| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 16–April 12, 1954 |
| Season | 1953–54 |
| Teams | 6 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Minneapolis Lakers (5th title) |
| Runner-up | Syracuse Nationals |
| Semifinalists | |
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.
| Division Round Robin Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| E1 | New York* | 0–4 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Syracuse | 2 | |||||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 2–2 | |||||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 0 | |||||||||||
| E3 | Syracuse | 4–0 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Syracuse | 3 | |||||||||||
| Western Division | W1 | Minneapolis* | 4 | ||||||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis* | 3–0 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis* | 2 | |||||||||||
| W2 | Rochester | 2–1 | |||||||||||
| W2 | Rochester | 1 | |||||||||||
| W3 | Fort Wayne | 0–4 | |||||||||||
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.[1] 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 (shaded green) 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.[1]
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March 16
|
| Boston Celtics 93, New York Knicks 71 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–15, 32–12, 24–19, 21–25 | ||
| Pts: Cousy, Sharman 22 each Asts: Bob Cousy 10 |
Pts: Carl Braun 18 Asts: Simmons, Baechtold 3 each | |
March 17
|
| Syracuse Nationals 96, Boston Celtics 95 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–17, 18–15, 26–24, 22–25, Overtime: 15–14 | ||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 20 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 13 Asts: Earl Lloyd 8 |
Pts: Bob Cousy 32 Rebs: three players 10 each Asts: Jack Nichols 10 | |
March 18
|
| New York Knicks 68, Syracuse Nationals 75 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–16, 20–25, 14–19, 19–15 | ||
| Pts: Harry Gallatin 15 Rebs: Harry Gallatin 20 Asts: Jim Baechtold 5 |
Pts: Dolph Schayes 23 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 16 Asts: Paul Seymour 6 | |
March 20
|
| New York Knicks 78, Boston Celtics 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–15, 24–21, 16–19, 21–24 | ||
| Pts: Harry Gallatin 15 Asts: Braun, Simmons 3 each |
Pts: Bill Sharman 26 Asts: Cousy, Nichols 6 each | |
| Syracuse & Boston clinch berth to Division Finals, New York eliminated | ||
March 21
|
| Syracuse Nationals 103, New York Knicks 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 15–19, 32–26, 34–29 | ||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 36 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 21 Asts: Paul Seymour 6 |
Pts: Carl Braun 32 Rebs: Nat Clifton 16 Asts: Carl Braun 6 | |
March 22
|
| Boston Celtics 85, Syracuse Nationals 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–27, 23–18, 21–26, 22–27 | ||
| Pts: Bob Cousy 25 Rebs: Jack Nichols 12 Asts: Bob Cousy 8 |
Pts: Dolph Schayes 25 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 16 Asts: Paul Seymour 7 | |
| 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.
| New York leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
This was the second playoff meeting between the Celtics and Nationals, with the Celtics winning the first meeting.
| Boston leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
This was the fourth playoff meeting between the Knicks and Nationals, with the Knicks winning two of the first three meetings.
| New York leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
|
March 16
|
| Fort Wayne Pistons 75, Rochester Royals 82 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–19, 15–21, 23–14, 24–28 | ||
| Pts: George Yardley 20 | Pts: Bobby Wanzer 18 | |
March 17
|
| Rochester Royals 88, Minneapolis Lakers 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–29, 17–34, 23–22, 27–24 | ||
| Pts: Arnie Risen 21 | Pts: Slater Martin 24 | |
March 18
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 90, Fort Wayne Pistons 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 19–20, 27–20, 22–24 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan 28 | Pts: Frankie Brian 20 | |
| Minneapolis clinches berth to Division Finals | ||
March 20
|
| Fort Wayne Pistons 73, Minneapolis Lakers 78 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–21, 15–22, 15–15, 24–20 | ||
| Pts: Max Zaslofsky 15 | Pts: George Mikan 21 | |
| Minneapolis finishes as the West's #1 seed in Division Finals | ||
March 21
|
| Rochester Royals 89, Fort Wayne Pistons 71 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–14, 17–14, 26–15, 27–28 | ||
| Pts: Bobby Wanzer 14 | Pts: George Yardley 16 | |
| Rochester finishes as the West's #2 seed in Division Finals, Fort Wayne eliminated | ||
This was the fourth playoff meeting between the Lakers and Royals, with the Lakers winning two of the first three meetings.
