Tournament details | |
---|---|
Dates | May 22 – July 20, 2021 |
Season | 2020–21 |
Teams | 16 |
Final positions | |
Champions | Milwaukee Bucks (2nd title) |
Runner-up | Phoenix Suns |
Semifinalists |
|
← 2020
2022 →
|
The 2021 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2020–21 season. With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the NBA for the second consecutive year, the regular season was reduced to 72 games for each team and the start date of the playoffs was moved from its usual time in mid-April to May 22, 2021. It ended with the 2021 NBA Finals in July.
The 2021 NBA Finals matchup featured the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns. The Bucks won the NBA Finals in six games after being down 0–2, their first championship since 1971.
Both the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and the 2020 NBA Finals runner-up Miami Heat lost in the first round to the eventual finalists: the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks, respectively. The Suns advanced to their first NBA Finals since 1993 after winning the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Clippers in six games; the Bucks also won the Eastern Conference finals in six games, against the Atlanta Hawks to reach their first NBA Finals since 1974.[1]
It was the first year the NBA used a 20-team playoff, with a two-stage system in both conferences, with 16 of the 20 teams advancing to the second stage. The first stage, the NBA play-in games, was a four-team playoff in each conference for the No. 7 to No. 10 seeds in each conference. In this format, the No. 7 and No. 8 teams need to win one game to advance to the second stage, with a double chance, while the No. 9 and No. 10 teams need to win two games to advance, eliminated by just one loss.
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The NBA Board of Governors approved a format for the 2020–21 season to have a play-in tournament involving the teams that ranked 7th through 10th in each conference. The 7th place team and 8th place team participate in the double-chance game, with the winner advancing to the playoffs as the 7-seed. The loser then plays the winner of the elimination game between the 9th place and 10th place teams to determine the playoff's 8-seed. The NBA's regular playoff format would then proceed as normal.[7]
Under the NBA's regular playoff format, the eight teams with the most wins in each conference qualified for the playoffs. The seedings were based on each team's record. Each conference's bracket was fixed; there was no reseeding. All rounds were best-of-seven series; the series ended when one team won four games, and that team advanced to the next round. All rounds, including the NBA Finals, were in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. In the conference playoffs, home court advantage went to the higher-seeded team (number one being the highest). Seeding was based on each team's regular season record within a conference; if two teams had the same record, standard tiebreaker rules were used. Conference seedings were ignored for the NBA Finals: Home court advantage went to the team with the better regular season record, and, if needed, ties were broken based on head-to-head record, followed by intra-conference record.
On April 25, 2021, the Utah Jazz became the first team to clinch a playoff spot.[8] While noted in the below tables, division titles have no bearing on seeding.[9]
Seed | Team | Record | Clinched | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Play-in berth |
Playoff berth | Division title | Best record in conference |
Best record in NBA | |||
1 | Philadelphia 76ers | 49–23 | — | April 28[10] | May 14[11] | May 14[11] | — |
2 | Brooklyn Nets | 48–24 | — | April 27[12] | — | — | — |
3 | Milwaukee Bucks | 46–26 | — | May 4[13] | April 30[14] | — | — |
4 | New York Knicks | 41–31 | — | May 12[15] | — | — | — |
5 | Atlanta Hawks | 41–31 | — | May 12[15] | May 15[16] | — | — |
6 | Miami Heat | 40–32 | — | May 11[17] | — | — | — |
7 | Boston Celtics | 36–36 | May 12[15] | May 18[18] | — | — | — |
8 | Washington Wizards | 34–38 | May 14[19] | May 20[20] | — | — | — |
Indiana (34–38) and Charlotte (33–39) also secured play-in berths but did not advance to the playoffs.[21]
Seed | Team | Record | Clinched | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Play-in berth |
Playoff berth | Division title | Best record in conference |
Best record in NBA | |||
1 | Utah Jazz | 52–20 | — | April 25[8] | May 7[22] | May 16[23] | May 16[23] |
2 | Phoenix Suns | 51–21 | — | April 28[24] | May 14[25] | — | — |
3 | Denver Nuggets | 47–25 | — | May 3[26] | — | — | — |
4 | Los Angeles Clippers | 47–25 | — | May 3[27] | — | — | — |
5 | Dallas Mavericks | 42–30 | — | May 14[28] | May 7[29] | — | — |
6 | Portland Trail Blazers | 42–30 | — | May 16[30] | — | — | — |
7 | Los Angeles Lakers | 42–30 | May 16[30] | May 19[31] | — | — | — |
8 | Memphis Grizzlies | 38–34 | May 10[32] | May 21[33] | — | — | — |
Golden State (39–33) and San Antonio (33–39) also secured play-in berths but did not advance to the playoffs.[21]
Play-in games | No. 8 seed game | Final seeds | |||||||||||
7 | Boston | 118 | 7 | Boston | No. 7 seed | ||||||||
8 | Washington | 100 | 8 | Washington | No. 8 seed | ||||||||
8 | Washington | 142 | |||||||||||
9 | Indiana | 115 | |||||||||||
9 | Indiana | 144 | |||||||||||
10 | Charlotte | 117 | |||||||||||
Bold Game winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage
Play-in games | No. 8 seed game | Final seeds | |||||||||||
7 | LA Lakers | 103 | 7 | LA Lakers | No. 7 seed | ||||||||
8 | Golden State | 100 | 9 | Memphis | No. 8 seed | ||||||||
8 | Golden State | 112 | |||||||||||
9 | Memphis | 117 (OT) | |||||||||||
9 | Memphis | 100 | |||||||||||
10 | San Antonio | 96 | |||||||||||
Bold Game winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Teams with home court advantage, the higher seeded team, are shown in italics.
