| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 22–May 2, 1968 |
| Season | 1967–68 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Boston Celtics (10th title) |
| Runner-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Semifinalists | |
The 1968 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the 1967–68 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers, 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.
The Celtics won their 10th NBA title, their first under player-coach Bill Russell after Red Auerbach's retirement.
In the Eastern Division Finals, the Celtics became the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3–1 series deficit to win, as they knocked off the defending champion Philadelphia 76ers in seven games. In the West, the Lakers swept the San Francisco Warriors in four games.
It was the first time since 1954 that the top team in a division failed to make the Division Finals; from 1955 to 1966, the league gave the regular-season division champion a first-round bye. This year also marked a change in that the Division Semifinals were changed from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven.
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Philadelphia* | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Los Angeles | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | St. Louis* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | San Francisco | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | San Francisco | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| W2 | Los Angeles | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Chicago | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Los Angeles | 4 | ||||||||||||
March 22
|
| New York Knicks 110, Philadelphia 76ers 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–27, 27–25, 21–30, 34–36 | ||
| Pts: Willis Reed 38 Rebs: Willis Reed 23 Asts: Dick Van Arsdale 8 |
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 37 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 29 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 7 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 23
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 117, New York Knicks 128 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–30, 25–31, 35–33, 33–34 | ||
| Pts: Chamberlain, Greer 24 each Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 17 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 8 |
Pts: Walt Bellamy 26 Rebs: Walt Bellamy 17 Asts: Walt Frazier 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 27
|
| New York Knicks 132, Philadelphia 76ers 138 (2OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 23–30, 30–32, 34–24, Overtime: 12–12, 7–13 | ||
| Pts: Cazzie Russell 40 Rebs: Walt Bellamy 19 Asts: Walt Frazier 9 |
Pts: Chet Walker 32 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 24 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 8 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 | ||
March 30
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 98, New York Knicks 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–35, 32–33, 23–19, 19–20 | ||
| Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 23 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 27 Asts: Hal Greer 6 |
Pts: Walt Bellamy 28 Rebs: Walt Bellamy 13 Asts: Howard Komives 8 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
March 31
|
| New York Knicks 105, Philadelphia 76ers 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–26, 22–30, 24–36, 25–31 | ||
| Pts: Cazzie Russell 31 Rebs: Walt Bellamy 10 Asts: Howard Komives 5 |
Pts: Hal Greer 38 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 21 Asts: Chamberlain, Greer 7 each | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 1
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 113, New York Knicks 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–35, 29–22, 30–19, 27–21 | ||
| Pts: Hal Greer 35 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 27 Asts: Hal Greer 4 |
Pts: Bellamy, Barnett 19 each Rebs: Walt Bellamy 22 Asts: Howard Komives 6 | |
| Philadelphia wins series, 4–2 | ||
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers winning three of the first five meetings as the Syracuse Nationals.
| Philadelphia/ Syracuse leads 3–2 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
March 24
|
| Detroit Pistons 116, Boston Celtics 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–22, 29–46, 41–23, 23–32 | ||
| Pts: Dave Bing 30 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 24 Asts: Dave Bing 6 |
Pts: John Havlicek 25 Rebs: Bill Russell 34 Asts: Bill Russell 9 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 25
|
| Boston Celtics 116, Detroit Pistons 126 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 33–39, 28–26, 30–33 | ||
| Pts: Sam Jones 18 Rebs: Bill Russell 14 Asts: Siegfried, Jones 3 each |
Pts: Dave Bing 24 Rebs: Joe Strawder 14 Asts: Dave Bing 5 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 27
|
| Detroit Pistons 109, Boston Celtics 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–28, 21–24, 33–15, 28–31 | ||
| Pts: Dave Bing 27 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 17 Asts: Dave Bing 7 |
Pts: John Havlicek 23 Rebs: Bill Russell 23 Asts: Bill Russell 7 | |
| Detroit leads series, 2–1 | ||
March 28
|
| Boston Celtics 135, Detroit Pistons 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–33, 27–27, 40–26, 40–24 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 35 Rebs: Bill Russell 21 Asts: John Havlicek 9 |
Pts: Dave Bing 26 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 10 Asts: Dave Bing 6 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
March 31
|
| Detroit Pistons 96, Boston Celtics 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 28–27, 30–34, 16–27 | ||
| Pts: Dave DeBusschere 26 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 23 Asts: Eddie Miles 4 |
