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1957 NBA playoffs

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1957 NBA playoffs
Tournament details
DatesMarch 14–April 13, 1957
Season1956–57
Teams6
Final positions
ChampionsBoston Celtics (1st title)
Runner-upSt. Louis Hawks
Semifinalists
← 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; as of 2024, they have won the most NBA titles with 18.

The Celtics and Hawks met in 4 out of 5 NBA Finals from 1957–1961, with the Celtics winning 3 out of 4. While the Hawks' dominance of the Western Division was succeeded by the Los Angeles Lakers afterward, Boston missed the NBA Finals just once between 1957–1969, and won the NBA title in every year but two.

In the division semifinals, the Philadelphia Warriors were swept by the Syracuse Nationals 2–0. This was the first time in NBA history that the defending champions were swept in the opening round. The next time the defending champions were swept in the opening round was in 2007. It was also the only time in which the playoff series leading to the Final resulted in sweeps.

Bracket

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Division SemifinalsDivision FinalsNBA Finals
Eastern Division
E1Boston*3
E3Philadelphia0E2Syracuse0
E2Syracuse2E1Boston*4
Western Division
W1St. Louis*3
W1St. Louis*3
W3Fort Wayne0W2Minneapolis0
W2Minneapolis2
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

Division Tiebreakers

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Western Division Tiebreakers

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Fort Wayne Pistons @ St. Louis Hawks

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March 14
Fort Wayne Pistons 103, St. Louis Hawks 115
Scoring by quarter: 29–21, 18–45, 33–24, 23–25
Pts: George Yardley 26
Rebs: Hutchins, Foust 10 each		 Pts: Jack McMahon 24
Rebs: Cliff Hagan 16
Fort Wayne finishes as the West's #3 seed

Minneapolis Lakers @ St. Louis Hawks

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March 16
Minneapolis Lakers 111, St. Louis Hawks 114 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 19–22, 24–21, 29–27, 28–30, Overtime: 11–14
Pts: Clyde Lovellette 30
Rebs: Lovellette, Dukes 12 each		 Pts: Cliff Hagan 28
Rebs: Bob Pettit 18
St. Louis finishes as the West's #1 seed, Minneapolis as the West's #2 seed
Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
Referees: Arnie Heft, Jim Duffy

Division Semifinals

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Eastern Division Semifinals

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(2) Syracuse Nationals vs. (3) Philadelphia Warriors

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March 16
Syracuse Nationals 103, Philadelphia Warriors 96
Scoring by quarter: 24–27, 24–21, 23–18, 32–30
Pts: Red Kerr 25
Rebs: Red Kerr 21
Asts: Dolph Schayes 6		 Pts: Neil Johnston 25
Rebs: Neil Johnston 26
Asts: George Dempsey 8
Syracuse leads series, 1–0
March 18
Philadelphia Warriors 80, Syracuse Nationals 91
Scoring by quarter: 17–20, 20–15, 16–23, 27–33
Pts: Joe Graboski 16
Rebs: Walt Davis 10
Asts: Neil Johnston 5		 Pts: Red Kerr 22
Rebs: Dolph Schayes 20
Asts: Schayes, Conlin 4 each
Syracuse wins series, 2–0

This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers/Nationals winning three of the first four meetings.

Western Division Semifinals

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(2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Fort Wayne Pistons

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March 17
Fort Wayne Pistons 127, Minneapolis Lakers 131
Scoring by quarter: 32–41, 37–29, 28–37, 30–24
Pts: George Yardley 34 Pts: Clyde Lovellette 30
Minneapolis leads series, 1–0
March 19
Minneapolis Lakers 110, Fort Wayne Pistons 108
Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 27–23, 30–24, 28–33
Pts: Slick Leonard 19 Pts: Larry Foust 30
Minneapolis wins series, 2–0

This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning three of the first four meetings.

Division Finals

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Eastern Division Finals

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(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Syracuse Nationals

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March 21
Syracuse Nationals 90, Boston Celtics 108
Scoring by quarter: 27–22, 17–31, 20–30, 26–25
Pts: Dolph Schayes 21
Rebs: Dolph Schayes 23		 Pts: Frank Ramsey 20
Rebs: Bill Russell 31
Boston leads series, 1–0
March 23
Boston Celtics 120, Syracuse Nationals 105
Scoring by quarter: 31–26, 23–23, 26–27, 40–29
Pts: Tom Heinsohn 30
Rebs: Bill Russell 30		 Pts: Dolph Schayes 31
Rebs: Dolph Schayes 15
Boston leads series, 2–0
March 24
Syracuse Nationals 80, Boston Celtics 83
Scoring by quarter: 19–23, 17–18, 23–22, 21–20
Pts: Dolph Schayes 22
Rebs: Dolph Schayes 17		 Pts: Bill Sharman 23
Rebs: Bill Russell 23
Boston wins series, 3–0

This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nationals winning four of the first five meetings.