First round | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E8 | Washington | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
E1 | Philadelphia* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
E5 | Atlanta* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E4 | New York | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
E5 | Atlanta* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E5 | Atlanta* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
E3 | Milwaukee* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E3 | Milwaukee* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E6 | Miami | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
E3 | Milwaukee* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E2 | Brooklyn | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
E2 | Brooklyn | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E7 | Boston | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
E3 | Milwaukee* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W2 | Phoenix* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
W1 | Utah* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W8 | Memphis | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
W1 | Utah* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
W4 | LA Clippers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W4 | LA Clippers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W5 | Dallas* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
W4 | LA Clippers | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
W2 | Phoenix* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W3 | Denver | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W6 | Portland | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
W3 | Denver | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
W2 | Phoenix* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W2 | Phoenix* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W7 | LA Lakers | 2 |
May 23 |
Washington Wizards 118, Philadelphia 76ers 125 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 28–27, 34–34, 31–38, 25–26 | ||
Pts: Bradley Beal33 Rebs: Bradley Beal 10 Asts: Russell Westbrook14 |
Pts: Tobias Harris37 Rebs: Ben Simmons15 Asts: Ben Simmons 15 | |
Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 |
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA |
May 26 |
Washington Wizards 95, Philadelphia 76ers 120 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 24–35, 33–36, 23–23, 15–26 | ||
Pts: Bradley Beal33 Rebs: Rui Hachimura7 Asts: Russell Westbrook11 |
Pts: Simmons, Embiid 22 each Rebs: Dwight Howard11 Asts: Ben Simmons 8 | |
Philadelphia leads series, 2–0 |
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA |
May 29 |
Philadelphia 76ers 132, Washington Wizards 103 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 36–28, 36–30, 37–28, 23–17 | ||
Pts: Joel Embiid36 Rebs: Tobias Harris13 Asts: Ben Simmons9 |
Pts: Russell Westbrook26 Rebs: Russell Westbrook 12 Asts: Russell Westbrook 10 | |
Philadelphia leads series, 3–0 |
Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C. |
May 31 |
Philadelphia 76ers 114, Washington Wizards 122 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 31–28, 30–32, 19–32, 34–30 | ||
Pts: Tobias Harris21 Rebs: Tobias Harris 13 Asts: Tobias Harris 5 |
Pts: Bradley Beal27 Rebs: Russell Westbrook21 Asts: Russell Westbrook 14 | |
Philadelphia leads series, 3–1 |
Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C. |
June 2 |
Washington Wizards 112, Philadelphia 76ers 129 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 29–29, 34–36, 31–38, 18–26 | ||
Pts: Bradley Beal32 Rebs: Russell Westbrook8 Asts: Russell Westbrook 10 |
Pts: Seth Curry30 Rebs: Ben Simmons10 Asts: Ben Simmons 11 | |
Philadelphia wins series, 4–1 |
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA |
Philadelphia won 3–0 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers winning three of the first five meetings.[34]
Philadelphia leads 3–2 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
May 22 |
Boston Celtics 93, Brooklyn Nets 104 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 32–31, 20–31, 20–26 | ||
Pts: Jayson Tatum22 Rebs: Tristan Thompson10 Asts: Smart, Tatum 5 each |
Pts: Kevin Durant32 Rebs: Kevin Durant 12 Asts: James Harden8 | |
Brooklyn leads series, 1–0 |
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York City |
May 25 |
Boston Celtics 108, Brooklyn Nets 130 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 26–40, 21–31, 35–38, 26–21 | ||
Pts: Marcus Smart19 Rebs: Tristan Thompson11 Asts: Kemba Walker7 |
Pts: Kevin Durant26 Rebs: Brown, Durant 8 each Asts: James Harden7 | |
Brooklyn leads series, 2–0 |
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York City |
May 28 |
Brooklyn Nets 119, Boston Celtics 125 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 32–33, 25–28, 27–35, 35–29 | ||
Pts: James Harden41 Rebs: Kevin Durant9 Asts: James Harden 10 |
Pts: Jayson Tatum50 Rebs: Tristan Thompson13 Asts: Jayson Tatum 7 | |
Brooklyn leads series, 2–1 |
TD Garden, Boston, MA |
May 30 |
Brooklyn Nets 141, Boston Celtics 126 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 33–34, 40–26, 39–31, 29–35 | ||
Pts: Kevin Durant42 Rebs: Kyrie Irving11 Asts: James Harden18 |
Pts: Jayson Tatum40 Rebs: Jayson Tatum 7 Asts: Marcus Smart9 | |
Brooklyn leads series, 3–1 |
TD Garden, Boston, MA |
June 1 |
Boston Celtics 109, Brooklyn Nets 123 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 24–31, 27–28, 28–27, 30–37 | ||
Pts: Jayson Tatum32 Rebs: Tatum, Thompson 9 each Asts: Jayson Tatum 5 |
Pts: James Harden34 Rebs: James Harden 10 Asts: James Harden 10 | |
Brooklyn wins series, 4–1 |
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York City |
Brooklyn won 3–0 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, but the first since the New Jersey Nets relocated to Brooklyn and became the Brooklyn Nets in 2012, with the Nets winning the first two meetings.[35]
Brooklyn leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
May 22 |
Miami Heat 107, Milwaukee Bucks 109 (OT) | ||
Scoring by quarter: 24–22, 26–31, 28–27, 21–19, Overtime: 8–10 | ||
Pts: Goran Dragić25 Rebs: Adebayo, Ariza 12 each Asts: Jimmy Butler8 |
Pts: Khris Middleton27 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo18 Asts: Khris Middleton 6 | |
Milwaukee leads series, 1–0 |
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI |
The Bucks struggled offensively against Miami, shooting only 16% (5–31) on three-point shots. The game went into overtime thanks to a game-tying, buzzer-beating layup by Jimmy Butler, but Milwaukee was able to pull away and win on a Khris Middleton jump shot, made with only 0.5 seconds left.
May 24 |
Miami Heat 98, Milwaukee Bucks 132 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 20–46, 31–32, 27–29, 20–25 | ||
Pts: Dewayne Dedmon19 Rebs: Dewayne Dedmon 9 Asts: Adebayo, Butler, Dragić 4 each |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo31 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 13 Asts: Jrue Holiday15 | |
Milwaukee leads series, 2–0 |
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI |
The Bucks erupted for 46 points in the first quarter, setting a new franchise playoff record, en route to a dominating 132–98 victory. The Bucks would make 22 three-pointers, after making only 5 in game 1.
May 27 |
Milwaukee Bucks 113, Miami Heat84 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 26–14, 23–22, 37–24, 27–24 | ||
Pts: Khris Middleton22 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo17 Asts: Jrue Holiday12 |
Pts: Jimmy Butler19 Rebs: Adebayo, Butler 8 each Asts: Jimmy Butler 6 | |
Milwaukee leads series, 3–0 |
American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL |
The Bucks would cruise to another convincing victory in game 3, to take a commanding 3–0 series lead on Miami. In games 2 & 3, the Heat led for only 17 seconds, out of 96 minutes of game time.
May 29 |
Milwaukee Bucks 120, Miami Heat 103 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 22–26, 35–38, 34–21, 29–18 | ||
Pts: Brook Lopez25 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo12 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 15 |
Pts: Bam Adebayo20 Rebs: Bam Adebayo 14 Asts: Jimmy Butler10 | |
Milwaukee wins series, 4–0 |
American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL |
Though Miami built a 7-point lead at halftime, the Bucks went on a 24–6 run in the third quarter to take a lead they would not relinquish, leading to a four-game sweep of the Heat.
