The Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls, and Phoenix Suns entered their third consecutive postseason. The Los Angeles Lakers entered their second consecutive postseason. The Golden State Warriors made the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 1994 NBA playoffs. The Toronto Raptors made the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and earned home-court advantage for the first time in franchise history. The Orlando Magic made the playoffs for the first time since 2003. The Indiana Pacers missed the playoffs for the first time since 1997, while the Sacramento Kings missed the playoffs for the first time since 1998. This also marked the first of sixteen consecutive postseasons not to feature the Sacramento Kings. First Round The Nets–Raptors series was notable for Nets guard Vince Carter facing his former team, the Toronto Raptors. His New Jersey Nets won the series in six games, giving the Raptors their second consecutive first round exit. The Nets would not win another playoff series until 2014 as the Brooklyn Nets, which was also against the Raptors. With their first round sweep of the Orlando Magic, the Detroit Pistons swept a playoff series for the first time since 1990. It was also the Pistons’ first sweep of a best of seven series since the 1989 NBA Finals. With their first round sweep of the defending champion Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls won their first playoff series since 1998 and swept a best of seven series for the first time since 1996. As of 2024, this was the Bulls’ most recent playoff sweep. With the loss, the Heat became the first defending champion in 50 seasons to be swept in the first round. In addition, the Heat were swept in a postseason series for the first time since 2001. For the second consecutive postseason, the Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns would not win another playoff series against the Lakers until 2021. With their shocking first round upset over the Dallas Mavericks, The Golden State Warriors became the third eighth seed to beat a top seed and the first team to do so since the first round was extended to a best of seven in 2003. The Warriors were also the first eighth seed to eliminate a top seed since the 1999 New York Knicks’ Cinderella run to the Finals. With the loss, the Dallas Mavericks earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first (and currently only) .800+ regular season team to lose in the first round. With the win, the Golden State Warriors also won their first playoff series since 1991. For Warriors head coach Don Nelson, he became the only head coach to win three playoff series as either a seventh or eighth seed, having also achieved the feat in 1989 and 1991. With their first round series losses, the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks became the first NBA Finals pair to lose in the first round in the following year's playoffs. They also share the dubious distinction of being the second and third top seeds, respectively, to lose to an eighth seed in the first round in the NBA Playoffs. The Jazz–Rockets series marked the eighth straight postseason in which at least one Game 7 was played. The Utah Jazz won over the Houston Rockets, giving the Jazz their first playoff series win since 2000 and the Rockets their fifth consecutive first round exit. This also marked the sole Game 7 of this season's playoffs. Conference Semifinals With the Heat and Mavericks eliminated in the first round, the Western Conference Semifinals series between the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs was considered “the real finals” as both teams had better records than the other remaining teams in the playoffs (thanks to the Suns’ 61–21 record and the Spurs’ 58–24 record, respectively). The Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls met in the postseason for the first time since 1991, renewing the Bulls–Pistons rivalry. Game 4 of the Suns–Spurs series was extremely notable thanks to Robert Horry's body-check on Steve Nash. Moments after his flagrant foul, Horry threw an elbow at Raja Bell's head. Horry was ejected and then suspended for two games. In addition, Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended, one game each, for leaving the bench during the altercation. With their Western Conference Semifinals victory, the San Antonio Spurs won their third consecutive playoff series against the Phoenix Suns. With their Western Conference Semifinals win over the Golden State Warriors, the Utah Jazz made the conference finals for the first time since 1998 (when they last made the NBA Finals). As of 2024, however, this was the most recent time the Jazz advanced past the Conference Semifinals. The Warriors themselves would not advance past the Conference Semifinals until 2015. With their Eastern Conference Semifinals win against the New Jersey Nets, the Cleveland Cavaliers made their first Conference Finals appearance since 1992. In addition, Game 6 of the Cavaliers–Nets series was the final NBA Playoff game ever played in New Jersey, as well as the last NBA Playoff game ever played at Continental Airlines Arena. The Nets would not return to the playoffs until 2013 as the Brooklyn Nets. With their Eastern Conference Semifinals victory over the Chicago Bulls, the Detroit Pistons made their fifth consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance. The Bulls, on the other hand, would not make the Eastern Conference Finals until 2011. Conference Finals Despite trailing 2–0 to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the series in six games to make their first ever NBA Finals appearance. Game 5 of the Pistons-Cavaliers series was extremely notable thanks to LeBron James scoring the Cavaliers’ final 25 points in a double-overtime thriller. With their Western Conference Finals win over the Utah Jazz, the San Antonio Spurs made their fourth NBA Finals appearance, and their third of the 2000s decade. NBA Finals The 2007 NBA Finals was significant due to it being the finals debut for LeBron James. He would not return to the Finals until 2011 (as a member of the Miami Heat). Due to LeBron's inexperience versus the seasoned San Antonio Spurs, this season's NBA Finals produced the lowest ratings of any NBA Finals until 2020. The San Antonio Spurs won their fourth NBA Championship with a four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the first finals sweep since 2002. The Spurs also became the second team to win three titles in the 2000s decade (the other being the Los Angeles Lakers, who won three straight titles from 2000 to 2002). Tony Parker is the first European Player to win NBA Finals MVP, and the second member of the San Antonio Spurs to do so, the other being Tim Duncan. After this series, the Spurs would not reach the NBA Finals until 2013 while the Cavaliers would not return until 2015. Seeding The playoffs are conducted in 4 rounds of the best-of-7 series. The 3 division winners in each conference, along with the 5 best non-division winners, qualify for the playoffs. The division winners and top second-place team are seeded 1–4 based on record, with the remaining non-division winners are seeded 5–8 on record. Until 2006, the division champions were guaranteed no worse than the third seed, while the non-division winners could do no better than the fourth seed regardless of record. This was the source of controversy in the 2006 NBA playoffs when the 63-win Spurs and 60-win Dallas Mavericks — the teams with the second-best and third-best records in the entire league—met in the conference semifinals. In response, the NBA changed the seeding system so that the teams with the two best records in the conference are guaranteed the top two seeds even if the second-best team isn't a division champion. Meanwhile, the division champions are guaranteed no worse than the fourth seed. This ensures that the teams with the two best records in the conference cannot meet until the conference finals at the earliest. https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=2537369 2006-08-02 2007-04-23 ESPN.com Associated Press NBA announces postseason seeding format change Playoff qualifying Eastern Conference The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East: Detroit Pistons (53–29, clinched Central division, best regular season record in Eastern Conference, and home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs) Cleveland Cavaliers (50–32) Toronto Raptors (47–35, clinched Atlantic division) Miami Heat (44–38, clinched Southeast division) Chicago Bulls (49–33) New Jersey Nets (41–41; 4–0 head-to-head vs. WSH) Washington Wizards (41–41, 0–4 head-to-head vs. NJ) Orlando Magic (40–42) Western Conference The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West: Dallas Mavericks (67–15, clinched Southwest division, best regular season record, and home court advantage throughout the playoffs) Phoenix Suns (61–21, clinched Pacific division) San Antonio Spurs (58–24) Utah Jazz (51–31, clinched Northwest division) Houston Rockets (52–30) Denver Nuggets (45–37) Los Angeles Lakers (42–40, 4–0 head-to-head vs. Golden State) Golden State Warriors (42–40, 0–4 head-to-head vs. LA Lakers) Bracket This is the bracket for the 2007 NBA Playoffs. Teams in italics