1959 NBA playoffs

Last updated

1959 NBA playoffs
Tournament details
DatesMarch 13–April 9, 1959
Season 1958–59
Teams6
Final positions
Champions Boston Celtics (2nd title)
Runner-up Minneapolis Lakers
Semifinalists
←  1958
1960  →

The 1959 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1958-59 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Minneapolis Lakers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. It was the Celtics' second NBA championship.

Contents

This was the first NBA Finals matchup between the Lakers and Celtics; as of 2020, they have met in the Finals 12 times. Boston won the first eight NBA Finals series of the rivalry, spanning 3 decades – the 1950s, 1960s and 1980s – before the Lakers finally defeated Boston for the title in 1985 and again in 1987. Boston again topped the Lakers in 2008, but the Lakers gained revenge in 2010. This was the only Celtics/Lakers NBA Finals series that took place while the Lakers were based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They remained in Minneapolis one more year before moving to their current home of Los Angeles, California.

Bracket

Division SemifinalsDivision FinalsNBA Finals
Eastern Division
E1 Boston *4
E3 Syracuse 2E3 Syracuse 3
E2 New York 0E1 Boston *4
Western Division
W2 Minneapolis 0
W1 St. Louis*2
W3 Detroit 1W2 Minneapolis 4
W2 Minneapolis 2

Division Semifinals

Eastern Division Semifinals

(2) New York Knicks vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals

March 13
Syracuse Nationals 129, New York Knicks 123
Scoring by quarter:36–29, 31–27, 40–38, 22–29
Pts: Dolph Schayes 35Pts: Richie Guerin 24
Syracuse leads series, 1–0
March 15
New York Knicks 115, Syracuse Nationals 131
Scoring by quarter:27–26, 25–37, 25–29, 38–39
Pts: Willie Naulls 26Pts: Red Kerr 34
Syracuse wins series, 2–0

This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with both teams splitting the first four meetings.

Western Division Semifinals

(2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Detroit Pistons

March 14
Detroit Pistons 89, Minneapolis Lakers 92
Scoring by quarter: 23–26, 15–19, 29–23, 22–24
Pts: Phil Jordon 22Pts: Larry Foust 17
Minneapolis leads series, 1–0
March 15
Minneapolis Lakers 103, Detroit Pistons 117
Scoring by quarter: 21–32, 19–20, 31–40, 32–25
Pts: Elgin Baylor 26Pts: Gene Shue 32
Series tied, 1–1
March 18
Detroit Pistons 102, Minneapolis Lakers 129
Scoring by quarter:28–25, 26–31, 26–33, 22–40
Pts: Gene Shue 31Pts: Elgin Baylor 30
Minneapolis wins series, 2–1

This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning four of the first five meetings while the Pistons were based in Fort Wayne.

Division Finals

Eastern Division Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals

March 18
Syracuse Nationals 109, Boston Celtics 131
Scoring by quarter: 17–27, 38–42, 26–29, 28–33
Pts: George Yardley 30
Rebs: George Yardley 17		Pts: Tom Heinsohn 28
Rebs: Bill Russell 32
Boston leads series, 1–0
March 21
Boston Celtics 118, Syracuse Nationals 120
Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 35–29, 31–35, 27–28
Pts: Bob Cousy 27
Rebs: Bill Russell 19		Pts: Dolph Schayes 34
Rebs: Schayes, Kerr 17 each
Series tied, 1–1
March 22
Syracuse Nationals 111, Boston Celtics 133
Scoring by quarter: 27–31, 18–34, 33–37, 33–31
Pts: Dolph Schayes 21
Rebs: Connie Dierking 11		Pts: Frank Ramsey 24
Rebs: Bill Russell 27
Boston leads series, 2–1
March 25
Boston Celtics 107, Syracuse Nationals 119
Scoring by quarter: 21–22, 32–40, 30–27, 24–30
Pts: Frank Ramsey 29
Rebs: Bill Russell 21		Pts: Dolph Schayes 28
Rebs: Dolph Schayes 18
Series tied, 2–2
March 28
Syracuse Nationals 108, Boston Celtics 129
Scoring by quarter: 32–35, 27–28, 26–30, 23–36
Pts: George Yardley 23
Rebs: Schayes, Kerr 11 each		Pts: Bob Cousy 27
Rebs: Bill Russell 32
Boston leads series, 3–2
March 29
Boston Celtics 121, Syracuse Nationals 133
Scoring by quarter: 28–29, 30–38, 31–32, 32–34
Pts: Frank Ramsey 26
Rebs: Bill Russell 24		Pts: Dolph Schayes 39
Rebs: Dolph Schayes 12
Series tied, 3–3
April 1
Syracuse Nationals 125, Boston Celtics 130
Scoring by quarter:32–26, 36–34, 26–35, 31–35
Pts: Dolph Schayes 35
Rebs: Dolph Schayes 16
Asts: Schayes, Costello 9 each		Pts: Frank Ramsey 28
Rebs: Bill Russell 32
Asts: Bob Cousy 10
Boston wins series, 4–3