Milwaukee won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Heat winning the first two meetings.[36]
Miami leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
May 23 |
Atlanta Hawks 107, New York Knicks 105 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 24–16, 28–34, 19–23, 36–32 | ||
Pts: Trae Young32 Rebs: Clint Capela13 Asts: Trae Young 10 |
Pts: Alec Burks27 Rebs: Julius Randle12 Asts: Derrick Rose5 | |
Atlanta leads series, 1–0 |
Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY |
May 26 |
Atlanta Hawks 92, New York Knicks 101 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 27–20, 30–24, 18–32, 17–25 | ||
Pts: Trae Young30 Rebs: Clint Capela12 Asts: Trae Young 7 |
Pts: Derrick Rose26 Rebs: Julius Randle12 Asts: Rose, Randle 4 each | |
Series tied, 1–1 |
Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY |
May 28 |
New York Knicks 94, Atlanta Hawks 105 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 31–29, 13–29, 28–28, 22–19 | ||
Pts: Derrick Rose30 Rebs: Julius Randle11 Asts: Derrick Rose 5 |
Pts: Trae Young21 Rebs: Clint Capela12 Asts: Trae Young 14 | |
Atlanta leads series, 2–1 |
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA |
May 30 |
New York Knicks 96, Atlanta Hawks 113 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 23–28, 22–35, 25–25 | ||
Pts: Julius Randle23 Rebs: Julius Randle 10 Asts: Julius Randle 7 |
Pts: Trae Young27 Rebs: Clint Capela15 Asts: Trae Young 9 | |
Atlanta leads series, 3–1 |
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA |
June 2 |
Atlanta Hawks 103, New York Knicks89 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 21–21, 31–26, 22–15, 29–27 | ||
Pts: Trae Young36 Rebs: Clint Capela15 Asts: Trae Young 9 |
Pts: Julius Randle23 Rebs: Julius Randle 13 Asts: Rose, Barrett 5 each | |
Atlanta wins series, 4–1 |
Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY |
In Game 1, Trae Young hits the game-winning floater with 0.9 seconds left.
New York won 3–0 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
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|
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning the first two meetings.[37]
New York leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||
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|
May 23 |
Memphis Grizzlies 112, Utah Jazz 109 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 17–24, 32–19, 34–31, 29–35 | ||
Pts: Dillon Brooks31 Rebs: Jonas Valančiūnas13 Asts: Ja Morant4 |
Pts: Bojan Bogdanović29 Rebs: Rudy Gobert15 Asts: Mike Conley Jr.11 | |
Memphis leads series, 1–0 |
Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, UT |
May 26 |
Memphis Grizzlies 129, Utah Jazz 141 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 27–36, 27–38, 43–29, 32–38 | ||
Pts: Ja Morant47 Rebs: Valančiūnas, Anderson 6 each Asts: Ja Morant 7 |
Pts: Donovan Mitchell25 Rebs: Rudy Gobert13 Asts: Mike Conley Jr.15 | |
Series tied, 1–1 |
Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, UT |
May 29 |
Utah Jazz 121, Memphis Grizzlies 111 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 34–22, 28–29, 34–34, 25–26 | ||
Pts: Donovan Mitchell29 Rebs: Rudy Gobert14 Asts: Mike Conley Jr.8 |
Pts: Ja Morant28 Rebs: Valančiūnas, Anderson 13 each Asts: Ja Morant 7 | |
Utah leads series, 2–1 |
FedExForum, Memphis, TN |
May 31 |
Utah Jazz 120, Memphis Grizzlies 113 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 34–31, 25–23, 41–33, 20–26 | ||
Pts: Donovan Mitchell30 Rebs: Royce O'Neale9 Asts: Donovan Mitchell 8 |
Pts: Ja Morant23 Rebs: Jonas Valančiūnas12 Asts: Ja Morant 12 | |
Utah leads series, 3–1 |
FedExForum, Memphis, TN |
June 2 |
Memphis Grizzlies 110, Utah Jazz 126 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 27–47, 24–28, 25–31, 34–20 | ||
Pts: Brooks, Morant 27 each Rebs: Jackson Jr., Morant 7 each Asts: Ja Morant 11 |
Pts: Donovan Mitchell30 Rebs: Rudy Gobert15 Asts: Donovan Mitchell 10 | |
Utah wins series, 4–1 |
Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, UT |
Utah won 3–0 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
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|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Jazz and the Grizzlies.[38]
May 23 |
Los Angeles Lakers 90, Phoenix Suns 99 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 25–32, 20–21, 23–28, 22–18 | ||
Pts: LeBron James18 Rebs: Andre Drummond9 Asts: LeBron James 10 |
Pts: Devin Booker34 Rebs: Deandre Ayton16 Asts: Booker, Paul 8 each | |
Phoenix leads series, 1–0 |
Phoenix Suns Arena, Phoenix, AZ |
May 25 |
Los Angeles Lakers 109, Phoenix Suns 102 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 30–24, 23–23, 26–25, 30–30 | ||
Pts: Anthony Davis34 Rebs: Andre Drummond12 Asts: LeBron James9 |
Pts: Devin Booker31 Rebs: Deandre Ayton10 Asts: Cameron Payne7 | |
Series tied, 1–1 |
Phoenix Suns Arena, Phoenix, AZ |
May 27 |
Phoenix Suns 95, Los Angeles Lakers 109 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 28–27, 12–16, 23–33, 32–33 | ||
Pts: Deandre Ayton22 Rebs: Deandre Ayton 11 Asts: Booker, Paul, Payne 6 each |
Pts: Anthony Davis34 Rebs: Davis, Drummond 11 each Asts: LeBron James9 | |
LA Lakers lead series, 2–1 |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
May 30 |
Phoenix Suns 100, Los Angeles Lakers92 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 23–24, 31–26, 27–15, 19–27 | ||
Pts: Chris Paul18 Rebs: Deandre Ayton17 Asts: Chris Paul 9 |
Pts: LeBron James25 Rebs: LeBron James 12 Asts: LeBron James 6 | |
Series tied, 2–2 |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
June 1 |
Los Angeles Lakers 85, Phoenix Suns 115 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 26–34, 10–32, 27–26, 22–23 | ||
Pts: LeBron James24 Rebs: Andre Drummond13 Asts: LeBron James 7 |
Pts: Devin Booker30 Rebs: Ayton, Booker, Craig 7 each Asts: Chris Paul6 | |
Phoenix leads series, 3–2 |
Phoenix Suns Arena, Phoenix, AZ |
June 3 |
Phoenix Suns 113, Los Angeles Lakers 100 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 36–14, 26–27, 27–35, 24–24 | ||
Pts: Devin Booker47 Rebs: Devin Booker 11 Asts: Chris Paul12 |
Pts: LeBron James29 Rebs: LeBron James 9 Asts: Gasol, James 7 each | |
Phoenix wins series, 4–2 |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
Phoenix won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
This was the 13th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning eight of the first 12 meetings.[39]
LA Lakers leads 8–4 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
May 22 |
Portland Trail Blazers 123, Denver Nuggets 109 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 35–30, 23–31, 38–25, 27–23 | ||
Pts: Damian Lillard34 Rebs: Jusuf Nurkić12 Asts: Damian Lillard 13 |
Pts: Nikola Jokić34 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 16 Asts: Campazzo, Morris 5 each | |
Portland leads series, 1–0 |
Ball Arena, Denver, CO |
May 24 |
Portland Trail Blazers 109, Denver Nuggets 128 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 25–31, 36–42, 26–28, 22–27 | ||
Pts: Damian Lillard42 Rebs: Jusuf Nurkić13 Asts: Damian Lillard 10 |
Pts: Nikola Jokić38 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 8 Asts: Monté Morris7 | |
Series tied, 1–1 |
Ball Arena, Denver, CO |
May 27 |
