1957 NBA playoffs

Postseason tournament August 2023 NBA playoffs 1957 1956–57 March 14 – April 13, 1957 6 Boston Celtics 1 St. Louis Hawks Minneapolis Lakers Syracuse Nationals Scoring leader(s) Bob Pettit (Hawks) 29.8 PPG 1956 1958 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. It was the first title in Celtics history; 2026 y, 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 Division Semifinals Division Finals NBA Finals Eastern Division Western Division E3 Philadelphia 0 E2 Syracuse 2 W3 Fort Wayne 0 W2 Minneapolis 2 E1 Boston* 3 E2 Syracuse 0 W1 St. Louis* 3 W2 Minneapolis 0 E1 Boston* 4 W1 St. Louis* 3* Division winner Bold Series winner Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals Division Tiebreakers Western Division Tiebreakers Fort Wayne Pistons @ St. Louis Hawks #eee March 14 Boxscore Fort Wayne Pistons 103 St. Louis Hawks 115 29–21 18–45 33–24 23–25 George Yardley 26 Hutchins, Foust 10 each Jack McMahon 24 Cliff Hagan 16 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Fort Wayne finishes as the West's #3 seed Minneapolis Lakers @ St. Louis Hawks March 16 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 111 St. Louis Hawks 114 OT 19–22 24–21 29–27 28–30 11–14 Clyde Lovellette 30 Lovellette, Dukes 12 each Cliff Hagan 28 Bob Pettit 18 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Arnie Heft, Jim Duffy St. Louis finishes as the West's #1 seed, Minneapolis as the West's #2 seed Division Semifinals Eastern Division Semifinals (2) Syracuse Nationals vs. (3) Philadelphia Warriors #eee March 16 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 103 Philadelphia Warriors 96 24–27 24–21 23–18 32–30 Red Kerr 25 Red Kerr 21 Dolph Schayes 6 Neil Johnston 25 Neil Johnston 26 George Dempsey 8 Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Syracuse leads series, 1–0 March 18 Boxscore Philadelphia Warriors 80 Syracuse Nationals 91 17–20 20–15 16–23 27–33 Joe Graboski 16 Walt Davis 10 Neil Johnston 5 Red Kerr 22 Dolph Schayes 20 Schayes, Conlin 4 each Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York 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. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=GSW&opp_id=PHI&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021Philadelphia 76ers/ Syracuse Nationals leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1950 Philadelphia Warriors 0 Syracuse Nationals 2 1950 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1951 Philadelphia Warriors 0 Syracuse Nationals 2 1951 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1952 Philadelphia Warriors 1 Syracuse Nationals 2 1952 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1956 Philadelphia Warriors 3 Syracuse Nationals 2 1956 Eastern Division Finals Western Division Semifinals (2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Fort Wayne Pistons #eee March 17 Boxscore Fort Wayne Pistons 127 Minneapolis Lakers 131 32–41 37–29 28–37 30–24 George Yardley 34 Clyde Lovellette 30 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 March 19 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 110 Fort Wayne Pistons 108 25–28 27–23 30–24 28–33 Slick Leonard 19 Larry Foust 30 War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana 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. +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 3–1 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 Division Finals Eastern Division Finals (1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Syracuse Nationals #eee March 21 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 90 Boston Celtics 108 27–22 17–31 20–30 26–25 Dolph Schayes 21 Dolph Schayes 23 Frank Ramsey 20 Bill Russell 31 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Boston leads series, 1–0 March 23 Boxscore Boston Celtics 120 Syracuse Nationals 105 31–26 23–23 26–27 40–29 Tom Heinsohn 30 Bill Russell 30 Dolph Schayes 31 Dolph Schayes 15 Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Boston leads series, 2–0 #eee March 24 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 80 Boston Celtics 83 19–23 17–18 23–22 21–20 Dolph Schayes 22 Dolph Schayes 17 Bill Sharman 23 Bill Russell 23 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 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. +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 4–1 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 Western Division Finals (1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Minneapolis Lakers #eee March 21 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 109 St. Louis Hawks 118 23–30 26–31 37–27 23–30 Vern Mikkelsen 24 Clyde Lovellette 11 Slick Leonard 9 Slater Martin 24 Bob Pettit 16 Jack McMahon 9 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri 6,028 St. Louis leads series, 1–0 March 24 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 104 St. Louis Hawks 106 25–26 24–25 30–26 25–29 Clyde Lovellette 33 Walter Dukes 20 Bob Pettit 30 Jack Coleman 15 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri 9,451 Sid Borgia, Lou Bonder St. Louis leads series, 2–0 #eee March 25 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 143 Minneapolis Lakers 135 2OT 21–23 28–26 27–32 38–33 17–17, 12–4 Bob Pettit 35 Slick Leonard 42 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota St. Louis wins series, 3–0 This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning the first meeting. +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 1–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1956 St. Louis Hawks 2 Minneapolis Lakers 1 1956 Western Division Semifinals NBA Finals: (E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W1) St. Louis Hawks 1957 NBA Finals #eee March 30 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 125 Boston Celtics 123 2OT 31–21 18–26 22–27 31–28 11–11, 12–10 Bob Pettit 37 Bob Pettit 14 Bill Sharman 36 Bill Russell 18 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 5,976 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 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 99 Boston Celtics 119 21–31 22–31 27–32 29–25 Ed Macauley 19 Bob Pettit 13 Slick Leonard 4 Cousy, Ramsey 22 each Bill Russell 25 Bob Cousy 7 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 13,909 Mendy Rudolph, Sid Borgia Series tied, 1–1 #eee April 6 Boxscore Boston Celtics 98 St. Louis Hawks 100 19–19 25–21 28–29 26–31 Bill Sharman 28 Bill Russell 19 Bob Cousy 8 Bob Pettit 26 Bob Pettit 28 three players 5 each Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri 10,048 St. Louis leads series, 2–1 Bob Pettit hits the game-winner with 45 seconds left. April 7 Boxscore Boston Celtics 123 St. Louis Hawks 118 31–36 35–17 30–37 27–28 Bob Cousy 31 Bill Russell 20 Arnie Risen 9 Bob Pettit 33 Bob Pettit 16 Martin, Hagan 6 each Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri 10,035 Sid Borgia, Arnie Heft Series tied, 2–2 #eee April 9 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 109 Boston Celtics 124 30–21 30–38 25–35 24–30 Bob Pettit 33 Bob Pettit 15 Med Park 6 Bill Sharman 32 Bill Russell 23 Bob Cousy 19 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 13,909 Boston leads series, 3–2 April 11 Boxscore Boston Celtics 94 St. Louis Hawks 96 23–22 28–27 27–28 16–19 Tom Heinsohn 28 Bill Russell 23 Bob Pettit 32 Bob Pettit 23 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri 10,053 Sid Borgia, Arnie Heft Series tied, 3–3 Cliff Hagan hits the game-winning shot at the buzzer, which is believed to be the first buzzer-beater shot to win a playoff game in NBA history.Game-Winning Buzzer-Beaters https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/buzzer-beaters.html #eee April 13 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 123 Boston Celtics 125 2OT 28–26 25–25 24–32 26–20 10–10, 10–12 Bob Pettit 39 Bob Pettit 19 Martin, Coleman 7 each Tom Heinsohn 37 Bill Russell 32 Bob Cousy 11 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 13,909 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.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=ATL&opp_id=BOS&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Boston Celtics (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021 References External links Basketball-Reference.com's 1957 NBA Playoffs page Category:NBA playoffs Playoffs