2007 NBA playoffs
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 21–June 14, 2007 |
| Season | 2006–07 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | San Antonio Spurs (4th title) |
| Runner-up | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Semifinalists | |
The 2007 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2006–07 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeating the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. Tony Parker was named NBA Finals MVP, making him the second Spur after Tim Duncan and the first European–born player to receive the award.
Overview
[edit]The Dallas Mavericks entered their seventh consecutive postseason. In addition, the Mavericks started the playoffs with a league best 67–15 regular season record, the best in franchise history. The Mavericks also became the first team since 2000 to finish the regular season with 65+ wins. Their in-state rivals, the San Antonio Spurs, entered their tenth consecutive postseason.
The defending champion Miami Heat entered the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Despite winning their third consecutive Southeast Division title, the Heat opened the playoffs on the road against the Chicago Bulls (thanks to the Bulls’ 49–33 record versus the Heat's 44–38 record), marking the second consecutive postseason that a division winner opened the playoffs on the road. This was also Pat Riley's final NBA playoff appearance as a head coach, as the Heat would miss the playoffs the following season.
The Houston Rockets returned to the playoffs after a one-season absence, and opened the playoffs at home for the first time since 1997. This would also be Jeff Van Gundy's last postseason appearance as a head coach. Their first round opponent, the Northwest Division leading Utah Jazz made the playoffs for the first time since 2003. Like the Heat, the Jazz opened their postseason on the road.
The New Jersey Nets and the Detroit Pistons entered their sixth consecutive postseason.
The Denver Nuggets entered their fourth consecutive postseason.
The Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls, and Phoenix Suns entered their third consecutive postseason.
The Los Angeles Lakers entered their second consecutive postseason.
The Golden State Warriors made the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 1994 NBA playoffs.
The Toronto Raptors made the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and earned home-court advantage for the first time in franchise history.
The Orlando Magic made the playoffs for the first time since 2003.
The Indiana Pacers missed the playoffs for the first time since 1997, while the Sacramento Kings missed the playoffs for the first time since 1998. This also marked the first of sixteen consecutive postseasons not to feature the Sacramento Kings.
First Round
[edit]The Nets-Raptors series was notable for Nets guard Vince Carter facing his former team, the Toronto Raptors. His New Jersey Nets won the series in six games, giving the Raptors their second consecutive first round exit. The Nets would not win another playoff series until 2014 as the Brooklyn Nets, which was also against the Raptors.
With their first round sweep of the Orlando Magic, the Detroit Pistons swept a playoff series for the first time since 1990. It was also the Pistons’ first sweep of a best of seven series since the 1989 NBA Finals.
With their first round sweep of the defending champion Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls won their first playoff series since 1998 and swept a best of seven series for the first time since 1996. As of 2024, this was the Bulls’ most recent playoff sweep. With the loss, the Heat became the first defending champion in 50 seasons to be swept in the first round. In addition, the Heat were swept in a postseason series for the first time since 2001.
For the second consecutive postseason, the Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns would not win another playoff series against the Lakers until 2021.
With their shocking first round upset over the Dallas Mavericks, The Golden State Warriors became the third eighth seed to beat a top seed and the first team to do so since the first round was extended to a best of seven in 2003. The Warriors were also the first team to eliminate a top seed since the 1999 New York Knicks’ Cinderella run to the Finals. With the loss, the Dallas Mavericks earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first (and currently only) .800 regular season team to lose in the first round. With the win, the Golden State Warriors also won their first playoff series since 1991.
With their first round series losses, the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks became the first NBA Finals pair to lose in the first round in the following year's playoffs. They also share the dubious distinction of being the second and third top seeds, respectively, to lose to an eighth seed in the first round in the NBA Playoffs.
The Jazz–Rockets series marked the eighth straight postseason in which at least one Game 7 was played. The Utah Jazz won over the Houston Rockets, giving the Jazz their first playoff series win since 2000 and the Rockets their fifth consecutive first round exit. This also marked the sole Game 7 of this season's playoffs.
Conference Semifinals
[edit]With the Heat and Mavericks eliminated in the first round, the Western Conference Semifinals series between the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs was considered “the real finals” as both teams had better records than the other remaining teams in the playoffs (thanks to the Suns’ 61–21 record and the Spurs’ 58–24 record, respectively).
The Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls met in the postseason for the first time since 1991, renewing the Bulls-Pistons rivalry.
Game 4 of the Suns-Spurs series was extremely notable thanks to Robert Horry's flagrant foul on Steve Nash. During the incident, Horry also struck Raja Bell's shoulder, which resulted in a two-game suspension for Horry. In addition, Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended for one game for leaving the bench during the altercation.
With their Western Conference Semifinals victory over the Phoenix Suns, the San Antonio Spurs won their third consecutive playoff series against the Phoenix Suns.
With their Western Conference Semifinals win over the Golden State Warriors, the Utah Jazz made the conference finals for the first time since 1998 (when they last made the NBA Finals). As of 2024, however, this was the most recent time the Jazz advanced past the Conference Semifinals. The Warriors themselves would not advance past the Conference Semifinals until 2015.
With their Eastern Conference Semifinals win against the New Jersey Nets, the Cleveland Cavaliers made their first Conference Finals appearance since 1992. In addition, Game 6 of the Cavaliers–Nets series was the final NBA Playoff game ever played in New Jersey, as well as the last NBA Playoff game ever played at Continental Airlines Arena. The Nets would not return to the playoffs until 2013 as the Brooklyn Nets.
With their Eastern Conference Semifinals victory over the Chicago Bulls, the Detroit Pistons made their fifth consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance. The Bulls, on the other hand, would not make the Eastern Conference Finals until 2011.
Conference Finals
[edit]Despite trailing 2–0 to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the series in six games to make their first ever NBA Finals appearance. Game 5 of the Pistons-Cavaliers series was extremely notable thanks to LeBron James scoring the Cavaliers’ final 25 points in a double-overtime thriller.
With their Western Conference Finals win over the Utah Jazz, the San Antonio Spurs made their fourth NBA Finals appearance, and their third of the 2000s decade.
NBA Finals
[edit]The 2007 NBA Finals was significant due to it being the finals debut for LeBron James. He would not return to the Finals until 2011 (as a member of the Miami Heat). Due to LeBron's inexperience versus the seasoned San Antonio Spurs, this season's NBA Finals produced the lowest ratings of any NBA Finals until 2020.
The San Antonio Spurs won their fourth NBA Championship with a four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the first finals sweep since 2002. The Spurs also became the second team to win three titles in the 2000s decade (the other being the Los Angeles Lakers, who won three straight titles from 2000 to 2002).
Tony Parker is the first European Player to win NBA Finals MVP, and the second member of the San Antonio Spurs to do so, the other being Tim Duncan.
After this series, the Spurs would not reach the NBA Finals until 2013 while the Cavaliers would not return until 2015.