Western Division Finals

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(1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Minneapolis Lakers

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March 21
Minneapolis Lakers 109, St. Louis Hawks 118
Scoring by quarter: 23–30, 26–31, 37–27, 23–30
Pts: Vern Mikkelsen 24
Rebs: Clyde Lovellette 11
Asts: Slick Leonard 9		 Pts: Slater Martin 24
Rebs: Bob Pettit 16
Asts: Jack McMahon 9
St. Louis leads series, 1–0
March 24
Minneapolis Lakers 104, St. Louis Hawks 106
Scoring by quarter: 25–26, 24–25, 30–26, 25–29
Pts: Clyde Lovellette 33
Rebs: Walter Dukes 20		 Pts: Bob Pettit 30
Rebs: Jack Coleman 15
St. Louis leads series, 2–0
Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 9,451
Referees: Sid Borgia, Lou Bonder
March 25
St. Louis Hawks 143, Minneapolis Lakers 135 (2OT)
Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 28–26, 27–32, 38–33, Overtime: 17–17, 12–4
Pts: Bob Pettit 35 Pts: Slick Leonard 42
St. Louis wins series, 3–0

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning the first meeting.

NBA Finals: (E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W1) St. Louis Hawks

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Main article: 1957 NBA Finals
March 30
St. Louis Hawks 125, Boston Celtics 123 (2OT)
Scoring by quarter: 31–21, 18–26, 22–27, 31–28, Overtime: 11–11, 12–10
Pts: Bob Pettit 37
Rebs: Bob Pettit 14		 Pts: Bill Sharman 36
Rebs: Bill Russell 18
St. Louis leads series, 1–0
  • Tom Heinsohn hits the game-tying lay-up with 6 seconds left in regulation to force the first OT; Bob Cousy hits the game-tying shot with 15 seconds left in the first OT to force the second OT.
March 31
St. Louis Hawks 99, Boston Celtics 119
Scoring by quarter: 21–31, 22–31, 27–32, 29–25
Pts: Ed Macauley 19
Rebs: Bob Pettit 13
Asts: Slick Leonard 4		 Pts: Cousy, Ramsey 22 each
Rebs: Bill Russell 25
Asts: Bob Cousy 7
Series tied, 1–1
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,909
Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Sid Borgia
April 6
Boston Celtics 98, St. Louis Hawks 100
Scoring by quarter: 19–19, 25–21, 28–29, 26–31
Pts: Bill Sharman 28
Rebs: Bill Russell 19
Asts: Bob Cousy 8		 Pts: Bob Pettit 26
Rebs: Bob Pettit 28
Asts: three players 5 each
St. Louis leads series, 2–1
Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 10,048
  • Bob Pettit hits the game-winner with 45 seconds left.
April 7
Boston Celtics 123, St. Louis Hawks 118
Scoring by quarter: 31–36, 35–17, 30–37, 27–28
Pts: Bob Cousy 31
Rebs: Bill Russell 20
Asts: Arnie Risen 9		 Pts: Bob Pettit 33
Rebs: Bob Pettit 16
Asts: Martin, Hagan 6 each
Series tied, 2–2
Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 10,035
Referees: Sid Borgia, Arnie Heft
April 9
St. Louis Hawks 109, Boston Celtics 124
Scoring by quarter: 30–21, 30–38, 25–35, 24–30
Pts: Bob Pettit 33
Rebs: Bob Pettit 15
Asts: Med Park 6		 Pts: Bill Sharman 32
Rebs: Bill Russell 23
Asts: Bob Cousy 19
Boston leads series, 3–2
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,909
April 11
Boston Celtics 94, St. Louis Hawks 96
Scoring by quarter: 23–22, 28–27, 27–28, 16–19
Pts: Tom Heinsohn 28
Rebs: Bill Russell 23		 Pts: Bob Pettit 32
Rebs: Bob Pettit 23
Series tied, 3–3
Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 10,053
Referees: Sid Borgia, Arnie Heft
April 13
St. Louis Hawks 123, Boston Celtics 125 (2OT)
Scoring by quarter: 28–26, 25–25, 24–32, 26–20, Overtime: 10–10, 10–12
Pts: Bob Pettit 39
Rebs: Bob Pettit 19
Asts: Martin, Coleman 7 each		 Pts: Tom Heinsohn 37
Rebs: Bill Russell 32
Asts: Bob Cousy 11
Boston wins series, 4–3
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,909
  • Bob Pettit hits the game-tying free throws with 7 seconds left in regulation to force the first OT; Jack Coleman makers the game-tying basket with 9 seconds left in the first OT to force the second OT. Bob Pettit misses the game-tying shot at the buzzer to force a third OT.
  • Only NBA Finals Game 7 to date to go past the first overtime, and as of 2021, the only Game 7 in NBA history to go past the first overtime.

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  2. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  4. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Boston Celtics (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
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