Denver Nuggets 120, Portland Trail Blazers 115 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 39–30, 25–29, 20–20, 36–36 | ||
Pts: Nikola Jokić36 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 11 Asts: Facundo Campazzo8 |
Pts: Damian Lillard37 Rebs: Jusuf Nurkić13 Asts: Jusuf Nurkić 6 | |
Denver leads series, 2–1 |
Moda Center, Portland, OR |
May 29 |
Denver Nuggets 95, Portland Trail Blazers 115 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 24–32, 23–25, 19–36, 29–22 | ||
Pts: Nikola Jokić16 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 9 Asts: Facundo Campazzo7 |
Pts: Norman Powell29 Rebs: Robert Covington9 Asts: Damian Lillard10 | |
Series tied, 2–2 |
Moda Center, Portland, OR |
June 1 |
Portland Trail Blazers 140, Denver Nuggets 147 (2OT) | ||
Scoring by quarter: 25–38, 37–27, 32–27, 27–29, Overtime: 14–14, 5–12 | ||
Pts: Damian Lillard55 Rebs: Covington, Nurkić 11 each Asts: Damian Lillard 10 |
Pts: Nikola Jokić38 Rebs: Michael Porter Jr.12 Asts: Nikola Jokić 9 | |
Denver leads series, 3–2 |
Ball Arena, Denver, CO |
June 3 |
Denver Nuggets 126, Portland Trail Blazers 115 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 29–33, 32–35, 37–33, 28–14 | ||
Pts: Nikola Jokić36 Rebs: JaMychal Green9 Asts: Monté Morris9 |
Pts: Damian Lillard28 Rebs: Robert Covington10 Asts: Damian Lillard 13 | |
Denver wins series, 4–2 |
Moda Center, Portland, OR |
Denver won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
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|
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Portland winning two of the first three meetings.[40]
Portland leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||||||||
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|
May 22 |
Dallas Mavericks 113, Los Angeles Clippers 103 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 33–30, 27–25, 26–25, 27–23 | ||
Pts: Luka Dončić31 Rebs: Luka Dončić 10 Asts: Luka Dončić 11 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard26 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 10 Asts: George, Leonard 5 each | |
Dallas leads series, 1–0 |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
May 25 |
Dallas Mavericks 127, Los Angeles Clippers 121 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 35–33, 36–40, 30–19, 26–29 | ||
Pts: Luka Dončić39 Rebs: Luka Dončić 7 Asts: Luka Dončić 7 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard41 Rebs: Paul George12 Asts: Rajon Rondo7 | |
Dallas leads series, 2–0 |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
May 28 |
Los Angeles Clippers 118, Dallas Mavericks 108 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 31–34, 32–27, 26–25, 29–22 | ||
Pts: Kawhi Leonard36 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 8 Asts: Rajon Rondo8 |
Pts: Luka Dončić44 Rebs: Luka Dončić 9 Asts: Luka Dončić 9 | |
Dallas leads series, 2–1 |
American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX |
May 30 |
Los Angeles Clippers 106, Dallas Mavericks81 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 31–22, 30–23, 21–15, 24–21 | ||
Pts: Kawhi Leonard29 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 10 Asts: Rajon Rondo4 |
Pts: Luka Dončić19 Rebs: Dorian Finney-Smith8 Asts: Luka Dončić 6 | |
Series tied, 2–2 |
American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX |
June 2 |
Dallas Mavericks 105, Los Angeles Clippers 100 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 35–28, 21–26, 33–21, 16–25 | ||
Pts: Luka Dončić42 Rebs: Luka Dončić 8 Asts: Luka Dončić 14 |
Pts: Paul George23 Rebs: Ivica Zubac11 Asts: George, Rondo 6 each | |
Dallas leads series, 3–2 |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
June 4 |
Los Angeles Clippers 104, Dallas Mavericks97 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 26–28, 22–17, 25–32, 31–20 | ||
Pts: Kawhi Leonard45 Rebs: Paul George13 Asts: Paul George 6 |
Pts: Luka Dončić29 Rebs: Boban Marjanović9 Asts: Luka Dončić 11 | |
Series tied, 3–3 |
American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX |
June 6 |
Dallas Mavericks 111, Los Angeles Clippers 126 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 38–35, 24–35, 23–30, 26–26 | ||
Pts: Luka Dončić46 Rebs: Kristaps Porziņģis11 Asts: Luka Dončić 14 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard28 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 10 Asts: Paul George10 | |
LA Clippers win series, 4–3 |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
Dallas won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
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This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Clippers winning the first meeting.[41]
LA Clippers leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||
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This was the first time both Conference semifinals went seven games since 2001.
June 6 |
Atlanta Hawks 128, Philadelphia 76ers 124 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 42–27, 32–27, 25–29, 29–41 | ||
Pts: Trae Young35 Rebs: Clint Capela10 Asts: Trae Young 10 |
Pts: Joel Embiid39 Rebs: Tobias Harris10 Asts: Ben Simmons10 | |
Atlanta leads series, 1–0 |
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA |
The Atlanta Hawks dominated during the early part of the game, leading by as much as 26 points. However, the 76ers performed a major rally, eventually cutting the deficit to just 3 points with a minute left in regulation. 20 seconds later, Bogdan Bogdanovic hit a clutch 3, but the 76ers would make it a 3-point game again with 28.7 seconds left. Joel Embiid then committed a clear path foul, giving Atlanta 2 free throws and possession of the ball. The Hawks sealed the game with Trae Young's alley-oop assist to John Collins. Trae Young secured a double-double with 35 points and 10 assists for The Hawks. Joel Embiid scored 39 points for the 76ers.
June 8 |
Atlanta Hawks 102, Philadelphia 76ers 118 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 20–33, 35–24, 29–34, 18–27 | ||
Pts: Gallinari, Young 21 each Rebs: John Collins10 Asts: Trae Young 11 |
Pts: Joel Embiid40 Rebs: Joel Embiid 13 Asts: Danny Green8 | |
Series tied, 1–1 |
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA |
After the 76ers started the game up 20–4 with 6 minutes left in the 1st quarter, the Hawks rallied and the game remained close until the start of the 4th quarter, in which the 76ers blew the game open with a 14–0 run, resulting in the series being tied at a game apiece. Joel Embiid secured a double-double with 40 points and 13 rebounds, while Danny Green had 8 assists. Trae Young also scored a double-double with 21 points and 11 assists while John Collins grabbed 10 rebounds.
June 11 |
Philadelphia 76ers 127, Atlanta Hawks 111 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 28–20, 33–36, 34–19, 32–36 | ||
Pts: Joel Embiid27 Rebs: Joel Embiid 9 Asts: Joel Embiid 8 |
Pts: Trae Young28 Rebs: Clint Capela16 Asts: Trae Young 8 | |
Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 |
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA |
The 76ers cruised their way to victory throughout the entire game thanks in part to Joel Embiid's 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. Trae Young scored 28 points and 8 assists in the losing effort for the Hawks.