Seeding
[edit]The playoffs are conducted in 4 rounds of the best-of-7 series. The 3 division winners in each conference, along with the 5 best non-division winners, qualify for the playoffs. The division winners and top second-place team are seeded 1–4 based on record, with the remaining non-division winners are seeded 5–8 on record.
Until 2006, the division champions were guaranteed no worse than the third seed, while the non-division winners could do no better than the fourth seed regardless of record. This was the source of controversy in the 2006 NBA playoffs when the 63-win Spurs and 60-win Dallas Mavericks — the teams with the second-best and third-best records in the entire league—met in the conference semifinals. In response, the NBA changed the seeding system so that the teams with the two best records in the conference are guaranteed the top two seeds even if the second-best team isn't a division champion. Meanwhile, the division champions are guaranteed no worse than the fourth seed. This ensures that the teams with the two best records in the conference cannot meet until the conference finals at the earliest.[1]
Playoff qualifying
[edit]Eastern Conference
[edit]The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:
- Detroit Pistons (53–29, clinched Central division, best regular season record in Eastern Conference, and home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (50–32)
- Toronto Raptors (47–35, clinched Atlantic division)
- Miami Heat (44–38, clinched Southeast division)
- Chicago Bulls (49–33)
- New Jersey Nets (41–41; 4–0 head-to-head vs. WSH)
- Washington Wizards (41–41, 0–4 head-to-head vs. NJ)
- Orlando Magic (40–42)
Western Conference
[edit]The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:
- Dallas Mavericks (67–15, clinched Southwest division, best regular season record, and home court advantage throughout the playoffs)
- Phoenix Suns (61–21, clinched Pacific division)
- San Antonio Spurs (58–24)
- Utah Jazz (51–31, clinched Northwest division)
- Houston Rockets (52–30)
- Denver Nuggets (45–37)
- Los Angeles Lakers (42–40, 4–0 head-to-head vs. Golden State)
- Golden State Warriors (42–40, 0–4 head-to-head vs. LA Lakers)
Bracket
[edit]This is the bracket for the 2007 NBA Playoffs. Teams in italics had home court advantage. Teams in bold advanced to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original seeding in their respective conferences. Numbers to the right of each team indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions possess an asterisk (*).
| First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Detroit* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E8 | Orlando | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Detroit* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E5 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Miami* | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E5 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Detroit* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Cleveland | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Toronto* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E6 | New Jersey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E6 | New Jersey | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Cleveland | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Cleveland | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E7 | Washington | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Cleveland | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | San Antonio | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Dallas* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W8 | Golden State | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W8 | Golden State | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Utah* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Utah* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W5 | Houston | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Utah* | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | San Antonio | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | San Antonio | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Denver | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | San Antonio | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Phoenix* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Phoenix* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W7 | LA Lakers | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage
Notes
[edit]- Houston and Chicago had home court advantage in the first round despite being lower seeds. Both teams had better regular season records than their opponents, but did not have the best record of the non-division-champion playoff teams in their respective conferences.
First round
[edit]Eastern Conference first round
[edit](1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Orlando Magic
[edit]April 21
7:00 pm |
| Orlando Magic 92, Detroit Pistons 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–28, 27–23, 24–30, 25–19 | ||
| Pts: Hedo Türkoğlu 17 Rebs: Dwight Howard 19 Asts: Grant Hill 5 |
Pts: Hamilton, Billups 22 each Rebs: Antonio McDyess 9 Asts: Chauncey Billups 11 | |
| Detroit leads series, 1–0 | ||
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Bob Delaney, Joe Forte, David Jones |
April 23
7:00 pm |
| Orlando Magic 90, Detroit Pistons 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–28, 22–19, 15–24, 31–27 | ||
| Pts: Hedo Türkoğlu 22 Rebs: Dwight Howard 11 Asts: Hill, Arroyo 4 each |
Pts: Richard Hamilton 22 Rebs: Rasheed Wallace 11 Asts: Chauncey Billups 8 | |
| Detroit leads series, 2–0 | ||
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Tim Donaghy, Eddie Rush, Greg Willard |
April 26
8:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 93, Orlando Magic 77 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 25–19, 23–19, 22–16 | ||
| Pts: Tayshaun Prince 23 Rebs: Antonio McDyess 11 Asts: Tayshaun Prince 5 |
Pts: Jameer Nelson 27 Rebs: Dwight Howard 12 Asts: Nelson, Türkoğlu 4 each | |
| Detroit leads series, 3–0 | ||
April 28
3:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 97, Orlando Magic 93 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 25–21, 26–21, 24–26 | ||
| Pts: Chauncey Billups 25 Rebs: Chris Webber 10 Asts: Chauncey Billups 6 |
Pts: Dwight Howard 29 Rebs: Dwight Howard 17 Asts: Hedo Türkoğlu 5 | |
| Detroit wins series, 4–0 | ||
Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 17,451 Referees: Tony Brothers, Monty McCutchen, Bennett Salvatore |
| Detroit won 4–0 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece.
| Tied 1–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
The Orlando Magic's first playoff trip in 4 seasons was short lived as the top ranked Detroit Pistons dispatched the upstart Magic in 4 games. The Pistons recorded their first series sweep since sweeping Indiana in the first round of the 1990 NBA playoffs. The series was also the first time Orlando forward Grant Hill had appeared in the postseason since leaving Detroit after the 2000 season.
(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (7) Washington Wizards
[edit]April 22
12:30 pm |
| Washington Wizards 82, Cleveland Cavaliers 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–27, 21–21, 26–26, 15–23 | ||
| Pts: Antawn Jamison 28 Rebs: Antawn Jamison 14 Asts: Antonio Daniels 11 |
Pts: Larry Hughes 27 Rebs: Anderson Varejão 10 Asts: LeBron James 7 | |
| Cleveland leads series, 1–0 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Luis Grillo, Tom Washington |
April 25
8:00 pm |
| Washington Wizards 102, Cleveland Cavaliers 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 25–28, 15–24, 39–34 | ||
| Pts: Antawn Jamison 31 Rebs: Antawn Jamison 10 Asts: Antonio Daniels 11 |
Pts: LeBron James 27 Rebs: Drew Gooden 14 Asts: LeBron James 7 | |
| Cleveland leads series, 2–0 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Bernie Fryer, Derek Richardson, Greg Willard |
April 28
5:30 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 98, Washington Wizards 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–22, 35–22, 16–31, 21–17 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 30 Rebs: Drew Gooden 12 Asts: LeBron James 9 |
Pts: Antawn Jamison 38 Rebs: Antawn Jamison 11 Asts: Antonio Daniels 13 | |
| Cleveland leads series, 3–0 | ||
Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 20,173 Referees: Steve Javie, Courtney Kirkland, Jack Nies |
April 30
7:00 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 97, Washington Wizards 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–23, 22–24, 22–20, 31–23 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 31 Rebs: Zydrunas Ilgauskas 19 Asts: LeBron James 7 |
Pts: Antawn Jamison 31 Rebs: Antonio Daniels 6 Asts: Antonio Daniels 12 | |
| Cleveland wins series, 4–0 | ||
Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 20,173 Referees: Sean Corbin, Joe Forte, Bennett Salvatore |
| Cleveland won 2–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Cavaliers winning two of the first three meetings.
| Cleveland leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
A rematch of the previous year's first round series was spoiled when Wizards stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler were both forced out of the playoffs due to injuries received in the later parts of the regular season. Without Arenas and Butler, the Wizards were unable to stop LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers from sweeping them out of the playoffs. It was Cleveland's first playoff sweep in franchise history.