had home court advantage. Teams in bold advanced to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original seeding in their respective conferences. Numbers to the right of each team indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions possess an asterisk (*). First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals Eastern Conference Western Conference E1 Detroit* 4 E8 Orlando 0 E4 Miami* 0 E5 Chicago 4 E3 Toronto* 2 E6 New Jersey 4 E2 Cleveland 4 E7 Washington 0 W1 Dallas* 2 W8 Golden State 4 W4 Utah* 4 W5 Houston 3 W3 San Antonio 4 W6 Denver 1 W2 Phoenix* 4 W7 LA Lakers 1 E1 Detroit* 4 E5 Chicago 2 E6 New Jersey 2 E2 Cleveland 4 W8 Golden State 1 W4 Utah* 4 W3 San Antonio 4 W2 Phoenix* 2 E1 Detroit* 2 E2 Cleveland 4 W4 Utah* 1 W3 San Antonio 4 E2 Cleveland 0 W3 San Antonio 4* Division winner Bold Series winner Italic Team with home-court advantage Notes Houston and Chicago had home court advantage in the first round despite being lower seeds. Both teams had better regular season records than their opponents, but did not have the best record of the non-division-champion playoff teams in their respective conferences. First round Eastern Conference first round (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Orlando Magic #eee April 21 7:00 pm Recap Orlando Magic 92 100 Detroit Pistons The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan ESPN 16–28 27–23 24–30 25–19 Hedo Türkoğlu 17 Hamilton, Billups 22 each Dwight Howard 19 Antonio McDyess 9 Grant Hill 5 Chauncey Billups 11 Bob Delaney, Joe Forte, David Jones 22,076 Detroit leads series, 1–0 #fff April 23 7:00 pm Recap Orlando Magic 90 98 Detroit Pistons The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan TNT 22–28 22–19 15–24 31–27 Hedo Türkoğlu 22 Richard Hamilton 22 Dwight Howard 11 Rasheed Wallace 11 Hill, Arroyo 4 each Chauncey Billups 8 Tim Donaghy, Eddie Rush, Greg Willard 22,076 Detroit leads series, 2–0 #eee April 26 8:00 pm Recap Detroit Pistons 93 77 Orlando Magic Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida TNT 23–23 25–19 23–19 22–16 Tayshaun Prince 23 Jameer Nelson 27 Antonio McDyess 11 Dwight Howard 12 Tayshaun Prince 5 Nelson, Türkoğlu 4 each Steve Javie, Jack Nies, Violet Palmer 17,451 Detroit leads series, 3–0 #fff April 28 3:00 pm Recap Detroit Pistons 97 93 Orlando Magic Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida TNT 22–25 25–21 26–21 24–26 Chauncey Billups 25 Dwight Howard 29 Chris Webber 10 Dwight Howard 17 Chauncey Billups 6 Hedo Türkoğlu 5 Tony Brothers, Monty McCutchen, Bennett Salvatore 17,451 Detroit wins series, 4–0 +Regular-season seriesDetroit won 4–0 in the regular-season series#fff December 8, 2006 2006 12080 ORL Detroit Pistons 87 Orlando Magic 83 Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida February 21, 2007 2007 02210 DET Orlando Magic 88 Detroit Pistons 110 The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan #fff February 23, 2007 2007 02230 ORL Detroit Pistons 94 Orlando Magic 89 Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida April 11, 2007 2007 04110 DET Orlando Magic 99 Detroit Pistons 104 The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=DET&opp_id=ORL&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Orlando Magic (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016Tied 1–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1996 Detroit Pistons 0 Orlando Magic 3 1996 Eastern Conference First Round #fff 2003 Detroit Pistons 4 Orlando Magic 3 2003 Eastern Conference First Round The Orlando Magic's first playoff trip in 4 seasons was short lived as the top ranked Detroit Pistons dispatched the upstart Magic in 4 games. The Pistons recorded their first series sweep since sweeping Indiana in the first round of the 1990 NBA playoffs. The series was also the first time Orlando forward Grant Hill had appeared in the postseason since leaving Detroit after the 2000 season. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (7) Washington Wizards #eee April 22 12:30 pm Recap Washington Wizards 82 97 Cleveland Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio TNT 20–27 21–21 26–26 15–23 Antawn Jamison 28 Larry Hughes 27 Antawn Jamison 14 Anderson Varejão 10 Antonio Daniels 11 LeBron James 7 Joe DeRosa, Luis Grillo, Tom Washington 20,562 Cleveland leads series, 1–0 #fff April 25 8:00 pm Recap Washington Wizards 102 109 Cleveland Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio NBA TV 23–23 25–28 15–24 39–34 Antawn Jamison 31 LeBron James 27 Antawn Jamison 10 Drew Gooden 14 Antonio Daniels 11 LeBron James 7 Bernie Fryer, Derek Richardson, Greg Willard 20,562 Cleveland leads series, 2–0 #eee April 28 5:30 pm Recap Cleveland Cavaliers 98 92 Washington Wizards Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. TNT 26–22 35–22 16–31 21–17 LeBron James 30 Antawn Jamison 38 Drew Gooden 12 Antawn Jamison 11 LeBron James 9 Antonio Daniels 13 Steve Javie, Courtney Kirkland, Jack Nies 20,173 Cleveland leads series, 3–0 #fff April 30 7:00 pm Recap Cleveland Cavaliers 97 90 Washington Wizards Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. NBA TV 22–23 22–24 22–20 31–23 LeBron James 31 Antawn Jamison 31 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 19 Antonio Daniels 6 LeBron James 7 Antonio Daniels 12 Sean Corbin, Joe Forte, Bennett Salvatore 20,173 Cleveland wins series, 4–0 +Regular-season seriesCleveland won 2–1 in the regular-season series#fff November 1, 2006 2006 11010 CLE Washington Wizards 94 Cleveland Cavaliers 97 Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio November 18, 2006 2006 11180 WAS Cleveland Cavaliers 99 Washington Wizards 111 Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. #fff April 6, 2007 2007 04060 WAS Cleveland Cavaliers 99 Washington Wizards 94 Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Cavaliers winning two of the first three meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=CLE&opp_id=WAS&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Cleveland Cavaliers versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016Cleveland leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1976 Cleveland Cavaliers 4 Washington Bullets 3 1976 Eastern Conference Semifinals #fff 1977 Cleveland Cavaliers 1 Washington Bullets 2 1977 Eastern Conference First Round #fff 2006 Cleveland Cavaliers 4 Washington Wizards 2 2006 Eastern Conference First Round A rematch of the previous year's first round series was spoiled when Wizards stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler were both forced out of the playoffs due to injuries received in the later parts of the regular season. Without Arenas and Butler, the Wizards were unable to stop LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers from sweeping them out of the playoffs. It was Cleveland's first playoff sweep in franchise history. (3) Toronto Raptors vs. (6) New Jersey Nets #eee April 21 Recap New Jersey Nets 96 91 Toronto Raptors Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario ESPN 23–22 28–19 27–24 18–26 Richard Jefferson 28 Chris Bosh 22 Jason Kidd 10 Radoslav Nesterović 10 Jason Kidd 15 José Calderón 8 Steve Javie, Scott Wall, Greg Willard 20,330 12:30 pm New Jersey leads series, 1–0 #fff April 24 Recap New Jersey Nets 83 89 Toronto Raptors Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario NBA TV 12–14 24–19 27–25 20–31 Vince Carter 19 Anthony Parker 26 Carter, Kidd 11 each Chris Bosh 13 Jason Kidd 7 T. J. Ford 6 Tony Brothers, Joe DeRosa, Scott Foster 20,239 7:00 pm Series tied, 1–1 #eee April 27 Recap Toronto Raptors 89 102 New Jersey Nets Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey ESPN2 19–31 20–27 29–21 21–23 T. J. Ford 27 Vince Carter 37 Chris Bosh 11 Jason Kidd 16 T. J. Ford 8 Jason Kidd 19 Bernie Fryer, Tom Washington, Mark Wunderlich 17,147 7:00 pm New Jersey leads series, 2–1 #fff April 29 Recap Toronto Raptors 81 102 New Jersey Nets Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey TNT 15–32 22–24 19–30 25–16 Andrea Bargnani 16 Vince Carter 27 Chris Bosh 10 Jason Kidd 8 T. J. Ford 5 Jason Kidd 13 Dick Bavetta, David Jones, Ken Mauer 20,032 7:30 pm New Jersey leads series, 3–1 #eee May 1 Recap New Jersey Nets 96 98 Toronto Raptors Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario TNT 13–33 29–26 25–20 29–19 Vince Carter 30 José Calderón 25 Mikki Moore 10 Joey Graham 10 Jason Kidd 10 José Calderón 8 Mike Callahan, Bob Delaney, Monty McCutchen 20,511 7:00 pm New Jersey leads series, 3–2 #fff May 4 Recap Toronto Raptors 97 98 New Jersey Nets Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey New Jersey wins series, 4–2 ESPN 21–21 25–22 22–32 29–23 Chris Bosh 23 Richard Jefferson 24 Morris Peterson 8 Kidd, Moore 8 each Chris Bosh 9 Jason Kidd 15 17,242 Jim Clark, Dan Crawford, Tim Donaghy 8:00 pm +Regular-season seriesTied 2–2 in the regular-season series#fff November 1, 2006 2006 11010 NJN Toronto Raptors 92 New Jersey Nets 102 Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey December 15, 2006 2006 12150 TOR New Jersey Nets 78 Toronto Raptors 90 Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario #fff January 9, 2007 2007 01090 NJN Toronto Raptors 86 New Jersey Nets 101 Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey February 14, 2007 2007 02140 TOR New Jersey Nets 109 Toronto Raptors 120 Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario This was the first playoff meeting between the Nets and the Raptors.