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2014 NBA playoffs

The 2014 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2013–14 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeating the two-time defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. Kawhi Leonard was named NBA Finals MVP.

The 2014 NBA Playoffs marked the final postseason that the NBA Playoffs and Finals logos were applied on the qualifiers' courts until 2020, when digital logos were used instead of decals. They were also the first playoffs overseen by Commissioner Adam Silver.

The San Antonio Spurs continued the longest active playoff streak in the NBA at 17 straight appearances.^[1]

All three teams from Texas made the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

The Dallas Mavericks returned to the playoffs after a one-season absence while the Portland Trail Blazers returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

The Denver Nuggets missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003.

The Los Angeles Lakers also missed the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

The Atlanta Hawks, despite holding a sub–.500 record, made the playoffs for the seventh consecutive postseason, continuing the longest active postseason streak in the Eastern Conference.

The Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards made their first playoff appearances since 2008.

The Charlotte Bobcats made their final playoff appearance before renaming themselves the Hornets, returned after a four-year absence.

The New York Knicks missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010. The Boston Celtics also missed the playoffs for the first (and only) time since 2007. For the first time since 1994, the Lakers and Celtics missed the playoffs in the same season. In addition, this was the first time in NBA history that the Knicks, Celtics, and Lakers missed the playoffs in the same year.^[2]

The first round of the 2014 Playoffs is generally considered one of the greatest postseason rounds in NBA history. The first 11 days of the playoffs saw at least one road team win. That ended on April 30 with the Raptors, Spurs, and Houston Rockets all winning at home against the Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks, and Portland Trail Blazers, respectively. The 24 road wins is an NBA playoffs record for the first round. In addition, the 2014 playoffs featured a record eight first-round games that went into overtime, including four straight between the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder (Games 2–5), another NBA record.

This postseason and the previous year's postseason marked the first time since the 2000 and 2001 playoffs that both number 5 seeds knocked out both number 4 seeds in back–to–back years. The Washington Wizards eliminated the Chicago Bulls 4-1 while the Portland Trail Blazers eliminated the Houston Rockets 4–2.

Game 6 of the Rockets–Trail Blazers series was highlighted by Damian Lillard's series winning three pointer over Chandler Parsons to win the game and the series. With the win, the Trail Blazers won their first playoff series since 2000.

The Hawks–Pacers series was the first series to force a Game 7, making this postseason the 15th consecutive postseason to have at least one Game 7. The 1999 NBA playoffs were the last time a Game 7 wasn't played.

Five of the eight first–round series were extended to game sevens. Three of the series, Atlanta HawksatIndiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies at Oklahoma City Thunder, and Golden State WarriorsatLos Angeles Clippers, were played on May 3, which marked the first time (and currently only) in NBA history that three Game 7s were played on the same day.^[3] Two other game sevens were played on the following day, featuring Dallas at San Antonio and Brooklyn at Toronto. The five game sevens in the first round already tied the record for the most number of game sevens in any NBA playoffs, set in the 1994 NBA playoffs. However, the NBA only adopted a best–of–seven format for the first round beginning in 2003.^[4]

Game 7 of the Raptors–Nets series was the first Game 7 ever played outside the United States. The Nets won this game, thanks to Paul Pierce's series winning block over Kyle Lowry. This would be the last Game 7 won by a road team until the 2016 NBA Finals.

Game 4 of the Heat–Nets series saw LeBron James record a Heat franchise playoff high 49 points. He eventually led the Miami Heat to their fourth consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance with a win in Game 5.

With a Game 5 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, the San Antonio Spurs advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the third consecutive postseason.

With a Game 6 win over the Washington Wizards, the Indiana Pacers made the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive postseason. This also marked the first time since 1998–2000 that the Pacers made the ECF in consecutive seasons. This would be last playoff series victory by the Pacers until 2024

This year's conference finals marked the first postseason (and the seventh time since 1972, when the current playoff system was put in place) in which the top two seeds played in the Conference Finals both in the East and the West.

With their Game 2 win over the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat set an NBA record by recording their 15th straight playoff series in which they earned at least one road win.

With their Game 6 win over the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat made the NBA Finals for the fourth straight season. The Heat were the first team other than the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers to accomplish this feat.

With their Game 6 overtime win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs made the NBA Finals for the second straight season. This marked the first time in franchise history that the Spurs made the Finals in consecutive seasons.