(3) Toronto Raptors vs. (6) New Jersey Nets
[edit]April 21
12:30 pm |
| New Jersey Nets 96, Toronto Raptors 91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–22, 28–19, 27–24, 18–26 | ||
| Pts: Richard Jefferson 28 Rebs: Jason Kidd 10 Asts: Jason Kidd 15 |
Pts: Chris Bosh 22 Rebs: Radoslav Nesterović 10 Asts: José Calderón 8 | |
| New Jersey leads series, 1–0 | ||
Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 20,330 Referees: Steve Javie, Scott Wall, Greg Willard |
April 24
7:00 pm |
| New Jersey Nets 83, Toronto Raptors 89 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–14, 24–19, 27–25, 20–31 | ||
| Pts: Vince Carter 19 Rebs: Carter, Kidd 11 each Asts: Jason Kidd 7 |
Pts: Anthony Parker 26 Rebs: Chris Bosh 13 Asts: T. J. Ford 6 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 20,239 Referees: Tony Brothers, Joe DeRosa, Scott Foster |
April 27
7:00 pm |
| Toronto Raptors 89, New Jersey Nets 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–31, 20–27, 29–21, 21–23 | ||
| Pts: T. J. Ford 27 Rebs: Chris Bosh 11 Asts: T. J. Ford 8 |
Pts: Vince Carter 37 Rebs: Jason Kidd 16 Asts: Jason Kidd 19 | |
| New Jersey leads series, 2–1 | ||
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 17,147 Referees: Bernie Fryer, Tom Washington, Mark Wunderlich |
April 29
7:30 pm |
| Toronto Raptors 81, New Jersey Nets 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–32, 22–24, 19–30, 25–16 | ||
| Pts: Andrea Bargnani 16 Rebs: Chris Bosh 10 Asts: T. J. Ford 5 |
Pts: Vince Carter 27 Rebs: Jason Kidd 8 Asts: Jason Kidd 13 | |
| New Jersey leads series, 3–1 | ||
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 20,032 Referees: Dick Bavetta, David Jones, Ken Mauer |
May 1
7:00 pm |
| New Jersey Nets 96, Toronto Raptors 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–33, 29–26, 25–20, 29–19 | ||
| Pts: Vince Carter 30 Rebs: Mikki Moore 10 Asts: Jason Kidd 10 |
Pts: José Calderón 25 Rebs: Joey Graham 10 Asts: José Calderón 8 | |
| New Jersey leads series, 3–2 | ||
Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 20,511 Referees: Mike Callahan, Bob Delaney, Monty McCutchen |
ESPN
|
May 4
8:00 pm |
| Toronto Raptors 97, New Jersey Nets 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–21, 25–22, 22–32, 29–23 | ||
| Pts: Chris Bosh 23 Rebs: Morris Peterson 8 Asts: Chris Bosh 9 |
Pts: Richard Jefferson 24 Rebs: Kidd, Moore 8 each Asts: Jason Kidd 15 | |
| New Jersey wins series, 4–2 | ||
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 17,242 Referees: Jim Clark, Dan Crawford, Tim Donaghy |
| Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Nets and the Raptors.[4]
The Nets won the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs in their sixth straight appearance in the NBA Playoffs. The series was the only one in the Eastern Conference first round not to result in a sweep.
The series was notable for pitting ex-Raptor Vince Carter, who was traded to the Nets in 2004 after an acrimonious split, against his former team. So great was the Toronto crowd's disdain for Carter, that he was booed every time he touched the ball. The Nets took home court advantage in Game 1, holding off a late Raptors rally in the fourth quarter. The Raptors pulled away in Game 2 and tied the series at 1. When the series shifted to New Jersey, the Nets took charge of the series, winning Games 3 and 4 in routs. New Jersey had a chance to win the series in Game 5 in Toronto, but the Raptors took a 20-point lead after one quarter. Still, New Jersey managed to chip away, and had a chance to win it, but Boštjan Nachbar's 3 missed at the buzzer. Needing to win in New Jersey to force a Game 7, Toronto held a one-point lead with under a minute to play in Game 6, but Richard Jefferson hit a layup with 8 seconds left. Toronto attempted to try for the game-winning shot, but Jefferson intercepted the pass to seal the series for the Nets.
(4) Miami Heat vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
[edit]April 21
2:00 pm |
| Miami Heat 91, Chicago Bulls 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–27, 18–22, 16–23, 29–24 | ||
| Pts: Dwyane Wade 21 Rebs: O'Neal, Haslem 6 each Asts: five players 3 each |
Pts: Luol Deng 33 Rebs: Ben Wallace 14 Asts: Ben Gordon 11 | |
| Chicago leads series, 1–0 | ||
United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 22,183 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Eddie Rush, Michael Smith |
April 24
7:00 pm |
| Miami Heat 89, Chicago Bulls 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–31, 31–24, 19–30, 18–22 | ||
| Pts: Dwyane Wade 21 Rebs: O'Neal, Posey 8 each Asts: Dwyane Wade 7 |
Pts: Ben Gordon 27 Rebs: Ben Gordon 7 Asts: Kirk Hinrich 8 | |
| Chicago leads series, 2–0 | ||
United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 23,097 Referees: Luis Grillo, Steve Javie, Ken Mauer |
April 27
8:00 pm |
| Chicago Bulls 104, Miami Heat 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–23, 16–29, 27–24, 32–20 | ||
| Pts: Ben Gordon 27 Rebs: Luol Deng 11 Asts: Kirk Hinrich 6 |
Pts: Dwyane Wade 28 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 13 Asts: Dwyane Wade 5 | |
| Chicago leads series, 3–0 | ||
ABC
|
April 29
1:00 pm |
| Chicago Bulls 92, Miami Heat 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–28, 21–20, 24–16, 24–15 | ||
| Pts: Ben Gordon 24 Rebs: Luol Deng 12 Asts: Gordon, Hinrich 4 each |
Pts: Dwyane Wade 24 Rebs: James Posey 18 Asts: Dwyane Wade 10 | |
| Chicago wins series, 4–0 | ||
American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Attendance: 20,283 Referees: Bernie Fryer, Tom Washington, Mark Wunderlich |
- Game 4 is Gary Payton's final NBA game.
| Chicago won 3–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning three of the first four meetings.
| Chicago leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
The Bulls won their first playoff series since the 1998 NBA Finals and the retirement of Michael Jordan. This was the Bulls first 4-game sweep, since sweeping the Magic in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals. Meanwhile, Miami became the first defending champion since 1957 to be swept in the First Round the following season.
