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2022 NBA playoffs

The 2022 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2021–22 season. The playoffs began on April 16 and ended on June 16 with the conclusion of the 2022 NBA Finals. The playoffs also returned to its normal April–June schedule for the first time since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in two postponements in 2020 and 2021.

Overview[edit]

Notable updates to postseason appearances[edit]

• The Phoenix Suns entered the postseason for the second consecutive season and also clinched the best record in the NBA for the first time since 2005.
• The Miami Heat entered the postseason for the third consecutive season and also clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2013.
• The Boston Celtics entered the postseason for the eighth consecutive season, currently the longest such streak in the NBA.
  • Boston also won the Eastern Conference and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.
• The Utah Jazz and Milwaukee Bucks entered the postseason for the sixth consecutive season.
• The Philadelphia 76ers entered the postseason for the fifth consecutive season.
• The Brooklyn Nets and Denver Nuggets entered the postseason for the fourth consecutive season.
• The Dallas Mavericks entered the postseason for the third consecutive season.
• The Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks entered the postseason for the second consecutive season.
• The Toronto Raptors entered the postseason for the first time since 2020.
• The Golden State Warriors entered the postseason for the first time since 2019.
  • Golden State also won the Western Conference and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2019 and sixth time since 2015.
• The Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Pelicans entered the postseason for the first time since 2018.
• The Chicago Bulls entered the postseason for the first time since 2017.
• The Los Angeles Lakers missed the postseason for the first time in three years.
• The Portland Trail Blazers missed the postseason for the first time in nine years.
• The Sacramento Kings missed the postseason once again, making their current postseason drought the longest in NBA history (originally starting from 2007 to 2022).

Notable occurrences[edit]

• Neither Los Angeles team qualified for the playoffs. The last time this occurred was in 2018. (The Los Angeles Clippers made the play-in as the eighth seed but did not advance.)
• This is the first time where both No. 8 seeds were eliminated in the Page-McIntyre stage by the No. 9 seeded teams.^[1]
• A team with a losing record in the Western Conference (Pelicans) qualified for the playoffs. This previously occurred in 2020.
• For the first time in NBA playoff history, four players aged 22 or younger (Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant, Tyrese Maxey, and Jordan Poole) scored 30 or more points in a game in the same postseason.^[2]
• Anthony Edwards joined Derrick Rose, Tyler Herro, and Magic Johnson in scoring at least 35 points in a playoff game before turning 21.^[3]
• The Utah Jazz became the fifth team in the last 10 postseasons to win a playoff game after trailing by 4-plus points in the final 40 seconds. Teams were 4–701 in that span prior to the game.^[4]
• The Boston Celtics swept the Brooklyn Nets, marking the 46th year in a row that a sweep occurred. The last time a sweep did not occur was in 1976. This was the 182nd series sweep in NBA playoffs history.
• The Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors series became the first Eastern Conference First Round series to go to a game 6 since 2018.
• The Memphis Grizzlies became the first team ever to have multiple comebacks wins after trailing by double-digits going into the fourth quarter in a single playoff series.^[5]
• The Dallas Mavericks won a playoff series for the first time since their championship run in 2011.
• Chris Paul set a playoff record for most consecutive field goals made in a game without a miss, going 14-of-14 from the field.^[6]
• For the first time since 2019, all top four teams in both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference made it past the first round of the playoffs.
• For the first time since 2011, no first-round matchup went to a game 7.
• With a game 3 win at Denver, the Golden State Warriors have won a road game in 24 consecutive playoff series, beating the previous record set by the Miami Heat with 23. This record has since been extended to 27 consecutive playoff series with their road wins against Memphis, Dallas, and Boston.^[7]
• Game 1 between the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies was the first game in playoff history where three players age 22 or younger (Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Jordan Poole) each had 30-plus points.^[8]
• Ja Morant became the third player in league history to have multiple 45-point games in the postseason before turning 23, joining LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
• The Dallas Mavericks totaled nine assists against the Phoenix Suns in game 5, the lowest number of assists in a playoff game by a team since 2016.
• For the first time since 2015, every Conference semifinals series went to a game 6.
• The Mavericks–Suns series was the first of the 2022 playoffs to have a game 7, making it the 23rd consecutive NBA postseason to feature a game 7. The last time a game 7 did not occur in the playoffs was 1999. This was the 145th game 7 in NBA playoffs history.
• The Golden State Warriors became the first team to grab 70-plus rebounds in a playoff game since 1983.
• With the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks losing to the Boston Celtics, the 2022 playoffs was the third straight year where the defending champion was eliminated before the conference finals. After the Celtics defeated the Miami Heat, it was also the fifth straight year with a different EC champion.
• With the defending Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns losing to the Dallas Mavericks, this marked the second straight year both of the NBA Finals participants from the previous year were eliminated before the conference finals.
• The Dallas Mavericks made their first Conference finals since 2011.
• Neither the first-seeded team nor the second-seeded team made the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2011.
• In game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Miami Heat failed to get a shot for more than eight minutes, until 3:22 remained in the first quarter. This marked the longest a team has gone with no field goals to start a game in the postseason in 25 years.^[9] Subsequently, all starters for the Heat were outscored by a bench player (Victor Oladipo scored 23 points, more than 18 points from all of the starting five). The 18 points was the lowest number combined in a playoff game since starters were first tracked in 1971 and was also the first time in which a bench player outscores the entire starting lineup.^[10]
• By advancing to the NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors made their sixth Finals appearance in eight seasons, the first since 1990–98 Chicago Bulls (led by Michael Jordan) to have this feat.
• Stephen Curry joined LeBron James and Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA Finals to score 40 or more points at age 34 or older.
• Jayson Tatum set the all-time NBA record with 100 turnovers in a single postseason.^[11]
• By beating the Celtics, the Warriors became the only team with a non-losing series record (1–1) against the Celtics in the Finals. The Celtics had winning series records in the Finals against the Lakers (9–3), the Hawks (3–1), the Rockets (2–0), the Bucks (1–0) and the Suns (1–0).