The 2014 NBA Finals were notable for several things.

For the first time since 1998, there would be a rematch of last year's finalists. In this case: the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs met for the second consecutive season.

This was the first NBA Finals under commissioner Adam Silver.

For the first time since 1984, the NBA Finals were played in a 2–2–1–1–1 format (the higher seed hosts Games 1, 2, 5, and 7, the lower seed hosts Games 3, 4, and 6).^[5][6]

Game 1: The air conditioning at the AT&T Center broke, resulting in sweltering conditions. LeBron James left the game with cramps.

Game 2: With the win, the Miami Heat extended their playoff road record to 16 straight playoff series in which they won a road game.

Game 3: In the first half, the San Antonio Spurs set an NBA record for accuracy (in shots made). The Spurs won this game, and took a 2–1 series lead. The Miami Heat, on the other hand, lost their first home playoff game of the season.

Game 4: The Miami Heat lost consecutive postseason games for the first time since 2012. The San Antonio Spurs, on the other hand, took a 3–1 series lead.

Game 5: Overcoming a double digit first quarter deficit, the San Antonio Spurs won the game and the NBA Finals four games to one. This was also the final game of the Miami Heat's big three era.

Within each conference, the three division winners and the five non-division winners with the most wins qualified for the playoffs. The seedings are based on each team's record; however, a division winner is guaranteed to be ranked at least fourth, regardless of record.

Each conference's bracket is fixed; there is no reseeding. All rounds are best-of-seven series; the team that has four wins advances to the next round. As stated above, all rounds, including the NBA Finals, are in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. Home court advantage in any round does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead to the team with the better regular season record. If two teams with the same record meet in a round, standard tiebreaker rules are used. The rule for determining home court advantage in the NBA Finals is winning percentage, then head-to-head record, followed by record vs. opposite conference.

The tiebreakers that determine seedings are:

1. Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division
2. Head-to-head record
3. Division record (if all the tied teams are in the same division)
4. Conference record
5. Record vs. playoff teams, own conference
6. Record vs. playoff teams, other conference (only in two-way tie)
7. Point differential, all games

If there were more than two teams tied, the team that wins the tiebreaker gets the highest seed, while the other teams were "re-broken" from the first step until all ties were resolved. Since the three division winners were guaranteed a spot in the top four, ties to determine the division winners had to be broken before any other ties.

— = Did not achieve

— = Did not achieve

Notes

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 are shown in italics.

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

With the season series between the two tied at 2 games apiece and Indiana's post All-Star break malaise, the series was expected to be closer than the seedings might suggest. In Game 1, the Pacers' struggles continued as the Hawks snatched away home-court advantage and took a 1–0 series lead. In Game 2, the Pacers were in danger of falling 0–2 in the series after the Hawks led by as much as 11 in the first half. However, the Pacers used a big 32–6 run spanning the second and third periods to take a 101–85 win and tie the series at 1 apiece. In Game 3, the Hawks blew the game open in the second half to take a 98–85 win and a surprising 2–1 series lead. In Game 4, the Pacers were once again in danger after the Hawks led by as much as 10 before the Pacers started to rally back. Paul George and David West hit crucial threes in the final quarter to give the Pacers a 91–88 win and tie the series at 2 all. The Hawks still had a chance to force overtime but Pero Antić missed his three-pointer as the Pacers took back home-court advantage.

In Game 5, the Hawks embarrassed the Pacers as they used a big second quarter to take a commanding lead of as much as 30 before holding off the Pacers for a 107–97 win and a 3–2 series lead, putting the 1st-seeded Pacers on the brink of elimination. In Game 6, the Hawks looked like they were in position for the upset when they led by 5 with about 3 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. However, West led the way for the Pacers as they forced a decisive Game 7 with a 95–88 win. The Pacers were able to finish off the Hawks in Game 7 with a 92–80 win to avoid becoming the sixth first-seeded team to lose a series to an eight-seeded team in NBA history.

Regular-season series

This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pacers winning three of the first five meetings.