In addition, Southeast Division champions Miami and other division qualifiers Washington and Orlando were swept (0–12) by Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit respectively, all from the Central Division (12–0).
Western Conference first round
[edit](1) Dallas Mavericks vs. (8) Golden State Warriors
[edit]April 22
8:30 pm |
| Golden State Warriors 97, Dallas Mavericks 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–17, 15–21, 34–28, 25–19 | ||
| Pts: Baron Davis 33 Rebs: Baron Davis 14 Asts: Baron Davis 8 |
Pts: Josh Howard 21 Rebs: Josh Howard 13 Asts: Dirk Nowitzki 4 | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
American Airlines Center, Dallas
Attendance: 20,732 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Mike Callahan, Bill Kennedy |
TNT
|
April 25
8:30 pm |
| Golden State Warriors 99, Dallas Mavericks 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–28, 22–26, 22–33, 25–25 | ||
| Pts: Stephen Jackson 30 Rebs: Jason Richardson 10 Asts: Jason Richardson 3 |
Pts: Jason Terry 28 Rebs: Josh Howard 11 Asts: Harris, Stackhouse 4 each | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 20,867 Referees: James Capers, Sean Corbin, Bennett Salvatore |
April 27
7:30 pm |
| Dallas Mavericks 91, Golden State Warriors 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–29, 28–32, 23–28, 20–20 | ||
| Pts: Nowitzki, Howard 20 each Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 12 Asts: Terry, Harris 5 each |
Pts: Jason Richardson 30 Rebs: Andris Biedriņš 10 Asts: Stephen Jackson 6 | |
| Golden State leads series, 2–1 | ||
TNT
|
April 29
7:00 pm |
| Dallas Mavericks 99, Golden State Warriors 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–21, 22–28, 28–28, 22–26 | ||
| Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 23 Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 15 Asts: Jason Terry 5 |
Pts: Baron Davis 33 Rebs: Baron Davis 8 Asts: Baron Davis 4 | |
| Golden State leads series, 3–1 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Attendance: 20,672 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Michael Smith, Derrick Stafford |
TNT
|
May 1
8:30 pm |
| Golden State Warriors 112, Dallas Mavericks 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–38, 27–24, 32–28, 25–28 | ||
| Pts: Baron Davis 27 Rebs: Mickaël Piétrus 10 Asts: Baron Davis 9 |
Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 30 Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 12 Asts: Devin Harris 7 | |
| Golden State leads series, 3–2 | ||
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 21,041 Referees: Jim Clark, Bernie Fryer, Ken Mauer |
TNT
|
May 3
7:30 pm |
| Dallas Mavericks 86, Golden State Warriors 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 23–22, 15–36, 23–25 | ||
| Pts: Howard, Stackhouse 20 each Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 10 Asts: Devin Harris 9 |
Pts: Stephen Jackson 33 Rebs: Andris Biedriņš 12 Asts: Matt Barnes 7 | |
| Golden State wins series, 4–2 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Attendance: 20,677 Referees: Ron Garretson, Steve Javie, Mark Wunderlich |
| Golden State won 3–0 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Mavericks and the Warriors.[6]
The Warriors qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1994, the second longest such streak in league history. However, the Warriors were heavy underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks despite sweeping the regular season series between the teams, as Dallas had one of the best records in NBA regular season history. Expectations of a short series were immediately dashed by Golden State's Game 1 victory in Dallas, behind guard Baron Davis and his rather frantic style of play. The Mavericks came back to win Game 2 to tie the series at 1.
But when the series shifted to Oakland for the next two games, a new X-factor emerged for the Warriors: their home crowd at the Oracle Arena. The electric crowd, which was the highest paid attendance crowd for an NBA game in the history of that arena, gave the Warriors a huge lift as they blew out Dallas in Game 3, and edged out a close victory in Game 4. As the series shifted back to Dallas, the top-ranked Mavericks found themselves one game from seeing their record breaking season end prematurely. The Mavericks gave their all and staved off elimination in Game 5, but had nothing left in Game 6 in Oakland. The Warriors used a third-quarter 18–0 run, sparked by Stephen Jackson's 13 straight points en route to a franchise playoff record seven 3-pointers, and an unexpected collapse from MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki (2–13 from the field with 8 points) to finish Dallas and become the first #8 seed to win a best-of-7 series in the first round, and just the third overall in NBA history, following the Denver Nuggets in 1994 and the New York Knicks en route to the 1999 NBA Finals. The Warriors also won their first playoff series since 1991. The Mavericks also became the second team who had a 65+ winning record not to win a championship, the first being the 1972–73 Boston Celtics, and the most recently, the 2017-18 Houston Rockets. To date, they are the only ones who were eliminated in the first round.
Both 2006 NBA Finalists (Dallas and Miami) were eliminated in the first round despite being top 4 seeds. This was the first time since 1957 that this had happened. This would not happen again until 2021 when the NBA Finalists from the previous season (L.A. Lakers and Miami Heat) were eliminated in the first round as lower-seeded teams.
(2) Phoenix Suns vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers
[edit]April 22
12:00 pm |
| Los Angeles Lakers 87, Phoenix Suns 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 25–21, 29–35, 10–21 | ||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 39 Rebs: Lamar Odom 16 Asts: Luke Walton 6 |
Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 23 Rebs: Shawn Marion 16 Asts: Steve Nash 10 | |
| Phoenix leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 24
7:30 pm |
| Los Angeles Lakers 98, Phoenix Suns 126 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–31, 22–37, 23–27, 28–31 | ||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 15 Rebs: Andrew Bynum 12 Asts: Kobe Bryant 5 |
Pts: Leandro Barbosa 26 Rebs: Shawn Marion 10 Asts: Steve Nash 14 | |
| Phoenix leads series, 2–0 | ||
US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance: 18,422 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Marc Davis, Joe Forte |
TNT
|
April 26
7:30 pm |
| Phoenix Suns 89, Los Angeles Lakers 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–17, 20–31, 19–26, 19–21 | ||
| Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 24 Rebs: Amar'e Stoudemire 10 Asts: Steve Nash 13 |
Pts: Kobe Bryant 45 Rebs: Lamar Odom 16 Asts: Kobe Bryant 6 | |
| Phoenix leads series, 2–1 | ||
ABC
|
April 29
12:30 pm |
| Phoenix Suns 113, Los Angeles Lakers 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–28, 25–23, 27–20, 28–29 | ||
| Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 27 Rebs: Amar'e Stoudemire 21 Asts: Steve Nash 23 |
Pts: Kobe Bryant 31 Rebs: Lamar Odom 19 Asts: Kobe Bryant 9 | |
| Phoenix leads series, 3–1 | ||
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Dan Crawford, Tim Donaghy, Ron Garretson |
TNT
|
May 2
7:30 pm |
| Los Angeles Lakers 110, Phoenix Suns 119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–32, 29–32, 33–27, 25–28 | ||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 34 Rebs: Odom, Turiaf 10 each Asts: Odom, Farmar 2 each |
Pts: Shawn Marion 26 Rebs: Amar'e Stoudemire 16 Asts: Steve Nash 10 | |
| Phoenix wins series, 4–1 | ||
US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance: 18,422 Referees: Scott Foster, Eddie Rush, Greg Willard |
| Phoenix won 3–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the 11th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning seven of the first ten meetings.