Pts: Bailey Howell 30 Rebs: Bill Russell 21 Asts: John Havlicek 13 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 1
|
| Boston Celtics 111, Detroit Pistons 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–24, 35–25, 30–31, 24–23 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 31 Rebs: Bill Russell 23 Asts: John Havlicek 12 |
Pts: Dave Bing 44 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 14 Asts: Dave Bing 4 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–2 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[2]
March 22
|
| San Francisco Warriors 111, St. Louis Hawks 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–26, 29–31, 23–20, 34–29 | ||
| Pts: Jeff Mullins 29 Rebs: Rudy LaRusso 17 Asts: Al Attles 7 |
Pts: Don Ohl 26 Rebs: Paul Silas 15 Asts: Lenny Wilkens 9 | |
| San Francisco leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 23
|
| San Francisco Warriors 103, St. Louis Hawks 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–29, 18–27, 26–22, 32–33 | ||
| Pts: Jeff Mullins 33 Rebs: Clyde Lee 10 Asts: Al Attles 7 |
Pts: Zelmo Beaty 46 Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 22 Asts: Lenny Wilkens 11 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 26
|
| St. Louis Hawks 109, San Francisco Warriors 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–30, 35–30, 30–33, 25–31 | ||
| Pts: three players 21 each Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 16 Asts: Lenny Wilkens 5 |
Pts: Jeff Mullins 33 Rebs: Clyde Lee 22 Asts: Al Attles 7 | |
| San Francisco leads series, 2–1 | ||
March 29
|
| St. Louis Hawks 107, San Francisco Warriors 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–28, 27–37, 32–16, 26–27 | ||
| Pts: Zelmo Beaty 21 Rebs: Bill Bridges 14 Asts: Lenny Wilkens 6 |
Pts: Jeff Mullins 35 Rebs: Clyde Lee 12 Asts: Al Attles 12 | |
| San Francisco leads series, 3–1 | ||
March 31
|
| San Francisco Warriors 103, St. Louis Hawks 129 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–35, 31–29, 22–35, 30–30 | ||
| Pts: Bob Warlick 21 Rebs: Fred Hetzel 9 Asts: Jim King 6 |
Pts: Bill Bridges 28 Rebs: Lou Hudson 14 Asts: Lenny Wilkens 10 | |
| San Francisco leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 2
|
| St. Louis Hawks 106, San Francisco Warriors 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–29, 17–28, 28–30, 31–24 | ||
| Pts: Lou Hudson 35 Rebs: Paul Silas 14 Asts: Lenny Wilkens 6 |
Pts: Rudy LaRusso 30 Rebs: Rudy LaRusso 13 Asts: Al Attles 9 | |
| San Francisco wins series, 4–2 | ||
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Warriors winning the first two meetings.
| San Francisco leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
March 24
|
| Chicago Bulls 101, Los Angeles Lakers 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–30, 22–23, 25–27, 32–29 | ||
| Pts: Bob Boozer 27 Rebs: Jim Washington 11 Asts: Keith Erickson 5 |
Pts: Jerry West 33 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 23 Asts: Elgin Baylor 8 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 25
|
| Chicago Bulls 106, Los Angeles Lakers 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–33, 29–25, 26–25, 32–28 | ||
| Pts: Flynn Robinson 32 Rebs: Jim Washington 13 Asts: Bob Boozer 4 |
Pts: Jerry West 35 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 16 Asts: Jerry West 8 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–0 | ||
March 27
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 98, Chicago Bulls 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–22, 21–37, 27–23, 24–22 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 32 Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 15 Asts: Elgin Baylor 5 |
Pts: Flynn Robinson 41 Rebs: Jim Washington 17 Asts: Flynn Robinson 4 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–1 | ||
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 3,456 Referees: Nanny Sokolposky, Norm Drucker, Ed Rush |
March 29
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 93, Chicago Bulls 87 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–24, 24–16, 28–28, 18–19 | ||
| Pts: Elgin Baylor 27 Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 21 Asts: Elgin Baylor 5 |
Pts: Keith Erickson 20 Rebs: Jim Washington 19 Asts: Erickson, Sloan 2 each | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–1 | ||
March 31
|
| Chicago Bulls 99, Los Angeles Lakers 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–24, 25–34, 19–34, 25–30 | ||
| Pts: Jim Washington 24 Rebs: Jim Washington 15 Asts: three players 4 each |
Pts: Elgin Baylor 37 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 12 Asts: Archie Clark 10 | |
| Los Angeles wins series, 4–1 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[4]
April 5
|
| Boston Celtics 127, Philadelphia 76ers 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–31, 31–25, 32–31, 30–31 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 35 Rebs: Bill Russell 22 Asts: John Havlicek 11 |
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 33 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 25 Asts: Chamberlain, W. Jones 5 each | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 10
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 115, Boston Celtics 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–30, 35–30, 19–17, 29–29 | ||
| Pts: Wali Jones 24 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 19 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 8 |
Pts: John Havlicek 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 20 Asts: John Havlicek 9 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 11
|
| Boston Celtics 114, Philadelphia 76ers 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–26, 33–30, 25–33, 29–33 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 29 Rebs: Bill Russell 20 Asts: John Havlicek 8 |
Pts: Hal Greer 31 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 25 Asts: Hal Greer 9 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 14