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=NJN&opp_id=TOR&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Brooklyn Nets versus Toronto Raptors (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016 The Nets won the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs in their sixth straight appearance in the NBA Playoffs. The series was the only one in the Eastern Conference first round not to result in a sweep. The series was notable for pitting ex-Raptor Vince Carter, who was traded to the Nets in 2004 after an acrimonious split, against his former team. So great was the Toronto crowd's disdain for Carter, that he was booed every time he touched the ball. The Nets took home court advantage in Game 1, holding off a late Raptors rally in the fourth quarter. The Raptors pulled away in Game 2 and tied the series at 1. When the series shifted to New Jersey, the Nets took charge of the series, winning Games 3 and 4 in routs. New Jersey had a chance to win the series in Game 5 in Toronto, but the Raptors took a 20-point lead after one quarter. Still, New Jersey managed to chip away, and had a chance to win it, but Boštjan Nachbar's 3 missed at the buzzer. Needing to win in New Jersey to force a Game 7, Toronto held a one-point lead with under a minute to play in Game 6, but Richard Jefferson hit a layup with 8 seconds left. Toronto attempted to try for the game-winning shot, but Jefferson intercepted the pass to seal the series for the Nets. (4) Miami Heat vs. (5) Chicago Bulls #eee April 21 Recap Miami Heat 91 96 Chicago Bulls United Center, Chicago, Illinois ABC 28–27 18–22 16–23 29–24 Dwyane Wade 21 Luol Deng 33 O'Neal, Haslem 6 each Ben Wallace 14 five players 3 each Ben Gordon 11 Monty McCutchen, Eddie Rush, Michael Smith 2:00 pm 22,183 Chicago leads series, 1–0 #fff April 24 Recap Miami Heat 89 107 Chicago Bulls United Center, Chicago, Illinois TNT 21–31 31–24 19–30 18–22 Dwyane Wade 21 Ben Gordon 27 O'Neal, Posey 8 each Ben Gordon 7 Dwyane Wade 7 Kirk Hinrich 8 Luis Grillo, Steve Javie, Ken Mauer 7:00 pm 23,097 Chicago leads series, 2–0 #eee April 27 Recap Chicago Bulls 104 96 Miami Heat American Airlines Arena, Miami ESPN 29–23 16–29 27–24 32–20 Ben Gordon 27 Dwyane Wade 28 Luol Deng 11 Shaquille O'Neal 13 Kirk Hinrich 6 Dwyane Wade 5 Luis Grillo, Steve Javie, Ken Mauer 20,280 8:00 pm Chicago leads series, 3–0 #fff April 29 Recap Chicago Bulls 92 79 Miami Heat American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida Chicago wins series, 4–0 ABC 23–28 21–20 24–16 24–15 Ben Gordon 24 Dwyane Wade 24 Luol Deng 12 James Posey 18 Gordon, Hinrich 4 each Dwyane Wade 10 Bernie Fryer, Tom Washington, Mark Wunderlich 20,283 1:00 pm Game 4 is Gary Payton's final NBA game. +Regular-season seriesChicago won 3–1 in the regular-season series#fff October 31, 2006 2006 10310 MIA Chicago Bulls 108 Miami Heat 66 American Airlines Arena, Miami December 27, 2006 2006 12270 CHI Miami Heat 103 Chicago Bulls 109 United Center, Chicago, Illinois #fff January 27, 2007 2007 01270 CHI Miami Heat 97 Chicago Bulls 100 United Center, Chicago, Illinois March 7, 2007 2007 03070 MIA Chicago Bulls 70 Miami Heat 103 American Airlines Arena, Miami This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning three of the first four meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=CHI&opp_id=MIA&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Miami Heat (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016Chicago leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1992 Chicago Bulls 3 Miami Heat 0 1992 Eastern Conference First Round #fff 1996 Chicago Bulls 3 Miami Heat 0 1996 Eastern Conference First Round #fff 1997 Chicago Bulls 4 Miami Heat 1 1997 Eastern Conference Finals #fff 2006 Chicago Bulls 2 Miami Heat 4 2006 Eastern Conference First Round The Bulls won their first playoff series since the 1998 NBA Finals and the retirement of Michael Jordan. This was the Bulls first 4-game sweep, since sweeping the Magic in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals. Meanwhile, Miami became the first defending champion since 1957 to be swept in the First Round the following season. In addition, Southeast Division champions Miami and other division qualifiers Washington and Orlando were swept (0–12) by Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit respectively, all from the Central Division (12–0). Western Conference first round (1) Dallas Mavericks vs. (8) Golden State Warriors #eee April 22 Recap Golden State Warriors 97 85 Dallas Mavericks American Airlines Center, Dallas TNT 23–17 15–21 34–28 25–19 Baron Davis 33 Josh Howard 21 Baron Davis 14 Josh Howard 13 Baron Davis 8 Dirk Nowitzki 4 Dick Bavetta, Mike Callahan, Bill Kennedy 8:30 pm 20,732 Golden State leads series, 1–0 #fff April 25 Recap Golden State Warriors 99 112 Dallas Mavericks American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas TNT 30–28 22–26 22–33 25–25 Stephen Jackson 30 Jason Terry 28 Jason Richardson 10 Josh Howard 11 Jason Richardson 3 Harris, Stackhouse 4 each James Capers, Sean Corbin, Bennett Salvatore 8:30 pm 20,867 Series tied, 1–1 #eee April 27 Recap Dallas Mavericks 91 109 Golden State Warriors Oracle Arena, Oakland, California ESPN 20–29 28–32 23–28 20–20 Nowitzki, Howard 20 each Jason Richardson 30 Dirk Nowitzki 12 Andris Biedriņš 10 Terry, Harris 5 each Stephen Jackson 6 Dan Crawford, Tim Donaghy, Joe Forte 7:30 pm 20,629 Golden State leads series, 2–1 #fff April 29 Recap Dallas Mavericks 99 103 Golden State Warriors Oracle Arena, Oakland, California TNT 27–21 22–28 28–28 22–26 Dirk Nowitzki 23 Baron Davis 33 Dirk Nowitzki 15 Baron Davis 8 Jason Terry 5 Baron Davis 4 Joe DeRosa, Michael Smith, Derrick Stafford 7:00 pm 20,672 Golden State leads series, 3–1 #eee May 1 Recap Golden State Warriors 112 118 Dallas Mavericks American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas TNT 28–38 27–24 32–28 25–28 Baron Davis 27 Dirk Nowitzki 30 Mickaël Piétrus 10 Dirk Nowitzki 12 Baron Davis 9 Devin Harris 7 Jim Clark, Bernie Fryer, Ken Mauer 21,041 8:30 pm Golden State leads series, 3–2 #fff May 3 Recap Dallas Mavericks 86 111 Golden State Warriors Oracle Arena, Oakland, California TNT 25–28 23–22 15–36 23–25 Howard, Stackhouse 20 each Stephen Jackson 33 Dirk Nowitzki 10 Andris Biedriņš 12 Devin Harris 9 Matt Barnes 7 Ron Garretson, Steve Javie, Mark Wunderlich 7:30 pm 20,677 Golden State wins series, 4–2 +Regular-season seriesGolden State won 3–0 in the regular-season series#fff November 6, 2006 2006 11060 DAL Golden State Warriors 107 Dallas Mavericks 104 American Airlines Center, Dallas March 12, 2007 2007 03120 GSW Dallas Mavericks 100 Golden State Warriors 117 Oracle Arena, Oakland, California #fff April 17, 2007 2007 04170 GSW Dallas Mavericks 82 Golden State Warriors 111 Oracle Arena, Oakland, California This was the first playoff meeting between the Mavericks and the Warriors.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=DAL&opp_id=GSW&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Dallas Mavericks versus Golden State Warriors (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016 The Warriors qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1994, the second longest such streak in league history. However, the Warriors were heavy underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks despite sweeping the regular season series between the teams, as Dallas had one of the best records in NBA regular season history. Expectations of a short series were immediately dashed by Golden State's Game 1 victory in Dallas, behind guard Baron Davis and his rather frantic style of play. The Mavericks came back to win Game 2 to tie the series at 1. But when the series shifted to Oakland for the next two games, a new X-factor emerged for the Warriors: their home crowd at the Oracle Arena. The electric crowd, which was the highest paid attendance crowd for an NBA game in the history of that arena, gave the Warriors a huge lift as they blew out Dallas in Game 3, and edged out a close victory in Game 4. As the series shifted back to Dallas, the top-ranked Mavericks found themselves one game from seeing their record breaking season end prematurely. The Mavericks gave their all and staved off elimination in Game 5, but had nothing left in Game 6 in Oakland. The Warriors used a third-quarter 18–0 run, sparked by Stephen Jackson's 13 straight points en route to a franchise playoff record seven 3-pointers, and an unexpected collapse from MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki (2–13 from the field with 8 points) to finish Dallas and become the first #8 seed to win a best-of-7 series in the first round, and just the third overall in NBA history, following the Denver Nuggets in 1994 and the New York Knicks en route to the 1999 NBA Finals. The Warriors also won their first playoff series since 1991. The Mavericks also became the second team who had a 65+ winning record not to win a championship, the first being the 1972–73 Boston Celtics, and the most recent, the 2017-18 Houston Rockets. To date, they are the only ones who were eliminated in the first round. Both 2006 NBA