| Minneapolis leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
This was the fifth playoff meeting between the Royals and Pistons, with both teams splitting the first four meetings.
| Tied 2–2 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
This was the third playoff meeting between the Pistons and Lakers, with the Lakers winning the first two meetings.
| Minneapolis leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
March 25
|
| Boston Celtics 94, Syracuse Nationals 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–25, 14–28, 22–27, 28–29 | ||
| Pts: Jack Nichols 28 Rebs: Jack Nichols 9 Asts: Bill Sharman 5 |
Pts: Dolph Schayes 27 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 21 Asts: Bill Gabor 6 | |
| Syracuse leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 27
|
| Syracuse Nationals 83, Boston Celtics 76 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–21, 19–29, 24–16, 19–10 | ||
| Pts: Wally Osterkorn 16 Asts: George King 8 |
Pts: Bill Sharman 20 Asts: Bob Cousy 6 | |
| 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.
| Tied 1–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
March 24
|
| Rochester Royals 76, Minneapolis Lakers 89 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–20, 16–20, 24–24, 19–25 | ||
| Pts: Wanzer, Coleman 17 each | Pts: George Mikan 28 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 27
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 73, Rochester Royals 74 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–16, 16–20, 24–17, 21–21 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan 17 | Pts: Bobby Wanzer 16 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 28
|
| Rochester Royals 72, Minneapolis Lakers 82 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 16–22, 20–20, 15–17 | ||
| Pts: Arnie Risen 24 | Pts: George Mikan 17 | |
| 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.
| Minneapolis leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series |
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|
Main article: 1954 NBA Finals |
March 31
|
| Syracuse Nationals 68, Minneapolis Lakers 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–10, 18–24, 19–22, 18–23 | ||
| Pts: Bob Lavoy 15 Rebs: Wally Osterkorn 8 Asts: Paul Seymour 6 |
Pts: Clyde Lovellette 16 Rebs: George Mikan 10 Asts: Slater Martin 6 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 4,579 Referees: Charles Eckman, Joe Serafin |
April 3
|
| Syracuse Nationals 62, Minneapolis Lakers 60 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–15, 13–12, 20–11, 14–22 | ||
| Pts: Wally Osterkorn 20 Rebs: Wally Osterkorn 17 Asts: Lavoy, Seymour 3 each |
Pts: George Mikan 15 Rebs: George Mikan 15 Asts: Vern Mikkelsen 3 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 6,277 Referees: Charles Eckman, Joe Serafin |
April 4
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 81, Syracuse Nationals 67 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–16, 14–17, 20–11, 23–23 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan 30 Rebs: George Mikan 15 Asts: Slater Martin 7 |
Pts: Bob Lavoy 18 Rebs: Bob Lavoy 15 Asts: Paul Seymour 7 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 8
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 69, Syracuse Nationals 80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–18, 20–18, 18–21, 17–23 | ||
| Pts: Whitey Skoog 16 Rebs: Jim Pollard 9 Asts: Slater Martin 6 |
Pts: Paul Seymour 25 Rebs: Bob Lavoy 11 Asts: Paul Seymour 6 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 10
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 84, Syracuse Nationals 73 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–17, 19–14, 21–21, 22–21 | ||
| Pts: Vern Mikkelsen 21 Rebs: Mikan, Lovellette 13 each Asts: Slater Martin 7 |
Pts: Dolph Schayes 17 Rebs: Earl Lloyd 8 Asts: Paul Seymour 5 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 11
|
| Syracuse Nationals 65, Minneapolis Lakers 63 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–27, 19–16, 16–6, 11–14 | ||
| Pts: Paul Seymour 16 | Pts: George Mikan 30 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 6,776 Referees: Charles Eckman, Joe Serafin |
April 12
|
| Syracuse Nationals 80, Minneapolis Lakers 87 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–17, 18–21, 22–27, 26–22 | ||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 18 | Pts: Jim Pollard 21 | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 4–3 | ||
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 7,274 Referees: Charles Eckman, Joe Serafin |
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting.
| Minneapolis leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
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