| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 19–May 31, 1983 |
| Season | 1982–83 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Philadelphia 76ers (3rd title) |
| Runner-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Semifinalists | |
The 1983 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1982–83 season. This was the final postseason using the 12-team format and this is the final postseason held of best of 3 series in first round, before the NBA expanded the postseason to 16 teams and first round expanded of best of 5 series the next season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers defeating the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. Moses Malone was named NBA Finals MVP.
Malone made a famous prediction about the Sixers' chances prior to the playoffs, saying "Fo', fo', fo'" – predicting the number of games the Sixers would need to win each of the three series they would play on the way to a championship. They nearly accomplished this prediction of a sweep of all three rounds, only losing one game (to Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference Finals) en route to the championship. The Sixers set a record for highest winning percentage in the playoffs that was not broken until the Lakers went 15–1 in 2001. The Lakers' mark, however, came after the expansion to the current 16-team, four-round playoff format, which was first implemented in the 1984 playoffs, while the Sixers avoided the first round by virtue of their top seeding.
It was the third time in four years that the Lakers and 76ers had met in the NBA Finals, with the Lakers winning the previous two series.
After missing the playoffs the previous year, the Blazers began a string of 21 straight playoff appearances in 1983 lasting until 2003. They made the playoffs 25 out of 26 years from their title-winning season of 1977–2003. The record was just one season shy of the 22-year playoff run set by the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers from 1950–1971.
The Celtics were swept out of the playoffs for the first time in team history, losing 4–0 to the Bucks in the second round.
This was the Spurs' last appearance in the Conference Finals until 1995. However, for players such as George Gervin and Artis Gilmore, the 6-game loss to the Lakers was the last chance they got at reaching the NBA Finals, let alone an NBA Championship (Gilmore did return to the conference finals with the Celtics in 1988, but played sparingly).
This was the only season of the 12-team playoff bracket in which all four division champions advanced to the conference finals.
| First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | New Jersey | 0 | E5 | New York | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| E5 | New York | 2 | Eastern Conference | E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 | |||||||||||||
| E2 | Milwaukee* | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Boston | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Boston | 2 | E2 | Milwaukee* | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| E6 | Atlanta | 1 | E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles* | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Seattle | 0 | W5 | Portland | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| W5 | Portland | 2 | Western Conference | W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | |||||||||||||
| W2 | San Antonio* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Denver | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Phoenix | 1 | W2 | San Antonio* | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| W6 | Denver | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
April 19
|
| Atlanta Hawks 95, Boston Celtics 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 23–26, 25–24, 25–31 | ||
| Pts: Dan Roundfield 24 Rebs: Dan Roundfield 20 Asts: Johnny Davis 11 |
Pts: Larry Bird 26 Rebs: Robert Parish 16 Asts: Tiny Archibald 11 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 22
|
| Boston Celtics 93, Atlanta Hawks 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–28, 22–27, 24–14, 27–26 | ||
| Pts: Robert Parish 17 Rebs: Larry Bird 16 Asts: Larry Bird 9 |
Pts: Dan Roundfield 19 Rebs: Tree Rollins 14 Asts: Johnny Davis 14 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 24
|
| Atlanta Hawks 79, Boston Celtics 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–32, 22–27, 17–19, 17–20 | ||
| Pts: Tree Rollins 18 Rebs: Dan Roundfield 10 Asts: three players 3 each |
Pts: Larry Bird 26 Rebs: Robert Parish 11 Asts: Larry Bird 9 | |
| Boston wins series, 2–1 | ||
| Boston won 5–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning five of the first six meetings.
| Boston leads 5–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
April 20
|
| New York Knicks 118, New Jersey Nets 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–27, 23–23, 31–26, 29–31 | ||
| Pts: Bernard King 40 Rebs: Marvin Webster 11 Asts: Rory Sparrow 7 |
Pts: Albert King 17 Rebs: Buck Williams 13 Asts: Cook, Birdsong 6 each | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 15,672 Referees: Jake Madden, Jess Kersey, Joe Crawford |
April 21
|
| New Jersey Nets 99, New York Knicks 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–32, 16–30, 31–18, 29–25 | ||
| Pts: Albert King 25 Rebs: Buck Williams 10 Asts: Foots Walker 6 |
Pts: Truck Robinson 22 Rebs: Truck Robinson 13 Asts: Paul Westphal 7 | |
| New York wins series, 2–0 | ||
| New Jersey won 4–2 in the regular-season series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
This was the first playoff meeting between the Nets and the Knicks.[2]
April 19
|
| Denver Nuggets 108, Phoenix Suns 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–23, 24–39, 21–28, 31–31 | ||
| Pts: Kiki VanDeWeghe 32 Rebs: T. R. Dunn 12 Asts: English, Evans 4 each |
Pts: Dennis Johnson 28 Rebs: Dennis Johnson 12 Asts: Dennis Johnson 8 | |
| Phoenix leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 21
|
| Phoenix Suns 99, Denver Nuggets 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–27, 26–35, 26–25, 25–26 | ||
| Pts: Walter Davis 31 Rebs: James Edwards 9 Asts: Dennis Johnson 5 |
Pts: Kiki VanDeWeghe 26 Rebs: Dan Issel 11 Asts: Rob Williams 9 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 24
|
| Denver Nuggets 117, Phoenix Suns 112 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–31, 30–27, 28–32, 19–16, Overtime: 11–6 | ||
| Pts: Alex English 42 Rebs: T. R. Dunn 12 Asts: Dunn, Williams 6 each |
Pts: Walter Davis 29 Rebs: Larry Nance 12 Asts: Alvan Adams 9 | |
| Denver wins series, 2–1 | ||
| Denver won 4–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Suns winning the first meeting.