June 14 |
Philadelphia 76ers 100, Atlanta Hawks 103 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 28–20, 34–29, 20–31, 18–23 | ||
Pts: Tobias Harris20 Rebs: Joel Embiid21 Asts: Ben Simmons9 |
Pts: Trae Young25 Rebs: Clint Capela13 Asts: Trae Young 18 | |
Series tied, 2–2 |
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA |
Despite being down by 18, the Atlanta Hawks staged a comeback, eventually taking their first lead since the 1st quarter at the start of the 4th quarter. The 76ers were up by 4 with 2:20 left in the 4th quarter, but the Hawks responded with a 7–0 run, leading by 3 with 49.6 seconds left. After Embiid got fouled and made both free throws to make it 101-100, and a turnover by John Collins, the 76ers had a chance at leading the series 3 games to 1. Embiid's go-ahead shot fell short and the ball went out of bounds, last touched by Ben Simmons, giving Atlanta the ball with 8.2 seconds left. After Trae Young made both of his free throws to make it a 3-point game, the 76ers had 6.6 seconds left to tie it, but Seth Curry's game-tying 3-pointer was no good, giving Atlanta the comeback victory.
June 16 |
Atlanta Hawks 109, Philadelphia 76ers 106 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 24–38, 16–24, 29–25, 40–19 | ||
Pts: Trae Young39 Rebs: John Collins11 Asts: Trae Young 7 |
Pts: Joel Embiid37 Rebs: Joel Embiid 13 Asts: Ben Simmons9 | |
Atlanta leads series, 3–2 |
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA |
In the pivotal Game 5, the 76ers appeared to be on their way to victory, leading by as much as 26 points and with a 99.7% win probability according to ESPN.[42] However, the Hawks, who came back from down 18 in the previous game, performed one of the most memorable comebacks in NBA Playoffs history. The Sixers were still up 104–94 with 4 minutes left in the game, only for the Hawks to respond with a 13–0 run to take a 3-point lead with 50 seconds left, their first lead of the entire game.
With 12 seconds left, a blocking foul by Danilo Gallinari sent Joel Embiid to the line with the Hawks leading by 3. He missed both free throws and Atlanta then had possession of the ball. Trae Young sealed it with 2 clutch free throws, and Seth Curry then made a meaningless basket to make the final score 109–106 in favor the Hawks, who were now one game away from their first conference finals berth since 2015. Once the final buzzer sounded, the 76ers' faithful booed their entire team off the floor due to the collapse.
Trae Young led the Hawks' comeback victory with 39 points and 7 assists.
The Hawks became the 6th team in NBA Playoffs history to win a playoff game after trailing by 18+ points entering the 4th quarter in the shot clock era.
June 18 |
Philadelphia 76ers 104, Atlanta Hawks99 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 22–29, 25–22, 33–25, 24–23 | ||
Pts: Curry, Harris 24 each Rebs: Joel Embiid13 Asts: Ben Simmons5 |
Pts: Trae Young34 Rebs: Capela, Huerter 11 each Asts: Trae Young 12 | |
Series tied, 3–3 |
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA |
With the Hawks looking to advance to the Eastern Conference finals on their home floor, they led by as much as 12 points during the 2nd quarter. But the 76ers, who were trying to stave off elimination after back-to-back collapses, managed to take control of the game. However, the game once again would go down to the wire, as the Sixers were up 94–87 with 3 minutes left. The Hawks responded with 2 three-pointers from Gallinari and Young, who cut the deficit to one with 1:59 left in the 4th quarter. The lights at State Farm Arena went out, causing a one-minute delay. Once the lights came back on, Philadelphia immediately responded by preserving the lead as Tobias Harris would make 2 game-sealing free throws to send the series back to Philadelphia for Game 7 on Sunday night.
June 20 |
Atlanta Hawks 103, Philadelphia 76ers96 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 23–18, 28–25, 27–25 | ||
Pts: Kevin Huerter27 Rebs: John Collins16 Asts: Trae Young10 |
Pts: Joel Embiid31 Rebs: Tobias Harris14 Asts: Ben Simmons13 | |
Atlanta wins series, 4–3 |
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA |
In front of a loud Wells Fargo Center, Game 7 was a deadlocked affair, with neither team able to gain a double-digit lead. The game and the serie once again came down to the wire. With 1:12 left in the 4th quarter, the Hawks were leading, 93–92, and had the ball. Kevin Huerter attempted a 3-point shot that missed, but was fouled by Matisse Thybulle, sending him to the line where he made 3 free throws. On the next possession, Danilo Gallinari stripped Joel Embiid of the ball and then dunked to make it 98–92 in favor of the Hawks, who from that point on had complete control of the game. The Atlanta Hawks upset the top-seeded 76ers to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 6 years.
Kevin Huerter was the Hawks' top scorer with 27 points, John Collins grabbed 16 rebounds and Trae Young had 10 assists.
For the Sixers, Joel Embiid scored 31 points, while Tobias Harris grabbed 14 rebounds.
Ben Simmons' Game 7 performance was criticized as he scored only 5 points with 13 assists. With 3:30 left in the 4th quarter and the Sixers down 2, Simmons passed up a wide open dunk and instead passed to Matisse Thybulle, who got fouled and split the free throws. Sixers' coach Doc Rivers was asked in his post-game conference if Simmons could be the point guard of a championship team, with Rivers responding "I don't know the answer to that right now". Joel Embiid cited the decision as the turning point of the game.
Eventually it would be Ben Simmons, Andre Drummond & Seth Curry's last playoff game as a 76er, as all of them were traded to the Brooklyn Nets on February 10, 2022.
It was Atlanta's first win over Philadelphia in any sport playoff series since 1978.