| Los Angeles leads 7–3 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Kobe Bryant and the Lakers went up against the high powered Phoenix Suns in a rematch of the previous year's first round series, which saw the Lakers take a 3–1 lead before the Suns took the series in 7. Unlike the previous series, the Suns had near complete control of the series, taking the series in 5. The Suns advanced to their third straight conference semifinals by eliminating the Lakers in the first round for the second straight year. In Game 4, Phoenix point guard Steve Nash made a run at the record for most assists in a playoff game, finishing one shy of the record 24 shared by Magic Johnson and John Stockton.
(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Denver Nuggets
[edit]April 22
6:00 pm |
| Denver Nuggets 95, San Antonio Spurs 89 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 23–26, 23–24, 28–23 | ||
| Pts: Allen Iverson 31 Rebs: Nenê 12 Asts: Allen Iverson 5 |
Pts: Tony Parker 19 Rebs: Tim Duncan 10 Asts: Tony Parker 8 | |
| Denver leads series, 1–0 | ||
TNT
|
April 25
6:00 pm |
| Denver Nuggets 88, San Antonio Spurs 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–24, 23–25, 19–25, 28–23 | ||
| Pts: Carmelo Anthony 26 Rebs: Marcus Camby 18 Asts: Steve Blake 7 |
Pts: Tim Duncan 22 Rebs: Fabricio Oberto 10 Asts: Tony Parker 6 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Derrick Collins, Dan Crawford, Monty McCutchen |
April 28
6:00 pm |
| San Antonio Spurs 96, Denver Nuggets 91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 21–15, 32–27, 21–24 | ||
| Pts: Tony Parker 21 Rebs: Tim Duncan 13 Asts: Tony Parker 6 |
Pts: Carmelo Anthony 28 Rebs: Carmelo Anthony 12 Asts: Steve Blake 7 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 2–1 | ||
TNT
|
April 30
8:30 pm |
| San Antonio Spurs 96, Denver Nuggets 89 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–27, 22–23, 25–23, 29–16 | ||
| Pts: Tim Duncan 22 Rebs: Tim Duncan 11 Asts: Duncan, Ginóbili 6 each |
Pts: Carmelo Anthony 29 Rebs: Marcus Camby 17 Asts: Allen Iverson 7 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 3–1 | ||
Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Attendance: 19,644 Referees: Scott Foster, Bill Kennedy, Eddie Rush |
TNT
|
May 2
7:00 pm |
| Denver Nuggets 78, San Antonio Spurs 93 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–25, 27–19, 11–19, 19–30 | ||
| Pts: Iverson, Anthony 21 each Rebs: Marcus Camby 19 Asts: Allen Iverson 8 |
Pts: Michael Finley 26 Rebs: Tim Duncan 12 Asts: Tony Parker 10 | |
| San Antonio wins series, 4–1 | ||
AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Sean Corbin, Joe DeRosa, Tom Washington |
| San Antonio won 2–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning four of the first five meetings.
| San Antonio leads 4–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
The Nuggets duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson got Denver off to a fast start, winning Game 1 and taking home-court advantage away from Tim Duncan and the Spurs. Despite the early letdown, the Spurs showed their championship mettle and bounced back for a 97–88 win in Game 2. In the pivotal Game 3, the Nuggets built an eight-point first-quarter lead before Manu Ginóbili's eight second-quarter points put San Antonio up 43–40 at halftime. A back-and-forth contest turned in the final 2:24 of the third quarter: Michael Finley hit two 3-pointers, and Robert Horry later hit a 3 that gave the Spurs a 75–67 lead at the end of the quarter. They hung on for a 96–91 win.
Denver started strong again in Game 4 and led by eight at halftime. But San Antonio stormed back after Anthony went to the bench in the third quarter with his fourth foul. The Spurs held a one-point lead with 30 seconds left when Horry, playing for his seventh championship ring, hit a 3 from the right corner to help seal a 96–89 win. The stunned Nuggets did not recover from the Game 4 letdown. Finley was the hero in Game 5, hitting a team-playoff-record eight threes for 26 points as San Antonio won 93–78 to end the series, marking the Nuggets' fourth straight season where they lost in the first round in five games. This is the second time in three seasons that the Nuggets lost the first-round series to the Spurs, after taking Game 1 in San Antonio (the first also happened in five games).
(4) Utah Jazz vs. (5) Houston Rockets
[edit]April 21
8:30 pm |
| Utah Jazz 75, Houston Rockets 84 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–20, 23–13, 11–26, 22–25 | ||
| Pts: Williams, Fisher 15 each Rebs: Carlos Boozer 12 Asts: Deron Williams 9 |
Pts: Yao Ming 28 Rebs: Yao Ming 13 Asts: Rafer Alston 8 | |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 | ||
Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 18,195 Referees: Ron Garretson, Jack Nies, Bennett Salvatore |
April 23
8:30 pm |
| Utah Jazz 90, Houston Rockets 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–17, 15–22, 21–28, 28–31 | ||
| Pts: Carlos Boozer 41 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 12 Asts: Deron Williams 7 |
Pts: Tracy McGrady 31 Rebs: Chuck Hayes 12 Asts: Alston, McGrady 5 each | |
| Houston leads series, 2–0 | ||
Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 18,206 Referees: James Capers, Sean Corbin, Bob Delaney |
April 26
7:00 pm |
| Houston Rockets 67, Utah Jazz 81 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–23, 25–25, 10–13, 15–20 | ||
| Pts: Yao Ming 26 Rebs: Yao Ming 14 Asts: Rafer Alston 5 |
Pts: Carlos Boozer 22 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 12 Asts: Deron Williams 8 | |
| Houston leads series, 2–1 | ||
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City
Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Marc Davis, Joe DeRosa, Ron Garretson |
ESPN
|
April 28
8:30 pm |
| Houston Rockets 85, Utah Jazz 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–19, 24–31, 17–33, 23–15 | ||
| Pts: Yao Ming 20 Rebs: Alston, Yao 9 each Asts: Rafer Alston 6 |
Pts: Deron Williams 25 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 10 Asts: Deron Williams 7 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Scott Foster, Bill Kennedy, Eddie Rush |
TNT
|
April 30
7:00 pm |
| Utah Jazz 92, Houston Rockets 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–21, 21–22, 28–25, 20–28 | ||
| Pts: Carlos Boozer 26 Rebs: Mehmet Okur 9 Asts: Deron Williams 6 |
Pts: Tracy McGrady 26 Rebs: Yao Ming 15 Asts: Tracy McGrady 16 | |
| Houston leads series, 3–2 | ||
Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 18,314 Referees: Steve Javie, Courtney Kirkland, Jack Nies |
TNT
|
May 3
6:00 pm |
| Houston Rockets 82, Utah Jazz 94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–20, 21–26, 19–22, 20–26 | ||
| Pts: Tracy McGrady 26 Rebs: Tracy McGrady 10 Asts: Shane Battier 4 |
Pts: Carlos Boozer 22 Rebs: Okur, Boozer 9 each Asts: Deron Williams 8 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Joe Forte, Ken Mauer |
TNT
|
May 5
8:30 pm |
| Utah Jazz 103, Houston Rockets 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–22, 24–21, 22–24, 28–32 | ||
| Pts: Carlos Boozer 35 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 14 Asts: Deron Williams 14 |
Pts: McGrady, Yao 29 each Rebs: Juwan Howard 7 Asts: Tracy McGrady 13 | |
| Utah wins series, 4–3 | ||
Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 18,307 Referees: Mike Callahan, Bernie Fryer, Tom Washington |
| Utah won 3–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning three of the first five meetings.
