1954 NBA playoffs

Postseason tournament August 2023 NBA playoffs 1954 1953–54 March 16 – April 12, 1954 6 Minneapolis Lakers 5 Syracuse Nationals Rochester Royals Boston Celtics 1953 1955 The 1954 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1953–54 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Minneapolis Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Syracuse Nationals 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. For the Lakers, it was their third straight NBA title, and fifth in the last six years. With the folding of the Indianapolis Olympians after the previous year's playoffs, leaving the NBA with nine teams, they resorted to a round-robin playoff format in 1954 for the only time in league history. Although the Minneapolis Lakers, Fort Wayne Pistons, Rochester Royals and Syracuse Nationals all play in different cities now (Los Angeles, Detroit, Sacramento and Philadelphia respectively), this is the earliest NBA playoff in which every team that participated still exists today. Bracket main 3 3 3,7 3.5,7.5 5.5 (3.5,7.5)-5.5 Division Round Robin Semifinals Division Finals NBA Finals Eastern Division Western Division E1 New York* 0–4 E2 Boston 2–2 E3 Syracuse 4–0 W1 Minneapolis* 3–0 W2 Rochester 2–1 W3 Fort Wayne 0–4 E1 Syracuse 2 E2 Boston 0 W1 Minneapolis* 2 W2 Rochester 1 E1 Syracuse 3 W1 Minneapolis* 4* Division winner Bold Series winner (Division Round Robin Semifinals: top 2 advanced) Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals Division Round Robin Semifinals Within each division, the top three teams in the season standings played a double round robin, comprising one home game in each city for each pair of teams, in order to eliminate one of the three participants. A three-way tie with two wins each would have secured home-court advantage in the Division Finals for New York or Minneapolis, who finished first in the season standings, against an opponent to be determined by one further game played with the season runner-up as host. In the event, neither round-robin generated even a two-way tie, so no seventh game was required in either Division. Two of three teams advanced to the Division Finals. The second game between Minneapolis and Rochester—the sixth and final Western Division game scheduled—was not played because both teams had qualified for the Division Final and Minneapolis had secured home-court advantage in that series. The sixth and final Eastern Division game scheduled, Boston at Syracuse, was played because home-court advantage in their subsequent Division Final hadn't been determined. Both teams had won 42 season games and Boston had won by coin flip the edge in case of a tie in the round-robin stage. Eastern Division Round Robin Semifinals (1) New York Knicks, (2) Boston Celtics, (3) Syracuse Nationals auto + Eastern Division Team W L Syracuse Nationals 4 0 Boston Celtics 2 2 New York Knicks 0 4 #eee March 16 Boxscore Boston Celtics 93 New York Knicks 71 16–15 32–12 24–19 21–25 Cousy, Sharman 22 each Bob Cousy 10 Carl Braun 18 Simmons, Baechtold 3 each Sid Borgia, Mendy Rudolph Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan, New York March 17 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 96 Boston Celtics 95 OT 15–17 18–15 26–24 22–25 15–14 Dolph Schayes 20 Dolph Schayes 13 Earl Lloyd 8 Bob Cousy 32 three players 10 each Jack Nichols 10 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts #eee March 18 Boxscore New York Knicks 68 Syracuse Nationals 75 15–16 20–25 14–19 19–15 Harry Gallatin 15 Harry Gallatin 20 Jim Baechtold 5 Dolph Schayes 23 Dolph Schayes 16 Paul Seymour 6 Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York March 20 Boxscore New York Knicks 78 Boston Celtics 79 17–15 24–21 16–19 21–24 Harry Gallatin 15 Braun, Simmons 3 each Bill Sharman 26 Cousy, Nichols 6 each Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Syracuse & Boston clinch berth to Division Finals, New York eliminated #eee March 21 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 103 New York Knicks 99 22–25 15–19 32–26 34–29 Dolph Schayes 36 Dolph Schayes 21 Paul Seymour 6 Carl Braun 32 Nat Clifton 16 Carl Braun 6 Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan, New York Jocko Collins, Charles Eckman With the Knicks having already been mathematically eliminated from contention, this is the only playoff game to date in which one team had nothing to play for. This contest only contributed towards who would have home-court advantage in the Division Finals between the Nationals and Celtics. March 22 Boxscore Boston Celtics 85 Syracuse Nationals 98 19–27 23–18 21–26 22–27 Bob Cousy 25 Jack Nichols 12 Bob Cousy 8 Dolph Schayes 25 Dolph