Philadelphia won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
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This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers winning both previous meetings.[43]
Philadelphia leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||
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June 5 |
Milwaukee Bucks 107, Brooklyn Nets 115 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 32–30, 29–33, 23–35, 23–17 | ||
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo34 Rebs: Khris Middleton13 Asts: Jrue Holiday6 |
Pts: Kevin Durant29 Rebs: Blake Griffin14 Asts: Kyrie Irving8 | |
Brooklyn leads series, 1–0 |
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York City |
June 7 |
Milwaukee Bucks 86, Brooklyn Nets 125 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 19–36, 22–29, 24–30, 21–30 | ||
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo18 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 11 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 4 |
Pts: Kevin Durant32 Rebs: Blake Griffin8 Asts: Durant, Irving 6 each | |
Brooklyn leads series, 2–0 |
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York City |
June 10 |
Brooklyn Nets 83, Milwaukee Bucks 86 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 11–30, 31–15, 23–22, 18–19 | ||
Pts: Kevin Durant30 Rebs: Brown, Durant 11 each Asts: Kevin Durant 5 |
Pts: Khris Middleton35 Rebs: Khris Middleton 15 Asts: Jrue Holiday5 | |
Brooklyn leads series, 2–1 |
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI |
June 13 |
Brooklyn Nets 96, Milwaukee Bucks 107 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 26–23, 22–30, 21–28, 27–26 | ||
Pts: Kevin Durant28 Rebs: Kevin Durant 13 Asts: Kevin Durant 5 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo34 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 12 Asts: Jrue Holiday9 | |
Series tied, 2–2 |
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI |
June 15 |
Milwaukee Bucks 108, Brooklyn Nets 114 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 29–15, 30–28, 28–38, 21–33 | ||
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo34 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 12 Asts: Jrue Holiday8 |
Pts: Kevin Durant49 Rebs: Kevin Durant 17 Asts: Kevin Durant 10 | |
Brooklyn leads series, 3–2 |
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York City |
June 17 |
Brooklyn Nets 89, Milwaukee Bucks 104 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 19–26, 29–33, 19–19, 22–26 | ||
Pts: Kevin Durant32 Rebs: Kevin Durant 11 Asts: James Harden7 |
Pts: Khris Middleton38 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo17 Asts: Holiday, Middleton 5 each | |
Series tied, 3–3 |
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI |
June 19 |
Milwaukee Bucks 115, Brooklyn Nets 111 (OT) | ||
Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 22–25, 35–28, 27–28, Overtime: 6–2 | ||
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo40 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 13 Asts: Jrue Holiday8 |
Pts: Kevin Durant48 Rebs: Blake Griffin11 Asts: James Harden9 | |
Milwaukee wins series, 4–3 |
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York City |
Game 7 would go on to be an instant classic with both teams locked in for the entire game. In the final seconds of regulation, Kevin Durant appeared to have given the Nets a 1-point lead on a fadeaway three-point shot with 1 second left. Replay showed, however, that his foot was on the line. With the score tied at 109, Milwaukee had a chance to win the series, but Giannis Antetokounmpo's turnaround jump shot missed, sending the game into overtime. The Nets held a two-point lead until the final 90 seconds of overtime where the Bucks would score on back-to-back possessions to get on the board and take a 113–111 lead with 40 seconds remaining. The Nets had possession in the last 15 seconds of the game, with Durant shooting a similar turnaround game-tying, almost-three-point jump shot; however, it was an airball. The Bucks subsequently sealed the game on two free throws by Brook Lopez (a former Net), sending them to the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in three years. This marked the first game seven to go into overtime since 2006 involving the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs, which the Mavericks won and prevented the team from blowing a 3–1 lead to the Spurs. It was also the Bucks' first victory on the road in a postseason game seven, having gone 0–7 in previous playoff road game seven's. It also became the seventh team in NBA playoff history and the first since the 2017–18 Cleveland Cavaliers that a road team won game seven in the postseason also joined by other teams the 1968–69 Boston Celtics (who upset the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1969 series.), 1970–71 Baltimore Bullets (who were swept by eventual champions Bucks in the 1971 series.), the 2006–07 Utah Jazz, 2007–08 San Antonio Spurs, the 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2017–18 Cleveland Cavaliers, and followed by 2021–22 Dallas Mavericks, and also the third team in NBA playoff history to win game seven on the road in overtime joined the 2001–02 Los Angeles Lakers, and the 2005–06 Mavericks' team.
Milwaukee won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
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This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, but the first since the New Jersey Nets relocated to Brooklyn and became the Brooklyn Nets in 2012, with the Bucks winning two of the first three meetings.[44]
Milwaukee leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||||||||
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June 8 |
Los Angeles Clippers 109, Utah Jazz 112 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 25–18, 35–29, 19–32, 30–33 | ||
Pts: Kawhi Leonard23 Rebs: Paul George10 Asts: Rajon Rondo6 |
Pts: Donovan Mitchell45 Rebs: Rudy Gobert12 Asts: Joe Ingles7 | |
Utah leads series, 1–0 |
Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, UT |
June 10 |
Los Angeles Clippers 111, Utah Jazz 117 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 29–30, 24–36, 33–27, 25–24 | ||
Pts: Reggie Jackson29 Rebs: Morris, George 10 each Asts: Paul George 6 |
Pts: Donovan Mitchell37 Rebs: Rudy Gobert20 Asts: Ingles, Mitchell 4 each | |
Utah leads series, 2–0 |
Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, UT |
June 12 |
Utah Jazz 106, Los Angeles Clippers 132 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 23–27, 26–37, 34–30, 23–38 | ||
Pts: Donovan Mitchell30 Rebs: Rudy Gobert10 Asts: Donovan Mitchell 4 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard34 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 12 Asts: George, Leonard 5 each | |
Utah leads series, 2–1 |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
June 14 |
Utah Jazz 104, Los Angeles Clippers 118 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 13–30, 31–38, 29–26, 31–24 | ||
Pts: Donovan Mitchell37 Rebs: O'Neale, Gobert 8 each Asts: Bogdanović, Mitchell 5 each |
Pts: Leonard, George 31 each Rebs: Paul George 9 Asts: Batum, George 4 each | |
Series tied, 2–2 |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
June 16 |
Los Angeles Clippers 119, Utah Jazz 111 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 36–37, 24–28, 32–18, 27–28 | ||
Pts: Paul George37 Rebs: Paul George 16 Asts: Paul George 5 |
Pts: Bojan Bogdanović32 Rebs: Rudy Gobert10 Asts: Joe Ingles6 | |
LA Clippers leads series, 3–2 |
Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, UT |
June 18 |
Utah Jazz 119, Los Angeles Clippers 131 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 33–31, 39–19, 22–41, 25–40 | ||
Pts: Donovan Mitchell39 Rebs: Gobert, O'Neale 10 each Asts: Donovan Mitchell 9 |
Pts: Terance Mann39 Rebs: Paul George9 Asts: Reggie Jackson10 | |
LA Clippers wins series, 4–2 |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
The Clippers were trailing by 22 at the end of the first half in Game 6. They went down 25 at the start of the third quarter, before a retaliation led by Terance Mann allowed the Clippers to fight back to within 3 points at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth, the momentum from the third quarter and Utah's struggles allowed the Clippers to complete the comeback, becoming the first team to recover from being down 0–2 twice in the same playoffs, and reaching their first Conference finals in franchise history.[45]
Utah won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
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This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning the previous three meetings.[46]
Utah leads 3–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||||||||
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June 7 |
Denver Nuggets 105, Phoenix Suns 122 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 28–28, 30–29, 21–31, 26–34 | ||
Pts: Nikola Jokić22 Rebs: JaMychal Green11 Asts: Campazzo, Morris 6 each |
Pts: Mikal Bridges23 Rebs: Deandre Ayton10 Asts: Chris Paul11 | |
Phoenix leads series, 1–0 |
Phoenix Suns Arena, Phoenix, AZ |
June 9 |
Denver Nuggets 98, Phoenix Suns 123 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 21–25, 21–27, 25–34, 31–37 | ||
Pts: Nikola Jokić24 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 13 Asts: Nikola Jokić 6 |
Pts: Devin Booker18 Rebs: Ayton, Booker 10 each Asts: Chris Paul15 | |
Phoenix leads series, 2–0 |
Phoenix Suns Arena, Phoenix, AZ |
June 11 |
Phoenix Suns 116, Denver Nuggets 102 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 37–27, 22–28, 31–21, 26–26 | ||
Pts: Devin Booker28 Rebs: Deandre Ayton15 Asts: Chris Paul8 |
Pts: Nikola Jokić32 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 20 Asts: Nikola Jokić 10 | |
Phoenix leads series, 3–0 |
Ball Arena, Denver, CO |
June 13 |
Phoenix Suns 125, Denver Nuggets 118 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 28–22, 35–33, 33–28, 29–35 | ||
Pts: Chris Paul37 Rebs: Devin Booker11 Asts: Chris Paul 7 |
Pts: Will Barton25 Rebs: Nikola Jokić11 Asts: Monté Morris6 | |
Phoenix wins series, 4–0 |
Ball Arena, Denver, CO |
Denver won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
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This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Phoenix winning two of the first three meetings.[47]
Phoenix leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||||||||
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June 23 |
Atlanta Hawks 116, Milwaukee Bucks 113 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 29–31, 34–26, 28–28 | ||
Pts: Trae Young48 Rebs: Clint Capela19 Asts: Trae Young 11 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo34 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 12 Asts: Jrue Holiday10 | |
Atlanta leads series, 1–0 |
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI |
Atlanta's top offensive star, Trae Young, scored 48 points in his conference finals debut, while the Hawks rallied in the 2nd half to beat the Bucks in game 1 in Milwaukee, aided by 5 offensive rebounds in the final 2 minutes.