| Utah leads 3–2 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
The resurgent Utah Jazz, fresh off one of their best seasons since the John Stockton/Karl Malone years, faced Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets, who were seeking their first playoff series victory in 10 years. Home court advantage proved to be the key as the series progressed, as both the Rockets and the Jazz won closely contested matches in front of their home crowds.
As a result, the series had to go to a seventh and deciding game, which was played in Houston since the Rockets had the better record and thereby earned home court advantage, despite the division-winning Jazz being the higher-seeded team. Nevertheless, Utah overcame the Houston crowd and stunned the Rockets for the win on the road. The Jazz became only the third road team in history to win Game 7 of a seven-game series in which the home team won each of the first six games, after the Boston Celtics in the 1969 NBA Finals and the Baltimore Bullets in the 1971 Eastern Conference Finals. Houston's Tracy McGrady lost his sixth straight post-season series (out of 10 seasons) and has never played past the first round in his entire career.
After losing the series, the Rockets failed to reach a new contract agreement with their head coach Jeff Van Gundy, who was subsequently fired.[10]
Conference semifinals
[edit]Eastern Conference semifinals
[edit](1) Detroit Pistons vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
[edit]May 5
7:00 pm |
| Chicago Bulls 69, Detroit Pistons 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–29, 18–25, 16–16, 12–25 | ||
| Pts: Luol Deng 18 Rebs: B. Wallace, Deng 8 each Asts: Kirk Hinrich 6 |
Pts: Hamilton, Billups 20 each Rebs: Antonio McDyess 10 Asts: Lindsey Hunter 6 | |
| Detroit leads series, 1–0 | ||
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Tony Brothers, Joe DeRosa, Bennett Salvatore |
TNT
|
May 7
8:00 pm |
| Chicago Bulls 87, Detroit Pistons 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–34, 25–24, 19–25, 25–25 | ||
| Pts: Tyrus Thomas 18 Rebs: Ben Wallace 7 Asts: Kirk Hinrich 7 |
Pts: Tayshaun Prince 25 Rebs: Richard Hamilton 9 Asts: Chauncey Billups 10 | |
| Detroit leads series, 2–0 | ||
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Joe Forte, Leon Wood |
May 10
8:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 81, Chicago Bulls 74 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–20, 10–24, 32–17, 21–13 | ||
| Pts: Tayshaun Prince 23 Rebs: Prince, R. Wallace 11 each Asts: Chauncey Billups 7 |
Pts: Luol Deng 21 Rebs: Luol Deng 14 Asts: Kirk Hinrich 7 | |
| Detroit leads series, 3–0 | ||
United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 23,462 Referees: Bernie Fryer, Ron Garretson, Tom Washington |
May 13
2:30 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 87, Chicago Bulls 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–27, 24–23, 13–27, 31–25 | ||
| Pts: Chauncey Billups 23 Rebs: Antonio McDyess 8 Asts: Chauncey Billups 8 |
Pts: Luol Deng 25 Rebs: Ben Wallace 17 Asts: Kirk Hinrich 10 | |
| Detroit leads series, 3–1 | ||
United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 23,099 Referees: Dan Crawford, Ken Mauer, Monty McCutchen |
TNT
|
May 15
8:00 pm |
| Chicago Bulls 108, Detroit Pistons 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–25, 28–26, 33–20, 16–21 | ||
| Pts: Ben Gordon 28 Rebs: P. J. Brown 8 Asts: Kirk Hinrich 13 |
Pts: Chauncey Billups 17 Rebs: Chris Webber 8 Asts: Chauncey Billups 6 | |
| Detroit leads series, 3–2 | ||
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Jim Clark, Luis Grillo, Eddie Rush |
ESPN
|
May 17
7:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 95, Chicago Bulls 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–23, 15–25, 31–21, 21–16 | ||
| Pts: Richard Hamilton 23 Rebs: Rasheed Wallace 13 Asts: Chauncey Billups 7 |
Pts: P. J. Brown 20 Rebs: Ben Wallace 7 Asts: Kirk Hinrich 11 | |
| Detroit wins series, 4–2 | ||
United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 23,030 Referees: Sean Corbin, Jack Nies, Bennett Salvatore |
| Chicago won 3–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning three of the first five meetings.
| Detroit leads 3–2 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
In a renewal of a rivalry from the late '80s and early '90s, the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons faced off against each other. This was also the first time since 1995 that teams from the two cities met in a major league postseason or game. The series began fairly one-sided as the Pistons took Games 1 and 2 in Detroit in blowout fashion, followed by another convincing victory in Game 3 in Chicago. In all 3 games, the Bulls looked severely outmatched against the more experienced Pistons squad. Expectations were low for the Bulls, since no NBA team has ever won a seven-game series after being down 3–0. (It has only happened five times total in sports history, the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1975 New York Islanders, 2004 Boston Red Sox, 2010 Philadelphia Flyers and 2014 Los Angeles Kings.)
Despite the huge obstacle, the Bulls rallied to take Game 4 in a romp, and then proceeded to shock everyone with a blow-out victory in Detroit in Game 5. Despite the renewed momentum, the Pistons' playoff experience ultimately won out as they closed out the Bulls in a 95-85 Game 6 win. The Pistons advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth straight year.
(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (6) New Jersey Nets
[edit]May 6
1:00 pm |
| New Jersey Nets 77, Cleveland Cavaliers 81 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–23, 21–20, 18–16, 18–22 | ||
| Pts: Vince Carter 21 Rebs: Vince Carter 13 Asts: Jason Kidd 9 |
Pts: LeBron James 21 Rebs: Gooden, Ilgauskas 14 each Asts: LeBron James 7 | |
| Cleveland leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 8
8:00 pm |
| New Jersey Nets 92, Cleveland Cavaliers 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–24, 17–24, 28–26, 19–28 | ||
| Pts: Vince Carter 26 Rebs: Jason Kidd 10 Asts: Jason Kidd 8 |
Pts: LeBron James 36 Rebs: Drew Gooden 14 Asts: LeBron James 12 | |
| Cleveland leads series, 2–0 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Ken Mauer, Bennett Salvatore, Michael Smith |
May 12
5:00 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 85, New Jersey Nets 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–22, 28–23, 21–28, 21–23 | ||
| Pts: Larry Hughes 23 Rebs: Zydrunas Ilgauskas 8 Asts: LeBron James 12 |
Pts: three players 23 each Rebs: Jason Kidd 13 Asts: Jason Kidd 14 | |
| Cleveland leads series, 2–1 | ||
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 20,032 Referees: Scott Foster, Bernie Fryer, Ron Garretson |
TNT
|
May 14
7:00 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 87, New Jersey Nets 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–20, 23–26, 29–23, 16–16 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 30 Rebs: Zydrunas Ilgauskas 11 Asts: LeBron James 7 |
Pts: Carter, Moore 25 each Rebs: Jason Kidd 17 Asts: Vince Carter 9 | |
| Cleveland leads series, 3–1 | ||
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 20,032 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Joe Forte, Mark Wunderlich |
TNT
|
May 16
8:00 pm |
| New Jersey Nets 83, Cleveland Cavaliers 72 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–18, 23–21, 30–20, 6–13 | ||
| Pts: Jason Kidd 20 Rebs: Jason Kidd 9 Asts: Vince Carter 10 |
Pts: LeBron James 20 Rebs: LeBron James 9 Asts: LeBron James 5 | |
| Cleveland leads series, 3–2 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Bob Delaney |
ESPN
|
May 18
7:00 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 88, New Jersey Nets 72 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–15, 21–23, 8–22, 27–12 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 23 Rebs: LeBron James 8 Asts: LeBron James 8 |
Pts: Jason Kidd 19 Rebs: Jason Kidd 12 Asts: Jason Kidd 8 | |
| Cleveland wins series, 4–2 | ||
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 20,032 Referees: Jim Clark, Joe DeRosa, Eddie Rush |
| Cleveland won 2–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Cavaliers winning the first two meetings.
| Cleveland leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
The Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1992, while the Nets lost in the Conference Semifinals in three out of the last four years. Game 6 was the final playoff game at the Continental Airlines Arena, while also the last NBA playoff game ever played in New Jersey (the Prudential Center never hosted an NBA playoff game during the Nets' tenure from 2010 to 2012).
New Jersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd averaged a triple double the entire playoffs, scoring 14.6 points, grabbing 10.9 rebounds and dishing out 10.9 assists per game.
Western Conference semifinals
[edit](2) Phoenix Suns vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs
[edit]May 6
12:30 pm |
| San Antonio Spurs 111, Phoenix Suns 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–26, 24–27, 26–22, 34–31 | ||
| Pts: Tim Duncan 33 Rebs: Tim Duncan 16 Asts: Tony Parker 8 |
Pts: Steve Nash 31 Rebs: Amar'e Stoudemire 18 Asts: Steve Nash 8 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 1–0 | ||
US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance: 18,422 Referees: James Capers, Bob Delaney, Mark Wunderlich |
May 8
7:30 pm |
| San Antonio Spurs 81, Phoenix Suns 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–19, 17–30, 22–22, 17–30 | ||
| Pts: Tim Duncan 29 Rebs: Tim Duncan 11 Asts: Manu Ginóbili 5 |
Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 27 Rebs: Shawn Marion 10 Asts: Steve Nash 16 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance: 18,422 Referees: Jim Clark, Dan Crawford, Bill Kennedy |
ABC
|
May 12
7:00 pm |
| Phoenix Suns 101, San Antonio Spurs 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–25, 23–30, 19–25, 29–28 | ||
| Pts: Shawn Marion 26 Rebs: Kurt Thomas 12 Asts: Steve Nash 11 |
Pts: Tim Duncan 33 Rebs: Tim Duncan 19 Asts: Tony Parker 5 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 2–1 | ||
TNT
|
May 14
8:30 pm |
| Phoenix Suns 104, San Antonio Spurs 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–22, 16–23, 32–35, 32–18 | ||
| Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 26 Rebs: Shawn Marion 12 Asts: Steve Nash 15 |
Pts: Tony Parker 23 Rebs: Tim Duncan 11 Asts: Tony Parker 7 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Steve Javie, Jack Nies |
TNT
|
May 16
7:30 pm |
| San Antonio Spurs 88, Phoenix Suns 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–24, 20–20, 23–18, 32–23 | ||
| Pts: Manu Ginóbili 26 Rebs: Tim Duncan 12 Asts: Tony Parker 5 |
Pts: Shawn Marion 24 Rebs: Shawn Marion 17 Asts: Steve Nash 12 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 3–2 | ||
US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance: 18,422 Referees: Bernie Fryer, Ron Garretson, Michael Smith |
May 18
9:30 pm |
| Phoenix Suns 106, San Antonio Spurs 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 28–30, 16–28, 39–33 | ||
| Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 38 Rebs: Amar'e Stoudemire 12 Asts: Steve Nash 14 |
Pts: Manu Ginóbili 33 Rebs: Tim Duncan 13 Asts: Parker, Ginóbili 6 each | |
| San Antonio wins series, 4–2 | ||
AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Joe Forte, Tom Washington |
| San Antonio won 2–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning four of the first seven meetings.
| San Antonio leads 4–3 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
The highly anticipated match-up between the high-powered Phoenix Suns, led by 2-time MVP Steve Nash, and the fundamentally sound San Antonio Spurs, led by 3-time Finals MVP Tim Duncan, had high expectations before the series tip-off. The Suns were looking to make the conference finals for the third straight year, and also looking for their first Finals berth since 1993. The Spurs on the other hand, were looking for their third trip in five years, and their fourth NBA title overall. The series received international interest with a playoff-record of 12 players originating outside the US.[14] When the series ended, it had become one of the most hotly contested and controversial series in recent NBA history.
The Suns had their home court advantage quickly taken away as the Spurs took a tight Game 1, a game that saw Nash missing the final minutes for Phoenix due to a gash to his nose, which bled profusely. Nash and the Suns recovered to take Game 2 but after the game, Suns forward Amar'e Stoudemire accused the Spurs, especially Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginóbili, of being a dirty team. Despite the added scrutiny by the media circles, the Spurs won Game 3. The Suns, trying to overcome their recent failures against Texas teams in the playoffs (the Spurs and the Mavericks both defeated them in the Conference Finals), willed themselves to a come-from-behind victory in Game 4 to tie the series at 2.