| Phoenix leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
April 20
|
| Portland Trail Blazers 108, Seattle SuperSonics 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–26, 28–19, 27–29, 22–23 | ||
| Pts: Thompson, Paxson 25 each Rebs: Calvin Natt 11 Asts: Mychal Thompson 8 |
Pts: Gus Williams 34 Rebs: Jack Sikma 15 Asts: Williams, Sikma 7 each | |
| Portland leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 22
|
| Seattle SuperSonics 96, Portland Trail Blazers 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–23, 15–31, 25–29, 28–22 | ||
| Pts: Gus Williams 31 Rebs: Danny Vranes 18 Asts: Jack Sikma 4 |
Pts: Jim Paxson 26 Rebs: Mychal Thompson 12 Asts: Thompson, Lever 6 each | |
| Portland wins series, 2–0 | ||
| Tied 3–3 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the SuperSonics winning the first two meetings.
| Seattle leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
April 24
|
| New York Knicks 102, Philadelphia 76ers 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–32, 31–29, 21–26, 26–25 | ||
| Pts: Bill Cartwright 17 Rebs: Bill Cartwright 8 Asts: Rory Sparrow 10 |
Pts: Moses Malone 38 Rebs: Moses Malone 17 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 10 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 27
|
| New York Knicks 91, Philadelphia 76ers 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–20, 29–21, 9–24, 23–33 | ||
| Pts: Truck Robinson 22 Rebs: Truck Robinson 14 Asts: Rory Sparrow 8 |
Pts: Moses Malone 30 Rebs: Moses Malone 17 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 6 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 30
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 107, New York Knicks 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–27, 27–24, 26–26, 29–28 | ||
| Pts: Moses Malone 28 Rebs: Moses Malone 14 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 7 |
Pts: Bernard King 21 Rebs: Truck Robinson 15 Asts: Rory Sparrow 6 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 3–0 | ||
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 17,735 Referees: Hugh Evans, Wally Rooney, Dick Bavetta |
May 1
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 105, New York Knicks 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–27, 29–21, 21–27, 28–27 | ||
| Pts: Moses Malone 29 Rebs: Moses Malone 14 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 7 |
Pts: Bernard King 35 Rebs: Truck Robinson 15 Asts: Sparrow, Westphal 8 each | |
| Philadelphia wins series, 4–0 | ||
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 15,457 Referees: Earl Strom, Hue Hollins, Lee Jones |
| Philadelphia won 5–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers winning five of the first seven meetings.
| Philadelphia leads 5–2 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
April 27
|
| Milwaukee Bucks 116, Boston Celtics 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–24, 31–24, 32–24, 30–23 | ||
| Pts: Sidney Moncrief 22 Rebs: Bob Lanier 10 Asts: Marques Johnson 5 |
Pts: Tiny Archibald 23 Rebs: Parish, Maxwell 12 each Asts: Tiny Archibald 7 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 29
|
| Milwaukee Bucks 95, Boston Celtics 91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–28, 20–29, 32–25, 21–9 | ||
| Pts: Sidney Moncrief 20 Rebs: Marques Johnson 9 Asts: Sidney Moncrief 4 |
Pts: Danny Ainge 25 Rebs: Robert Parish 10 Asts: Gerald Henderson 8 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 2–0 | ||
May 1
|
| Boston Celtics 99, Milwaukee Bucks 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–27, 22–30, 25–26, 18–24 | ||
| Pts: Larry Bird 21 Rebs: Larry Bird 14 Asts: Maxwell, Bird 6 each |
Pts: Sidney Moncrief 26 Rebs: Junior Bridgeman 10 Asts: Bob Lanier 6 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 3–0 | ||
May 2
|
| Boston Celtics 93, Milwaukee Bucks 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–23, 18–23, 26–29, 30–32 | ||
| Pts: Larry Bird 18 Rebs: Larry Bird 11 Asts: Larry Bird 8 |
Pts: Marques Johnson 33 Rebs: Alton Lister 11 Asts: Marques Johnson 6 | |
| Milwaukee wins series, 4–0 | ||
| Tied 3–3 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first meeting.