Schayes 16 Paul Seymour 7 Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Syracuse finishes as East's #1 seed in Division Finals, Boston finishes as the East's #2 seed This was the fourth playoff meeting between the Celtics and Knicks, with the Knicks winning two of the first three meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=BOS&opp_id=NYK&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus New York Knicks (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021New York leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1951 Boston Celtics 0 New York Knicks 2 1951 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1952 Boston Celtics 1 New York Knicks 2 1952 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1953 Boston Celtics 1 New York Knicks 3 1953 Eastern Division Finals This was the second playoff meeting between the Celtics and Nationals, with the Celtics winning the first meeting. +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, 2021Boston leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1953 Boston Celtics 2 Syracuse Nationals 0 1953 Eastern Division Semifinals This was the fourth playoff meeting between the Knicks and Nationals, with the Knicks winning two of the first three 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, 2021New York leads 2–1 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 Western Division Round Robin Semifinals (1) Minneapolis Lakers, (2) Rochester Royals, (3) Fort Wayne Pistons auto + Western Division Team W L Minneapolis Lakers 3 0 Rochester Royals 2 1 Fort Wayne Pistons 0 4 #eee March 16 Boxscore Fort Wayne Pistons 75 Rochester Royals 82 13–19 15–21 23–14 24–28 George Yardley 20 Bobby Wanzer 18 Edgerton Park Arena, Rochester, New York March 17 Boxscore Rochester Royals 88 Minneapolis Lakers 109 21–29 17–34 23–22 27–24 Arnie Risen 21 Slater Martin 24 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Jocko Collins, Bill Biebel #eee March 18 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 90 Fort Wayne Pistons 85 22–21 19–20 27–20 22–24 George Mikan 28 Frankie Brian 20 War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana Minneapolis clinches berth to Division Finals March 20 Boxscore Fort Wayne Pistons 73 Minneapolis Lakers 78 19–21 15–22 15–15 24–20 Max Zaslofsky 15 George Mikan 21 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Sid Borgia, Stan Stutz Minneapolis finishes as the West's #1 seed in Division Finals #eee March 21 Boxscore Rochester Royals 89 Fort Wayne Pistons 71 19–14 17–14 26–15 27–28 Bobby Wanzer 14 George Yardley 16 War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana Rochester finishes as the West's #2 seed in Division Finals, Fort Wayne eliminated The contest originally scheduled for March 23 (Minneapolis @ Rochester) was not played due to first place finishers owning a tiebreaker, and thus the final positions in the round-robin were already locked in. This was the fourth playoff meeting between the Lakers and Royals, with the Lakers winning two of the first three meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=LAL&opp_id=SAC&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Sacramento Kings (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021Minneapolis leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1949 Minneapolis Lakers 2 Rochester Royals 0 1949 Western Division Finals #fff 1951 Minneapolis Lakers 1 Rochester Royals 3 1951 Western Division Finals #fff 1952 Minneapolis Lakers 3 Rochester Royals 1 1952 Western Division Finals This was the fifth playoff meeting between the Royals and Pistons, with both teams splitting the first four meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=DET&opp_id=SAC&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Sacramento Kings (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021Tied 2–2 in all-time playoff series#fff 1950 Fort Wayne Pistons 2 Rochester Royals 0 1950 Central Division Semifinals #fff 1951 Fort Wayne Pistons 1 Rochester Royals 2 1951 Western Division Semifinals #fff 1952 Fort Wayne Pistons 0 Rochester Royals 2 1952 Western Division Semifinals #fff 1953 Fort Wayne Pistons 2 Rochester Royals 0 1953 Western Division Semifinals This was the third playoff meeting between the Pistons and Lakers, with the Lakers winning the first two 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 2–0 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 Division Finals Eastern Division Finals (1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (2) Boston Celtics #eee March 25 Boxscore Boston Celtics 94 Syracuse Nationals 109 30–25 14–28 22–27 28–29 Jack Nichols 28 Jack Nichols 9 Bill Sharman 5 Dolph Schayes 