The series pitted the two-time defending champions against a franchise only in its second playoff appearance ever (the Bobcats first played in the playoffs in 2010). As a result, the Bobcats were deemed heavy underdogs against the Heat. In Game 1, the Bobcats started strong, leading by as much as 9, but were dealt a big blow when their franchise player, Al Jefferson, suffered a left plantar fascia strain following a misstep in the first quarter. The Heat then rallied after receiving a big boost from seldom-used James Jones, who scored 12 points, allowing them to eventually pull away in the fourth quarter for a 99–88 win in the series opener. In Game 2, the Heat were able to build a 16-point first half lead before the Bobcats started to rally back. The Bobcats had a chance to force overtime, but Dwyane Wade came up with a key steal and a free throw to ice the game and give the Heat a 2–0 lead.

In Game 3, the Bobcats started strong once again, led by Jefferson who scored 15 points in the first quarter, but the Heat again rallied behind LeBron James, who led the Heat with 30 points. The Heat led by as much as 26 before holding on for a 98–85 win and a commanding 3–0 series lead. In Game 4, the Bobcats played without Jefferson who was plagued by the injury he suffered in Game 1, leaving Kemba Walker to lead the team. Although he scored 29 points on 11/15 shooting, the Heat were able to complete the sweep with a big third quarter, sending them to the second round, and in the process ending the tenure of the Charlotte Bobcats, who became the Charlotte Hornets starting next season.

Regular-season series

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hornets winning the first meeting. Note that historical records of the original Charlotte Hornets franchise (later relocated and renamed the New Orleans Pelicans) from 1988 to 2002 are currently with the present Hornets/Bobcats franchise since the 2014–15 season.

The Raptors and the Nets faced off in the playoffs once again after they previously faced each other in 2007, when the Nets prevailed in six games. In Game 1, Paul Pierce led the way for the Nets in the clutch as they stole Game 1, 94–87, and home-court advantage from the Raptors. In Game 2, the Raptors led by as much as 11 in the first half before holding off the Nets in the final quarter to tie the series at 1 all. In Game 3, the Nets led by 15 with about 5 minutes remaining in the final period before the Raptors stormed back. With a chance to force overtime, Raptors forward Patrick Patterson missed two crucial free throws as the Nets held on for a 102–98 win and a 2–1 lead. In Game 4, in a reversal of Game 3, the Raptors were able to build a 17-point lead in the first half before the Nets rallied back to tie the game heading into the final period. However, the Raptors finished the game on a 9–0 run to win the game, 87–79, and tie the series at 2 each.

In Game 5, the Raptors dominated the first three quarters to lead by as much as 26 but the Nets stormed back in the final quarter. With a chance to force overtime, Andray Blatche threw an errant pass that resulted in a backcourt violation, giving the Raptors the win and the crucial 3–2 series lead, but not before the play was reviewed because it was thought that the ball might have been tipped back before Deron Williams fired a half-court shot that was goaltended by Jonas Valančiūnas. The Nets then proceeded to blow out the Raptors in Game 6 to force a seventh and decisive game. Game 7 was close up until the final seconds of the game. With the Nets leading by 1, Kyle Lowry had a chance to win the game and the series for the Raptors but Pierce blocked his shot, giving the Nets the win and the series victory.

Regular-season series

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nets winning the first meeting.

The Bulls tried to make it through the playoffs for a third straight year without their main superstar, Derrick Rose, who suffered an early season-ending injury. Meanwhile, the Wizards made the playoffs for only the first time since 2008. As such, the series was expected to be evenly matched, although most analysts predicted a Bulls series victory. In Game 1, the Bulls led by as much as 13 in the third quarter before the Wizards soon started their comeback. Led by Nenê's 24 points, the Wizards used a big fourth quarter to rally back for a 102–93 win and to steal home-court advantage away from the Bulls. In Game 2, the Wizards again rallied back from 10 down in regulation to force overtime before hanging on for a 101–99 win to go up 2–0 in the series.

The Bulls prevented a commanding 3–0 lead by the Wizards in Game 3 with a 100–97 victory. The Bulls were led by Mike Dunleavy Jr. who scored 35 points including 8 three-pointers. Meanwhile, the Wizards suffered a big blow in Game 4 when Nenê was suspended after he had an altercation with Bulls' guard Jimmy Butler. In Game 4, the Wizards had no problem defeating the Bulls without Nenê, leading from start to finish en route to a 98–89 win to take a commanding 3–1 lead. In Game 5, the Wizards closed out their upset of the Bulls, 75–69, in a low-scoring affair as they won the series 4–1 to advance to the second round for the first time since 2005.

Regular-season series

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece.