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1961 NBA playoffs

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1961 NBA playoffs
Tournament details
DatesMarch 14–April 11, 1961
Season1960–61
Teams6
Final positions
ChampionsBoston Celtics (4th title)
Runner-upSt. Louis Hawks
Semifinalists
← 1960
1962 →

The 1961 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1960-61 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.

The Lakers made the playoffs for the first time after moving to Los Angeles. They were one game away from their first Finals in L.A. as the St. Louis Hawks defeat them.

The Division Semifinals were extended from a best-of-three to a best-of-five series.

For the Celtics, it was their third straight NBA title and fourth overall. This would be the last Finals appearance for the Hawks franchise to date; though they still exist in the NBA as the Atlanta Hawks, they have yet to return to the Finals as of 2024.

Bracket

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  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

Division Semifinals

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Eastern Division Semifinals

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(2) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals

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March 14
Syracuse Nationals 115, Philadelphia Warriors 107
Scoring by quarter: 34–24, 23–32, 29–19, 29–32
Pts: Larry Costello 28
Rebs: Swede Halbrook 15
Asts: Larry Costello 11		 Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 46
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 32
Asts: Tom Gola 7
Syracuse leads series, 1–0
March 16
Philadelphia Warriors 114, Syracuse Nationals 115
Scoring by quarter: 22–26, 35–28, 22–39, 35–22
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 32
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 14
Asts: Arizin, Attles 5 each		 Pts: Hal Greer 26
Rebs: Dolph Schayes 14
Asts: Larry Costello 6
Syracuse leads series, 2–0
March 18
Syracuse Nationals 106, Philadelphia Warriors 103
Scoring by quarter: 31–22, 19–30, 27–30, 29–21
Pts: Larry Costello 20
Rebs: Red Kerr 18
Asts: Larry Costello 8		 Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 33
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 23
Asts: Gola, Rodgers 5 each
Syracuse wins series, 3–0

This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers/Nationals winning four of the first seven meetings.

Western Division Semifinals

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(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Detroit Pistons

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March 14
Detroit Pistons 102, Los Angeles Lakers 120
Scoring by quarter: 25–30, 28–29, 23–34, 26–27
Pts: Gene Shue 20
Rebs: Walter Dukes 11		 Pts: Elgin Baylor 40
Rebs: Ray Felix 21
Los Angeles leads series, 1–0
March 15
Detroit Pistons 118, Los Angeles Lakers 127
Scoring by quarter: 24–30, 31–24, 28–37, 35–36
Pts: McMillon, Shue 24 each
Rebs: Walter Dukes 12		 Pts: Elgin Baylor 49
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 21
Los Angeles leads series, 2–0
March 17
Los Angeles Lakers 113, Detroit Pistons 124
Scoring by quarter: 25–24, 25–42, 29–35, 34–23
Pts: Elgin Baylor 26 Pts: Bob Ferry 30
Los Angeles leads series, 2–1
Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 3,422
March 18
Los Angeles Lakers 114, Detroit Pistons 123
Scoring by quarter: 39–30, 21–27, 25–37, 29–29
Pts: Elgin Baylor 47 Pts: Gene Shue 29
Series tied, 2–2
March 19
Detroit Pistons 120, Los Angeles Lakers 137
Scoring by quarter: 21–34, 25–27, 32–43, 42–33
Pts: Bob Ferry 25
Rebs: Bob Ferry 16		 Pts: Elgin Baylor 35
Rebs: Baylor, Felix 15 each
Los Angeles wins series, 3–2

This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning six of the first seven meetings when the Lakers were in Minneapolis.

Division Finals

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Eastern Division Finals

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(1) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals

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March 19
Syracuse Nationals 115, Boston Celtics 128
Scoring by quarter: 29–37, 27–22, 28–35, 31–34
Pts: Dolph Schayes 26
Asts: Schayes, Costello 6 each		 Pts: Frank Ramsey 25
Asts: Bob Cousy 9
Boston leads series, 1–0
March 21
Boston Celtics 98, Syracuse Nationals 115
Scoring by quarter: 21–28, 30–26, 20–33, 27–28
Pts: Bill Russell 17
Asts: Bill Russell 5		 Pts: Dolph Schayes 32
Asts: Larry Costello 9
Series tied, 1–1
March 23
Syracuse Nationals 110, Boston Celtics 133
Scoring by quarter: 27–35, 25–31, 29–42, 29–25
Pts: Dick Barnett 22
Rebs: Red Kerr 11
Asts: Larry Costello 4		 Pts: Bill Sharman 30
Rebs: Bill Russell 39
Asts: Bob Cousy 12
Boston leads series, 2–1
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 11,754
March 25
Boston Celtics 120, Syracuse Nationals 107
Scoring by quarter: 25–20, 32–25, 29–33, 34–29
Pts: Tom Heinsohn 22
Asts: Bob Cousy 9		 Pts: Dolph Schayes 23
Asts: Barnett, Costello 4 each
Boston leads series, 3–1
March 26
Syracuse Nationals 101, Boston Celtics 123
Scoring by quarter: 25–23, 32–36, 26–29, 18–35
Pts: Dick Barnett 25
Rebs: Swede Halbrook 14
Asts: four players 4 each		 Pts: Bill Sharman 27
Rebs: Bill Russell 33
Asts: Frank Ramsey 6
Boston wins series, 4–1
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 12,292

This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nationals winning four of the first seven meetings.

Western Division Finals

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(1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Los Angeles Lakers

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March 21
Los Angeles Lakers 122, St. Louis Hawks 118
Scoring by quarter: 34–29, 29–34, 27–27, 32–28
Pts: Elgin Baylor 44
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 14		 Pts: Bob Pettit 28
Rebs: Bob Pettit 20
Los Angeles leads series, 1–0
March 22
Los Angeles Lakers 106, St. Louis Hawks 121
Scoring by quarter: 25–31, 31–31, 22–30, 28–29
Pts: Elgin Baylor 35
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 9		 Pts: Clyde Lovellette 28
Rebs: Bob Pettit 19
Series tied, 1–1
March 24
St. Louis Hawks 112, Los Angeles Lakers 118
Scoring by quarter: 28–29, 22–31, 28–29, 34–29
Pts: Bob Pettit 26
Rebs: Bob Pettit 13		 Pts: Elgin Baylor 25
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 18
Los Angeles leads series, 2–1
March 25
St. Louis Hawks 118, Los Angeles Lakers 117
Scoring by quarter: 28–26, 29–31, 31–29, 30–31
Pts: Bob Pettit 40
Rebs: Bob Pettit 18		 Pts: Jerry West 33
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 15
Series tied, 2–2
March 27
Los Angeles Lakers 121, St. Louis Hawks 112
Scoring by quarter: 24–36, 33–25, 28–17, 36–34
Pts: Elgin Baylor 47
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 20		 Pts: Cliff Hagan 26
Rebs: Bob Pettit 21
Los Angeles leads series, 3–2
March 29
St. Louis Hawks 114, Los Angeles Lakers 113 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 30–21, 29–23, 24–26, 17–30, Overtime: 14–13
Pts: Bob Pettit 31
Rebs: Bob Pettit 21		 Pts: Elgin Baylor 39
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 21
Series tied, 3–3
April 1
Los Angeles Lakers 103, St. Louis Hawks 105
Scoring by quarter: 28–22, 20–27, 30–32, 25–24
Pts: Elgin Baylor 39
Rebs: Baylor, West 12 each		 Pts: Bob Pettit 31
Rebs: Bob Pettit 17
St. Louis wins series, 4–3

This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning three of the first four meetings while the Lakers were based in Minneapolis.

NBA Finals: (E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W1) St. Louis Hawks

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Main article: 1961 NBA Finals
April 2
St. Louis Hawks 95, Boston Celtics 129
Scoring by quarter: 26–30, 22–26, 25–35, 22–38
Pts: Cliff Hagan 33
Rebs: Cliff Hagan 13
Asts: Hagan, Sauldsberry 4 each		 Pts: Tom Heinsohn 26
Rebs: Bill Russell 31
Asts: Bob Cousy 7
Boston leads series, 1–0
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 11,531
April 5
St. Louis Hawks 108, Boston Celtics 116
Scoring by quarter: 32–27, 20–26, 23–31, 33–32
Pts: Cliff Hagan 40
Rebs: Bob Pettit 19
Asts: Cliff Hagan 6		 Pts: Bob Cousy 26
Rebs: Bill Russell 28
Asts: Bob Cousy 14
Boston leads series, 2–0
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,909
April 8
Boston Celtics 120, St. Louis Hawks 124
Scoring by quarter: 31–28, 35–38, 31–32, 23–26
Pts: Russell, Heinsohn 24 each
Rebs: Bill Russell 23
Asts: Bill Russell 9		 Pts: Bob Pettit 31
Rebs: Bob Pettit 24
Asts: Si Green 7
Boston leads series, 2–1
April 9
Boston Celtics 119, St. Louis Hawks 104
Scoring by quarter: 28–31, 24–25, 39–26, 28–22
Pts: Cousy, Sanders 22 each
Rebs: Bill Russell 24
Asts: Bob Cousy 12		 Pts: Bob Pettit 40
Rebs: Bob Pettit 18
Asts: Cliff Hagan 7
Boston leads series, 3–1
Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 10,442
April 11
St. Louis Hawks 112, Boston Celtics 121
Scoring by quarter: 39–33, 22–29, 23–37, 28–22
Pts: Bob Pettit 24
Rebs: Pettit, Sauldsberry 11 each
Asts: Johnny McCarthy 6		 Pts: Bill Russell 30
Rebs: Bill Russell 38
Asts: Bob Cousy 12
Boston wins series, 4–1
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,909

This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning two of the first three meetings.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  2. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  4. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Boston Celtics (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
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