27 Dolph Schayes 21 Bill Gabor 6 Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Syracuse leads series, 1–0 March 27 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 83 Boston Celtics 76 21–21 19–29 24–16 19–10 Wally Osterkorn 16 George King 8 Bill Sharman 20 Bob Cousy 6 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Syracuse wins series, 2–0 This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams following the round-robin, with both teams splitting the first two meetings. +Previous playoff seriesTied 1–1 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 Western Division Finals (1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (2) Rochester Royals #eee March 24 Boxscore Rochester Royals 76 Minneapolis Lakers 89 17–20 16–20 24–24 19–25 Wanzer, Coleman 17 each George Mikan 28 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Chuck Eckman, Jocko Collins Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 March 27 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 73 Rochester Royals 74 12–16 16–20 24–17 21–21 George Mikan 17 Bobby Wanzer 16 Edgerton Park Arena, Rochester, New York Series tied, 1–1 #eee March 28 Boxscore Rochester Royals 72 Minneapolis Lakers 82 21–23 16–22 20–20 15–17 Arnie Risen 24 George Mikan 17 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Jocko Collins, Arnie Heft Minneapolis wins series, 2–1 This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams following the round-robin, with the Lakers winning three of the first four meetings. +Previous playoff seriesMinneapolis leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1949 Minneapolis Lakers 2 Rochester Royals 0 1949 Western Division Finals #fff 1951 Minneapolis Lakers 1 Rochester Royals 3 1951 Western Division Finals #fff 1952 Minneapolis Lakers 3 Rochester Royals 1 1952 Western Division Finals #fff 1954 Minneapolis Lakers 1 Rochester Royals 0 1954 Western Division Round Robin Semifinals NBA Finals: (W1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (E1) Syracuse Nationals 1954 NBA Finals #eee March 31 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 68 Minneapolis Lakers 79 13–10 18–24 19–22 18–23 Bob Lavoy 15 Wally Osterkorn 8 Paul Seymour 6 Clyde Lovellette 16 George Mikan 10 Slater Martin 6 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota 4,579 Charles Eckman, Joe Serafin Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 April 3 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 62 Minneapolis Lakers 60 15–15 13–12 20–11 14–22 Wally Osterkorn 20 Wally Osterkorn 17 Lavoy, Seymour 3 each George Mikan 15 George Mikan 15 Vern Mikkelsen 3 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota 6,277 Charles Eckman, Joe Serafin Series tied, 1–1 Paul Seymour hits the game-winner from 43 feet with 7 seconds left. #eee April 4 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 81 Syracuse Nationals 67 24–16 14–17 20–11 23–23 George Mikan 30 George Mikan 15 Slater Martin 7 Bob Lavoy 18 Bob Lavoy 15 Paul Seymour 7 Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York 8,719 Minneapolis leads series, 2–1 April 8 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 69 Syracuse Nationals 80 14–18 20–18 18–21 17–23 Whitey Skoog 16 Jim Pollard 9 Slater Martin 6 Paul Seymour 25 Bob Lavoy 11 Paul Seymour 6 Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York 7,655 Series tied, 2–2 #eee April 10 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 84 Syracuse Nationals 73 22–17 19–14 21–21 22–21 Vern Mikkelsen 21 Mikan, Lovellette 13 each Slater Martin 7 Dolph Schayes 17 Earl Lloyd 8 Paul Seymour 5 Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York 7,283 Minneapolis leads series, 3–2 April 11 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 65 Minneapolis Lakers 63 19–27 19–16 16–6 11–14 Paul Seymour 16 George Mikan 30 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota 6,776 Charles Eckman, Joe Serafin Series tied, 3–3 #eee April 12 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 80 Minneapolis Lakers 87 14–17 18–21 22–27 26–22 Dolph Schayes 18 Jim Pollard 21 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota 7,274 Charles Eckman, Joe Serafin Minneapolis wins series, 4–3 This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=LAL&opp_id=PHI&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021Minneapolis leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1950 Minneapolis Lakers 4 Syracuse Nationals 2 1950 NBA Finals References "NBA Division Playoffs Open Tonight". The Washington Post. March 16, 1954. External links 1954 NBA Playoffs Summary at Basketball-Reference.com Category:NBA playoffs Playoffs fi:NBA-kausi 1953–1954#Pudotuspelit