Finalists (Dallas and Miami) were eliminated in the first round despite being top 4 seeds. This was the first time since 1957 that this had happened. This would not happen again until 2021 when the NBA Finalists from the previous season (L.A. Lakers and Miami Heat) were eliminated in the first round as lower-seeded teams. (2) Phoenix Suns vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers #eee April 22 Recap Los Angeles Lakers 87 95 Phoenix Suns US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona ABC 23–18 25–21 29–35 10–21 Kobe Bryant 39 Amar'e Stoudemire 23 Lamar Odom 16 Shawn Marion 16 Luke Walton 6 Steve Nash 10 Bernie Fryer, Ken Mauer, Leon Wood 12:00 pm 18,422 Phoenix leads series, 1–0 #fff April 24 Recap Los Angeles Lakers 98 126 Phoenix Suns US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona TNT 25–31 22–37 23–27 28–31 Kobe Bryant 15 Leandro Barbosa 26 Andrew Bynum 12 Shawn Marion 10 Kobe Bryant 5 Steve Nash 14 Dick Bavetta, Marc Davis, Joe Forte 7:30 pm 18,422 Phoenix leads series, 2–0 #eee April 26 Recap Phoenix Suns 89 95 Los Angeles Lakers Staples Center, Los Angeles TNT 31–17 20–31 19–26 19–21 Amar'e Stoudemire 24 Kobe Bryant 45 Amar'e Stoudemire 10 Lamar Odom 16 Steve Nash 13 Kobe Bryant 6 Mike Callahan, Bob Delaney, Derrick Stafford 7:30 pm 18,997 Phoenix leads series, 2–1 #fff April 29 Recap Phoenix Suns 113 100 Los Angeles Lakers Staples Center, Los Angeles, California ABC 33–28 25–23 27–20 28–29 Amar'e Stoudemire 27 Kobe Bryant 31 Amar'e Stoudemire 21 Lamar Odom 19 Steve Nash 23 Kobe Bryant 9 Dan Crawford, Tim Donaghy, Ron Garretson 12:30 pm 18,997 Phoenix leads series, 3–1 #eee May 2 Recap Los Angeles Lakers 110 119 Phoenix Suns US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix wins series, 4–1 TNT 23–32 29–32 33–27 25–28 Kobe Bryant 34 Shawn Marion 26 Odom, Turiaf 10 each Amar'e Stoudemire 16 Odom, Farmar 2 each Steve Nash 10 Scott Foster, Eddie Rush, Greg Willard 7:30 pm 18,422 +Regular-season seriesPhoenix won 3–1 in the regular-season series#fff October 31, 2006 2006 10310 LAL Phoenix Suns 106 Los Angeles Lakers 114 Staples Center, Los Angeles March 4, 2007 2007 03040 PHO Los Angeles Lakers 94 Phoenix Suns 99 US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona #fff April 8, 2007 2007 04080 LAL Phoenix Suns 115 Los Angeles Lakers 107 Staples Center, Los Angeles April 13, 2007 2007 04130 PHO Los Angeles Lakers 85 Phoenix Suns 93 US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona This was the 11th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning seven of the first ten meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=LAL&opp_id=PHO&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Phoenix Suns (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016Los Angeles leads 7–3 in all-time playoff series#fff 1970 Los Angeles Lakers 4 Phoenix Suns 3 1970 Western Division Semifinals #fff 1980 Los Angeles Lakers 4 Phoenix Suns 1 1980 Western Conference Semifinals #fff 1982 Los Angeles Lakers 4 Phoenix Suns 0 1982 Western Conference Semifinals #fff 1984 Los Angeles Lakers 4 Phoenix Suns 2 1984 Western Conference Finals #fff 1985 Los Angeles Lakers 3 Phoenix Suns 0 1985 Western Conference First Round #fff 1989 Los Angeles Lakers 4 Phoenix Suns 0 1989 Western Conference Finals #fff 1990 Los Angeles Lakers 1 Phoenix Suns 4 1990 Western Conference Semifinals #fff 1993 Los Angeles Lakers 2 Phoenix Suns 3 1993 Western Conference First Round #fff 2000 Los Angeles Lakers 4 Phoenix Suns 1 2000 Western Conference Semifinals #fff 2006 Los Angeles Lakers 3 Phoenix Suns 4 2006 Western Conference First Round Kobe Bryant and the Lakers went up against the high powered Phoenix Suns in a rematch of the previous year's first round series, which saw the Lakers take a 3–1 lead before the Suns took the series in 7. Unlike the previous series, the Suns had near complete control of the series, taking the series in 5. The Suns advanced to their third straight conference semifinals by eliminating the Lakers in the first round for the second straight year. In Game 4, Phoenix point guard Steve Nash made a run at the record for most assists in a playoff game, finishing one shy of the record 24 shared by Magic Johnson and John Stockton. (3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Denver Nuggets #eee April 22 Recap Denver Nuggets 95 89 San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center, San Antonio TNT 21–16 23–26 23–24 28–23 Allen Iverson 31 Tony Parker 19 Nenê 12 Tim Duncan 10 Allen Iverson 5 Tony Parker 8 Ron Garretson, Jack Nies, Bennett Salvatore 6:00 pm 18,797 Denver leads series, 1–0 #fff April 25 Recap Denver Nuggets 88 97 San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas TNT 18–24 23–25 19–25 28–23 Carmelo Anthony 26 Tim Duncan 22 Marcus Camby 18 Fabricio Oberto 10 Steve Blake 7 Tony Parker 6 Derrick Collins, Dan Crawford, Monty McCutchen 6:00 pm 18,797 Series tied, 1–1 #eee April 28 Recap San Antonio Spurs 96 91 Denver Nuggets Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado ESPN 22–25 21–15 32–27 21–24 Tony Parker 21 Carmelo Anthony 28 Tim Duncan 13 Carmelo Anthony 12 Tony Parker 6 Steve Blake 7 Mike Callahan, Bob Delaney, Scott Wall 6:00 pm 19,951 San Antonio leads series, 2–1 #fff April 30 Recap San Antonio Spurs 96 89 Denver Nuggets Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado TNT 20–27 22–23 25–23 29–16 Tim Duncan 22 Carmelo Anthony 29 Tim Duncan 11 Marcus Camby 17 Duncan, Ginóbili 6 each Allen Iverson 7 Scott Foster, Bill Kennedy, Eddie Rush 8:30 pm 19,644 San Antonio leads series, 3–1 #eee May 2 Recap Denver Nuggets 78 93 San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas San Antonio wins series, 4–1 TNT 21–25 27–19 11–19 19–30 Iverson, Anthony 21 each Michael Finley 26 Marcus Camby 19 Tim Duncan 12 Allen Iverson 8 Tony Parker 10 Sean Corbin, Joe DeRosa, Tom Washington 18,797 7:00 pm +Regular-season seriesSan Antonio won 2–1 in the regular-season series#fff January 10, 2007 2007 01100 DEN San Antonio Spurs 92 Denver Nuggets 83 Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado February 20, 2007 2007 02200 SAS Denver Nuggets 80 San Antonio Spurs 95 AT&T Center, San Antonio #fff April 18, 2007 2007 04180 SAS Denver Nuggets 100 San Antonio Spurs 77 AT&T Center, San Antonio This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning four of the first five meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=DEN&opp_id=SAS&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Denver Nuggets versus San Antonio Spurs (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016San Antonio leads 4–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1983 Denver Nuggets 1 San Antonio Spurs 4 1983 Western Conference Semifinals #fff 1985 Denver Nuggets 3 San Antonio Spurs 2 1985 Western Conference First Round #fff 1990 Denver Nuggets 0 San Antonio Spurs 3 1990 Western Conference First Round #fff 1995 Denver Nuggets 0 San Antonio Spurs 3 1995 Western Conference First Round #fff 2005 Denver Nuggets 1 San Antonio Spurs 4 2005 Western Conference First Round The Nuggets duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson got Denver off to a fast start, winning Game 1 and taking home-court advantage away from Tim Duncan and the Spurs. Despite the early letdown, the Spurs showed their championship mettle and bounced back for a 97–88 win in Game 2. In the pivotal Game 3, the Nuggets built an eight-point first-quarter lead before Manu Ginóbili's eight second-quarter points put San Antonio up 43–40 at halftime. A back-and-forth contest turned in the final 2:24 of the third quarter: Michael Finley hit two 3-pointers, and Robert Horry later hit a 3 that gave the Spurs a 75–67 lead at the end of the quarter. They hung on for a 96–91 win. Denver started strong again in Game 4 and led by eight at halftime. But San Antonio stormed back after Anthony went to the bench in the third quarter with his fourth foul. The Spurs held a one-point lead with 30 seconds left when Horry, hit a 3 from the right corner to help seal a 96–89 win. The stunned Nuggets did not recover from the Game 4 letdown. Finley was the hero in Game 5, hitting a team-playoff-record eight threes for 26 points as San Antonio won 93–78 to end the series, marking the Nuggets' fourth straight season where they lost in the first round in five games. This is the second time in three seasons that the Nuggets lost the first-round series to the Spurs, after taking Game 1 in San Antonio (the first also happened in five games). (4) Utah Jazz vs. (5) Houston Rockets #eee April 21 Recap Utah Jazz 75 84 Houston Rockets Toyota Center, Houston, Texas ESPN 19–20 23–13 11–26 22–25 Williams, Fisher 15 each Yao Ming 28 Carlos Boozer 12 Yao Ming 13 Deron Williams 9 Rafer Alston 8 Ron Garretson, Jack Nies, Bennett Salvatore 18,195 8:30 pm Houston leads series, 1–0 #fff April 23 Recap Utah Jazz 90 98 Houston Rockets Toyota Center, Houston, Texas TNT 26–17 15–22 21–28 28–31 Carlos Boozer 41 Tracy McGrady 31 Carlos Boozer 12 Chuck Hayes 12 Deron Williams 7 Alston, McGrady 5 each James Capers, Sean Corbin, Bob Delaney 8:30 pm 18,206 Houston leads series, 2–0 #eee April 26 Recap Houston Rockets 67 81 Utah Jazz EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City NBA TV 17–23 25–25 10–13 15–20 Yao Ming 26 