Format[edit]

Eight teams from each conference participated in the playoffs. The top six teams in each conference, based on winning percentage, directly qualified for the playoffs; the seeding order of those teams was also based on winning percentage. If two or more teams had the same record, standard NBA tiebreaker rules were used.

The NBA Board of Governors approved a format for the 2021–22 season to have a play-in tournament involving the teams ranked 7th through 10th in each conference. The 7th-place team and 8th-place team participated in a "double-chance" game, with the winner advancing to the playoffs as the 7-seed. The loser then played 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 then proceeded as normal.^[12]

Each conference's bracket was fixed with no reseeding. All rounds were best-of-seven series; a 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 with regards to hosting. In the conference playoffs, home court advantage went to the higher-seeded team (number one being the highest). 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.

Playoff qualifying[edit]

On March 9, 2022, the Phoenix Suns became the first team to clinch a playoff spot.^[13] On April 5, the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans became the last two teams to qualify for postseason play, as both teams secured spots in the first-stage play-in tournament. On April 7, the Denver Nuggets became the final team to secure a direct berth in the playoff bracket, qualifying as the sixth seed in the Western Conference and relegating the Minnesota Timberwolves to the play-in tournament.^[14] While noted in the below tables, division titles have no bearing on seeding.^[15]

Seeds 7 and 8 in each conference were determined via the first-stage play-in tournament, held April 12–15.

Eastern Conference[edit]

Cleveland (44–38) and Charlotte (43–39) also secured play-in berths but did not advance to the playoffs.^[28][27]

Western Conference[edit]

The L.A. Clippers (42–40) and San Antonio (34–48) also secured play-in berths but did not advance to the playoffs.^[41][40]

Play-in tournament brackets[edit]

Eastern Conference[edit]

Bold Game winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage

Western Conference[edit]

Bold Game winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage

Bracket[edit]

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[edit]

Note: Times are EDT (UTC−4) as listed by the NBA. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

Eastern Conference first round[edit]

(1) Miami Heat vs. (8) Atlanta Hawks[edit]

Duncan Robinson led the Heat in scoring with 27 points on 9-of-10 shooting, including going 8-of-9 from three-point range. On the other hand, Atlanta's Trae Young struggled, shooting just 1-of-12, finishing the game with eight points and six turnovers.

Jimmy Butler scored a playoff career-high 45 points, shooting 15-of-25 as well as committing zero turnovers en route to securing a 2–0 series lead. Trae Young also rebounded in game 2, finishing the game with 25 points, but he committed a career-high 10 turnovers.

In danger of going down 0–3 in the series, Trae Young hit a game-winning floater in the lane with 4.4 seconds left as the Hawks overcame a 16-point deficit in the second half.

After losing Kyle Lowry in game 3 with a hamstring strain, the Heat dominated the Hawks down the stretch, outscoring Atlanta in the final three quarters 85–60. Jimmy Butler scored 13 of his 36 points in the second quarter along with 10 rebounds and four assists. Trae Young scored only nine points with five assists and five turnovers, as he was held to single digit points by Miami's defense for the second time in four games.

Without Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry, the Heat were able to hold off the Hawks thanks to a 23-point performance from Victor Oladipo. De'Andre Hunter shined for Atlanta in the loss, scoring a career-high 35 points, as well as the most points scored by a Hawks player in the series.

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning the first two meetings.^[43]

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Brooklyn Nets[edit]

The Celtics lost a 15-point third quarter lead but went on to win game 1 on Jayson Tatum's layup at the buzzer.

The Nets had a 17-point lead late in the first half, but lost the game due to a huge fourth quarter by the Celtics. Kevin Durant notably struggled in the second half, going 0–10 from the floor and committing 4 turnovers as Boston outscored Brooklyn 59–42 in the final two quarters.

Despite a stellar night from Bruce Brown, who had 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field, the Nets were unable to overcome poor performances from Durant and Irving, who only scored 16 points apiece, as well as a 39-point explosion from Jayson Tatum who also had 6 steals. The Celtics led by as many as 15 in the final quarter before holding off the Nets to take a commanding 3–0 series lead.