| Boston leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
April 24
|
| Portland Trail Blazers 97, Los Angeles Lakers 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–36, 30–26, 28–26, 16–30 | ||
| Pts: Mychal Thompson 22 Rebs: Thompson, Natt 9 each Asts: three players 7 each |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 32 Rebs: Johnson, Rambis 9 each Asts: Magic Johnson 18 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 26
|
| Portland Trail Blazers 106, Los Angeles Lakers 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–37, 26–20, 31–28, 17–27 | ||
| Pts: Calvin Natt 26 Rebs: Wayne Cooper 7 Asts: Darnell Valentine 15 |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 37 Rebs: Jamaal Wilkes 9 Asts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 7 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 29
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 115, Portland Trail Blazers 109 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–28, 22–19, 18–28, 26–23, Overtime: 17–11 | ||
| Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 30 Rebs: Jamaal Wilkes 9 Asts: Magic Johnson 11 |
Pts: Paxson, Natt 22 each Rebs: Natt, Cooper 10 each Asts: Darnell Valentine 14 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–0 | ||
May 1
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 95, Portland Trail Blazers 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–31, 29–35, 28–22, 19–20 | ||
| Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 34 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 9 Asts: Magic Johnson 8 |
Pts: Jim Paxson 20 Rebs: Calvin Natt 10 Asts: Darnell Valentine 11 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–1 | ||
Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon
Attendance: 12,666 Referees: Darell Garretson, Mike Mathis, Tommy Nuñez |
May 3
|
| Portland Trail Blazers 108, Los Angeles Lakers 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–39, 17–27, 24–24, 42–26 | ||
| Pts: Jim Paxson 32 Rebs: Calvin Natt 11 Asts: Darnell Valentine 8 |
Pts: Norm Nixon 36 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 11 Asts: Magic Johnson 15 | |
| Los Angeles wins series, 4–1 | ||
| Tied 3–3 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Trail Blazers winning the first meeting.
| Portland leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
April 26
|
| Denver Nuggets 133, San Antonio Spurs 152 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 39–39, 29–43, 37–34, 28–36 | ||
| Pts: Dan Issel 28 Rebs: T. R. Dunn 11 Asts: English, Williams 7 each |
Pts: George Gervin 42 Rebs: Gene Banks 11 Asts: Johnny Moore 17 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 27
|
| Denver Nuggets 109, San Antonio Spurs 126 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–36, 32–34, 26–28, 20–28 | ||
| Pts: Kiki VanDeWeghe 22 Rebs: T. R. Dunn 8 Asts: Mike Evans 9 |
Pts: George Gervin 30 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 12 Asts: Johnny Moore 20 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 29
|
| San Antonio Spurs 127, Denver Nuggets 126 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–35, 27–27, 30–32, 28–24, Overtime: 9–8 | ||
| Pts: Johnny Moore 39 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 14 Asts: Johnny Moore 12 |
Pts: Alex English 39 Rebs: Kiki VanDeWeghe 14 Asts: English, Williams 7 each | |
| San Antonio leads series, 3–0 | ||
May 2
|
| San Antonio Spurs 114, Denver Nuggets 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–40, 21–32, 35–26, 29–26 | ||
| Pts: Johnny Moore 27 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 11 Asts: Johnny Moore 9 |
Pts: Kiki VanDeWeghe 37 Rebs: Kiki VanDeWeghe 11 Asts: Alex English 11 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 3–1 | ||
May 4
|
| Denver Nuggets 105, San Antonio Spurs 145 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–35, 25–37, 29–40, 30–33 | ||
| Pts: Billy McKinney 20 Rebs: T. R. Dunn 8 Asts: Mike Evans 6 |
Pts: George Gervin 26 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 15 Asts: Johnny Moore 13 | |
| San Antonio wins series, 4–1 | ||
| San Antonio won 4–2 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Nuggets and the Spurs.[8]
May 8
|
| Milwaukee Bucks 109, Philadelphia 76ers 111 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–35, 34–24, 24–26, 23–19, Overtime: 5–7 | ||
| Pts: Marques Johnson 30 Rebs: Bob Lanier 9 Asts: Moncrief, Lanier 6 each |
Pts: Maurice Cheeks 26 Rebs: Moses Malone 12 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 7 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 11
|
| Milwaukee Bucks 81, Philadelphia 76ers 87 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–20, 21–23, 22–28, 20–16 | ||
| Pts: Marques Johnson 25 Rebs: Marques Johnson 11 Asts: Lanier, Winters 4 each |
Pts: Moses Malone 26 Rebs: Moses Malone 17 Asts: Cheeks, Toney 4 each | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–0 | ||
May 14
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 104, Milwaukee Bucks 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–28, 22–20, 26–24, 33–24 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 26 Rebs: Moses Malone 14 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 9 |
Pts: Junior Bridgeman 24 Rebs: Sidney Moncrief 10 Asts: Brian Winters 7 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 3–0 | ||
May 15
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 94, Milwaukee Bucks 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–21, 21–25, 29–25, 21–29 | ||
| Pts: Andrew Toney 24 Rebs: Moses Malone 12 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 8 |
Pts: Marques Johnson 19 Rebs: Marques Johnson 10 Asts: Marques Johnson 8 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 3–1 | ||
May 18
|
| Milwaukee Bucks 103, Philadelphia 76ers 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–31, 25–28, 25–29, 24–27 | ||
| Pts: Marques Johnson 21 Rebs: Alton Lister 12 Asts: Junior Bridgeman 5 |
Pts: Andrew Toney 30 Rebs: Moses Malone 17 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 8 | |
| Philadelphia wins series, 4–1 | ||
| Philadelphia won 5–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers winning two of the first three meetings.
| Philadelphia leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
May 8
|
| San Antonio Spurs 107, Los Angeles Lakers 119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–32, 31–26, 22–29, 24–32 | ||
| Pts: Mike Mitchell 26 Rebs: George Gervin 9 Asts: Johnny Moore 18 |
Pts: Abdul-Jabbar, Nixon 30 each Rebs: three players 8 each Asts: Magic Johnson 12 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 10
|
| San Antonio Spurs 122, Los Angeles Lakers 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–26, 25–31, 37–32, 25–24 | ||
| Pts: George Gervin 32 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 20 Asts: Johnny Moore 15 |
Pts: Johnson, Nixon 28 each Rebs: Magic Johnson 12 Asts: Norm Nixon 11 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
May 13
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 113, San Antonio Spurs 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–29, 24–24, 34–19, 27–28 | ||
| Pts: Jamaal Wilkes 26 Rebs: Magic Johnson 11 Asts: Magic Johnson 13 |
Pts: Mike Mitchell 23 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 14 Asts: Johnny Moore 9 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–1 | ||
May 15
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 129, San Antonio Spurs 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 36–29, 35–30, 27–37, 31–25 | ||
| Pts: Magic Johnson 31 Rebs: Magic Johnson 8 Asts: Magic Johnson 17 |
Pts: Mike Mitchell 35 Rebs: Mike Mitchell 11 Asts: Johnny Moore 17 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–1 | ||
May 18
|
| San Antonio Spurs 117, Los Angeles Lakers 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–34, 31–29, 33–28, 22–21 | ||
| Pts: Mike Mitchell 26 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 14 Asts: Johnny Moore 17 |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 30 Rebs: Magic Johnson 11 Asts: Magic Johnson 19 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–2 | ||
May 20
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 101, San Antonio Spurs 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–26, 35–29, 22–26, 15–19 | ||
| Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 28 Rebs: Magic Johnson 15 Asts: Magic Johnson 16 |
Pts: George Gervin 25 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 18 Asts: Johnny Moore 14 | |
| Los Angeles wins series, 4–2 | ||
| San Antonio won 4–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting.
| Los Angeles leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
|
Main article: 1983 NBA Finals |
May 22
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 107, Philadelphia 76ers 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–30, 37–24, 26–31, 24–28 | ||
| Pts: Norm Nixon 26 Rebs: Mark Landsberger 10 Asts: Magic Johnson 11 |
Pts: Moses Malone 27 Rebs: Moses Malone 18 Asts: Julius Erving 9 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 26
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 93, Philadelphia 76ers 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–26, 26–25, 20–28, 18–24 | ||
| Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23 Rebs: Magic Johnson 8 Asts: Magic Johnson 13 |
Pts: Moses Malone 24 Rebs: Moses Malone 12 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 8 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–0 | ||
Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 18,482 Referees: Darell Garretson, John Vanak, Earl Strom |
May 29
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 111, Los Angeles Lakers 94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–32, 28–20, 23–20, 39–22 | ||
| Pts: Moses Malone 28 Rebs: Moses Malone 19 Asts: Moses Malone 6 |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 15 Asts: Magic Johnson 13 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 3–0 | ||
May 31
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 115, Los Angeles Lakers 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–26, 27–39, 31–28, 33–15 | ||
| Pts: Moses Malone 24 Rebs: Moses Malone 23 Asts: Andrew Toney 9 |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 28 Rebs: four players 7 each Asts: Magic Johnson 15 | |
| Philadelphia wins series, 4–0 | ||
| Philadelphia won 2–0 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first four meetings.
| Los Angeles leads 4–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|