Carlos Boozer 22 Yao Ming 14 Carlos Boozer 12 Rafer Alston 5 Deron Williams 8 Marc Davis, Joe DeRosa, Ron Garretson 19,911 7:00 pm Houston leads series, 2–1 #fff April 28 Recap Houston Rockets 85 98 Utah Jazz EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah ESPN 21–19 24–31 17–33 23–15 Yao Ming 20 Deron Williams 25 Alston, Yao 9 each Carlos Boozer 10 Rafer Alston 6 Deron Williams 7 Scott Foster, Bill Kennedy, Eddie Rush 19,911 8:30 pm Series tied, 2–2 #eee April 30 Recap Utah Jazz 92 96 Houston Rockets Toyota Center, Houston, Texas TNT 23–21 21–22 28–25 20–28 Carlos Boozer 26 Tracy McGrady 26 Mehmet Okur 9 Yao Ming 15 Deron Williams 6 Tracy McGrady 16 Steve Javie, Courtney Kirkland, Jack Nies 7:00 pm 18,314 Houston leads series, 3–2 #fff May 3 Recap Houston Rockets 82 94 Utah Jazz EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah TNT 22–20 21–26 19–22 20–26 Tracy McGrady 26 Carlos Boozer 22 Tracy McGrady 10 Okur, Boozer 9 each Shane Battier 4 Deron Williams 8 Dick Bavetta, Joe Forte, Ken Mauer 6:00 pm 19,911 Series tied, 3–3 #eee May 5 Recap Utah Jazz 103 99 Houston Rockets Toyota Center, Houston, Texas Utah wins series, 4–3 TNT 29–22 24–21 22–24 28–32 Carlos Boozer 35 McGrady, Yao 29 each Carlos Boozer 14 Juwan Howard 7 Deron Williams 14 Tracy McGrady 13 Mike Callahan, Bernie Fryer, Tom Washington 8:30 pm 18,307 +Regular-season seriesUtah won 3–1 in the regular-season series#fff November 1, 2006 2006 11010 UTA Houston Rockets 97 Utah Jazz 107 EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City January 5, 2007 2007 01050 HOU Utah Jazz 86 Houston Rockets 100 Toyota Center, Houston, Texas #fff April 1, 2007 2007 04010 HOU Utah Jazz 86 Houston Rockets 83 Toyota Center, Houston, Texas April 18, 2007 2007 04180 UTA Houston Rockets 91 Utah Jazz 101 EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning three of the first five meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=HOU&opp_id=UTA&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Houston Rockets versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016Utah leads 3–2 in all-time playoff series#fff 1985 Houston Rockets 2 Utah Jazz 3 1985 Western Conference First Round #fff 1994 Houston Rockets 4 Utah Jazz 1 1994 Western Conference Finals #fff 1995 Houston Rockets 3 Utah Jazz 2 1995 Western Conference First Round #fff 1997 Houston Rockets 2 Utah Jazz 4 1997 Western Conference Finals #fff 1998 Houston Rockets 2 Utah Jazz 3 1998 Western Conference First Round The resurgent Utah Jazz, fresh off one of their best seasons since the John Stockton/Karl Malone years, faced Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets, who were seeking their first playoff series victory in 10 years. Home court advantage proved to be the key as the series progressed, as both the Rockets and the Jazz won closely contested matches in front of their home crowds. As a result, the series had to go to a seventh and deciding game, which was played in Houston since the Rockets had the better record and thereby earned home court advantage, despite the division-winning Jazz being the higher-seeded team. Nevertheless, Utah overcame the Houston crowd and stunned the Rockets for the win on the road. The Jazz became only the third road team in history to win Game 7 of a seven-game series in which the home team won each of the first six games, after the Boston Celtics in the 1969 NBA Finals and the Baltimore Bullets in the 1971 Eastern Conference Finals. Houston's Tracy McGrady lost his sixth straight post-season series (out of 10 seasons) and has never played past the first round in his entire career. After losing the series, the Rockets failed to reach a new contract agreement with their head coach Jeff Van Gundy, who was subsequently fired.Houston Rockets and Jeff Van Gundy to Part Ways, nba.com, accessed May 18, 2007 Conference semifinals Eastern Conference semifinals (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (5) Chicago Bulls #eee May 5 Recap Chicago Bulls 69 95 Detroit Pistons The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan TNT 23–29 18–25 16–16 12–25 Luol Deng 18 Hamilton, Billups 20 each B. Wallace, Deng 8 each Antonio McDyess 10 Kirk Hinrich 6 Lindsey Hunter 6 Tony Brothers, Joe DeRosa, Bennett Salvatore 7:00 pm 22,076 Detroit leads series, 1–0 #fff May 7 Recap Chicago Bulls 87 108 Detroit Pistons The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan TNT 18–34 25–24 19–25 25–25 Tyrus Thomas 18 Tayshaun Prince 25 Ben Wallace 7 Richard Hamilton 9 Kirk Hinrich 7 Chauncey Billups 10 Dick Bavetta, Joe Forte, Leon Wood 8:00 pm 22,076 Detroit leads series, 2–0 #eee May 10 Recap Detroit Pistons 81 74 Chicago Bulls United Center, Chicago, Illinois ESPN 18–20 10–24 32–17 21–13 Tayshaun Prince 23 Luol Deng 21 Prince, R. Wallace 11 each Luol Deng 14 Chauncey Billups 7 Kirk Hinrich 7 Bernie Fryer, Ron Garretson, Tom Washington 8:00 pm 23,462 Detroit leads series, 3–0 #fff May 13 Recap Detroit Pistons 87 102 Chicago Bulls United Center, Chicago, Illinois ABC 19–27 24–23 13–27 31–25 Chauncey Billups 23 Luol Deng 25 Antonio McDyess 8 Ben Wallace 17 Chauncey Billups 8 Kirk Hinrich 10 Dan Crawford, Ken Mauer, Monty McCutchen 2:30 pm 23,099 Detroit leads series, 3–1 #eee May 15 Recap Chicago Bulls 108 92 Detroit Pistons The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan TNT 31–25 28–26 33–20 16–21 Ben Gordon 28 Chauncey Billups 17 P. J. Brown 8 Chris Webber 8 Kirk Hinrich 13 Chauncey Billups 6 Jim Clark, Luis Grillo, Eddie Rush 8:00 pm 22,076 Detroit leads series, 3–2 #fff May 17 Recap Detroit Pistons 95 85 Chicago Bulls United Center, Chicago, Illinois ESPN 28–23 15–25 31–21 21–16 Richard Hamilton 23 P. J. Brown 20 Rasheed Wallace 13 Ben Wallace 7 Chauncey Billups 7 Kirk Hinrich 11 Sean Corbin, Jack Nies, Bennett Salvatore 7:00 pm 23,030 Detroit wins series, 4–2 +Regular-season seriesChicago won 3–1 in the regular-season series#fff January 6, 2007 2007 01060 CHI Detroit Pistons 89 Chicago Bulls 106 United Center, Chicago, Illinois February 25, 2007 2007 02250 DET Chicago Bulls 93 Detroit Pistons 95 The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan #fff March 29, 2007 2007 03290 CHI Detroit Pistons 81 Chicago Bulls 83 United Center, Chicago, Illinois April 4, 2007 2007 04040 DET Chicago Bulls 106 Detroit Pistons 88 The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning three of the first five meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=CHI&opp_id=DET&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Detroit Pistons (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016Detroit leads 3–2 in all-time playoff series#fff 1974 Chicago Bulls 4 Detroit Pistons 3 1974 Western Conference Semifinals #fff 1988 Chicago Bulls 1 Detroit Pistons 4 1988 Eastern Conference Semifinals #fff 1989 Chicago Bulls 2 Detroit Pistons 4 1989 Eastern Conference Finals #fff 1990 Chicago Bulls 3 Detroit Pistons 4 1990 Eastern Conference Finals #fff 1991 Chicago Bulls 4 Detroit Pistons 0 1991 Eastern Conference Finals In a renewal of a rivalry from the late '80s and early '90s, the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons faced off against each other. This was also the first time since 1995 that teams from the two cities met in a major league postseason or game. The series began fairly one-sided as the Pistons took Games 1 and 2 in Detroit in blowout fashion, followed by another convincing victory in Game 3 in Chicago. In all 3 games, the Bulls looked severely outmatched against the more experienced Pistons squad. Expectations were low for the Bulls, since no NBA team has ever won a seven-game series after being down 3–0. (It has only happened five times total in sports history, the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1975 New York Islanders, 2004 Boston Red Sox, 2010 Philadelphia Flyers and 2014 Los Angeles Kings.) Despite the huge obstacle, the Bulls rallied to take Game 4 in a romp, and then proceeded to shock everyone with a blow-out victory in Detroit in Game 5. Despite the renewed momentum, the Pistons' playoff experience ultimately won out as they closed out the Bulls in a 95-85 Game 6 win. The Pistons advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth straight year. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (6) New Jersey Nets #eee May 6 Recap New Jersey Nets 77 81 Cleveland Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio ABC 20–23 21–20 18–16 18–22 Vince Carter 21 LeBron James 21 Vince Carter 13 Gooden, Ilgauskas 14 each Jason Kidd 9 LeBron James 7 Luis Grillo, Steve Javie, Jack Nies 1:00 pm 20,562 Cleveland leads series, 1–0 #fff May 8 Recap New Jersey Nets 92 102 Cleveland Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio TNT 28–24 17–24 28–26 19–28 Vince Carter 26 LeBron James 36 Jason Kidd 10 Drew Gooden 14 Jason Kidd 8 LeBron James 12 Ken Mauer, Bennett Salvatore, Michael Smith 8:00 pm 20,562 Cleveland leads series, 2–0 #eee May 12 Recap Cleveland Cavaliers 85 96 New Jersey Nets Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey ESPN 15–22 28–23 21–28 21–23 Larry Hughes 23 three players 23 each Zydrunas Ilgauskas 8 Jason Kidd 13 LeBron James 12 Jason Kidd 14 Scott Foster, Bernie Fryer, Ron Garretson 5:00 pm 20,032 Cleveland leads series, 2–1 #fff May 14 Recap Cleveland Cavaliers 87 85 New Jersey Nets Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey TNT 19–20 23–26 29–23 16–16 LeBron James 30 Carter, Moore 25 each Zydrunas Ilgauskas 11 Jason Kidd 17 LeBron James 7 Vince Carter 9 Dick Bavetta, Joe Forte, Mark Wunderlich 7:00 pm 20,032 Cleveland leads series, 3–1 #eee May 16 Recap New Jersey Nets 83 72 Cleveland Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio TNT 24–18 23–21 30–20 6–13 Jason Kidd 20 LeBron James 20 Jason Kidd 9 LeBron James 9 Vince Carter 10 LeBron James 5 Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Bob Delaney 8:00 pm 20,562 Cleveland leads series, 3–2 #fff May 18 Recap Cleveland Cavaliers 88 72 New Jersey Nets Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey ESPN 32–15 21–23 8–22 27–12 LeBron James 23 Jason Kidd 19 LeBron James 8 Jason Kidd 12 LeBron James 8 Jason Kidd 8 Jim Clark, Joe DeRosa, Eddie Rush 7:00 pm 20,032 Cleveland wins series, 4–2 +Regular-season seriesCleveland won 2–1 in the regular-season series#fff December 20, 2006 2006 12200 NJN Cleveland Cavaliers 111 New Jersey Nets 113 Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey January 6, 2007 2007 01060 CLE New Jersey Nets 91 Cleveland Cavaliers 96 Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio #fff April 12, 2007 2007 04120 CLE New Jersey Nets 76 Cleveland Cavaliers 94 Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Cavaliers winning the first two meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=NJN&opp_id=CLE&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder —Brooklyn Nets versus Cleveland Cavaliers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016Cleveland leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1992 Cleveland Cavaliers 3 New Jersey Nets 1 1992 Eastern Conference First Round #fff 1993 Cleveland Cavaliers 3 New Jersey Nets 2 1993 Eastern Conference First Round The Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1992, while the Nets lost in the Conference Semifinals in three out of the last four years. Game 6 was the final playoff game at the Continental Airlines Arena, while also the last NBA playoff game ever played in New Jersey (the Prudential Center never hosted an NBA playoff game during the Nets' tenure from 2010 to 2012). New Jersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd averaged a triple double the entire playoffs, scoring 14.6 points, grabbing 10.9 rebounds and dishing out 10.9 assists per game. Western Conference semifinals (2) Phoenix Suns vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs #eee May 6 Recap San Antonio Spurs 111 106 Phoenix Suns US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona ABC 27–26 24–27 26–22 34–31 Tim Duncan 33 Steve Nash 31 Tim Duncan 16 Amar'e Stoudemire 18 Tony Parker 8 Steve Nash 8 James Capers, Bob Delaney, Mark Wunderlich 12:30 pm 18,422 San Antonio leads series, 1–0 #fff May 8 Recap San Antonio Spurs 81 101 Phoenix Suns US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona TNT 25–19 17–30 22–22 17–30 Tim Duncan 29 Amar'e Stoudemire 27 Tim Duncan 11 Shawn Marion 10 Manu Ginóbili 5 Steve Nash 16 Jim Clark, Dan Crawford, Bill Kennedy 7:30 pm 18,422 Series tied, 1–1 #eee May 12 Recap Phoenix Suns 101 108 San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas ABC 30–25 23–30 19–25 29–28 Shawn Marion 26 Tim Duncan 33 Kurt Thomas 12 Tim Duncan 19 Steve Nash 11 Tony Parker 5 Tim Donaghy, Eddie Rush, Greg Willard 7:00 pm 18,797 San Antonio leads series, 2–1 #fff May 14 Recap Phoenix Suns 104 98 San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas TNT 24–22 16–23 32–35 32–18 Amar'e Stoudemire 26 Tony Parker 23 Shawn Marion 12 Tim Duncan 11 Steve Nash 15 Tony Parker 7 Joe DeRosa, Steve Javie, Jack Nies 8:30 pm 18,797 Series tied, 2–2 #eee May 16 Recap San Antonio Spurs 88 85 Phoenix Suns US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona TNT 13–24 20–20 23–18 32–23 Manu Ginóbili 26 Shawn Marion 24 Tim Duncan 12 Shawn Marion 17 Tony Parker 5 Steve Nash 12 Bernie Fryer, Ron Garretson, Michael Smith 7:30 pm 18,422 San Antonio leads series, 3–2 #fff May 18 Recap San Antonio Spurs 114 106 Phoenix Suns AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas San Antonio wins series, 4–2 ESPN 23–23 28–30 16–28 39–33 Amar'e Stoudemire 38 Manu Ginóbili 33 Amar'e Stoudemire 12 Tim Duncan 13 Steve Nash 14 Parker, Ginóbili 6 each Dick Bavetta, Joe Forte, Tom Washington 18,797 9:30 pm +Regular-season seriesSan Antonio won 2–1 in the regular-season series#fff November 8, 2006 2006 11080 SAS Phoenix Suns 106 San Antonio Spurs 111 OT AT&T Center, San Antonio February 1, 2007 2007 02010 PHO San Antonio Spurs 87 Phoenix Suns 103 US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona #fff April 5, 2007 2007 04050 SAS Phoenix Suns 85 San Antonio Spurs 92 AT&T Center, San Antonio This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning four of the first seven meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=PHO&opp_id=SAS&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Phoenix Suns versus San Antonio Spurs (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016 San Antonio leads 4–3 in all-time playoff series#fff 1992 Phoenix Suns 3 San Antonio Spurs 0 1992 Western Conference First Round #fff 1993 Phoenix Suns 4 San Antonio Spurs 2 1993 Western Conference Semifinals #fff 1996 Phoenix Suns 1 San Antonio Spurs 3 1996 Western Conference First Round #fff 1998 Phoenix Suns 1 San Antonio Spurs 3 1998 Western Conference First Round #fff 2000 Phoenix Suns 3 San Antonio Spurs 1 2000 Western Conference First Round #fff 2003 Phoenix Suns 2 San Antonio Spurs 4 2003 Western Conference First Round #fff 2005 Phoenix Suns 1 San Antonio Spurs 4 2005 Western Conference Finals The highly anticipated match-up between the high-powered Phoenix Suns, led by 2-time MVP Steve Nash, and the San Antonio Spurs, led by 3-time Finals MVP Tim Duncan, had high expectations before the series tip-off. The Suns were looking to make the conference finals for the third straight year, and also looking for their first Finals berth since 1993. The Spurs on the other hand, were looking for their third trip in five years, and their fourth NBA title overall. The series received international interest with a playoff-record of 12 players originating outside the US.espn.com, Spurs-Suns series highlights NBA's international scope When the series ended, it had become one of the most hotly contested and controversial series in recent NBA history. The Suns had their home court advantage quickly taken away as the Spurs took a tight Game 1, a game that saw Nash missing the final minutes for Phoenix due to a gash to his nose, which bled profusely. Nash and the Suns recovered to take Game 2 but after the game, Suns forward Amar'e Stoudemire accused the Spurs, especially Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginóbili, of being a dirty team. Despite the added scrutiny by the media circles, the Spurs won Game 3. The Suns, trying to overcome their recent failures against Texas teams in the playoffs, willed themselves to a come-from-behind victory in Game 4 to tie the series at 2. However, the celebration was short-lived. In the closing minute of Game 4, with the Suns up 3, Nash brought up the ball and was body-checked into the press table by Robert Horry. Immediately following this, Amar'e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw stood up and went to check on their fallen teammate. As Horry was walking away, Raja Bell ran up to him, in defense of Nash, and was elbowed in the head. Horry was assessed a flagrant foul and then ejected. A technical foul was called on Bell. For his actions, Horry received a two-game suspension. Although they were not directly involved, Stoudemire and Diaw were suspended, one game each, for leaving the bench during an altercation. Severely undermanned, the Suns came into Game 5 with the task of beating the Spurs without their star big man. Although the Suns were able to control most of the game without the suspended players, even taking a 16-point lead on the Spurs at one point, the Spurs came back to win an incredibly close Game 5. Diaw and Stoudemire did return for the Suns in Game 6, though that didn't help the Suns to force a Game 7 and the Spurs eliminated them to advance to the Western Conference Finals with a 114–106 win. (4) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Golden State Warriors #eee May 7 Recap Golden State Warriors 112 116 Utah Jazz EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City TNT 35–37 31–26 23–21 23–32 Baron Davis 24 Deron Williams 31 Barnes, Richardson 10 each Carlos Boozer 20 Baron Davis 7 Deron Williams 8 Monty McCutchen, Eddie Rush, Greg Willard 8:30 pm 19,911 Utah leads series, 1–0 #fff May 9 Recap Golden State Warriors 117 127 OT Utah Jazz EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah TNT 31–28 27–35 31–27 24–23 4–14 Baron Davis 36 Carlos Boozer 30 Matt Barnes 7 Mehmet Okur 18 Baron Davis 7 Deron Williams 14 Joe DeRosa, Scott Foster, Steve Javie 7:00 pm 19,911 Utah leads series, 2–0 #eee May 11 Recap Utah Jazz 105 125 Golden State Warriors Oracle Arena, Oakland, California ESPN 27–30 22–40 36–34 20–21 Carlos Boozer 19 Baron Davis 32 Carlos Boozer 11 Andris Biedriņš 13 Deron Williams 6 Baron Davis 9 Dick Bavetta, Jim Clark, Sean Corbin 