June 25 |
Atlanta Hawks 91, Milwaukee Bucks 125 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 28–34, 17–43, 18–26, 28–22 | ||
Pts: Trae Young15 Rebs: Capela, Collins 8 each Asts: Bogdan Bogdanović4 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo25 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 9 Asts: Khris Middleton8 | |
Series tied, 1–1 |
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI |
The Bucks rode a 20–0 scoring run in the 2nd quarter to run away with a game 2 victory.
June 27 |
Milwaukee Bucks 113, Atlanta Hawks 102 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 27–32, 29–24, 27–29, 30–17 | ||
Pts: Khris Middleton38 Rebs: Antetokounmpo, Middleton 11 each Asts: Jrue Holiday12 |
Pts: Trae Young35 Rebs: Clint Capela11 Asts: Kevin Huerter7 | |
Milwaukee leads series, 2–1 |
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA |
Trailing by 2 points going into the 4th quarter, the Bucks' Khris Middleton would carry Milwaukee to victory in game 3, outscoring Atlanta in the final quarter by himself, 20–17, en route to a game-high 38 points, putting the Bucks back in the lead in the series and getting back homecourt advantage. Atlanta's loss was also compounded when Trae Young suffered a bruised foot when he rolled his ankle over a referee's foot, leaving his status for the rest of the series in doubt.
June 29 |
Milwaukee Bucks 88, Atlanta Hawks 110 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 16–26, 24–36, 26–23 | ||
Pts: Jrue Holiday19 Rebs: Antetokounmpo, Middleton 8 each Asts: Jrue Holiday 9 |
Pts: Lou Williams21 Rebs: Capela, Collins 7 each Asts: Lou Williams 8 | |
Series tied, 2–2 |
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA |
The Bucks' 3-point woes returned in game 4, as the team only shot 21% (8–39) in a loss to Atlanta that evened the series once more. Even worse, the Bucks' superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, hyperextended his knee while trying to defend an alley-oop dunk, though an MRI the following day revealed no structural damage, and Antetokounmpo potentially available for either game 7 or the NBA Finals.
July 1 |
Atlanta Hawks 112, Milwaukee Bucks 123 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 22–36, 34–29, 22–26, 34–32 | ||
Pts: Bogdan Bogdanović28 Rebs: Capela, Collins 8 each Asts: Kevin Huerter7 |
Pts: Brook Lopez33 Rebs: Khris Middleton13 Asts: Jrue Holiday13 | |
Milwaukee leads series, 3–2 |
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI |
With both teams' stars out with injuries, both the Hawks and Bucks needed contributions from their other players in game 5. The Bucks would deliver, led by Brook Lopez's 33 points. In addition to Lopez, 3 other Bucks starters (Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, and Bobby Portis) scored at least 20 points. While Atlanta kept the game close, aided by Bogdan Bogdanovic's 28 points, the Bucks took a 3–2 series lead, leaving them one win away from the Eastern Conference championship.
July 3 |
Milwaukee Bucks 118, Atlanta Hawks 107 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 28–24, 19–19, 44–29, 27–35 | ||
Pts: Khris Middleton32 Rebs: Holiday, Portis 9 each Asts: Jrue Holiday 9 |
Pts: Cam Reddish21 Rebs: John Collins11 Asts: Trae Young9 | |
Milwaukee wins series, 4–2 |
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA |
Facing elimination, the Hawks got Trae Young back to start game 6, but he still struggled with his injured foot, scoring only 14 points. After leading Atlanta by only 4 points at halftime, Khris Middleton would score the Bucks' first 16 points of the 3rd quarter to build a 19-point lead going into the 4th quarter. The Bucks would weather a wave of hot shooting from Bogdan Bogdanovic and Cam Reddish, helped by a crucial 3-point shot by PJ Tucker, and an alley-oop dunk by Brook Lopez that essentially clinched the game and the series for the Bucks. The victory gave the Bucks the Eastern Conference championship, their 3rd overall conference title (though the previous two were for the Western Conference), and their first trip to the NBA Finals since 1974.
Game 6 was also the final game announced by famed basketball broadcaster Marv Albert.
Milwaukee won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
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This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning two series apiece.[48] Four months later, two teams from Milwaukee and Atlanta would meet again in a sports postseason as the Braves beat the Brewers in the 2021 NLDS.