Despite Jayson Tatum fouling out late in the fourth quarter, the Celtics were able to hold off the Nets to complete the sweep. Kevin Durant had his best game of the series with 39 points, helping Brooklyn trim the deficit to 1 point with 3:29 to play in the fourth quarter, but thanks to Tatum's 29 points, Boston never trailed. Nic Claxton struggled at the free throw line, missing his first 10 attempts, and finishing 1-of-11. This was the eighth playoff sweep in Celtics' franchise history, as Boston swept its first-round series for the third time in four years. The Nets were the only team in this season's playoffs to get swept.

This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, and the second since the New Jersey Nets relocated to Brooklyn in 2012, with the Nets winning the first three meetings.^[44]

(3) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (6) Chicago Bulls[edit]

Despite finishing the game with 21 turnovers and blowing a 16-point lead, the Bucks outlasted the Bulls 93–86. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished the game with 27 points and 16 rebounds. The Bulls struggled on offense, shooting a season-low 32.3% from the floor, with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine shooting a combined 12-of-44 (27.3%).

While the Bulls were leading by as much as 18 in the third quarter, they withstood two furious rallies in both the third and fourth quarters by the Bucks, with DeMar DeRozan scoring a playoff career-high 41 points. This was the Bulls' first playoff victory since game 2 of the 2017 Eastern Conference first round against the Boston Celtics. Two Bucks players suffered injuries during the game: Bobby Portis left mid-game after suffering a "right eye abrasion" and Khris Middleton suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee.

Despite Chicago hosting their first playoff game in five years, Milwaukee dominated throughout the game. Grayson Allen came off the bench and led the Bucks in points with 22, along with Bobby Portis collecting 16 rebounds, tying a career high. The loss was also the largest playoff loss at home in Bulls history.

Grayson Allen set playoff career highs with 27 points and six three-pointers, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the team with 32 points and 17 rebounds as the Bucks cruised to a second straight win on the road. With the loss, the Bulls had been outscored by a combined 54 points over the past two games, both of which were at home.

Despite being without Khris Middleton the last three games, Milwaukee won all three by an average margin of 23.3 points. DeMar DeRozan was scoreless in the first 26 minutes of the game and attempted just one shot in the first quarter, where Chicago was outscored 34–18. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and nine rebounds as the Bucks won their first-round matchup for the fourth consecutive season.

This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning two out of the first four meetings.^[45]

(4) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (5) Toronto Raptors[edit]

In his first playoff game as a starter, Tyrese Maxey scored 38 points, with 21 of his 38 points coming in the third quarter. Raptors rookie Scottie Barnes had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists prior to exiting the game with an ankle injury.

After the Raptors took a one-point lead into the second quarter, the 76ers dominated for the rest of the game. Philadelphia outscored Toronto 80–64 in the final three quarters, with Joel Embiid finishing the game with 31 points and 11 rebounds.

With 0.9 seconds on the shot clock and 2.6 seconds remaining in overtime, Joel Embiid hit a game-winning three-point shot to secure a commanding 3–0 series lead after overcoming a 17-point deficit and never leading in regulation.

Scottie Barnes made his return to the lineup for game 4 after missing the previous two games, leading the team with 11 rebounds. Raptors' Pascal Siakam scored 34 points while the 76ers' James Harden scored 22 points. In the second quarter, Fred VanVleet exited the game due to a hip injury and did not return. Despite this, the Raptors staved off elimination with a 110–102 win to send the series back to Philadelphia.

Despite being without Fred VanVleet, the Raptors, with the help of Pascal Siakam's 23 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists led almost the entire game and staved off elimination again to send the series back to Toronto for game 6. The 76ers had their own share of issues: while Joel Embiid scored 20 points with 11 rebounds, and James Harden had seven assists; the 76ers' bench scored only five points.

The 76ers completed a 35-point rout of the Raptors to eliminate them from the playoffs. Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds, and teammate Tyrese Maxey scored 25. The Raptors' Pascal Siakam scored 24 points in the loss, while Chris Boucher came off the bench and had 25 points and 10 rebounds.

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series.^[46]

Western Conference first round[edit]

(1) Phoenix Suns vs. (8) New Orleans Pelicans[edit]

The Pelicans started off slowly, but chipped away at a 23-point deficit to eventually trail 79–71 by the end of the third. However, Chris Paul took over late in the game by scoring 19 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter.

After scoring 31 points in the first half, Devin Booker left the game in the third quarter after suffering a "mild hamstring strain" and did not return to the game. Meanwhile, Brandon Ingram finished the game with 37 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists, leading the Pelicans to their first playoff win since 2018.

Without Devin Booker, the Suns outlasted the Pelicans on the road, with Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton combining for 56 points. Paul scored 15 of Phoenix's first 23 points of the final quarter, along with committing zero turnovers, his second straight game doing so.

Brandon Ingram scored 16 of his 30 points in the third quarter, his third straight game with 30-plus points. Jonas Valančiūnas also contributed with 26 points and 15 rebounds, along with scoring ten points in a 3:34 span in the fourth quarter to help the Pelicans pull away. Chris Paul struggled for the Suns, scoring just four points and three turnovers after previously having just two turnovers in the first three games.