6:00 pm 20,655 Utah leads series, 2–1 #fff May 13 Recap Utah Jazz 115 101 Golden State Warriors Oracle Arena, Oakland, California TNT 25–23 25–26 25–29 40–23 Carlos Boozer 34 Jackson, Harrington 24 each Carlos Boozer 12 Andris Biedriņš 10 Deron Williams 13 Baron Davis 7 Tony Brothers, Mike Callahan, Tom Washington 6:00 pm 20,679 Utah leads series, 3–1 #eee May 15 Recap Utah Jazz 100 87 Golden State Warriors EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah Utah wins series, 4–1 TNT 32–29 22–23 19–25 14–23 Baron Davis 21 Boozer, Kirilenko 21 each Jason Richardson 8 Carlos Boozer 14 Baron Davis 8 Deron Williams 7 James Capers, Ken Mauer, Bennett Salvatore 19,911 8:30 pm +Regular-season seriesTied 2–2 in the regular-season series#fff November 4, 2006 2006 11040 UTA Golden State Warriors 82 Utah Jazz 106 EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City November 25, 2006 2006 11250 GSW Utah Jazz 78 Golden State Warriors 91 Oracle Arena, Oakland, California #fff March 20, 2007 2007 03200 UTA Golden State Warriors 100 Utah Jazz 104 EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City April 9, 2007 2007 04090 GSW Utah Jazz 102 Golden State Warriors 126 Oracle Arena, Oakland, California This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Warriors winning the first two meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=GSW&opp_id=UTA&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016Golden State leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1987 Golden State Warriors 3 Utah Jazz 2 1987 Western Conference First Round #fff 1989 Golden State Warriors 3 Utah Jazz 0 1989 Western Conference First Round thumb|150px|The Warriors play the Jazz at Oracle Arena in Game 3. Fresh off their stunning upset of the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks, the Golden State Warriors faced a very different team in Utah. The Warriors continued the frantic style of play they exhibited against the Mavericks, but the Jazz, a more defensive-minded team, managed to shut them down to take Game 1. The Warriors tried to bounce back in Game 2, and took the Jazz to overtime. But the Jazz were able to prevail, due to the inspired clutch play of guard Derek Fisher, who arrived at halftime after being with his family in New York City because of his daughter's emergency eye cancer surgery. The series shifted back to Oakland and the raucous Oracle Arena crowd, which lifted the Warriors to a resounding blowout in Game 3, a game which saw the Warriors hit a playoff record 11 threes in the first half. However, the Jazz shrugged off the crowd and handed the Warriors their only playoff home loss of the year in Game 4. The Warriors' playoff run ended as the Jazz finished them off in Game 5. The Jazz advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1998. Conference finals Eastern Conference finals (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers #eee May 21 Recap Cleveland Cavaliers 76 79 Detroit Pistons The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan Detroit leads series, 1–0 TNT 24–19 17–16 14–21 21–23 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 22 Richard Hamilton 24 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 13 Rasheed Wallace 12 LeBron James 9 Tayshaun Prince 9 Steve Javie, Ken Mauer, Greg Willard 22,076 8:00 pm #fff May 24 Recap Cleveland Cavaliers 76 79 Detroit Pistons The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan Detroit leads series, 2–0 TNT 16–20 34–18 13–22 13–19 LeBron James 19 Rasheed Wallace 16 Anderson Varejão 14 Rasheed Wallace 11 LeBron James 7 Chauncey Billups 6 Jim Clark, Bernie Fryer, Mark Wunderlich 22,076 8:00 pm #eee May 27 Recap Detroit Pistons 82 88 Cleveland Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Detroit leads series, 2–1 TNT 22–22 21–24 20–16 19–26 Rasheed Wallace 16 LeBron James 32 Antonio McDyess 9 LeBron James 9 three players 3 each LeBron James 9 Dick Bavetta, Scott Foster, Tom Washington 20,562 8:30 pm #fff May 29 Recap Detroit Pistons 87 91 Cleveland Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Series tied, 2–2 TNT 22–26 21–24 24–15 20–26 Chauncey Billups 23 LeBron James 25 Chauncey Billups 9 Drew Gooden 8 Tayshaun Prince 4 LeBron James 11 Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Joe Forte 20,562 8:00 pm #eee May 31 Recap Cleveland Cavaliers 109 107 2OT Detroit Pistons The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan Cleveland leads series, 3–2 TNT 23–29 28–23 19–18 21–21 9–9, 9–7 LeBron James 48 Richard Hamilton 26 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 16 Tayshaun Prince 9 LeBron James 7 Richard Hamilton 5 Bob Delaney, Ron Garretson, Bennett Salvatore 22,076 8:00 pm #fff June 2 Recap Detroit Pistons 82 98 Cleveland Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland wins series, 4–2 TNT 21–27 27–21 18–19 16–31 Richard Hamilton 29 Daniel Gibson 31 three players 6 each LeBron James 14 Tayshaun Prince 6 LeBron James 8 Joe DeRosa, Jack Nies, Eddie Rush 20,562 8:30 pm +Regular-season seriesDetroit won 3–1 in the regular-season series#fff December 21, 2006 2006 12210 CLE Detroit Pistons 87 Cleveland Cavaliers 71 Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio February 4, 2007 2007 02040 CLE Detroit Pistons 90 Cleveland Cavaliers 78 Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio #fff March 7, 2007 2007 03070 DET Cleveland Cavaliers 101 Detroit Pistons 97 OT The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan April 8, 2007 2007 04080 DET Cleveland Cavaliers 82 Detroit Pistons 87 The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning the first meeting. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=CLE&opp_id=DET&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Cleveland Cavaliers versus Detroit Pistons (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016Detroit leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 2006 Cleveland Cavaliers 3 Detroit Pistons 4 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinals In a rematch of the thrilling 2006 second-round series, the Pistons and Cavaliers matched up was a closely contested series in NBA history, with the first five games being decided by six points or less. The spotlight fell on LeBron James. Despite gaining some momentum in the opening games of the series against the experienced Pistons, key last-second decisions by James led to Cleveland losses in Games 1 and 2 in Detroit, by identical scores, in which Cleveland led for most of the two games. They faced a 0–2 deficit for the second straight year, but would be acknowledged from the year before that they could win three straight games to get back into the series. With media circles on his back for his complacency in these games (James had a then playoff career low 10 points in Game 1), James came back to will the Cavs to close victories in Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland, evening the series at 2. The series shifted back to Detroit for a Game 5 that proved to be one of the most memorable postseason games in recent NBA history. In a match that went into double overtime, the Cavaliers stunned the Pistons on their home court, thanks to LeBron James' playoff career-high 48-point performance. James scored the Cavaliers' final 25 points, including all 18 points in overtime, forced the second OT with a driving dunk and made a driving layup with 2.2 seconds left in the second OT to silence the Palace crowd. A game tying buzzer beater by Chauncey Billups rimmed out making it two straight 2-point wins at the Palace in Game 5. The Cavaliers took advantage of their home court in 2007 and exploded in Game 6 to close out the Pistons, and to clinch the franchise's first trip to the NBA Finals (in the process denying a rematch of the 2005 NBA Finals between the Pistons and Spurs). Rookie Daniel Gibson scored a career-high 31 points, including five 3-pointers, to lift the Cavs in the second half behind a roaring home crowd. Detroit would lose a record-tying 12 consecutive postseason games against Cleveland, a drought that did not end until the 2026 Eastern Conference Semifinals.Collier Jamal 2026-05-06 Pistons beat Cavaliers in Game 1 of Eastern Conference semis https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/48689562/pistons-pull-away-beat-cavaliers-game-1-eastern-conference-semifinals 2026-05-06 ESPN.com Western Conference finals (3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Utah Jazz #eee May 20 Recap Utah Jazz 100 108 San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center, San Antonio ABC 20–23 16–31 26–24 38–30 Deron Williams 34 Tim Duncan 27 Carlos Boozer 12 Tim Duncan 10 Deron Williams 9 Manu Ginóbili 10 Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Ron Garretson 2:30 pm 18,300 San Antonio leads series, 1–0 #fff May 22 Recap Utah Jazz 96 105 San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas ESPN 24–26 17–32 24–23 31–24 Carlos Boozer 33 Tim Duncan 26 Carlos Boozer 15 Tim Duncan 14 Deron Williams 10 Tony Parker 14 Sean Corbin, Jack Nies, Bennett Salvatore 8:00 pm 18,797 San Antonio leads series, 2–0 #eee May 26 Recap San Antonio Spurs 83 109 Utah Jazz EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City ABC 23–15 24–28 20–32 16–34 Tony Parker 25 Deron Williams 31 Tim Duncan 8 Carlos Boozer 12 Tony Parker 7 Deron Williams 8 Bob Delaney, Monty McCutchen, Eddie Rush 6:30 pm 19,911 San Antonio leads series, 2–1 #fff May 28 Recap San Antonio Spurs 91 79 Utah Jazz EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah ESPN 21–20 29–22 13–20 28–17 Manu Ginóbili 22 Deron Williams 27 Fabricio Oberto 11 Carlos Boozer 9 Jacque Vaughn 4 Deron Williams 10 Steve Javie, Joe DeRosa, Ken Mauer 7:00 pm 19,911 San Antonio leads series, 3–1 #eee May 30 Recap Utah Jazz 84 109 San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas San Antonio wins series, 4–1 ESPN 15–34 24–21 17–28 28–26 Andrei Kirilenko 13 Duncan, Parker 21 each Carlos Boozer 12 Fabricio Oberto 10 Carlos Boozer 4 Jacque Vaughn 6 Bernie Fryer, Tom Washington, Greg Willard 18,797 8:00 pm +Regular-season seriesTied 2–2 in the regular-season series#fff November 29, 2006 2006 11290 UTA San Antonio Spurs 75 Utah Jazz 83 EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City December 28, 2006 2006 12280 SAS Utah Jazz 83 San Antonio Spurs 106 AT&T Center, San Antonio #fff January 31, 2007 2007 01310 UTA San Antonio Spurs 93 Utah Jazz 97 EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City March 30, 2007 2007 03300 SAS Utah Jazz 93 San Antonio Spurs 102 AT&T Center, San Antonio This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning the first three meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=SAS&opp_id=UTA&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — San Antonio Spurs versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016Utah leads 3–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1994 San Antonio Spurs 1 Utah Jazz 3 1994 Western Conference First Round #fff 1996 San Antonio Spurs 2 Utah Jazz 4 1996 Western Conference Semifinals #fff 1998 San Antonio Spurs 1 Utah Jazz 4 1998 Western Conference Semifinals For the first time since 1990, neither the #1 nor #2 seed participated in the Western Conference Finals. However, the series pitted youth against experience as the up-and-coming Utah Jazz faced off against the seasoned San Antonio Spurs. Coming into the series, the Jazz were not given much of a chance due to their inexperience. However, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and the Jazz were able to hold their own against San Antonio for a good part of the series. Unfortunately, it was not enough. The series' first 2 games – both San Antonio home victories – saw the Spurs blow big first-half leads and the Jazz mount last-gasp rallies that were thwarted by San Antonio's clutch shooting. When the Spurs' 19-point first-half lead dwindled to 95-87 late in the fourth quarter of Game 1, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginóbili came through with timely shots down the stretch. When San Antonio's 22-point edge shrank to 83-76 late in Game 2, Bruce Bowen broke Utah's rhythm with a 3 from the left corner and another from the right to end the threat. The Jazz, who were undefeated at home in the postseason coming into the series, had their most cohesive effort in a 109-83 Game 3 rout. Utah pestered Duncan into early foul trouble and got baskets from players other than Williams and Boozer, who had combined for 57.7% of their team's points through the first two games. But Jazz fans' euphoria over the team's only series victory gave way to frustration in Game 4 – with most of it aimed at Ginóbili and his flopping. 11 of his 16 fourth-quarter points came at the foul line in an ugly overall team performance in which the Spurs made more free throws (30) than field goals (28). Contributing to that discrepancy were four technical fouls called against Utah in the fourth. The subsequent ejections of Utah head coach Jerry Sloan and Jazz guard Derek Fisher had a charged-up EnergySolutions Arena crowd raining debris onto the court in protest. The unflappable Spurs responded with yet another commanding start in Game 5. They outscored the Jazz by 19 in the first quarter and led by as many as 29. Not even another late-game arrival of Fisher (from New York again) could help the Jazz enough and the Spurs won a 109–84 series-clinching victory and an eventual date in the NBA Finals with the Cavaliers. NBA Finals: (W3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (E2) Cleveland Cavaliers 2007 NBA Finals #eee June 7 8:00 pm Recap Cleveland Cavaliers 76 85 San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas ABC 15–20 20–20 14–24 27–21 Daniel Gibson 16 Tony Parker 27 LeBron James 7 Tim Duncan 13 James, Gibson 4 each Tony Parker 7 Mike Callahan, Steve Javie, Ken Mauer 18,797 San Antonio leads series, 1–0 #fff June 10 8:00 pm Recap Cleveland Cavaliers 92 103 San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas ABC 17–28 16–30 29–31 30–14 LeBron James 25 Tony Parker 30 Anderson Varejão 10 Duncan, Horry 9 each LeBron James 6 Tim Duncan 8 Dick Bavetta, Jim Clark, Joe DeRosa 18,797 San Antonio leads series, 2–0 #eee June 12 9:00 pm Recap San Antonio Spurs 75 72 Cleveland Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio ABC 16–18 24–20 15–12 20–22 Tony Parker 17 LeBron James 25 Bowen, Duncan 9 each Zydrunas Ilgauskas 18 Manu Ginóbili 5 LeBron James 7 Dan Crawford, Bob Delaney, Bernie Fryer 20,562 San Antonio leads series, 3–0 #fff June 14 9:00 pm Recap San Antonio Spurs 83 82 Cleveland Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio ABC 19–20 20–14 21–18 23–30 Manu Ginóbili 27 LeBron James 24 Tim Duncan 15 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 13 three players 3 each LeBron James 10 Joe Forte, Eddie Rush, Bennett Salvatore 20,562 San Antonio wins series 4–0 +Regular-season seriesCleveland won 2–0 in the regular-season series#fff November 3, 2006 2006 11030 SAS Cleveland Cavaliers 88 San Antonio Spurs 81 AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas January 2, 2007 2007 01020 CLE San Antonio Spurs 78 Cleveland Cavaliers 82 Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio This was the first playoff meeting between the Cavaliers and the Spurs.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=CLE&opp_id=SAS&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Cleveland Cavaliers versus San Antonio Spurs (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 22, 2016 The Cavaliers, led by superstar LeBron James, entered the 2007 Finals looking for their first franchise championship, as well as the first championship for a pro team based out of Cleveland since the Cleveland Browns won the 1964 National Football League Championship. However, the Cavs were considered heavy underdogs against the 3-time champion Spurs. The Spurs' veteran leadership and championship experience overwhelmed the Cavs, who were swept by the Spurs after two blowouts in San Antonio and two close games in Cleveland. Statistic leaders Category High AveragePlayer Team Total Player Team Avg. Games played Points LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers 48 Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers 32.8 5 Rebounds Amar'e Stoudemire Phoenix Suns 21 Marcus Camby Denver Nuggets 14.8 5 Assists Steve Nash Phoenix Suns 23 Steve Nash Phoenix Suns 13.3 11 Steals Baron Davis Golden State Warriors 6 Baron Davis Golden State Warriors 2.9 11 Blocks Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurs 9 Marcus Camby Denver Nuggets 3.2 5 Broadcasters section broadcasts for Conference Finals July 2022 Eastern Conference first round National television YearTeamsNetworkPlay-by-play announcer Color analyst(s)Sideline reporter(s)Studio hostStudio analyst(s)2007Cleveland–WashingtonTNT (Games 1, 3)NBA TV (Games 2, 4)Marv Albert Local television YearTeamsNetworkPlay-by-play announcerColor analyst(s)Sideline reporter(s)2007Cleveland–WashingtonFox Sports Ohio and WUAB-TV (Cleveland area)Michael ReghiAustin CarrComcast SportsNet (Washington D.C. area) Local radio YearTeamsFlagship stationPlay-by-playColor commentator(s)2007Detroit–OrlandoWDFN-AM (Detroit)WDBO-AM (Orlando)Chicago–MiamiWCKG-FM (Chicago)WIOD-AM (Miami)Cleveland–WashingtonWTAM-AM (Cleveland)Joe TaitWTEM-AM (Washington)New Jersey–TorontoWFAN-AM (New Jersey)CJCL-AM (Toronto) Western Conference first round Eastern Conference semifinals National television YearTeamsNetworkPlay-by-play announcerColor analyst(s)Sideline reporter(s)Studio hostStudio analyst(s)2007Cleveland–New JerseyABC (Game 1)TNT (Games 2, 4–5)ESPN (Games 3, 6) Local television YearTeamsNetworkPlay-by-play announcerColor analyst(s)Sideline reporter(s)2007Cleveland–New JerseyFox Sports Ohio and WUAB-TV (Cleveland area) (Games 3, 6)YES Network (New Jersey) (New York area) (Games 3, 6) National radio YearTeamsNetworkPlay-by-playColor commentator(s)2007Detroit–ChicagoCleveland–New JerseyESPN (Game 1) Local radio YearTeamsFlagship stationPlay-by-playColor commentator(s)2007Detroit–ChicagoWDFN-AM (Detroit)WCKG-FM (Chicago)Cleveland–New JerseyWTAM-AM (Cleveland)Joe TaitWFAN-AM (New Jersey) Eastern Conference finals Western Conference finals NBA Finals Notes External links Official website of the 2007 NBA Playoffs ESPN's NBA page Category:NBA playoffs Playoffs Category:2007 in basketball Category:2006–07 in basketball Category:2006–07 in North American basketball Category:2006–07 in American basketball Category:2007 in American sports Category:NBA controversies fi:NBA-kausi 2006–2007#Pudotuspelit