Tied 2–2 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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June 20 |
Los Angeles Clippers 114, Phoenix Suns 120 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 21–21, 33–36, 39–36, 21–27 | ||
Pts: Paul George34 Rebs: Nicolas Batum10 Asts: Rajon Rondo7 |
Pts: Devin Booker40 Rebs: Devin Booker 13 Asts: Devin Booker 11 | |
Phoenix leads series, 1–0 |
Phoenix Suns Arena, Phoenix, AZ |
June 22 |
Los Angeles Clippers 103, Phoenix Suns 104 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 25–23, 24–27, 32–29 | ||
Pts: Paul George26 Rebs: Ivica Zubac11 Asts: Paul George 6 |
Pts: Cameron Payne29 Rebs: Deandre Ayton14 Asts: Cameron Payne 9 | |
Phoenix leads series, 2–0 |
Phoenix Suns Arena, Phoenix, AZ |
June 24 |
Phoenix Suns 92, Los Angeles Clippers 106 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 21–29, 27–17, 21–34, 23–26 | ||
Pts: Deandre Ayton18 Rebs: Deandre Ayton 9 Asts: Chris Paul12 |
Pts: Paul George27 Rebs: Ivica Zubac16 Asts: Paul George 8 | |
Phoenix leads series, 2–1 |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
June 26 |
Phoenix Suns 84, Los Angeles Clippers80 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 29–20, 21–16, 19–30, 15–14 | ||
Pts: Devin Booker25 Rebs: Deandre Ayton22 Asts: Chris Paul7 |
Pts: Paul George23 Rebs: Paul George 16 Asts: Paul George 6 | |
Phoenix leads series, 3–1 |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
The Clippers shot 0 of 12 in the fourth quarter on shots that could have tied the game or taken the lead. That is the most such attempts without a make in the fourth quarter of a game over the last 25 postseasons. During the last 8 seconds of the game when the Clippers trailed by 1 point, there was a controversial call where Nicolas Batum of the Clippers deflected the ball off the finger tips of Cameron Payne of the Suns, but the ball was given to the Suns. There was no review of the play despite a heavy plea from the Clippers.
June 28 |
Los Angeles Clippers 116, Phoenix Suns 102 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 36–26, 23–26, 32–26, 25–24 | ||
Pts: Paul George41 Rebs: Paul George 13 Asts: Paul George 6 |
Pts: Devin Booker31 Rebs: Deandre Ayton11 Asts: Chris Paul8 | |
Phoenix leads series, 3–2 |
Phoenix Suns Arena, Phoenix, AZ |
June 30 |
Phoenix Suns 130, Los Angeles Clippers 103 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 33–29, 33–28, 31–26, 33–20 | ||
Pts: Chris Paul41 Rebs: Deandre Ayton17 Asts: Chris Paul 8 |
Pts: Marcus Morris26 Rebs: George, Morris 9 each Asts: Reggie Jackson8 | |
Phoenix wins series, 4–2 |
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA |
Chris Paul's 41 points matched his career high with that of his performance as a member of the Houston Rockets in Game 5 against the Utah Jazz in 2018, both of which were series clinchers. Paul previously played for the Clippers from 2011 to 2017. Patrick Beverley shoved Paul during a timeout, which led to an ejection, a flagrant foul, a technical foul and being suspended by the league president, former All-Star player and former head coach Kiki VanDeWeghe and current league commissioner Adam Silver for the first game of the 2021–22 season. This turned out to be the last game of Beverley's career with the Clippers before being traded away twice to the Memphis Grizzlies and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Beverley became the first player to be suspended for first game of the following season since Andrew Bynum in the 2011 NBA playoffs, for shoving and elbowing J. J. Barea during the Los Angeles Lakers' eventual four–game sweep by the eventual NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks.
LA Clippers won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
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This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Suns winning the previous meeting.[49]
Phoenix leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||
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July 6 |
Milwaukee Bucks 105, Phoenix Suns 118 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 26–30, 23–27, 27–35, 29–26 | ||
Pts: Khris Middleton29 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo17 Asts: Jrue Holiday9 |
Pts: Chris Paul32 Rebs: Deandre Ayton19 Asts: Chris Paul 9 | |
Phoenix leads series, 1–0 |
Phoenix Suns Arena, Phoenix, AZ |
July 8 |
Milwaukee Bucks 108, Phoenix Suns 118 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 29–26, 16–30, 33–32, 30–30 | ||
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo42 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 12 Asts: Khris Middleton8 |
Pts: Devin Booker31 Rebs: Deandre Ayton11 Asts: Chris Paul8 | |
Phoenix leads series, 2–0 |
Phoenix Suns Arena, Phoenix, AZ |
July 11 |
Phoenix Suns 100, Milwaukee Bucks 120 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 28–25, 17–35, 31–38, 24–22 | ||
Pts: Chris Paul19 Rebs: Deandre Ayton9 Asts: Chris Paul 9 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo41 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 13 Asts: Jrue Holiday9 | |
Phoenix leads series, 2–1 |
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI |
July 14 |
Phoenix Suns 103, Milwaukee Bucks 109 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 23–20, 29–32, 30–24, 21–33 | ||
Pts: Devin Booker42 Rebs: Deandre Ayton17 Asts: Chris Paul7 |
Pts: Khris Middleton40 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo14 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 8 | |
Series tied, 2–2 |
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI |
July 17 |
Milwaukee Bucks 123, Phoenix Suns 119 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 21–37, 43–24, 36–29, 23–29 | ||
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo32 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 9 Asts: Jrue Holiday13 |
Pts: Devin Booker40 Rebs: Deandre Ayton10 Asts: Chris Paul11 | |
Milwaukee leads series, 3–2 |
Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ |
July 20 |
Phoenix Suns 98, Milwaukee Bucks 105 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 16–29, 31–13, 30–35, 21–28 | ||
Pts: Chris Paul26 Rebs: Jae Crowder13 Asts: Booker, Paul 5 each |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo50 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 14 Asts: Jrue Holiday11 | |
Milwaukee wins series, 4–2 |
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI |
Phoenix won 2–0 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||
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This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bucks winning the first meeting.[50]
Milwaukee leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||
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Category | Game High | Average | |||||
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Player | Team | High | Player | Team | Avg. | GP | |
Points | Damian Lillard | Portland Trail Blazers | 55 | Luka Dončić | Dallas Mavericks | 35.7 | 7 |
Rebounds | Deandre Ayton | Phoenix Suns | 22 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks | 12.8 | 21 |
Assists | James Harden Trae Young |
Brooklyn Nets Atlanta Hawks |
18 | Russell Westbrook | Washington Wizards | 11.8 | 5 |
Steals | Kyle Anderson | Memphis Grizzlies | 6 | Kyle Anderson | Memphis Grizzlies | 2.8 | 5 |
Blocks | Robert Williams | Boston Celtics | 9 | Rudy Gobert | Utah Jazz | 2.1 | 11 |
Throughout the playoffs, there were a number of incidents at multiple games involving fans:
ESPN, ABC, TNT, and NBA TV broadcast the playoffs nationally in the United States. During the first two rounds, games were split by ESPN, ABC, and TNT. TNT primarily aired games on Saturday through Wednesday while ESPN does so on Friday and Saturday. For Thursday games, TNT had them in the first round and ESPN in the second round. ABC then aired selected games in the first two rounds on Friday through Sunday. NBA TV also televised selected games in the first round on Tuesday through Thursday. Regional sports networks affiliated with teams also broadcast the games, except for weekend games televised on ABC.[a] ESPN/ABC had exclusive coverage of the Western Conference finals while TNT had exclusive coverage of the Eastern Conference finals. ABC had exclusive coverage of the NBA Finals for the 19th straight year.
This was the final postseason for Marv Albert, who announced his retirement on May 17, 2021. Albert, who turned 80 in June, had spent most of the previous 31 years as the lead broadcaster for NBA coverage on TNT and NBC.[58]
2020–21 NBA season by team
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