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

Western Division Finals

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

March 21
Minneapolis Lakers 90, St. Louis Hawks 124
Scoring by quarter: 20–27, 18–30, 30–30, 22–37
Pts: Elgin Baylor 21Pts: Cliff Hagan 40
St. Louis leads series, 1–0
March 22
St. Louis Hawks 98, Minneapolis Lakers 106
Scoring by quarter: 20–29, 25–21, 21–24, 32–32
Pts: Cliff Hagan 27
Rebs: Bob Pettit 7		Pts: Elgin Baylor 33
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 15
Series tied, 1–1
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Arnie Heft
March 24
Minneapolis Lakers 97, St. Louis Hawks 127
Scoring by quarter: 21–34, 18–29, 28–30, 30–34
Pts: Baylor, Fleming 15 each
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 8		Pts: Bob Pettit 39
Rebs: Cliff Hagan 18
St. Louis leads series, 2–1
Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 9,324
Referees: Sid Borgia, Jim Duffy
March 26
St. Louis Hawks 98, Minneapolis Lakers 108
Scoring by quarter: 22–36, 23–23, 35–19, 18–30
Pts: Cliff Hagan 38Pts: Elgin Baylor 32
Series tied, 2–2
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Referees: Sid Borgia, Jim Duffy
March 28
Minneapolis Lakers 98, St. Louis Hawks 97 (OT)
Scoring by quarter:31–23, 18–25, 22–25, 19–17,  Overtime:8–7
Pts: Elgin Baylor 36Pts: Bob Pettit 36
Minneapolis leads series, 3–2
March 29
St. Louis Hawks 104, Minneapolis Lakers 106
Scoring by quarter: 28–32, 22–24, 29–32, 25–18
Pts: Bob Pettit 24
Rebs: Clyde Lovellette 15		Pts: Elgin Baylor 33
Rebs: Boo Ellis 15
Minneapolis wins series, 4–2
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 10,179
Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Arnie Heft

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

NBA Finals: (E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W2) Minneapolis Lakers

April 4
Minneapolis Lakers 115, Boston Celtics 118
Scoring by quarter: 29–29, 24–36, 31–19, 31–34
Pts: Elgin Baylor 34
Rebs: Larry Foust 19		Pts: Frank Ramsey 29
Rebs: Bill Russell 28
Boston leads series, 1–0
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 8,195
April 5
Minneapolis Lakers 108, Boston Celtics 128
Scoring by quarter: 17–32, 31–40, 37–28, 23–28
Pts: Vern Mikkelsen 24
Rebs: Steve Hamilton 13		Pts: Bill Sharman 28
Rebs: Bill Russell 30
Boston leads series, 2–0
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 11,082
April 7
Boston Celtics 123, Minneapolis Lakers 110
Scoring by quarter:35–27, 34–26, 32–32, 22–25
Pts: Tom Heinsohn 26
Rebs: Bill Russell 30		Pts: Larry Foust 26
Rebs: Larry Foust 22
Boston leads series, 3–0
April 9
Boston Celtics 118, Minneapolis Lakers 113
Scoring by quarter: 34–34, 30–28, 24–25, 30–26
Pts: Bill Sharman 29
Rebs: Bill Russell 30		Pts: Elgin Baylor 30
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 14
Boston wins series, 4–0

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

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — New York Knicks 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 — Boston Celtics versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
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