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 110, Boston Celtics 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 37–24, 31–38, 18–21, 24–22 | ||
| Pts: Hal Greer 28 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 16 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 8 |
Pts: Sam Jones 25 Rebs: Bill Russell 24 Asts: John Havlicek 8 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 15
|
| Boston Celtics 122, Philadelphia 76ers 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 36–31, 20–26, 28–24, 38–23 | ||
| Pts: Sam Jones 37 Rebs: Bill Russell 24 Asts: John Havlicek 10 |
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 28 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 30 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 7 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 17
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 106, Boston Celtics 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–30, 22–29, 28–27, 29–28 | ||
| Pts: Hal Greer 40 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 27 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 8 |
Pts: John Havlicek 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 31 Asts: Havlicek, Siegfried 6 each | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 19
|
| Boston Celtics 100, Philadelphia 76ers 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–21, 20–19, 27–29, 27–27 | ||
| Pts: Sam Jones 22 Rebs: Bill Russell 26 Asts: John Havlicek 8 |
Pts: Hal Greer 22 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 34 Asts: Chamberlain, Greer 5 each | |
| Boston wins series, 4–3 | ||
This was the 12th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning six of the first 11 meetings.
| Boston leads 6–5 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
April 5
|
| San Francisco Warriors 105, Los Angeles Lakers 133 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–33, 24–30, 29–32, 25–38 | ||
| Pts: Jeff Mullins 29 Rebs: Clyde Lee 18 Asts: Jeff Mullins 5 |
Pts: Elgin Baylor 29 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 16 Asts: Archie Clark 5 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 10
|
| San Francisco Warriors 112, Los Angeles Lakers 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–34, 34–26, 32–24, 22–31 | ||
| Pts: Fred Hetzel 36 Rebs: Rudy LaRusso 15 Asts: Al Attles 9 |
Pts: Baylor, West 36 each Rebs: Elgin Baylor 19 Asts: Jerry West 5 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 11
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 128, San Francisco Warriors 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–30, 28–35, 39–25, 28–34 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 40 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 12 Asts: Jerry West 8 |
Pts: Fred Hetzel 27 Rebs: Rudy LaRusso 13 Asts: Jeff Mullins 7 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–0 | ||
April 13
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 106, San Francisco Warriors 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–24, 29–28, 30–27, 27–21 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 29 | Pts: Fred Hetzel 27 | |
| Los Angeles wins series, 4–0 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Warriors winning the first meeting.
| San Francisco leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
|
Main article: 1968 NBA Finals |
April 21
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 101, Boston Celtics 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–29, 33–19, 24–33, 16–26 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 25 Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 14 Asts: Archie Clark 5 |
Pts: Bailey Howell 20 Rebs: Bill Russell 25 Asts: John Havlicek 8 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 24
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 123, Boston Celtics 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–27, 26–27, 36–27, 33–32 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 35 Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 11 Asts: Erwin Mueller 7 |
Pts: John Havlicek 24 Rebs: Bill Russell 24 Asts: Bill Russell 5 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 26
|
| Boston Celtics 127, Los Angeles Lakers 119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 36–28, 33–34, 34–25, 24–32 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 27 Rebs: Bill Russell 16 Asts: Bill Russell 9 |
Pts: Jerry West 33 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 18 Asts: Jerry West 9 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 28
|
| Boston Celtics 105, Los Angeles Lakers 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–26, 23–26, 31–28, 30–38 | ||
| Pts: Bailey Howell 24 Rebs: Bill Russell 22 Asts: John Havlicek 8 |
Pts: Jerry West 38 Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 20 Asts: Darrall Imhoff 6 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 30
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 117, Boston Celtics 120 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–34, 34–22, 18–30, 36–22, Overtime: 9–12 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 35 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 15 Asts: Baylor, West 6 each |
Pts: John Havlicek 31 Rebs: Bill Russell 25 Asts: John Havlicek 8 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 | ||
May 2
|
| Boston Celtics 124, Los Angeles Lakers 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–28, 35–22, 24–28, 30–31 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 40 Rebs: Bill Russell 19 Asts: John Havlicek 7 |
Pts: Elgin Baylor 28 Rebs: Mel Counts 25 Asts: Elgin Baylor 6 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–2 | ||
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first five meetings.
| Boston leads 5–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|