However, the celebration was short-lived. In the closing minute of Game 4, with the Suns up 3, Nash brought up the ball and was shoved into the press table by Robert Horry, creating a momentary ruckus, wherein Raja Bell received a technical. As this took place, Stoudemire and Boris Diaw left the Suns bench. Although they were not involved in the altercation, they broke an established NBA rule that prohibits players from leaving the bench during an altercation. As a result, the NBA suspended Stoudemire and Diaw for one game, while Horry received a two-game suspension for the flagrant foul and ejection. Severely undermanned, the Suns came into Game 5 with the task of beating the Spurs without their star big man.
Although the Suns were able to control most of the game without the suspended players, even taking a 16-point lead on the Spurs at one point, the Spurs came back to win an incredibly close Game 5. Diaw and Stoudemire did return for the Suns in Game 6, though that didn't help the Suns to force a Game 7 and the Spurs eliminated them to advance to the Western Conference Finals with a 114–106 win.
(4) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Golden State Warriors
[edit]May 7
8:30 pm |
| Golden State Warriors 112, Utah Jazz 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–37, 31–26, 23–21, 23–32 | ||
| Pts: Baron Davis 24 Rebs: Barnes, Richardson 10 each Asts: Baron Davis 7 |
Pts: Deron Williams 31 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 20 Asts: Deron Williams 8 | |
| Utah leads series, 1–0 | ||
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City
Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Eddie Rush, Greg Willard |
TNT
|
May 9
7:00 pm |
| Golden State Warriors 117, Utah Jazz 127 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–28, 27–35, 31–27, 24–23, Overtime: 4–14 | ||
| Pts: Baron Davis 36 Rebs: Matt Barnes 7 Asts: Baron Davis 7 |
Pts: Carlos Boozer 30 Rebs: Mehmet Okur 18 Asts: Deron Williams 14 | |
| Utah leads series, 2–0 | ||
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Scott Foster, Steve Javie |
May 11
6:00 pm |
| Utah Jazz 105, Golden State Warriors 125 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–30, 22–40, 36–34, 20–21 | ||
| Pts: Carlos Boozer 19 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 11 Asts: Deron Williams 6 |
Pts: Baron Davis 32 Rebs: Andris Biedriņš 13 Asts: Baron Davis 9 | |
| Utah leads series, 2–1 | ||
TNT
|
May 13
6:00 pm |
| Utah Jazz 115, Golden State Warriors 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–23, 25–26, 25–29, 40–23 | ||
| Pts: Carlos Boozer 34 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 12 Asts: Deron Williams 13 |
Pts: Jackson, Harrington 24 each Rebs: Andris Biedriņš 10 Asts: Baron Davis 7 | |
| Utah leads series, 3–1 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Attendance: 20,679 Referees: Tony Brothers, Mike Callahan, Tom Washington |
TNT
|
May 15
8:30 pm |
| Golden State Warriors 87, Utah Jazz 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–29, 22–23, 19–25, 14–23 | ||
| Pts: Baron Davis 21 Rebs: Jason Richardson 8 Asts: Baron Davis 8 |
Pts: Boozer, Kirilenko 21 each Rebs: Carlos Boozer 14 Asts: Deron Williams 7 | |
| Utah wins series, 4–1 | ||
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Attendance: 19,911 Referees: James Capers, Ken Mauer, Bennett Salvatore |
| Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Warriors winning the first two meetings.
| Golden State leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Fresh off their stunning upset of the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks, the Golden State Warriors faced a very different team in Utah. The Warriors continued the frantic style of play they exhibited against the Mavericks, but the Jazz, a more defensive-minded team, managed to shut them down to take Game 1. The Warriors tried to bounce back in Game 2, and took the Jazz to overtime. But the Jazz were able to prevail, due to the inspired clutch play of guard Derek Fisher, who arrived at halftime after being with his family in New York City because of his daughter's emergency eye cancer surgery.
The series shifted back to Oakland and the raucous Oracle Arena crowd, which lifted the Warriors to a resounding blowout in Game 3, a game which saw the Warriors hit a playoff record 11 threes in the first half. However, the Jazz shrugged off the crowd and handed the Warriors their only playoff home loss of the year in Game 4. The Warriors' playoff run ended as the Jazz finished them off in Game 5. The Jazz advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1998.
Conference finals
[edit]Eastern Conference finals
[edit](1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers
[edit]May 21
8:00 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 76, Detroit Pistons 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–19, 17–16, 14–21, 21–23 | ||
| Pts: Zydrunas Ilgauskas 22 Rebs: Zydrunas Ilgauskas 13 Asts: LeBron James 9 |
Pts: Richard Hamilton 24 Rebs: Rasheed Wallace 12 Asts: Tayshaun Prince 9 | |
| Detroit leads series, 1–0 | ||
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Steve Javie, Ken Mauer, Greg Willard |
TNT
|
May 24
8:00 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 76, Detroit Pistons 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–20, 34–18, 13–22, 13–19 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 19 Rebs: Anderson Varejão 14 Asts: LeBron James 7 |
Pts: Rasheed Wallace 16 Rebs: Rasheed Wallace 11 Asts: Chauncey Billups 6 | |
| Detroit leads series, 2–0 | ||
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Jim Clark, Bernie Fryer, Mark Wunderlich |
TNT
|
May 27
8:30 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 82, Cleveland Cavaliers 88 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 21–24, 20–16, 19–26 | ||
| Pts: Rasheed Wallace 16 Rebs: Antonio McDyess 9 Asts: three players 3 each |
Pts: LeBron James 32 Rebs: LeBron James 9 Asts: LeBron James 9 | |
| Detroit leads series, 2–1 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Scott Foster, Tom Washington |
TNT
|
May 29
8:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 87, Cleveland Cavaliers 91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–26, 21–24, 24–15, 20–26 | ||
| Pts: Chauncey Billups 23 Rebs: Chauncey Billups 9 Asts: Tayshaun Prince 4 |
Pts: LeBron James 25 Rebs: Drew Gooden 8 Asts: LeBron James 11 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Mike Callahan, Dan Crawford, Joe Forte |
TNT
|
May 31
8:00 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 109, Detroit Pistons 107 (2OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–29, 28–23, 19–18, 21–21, Overtime: 9–9, 9–7 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 48 Rebs: Zydrunas Ilgauskas 16 Asts: LeBron James 7 |
Pts: Richard Hamilton 26 Rebs: Tayshaun Prince 9 Asts: Richard Hamilton 5 | |
| Cleveland leads series, 3–2 | ||
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Bob Delaney, Ron Garretson, Bennett Salvatore |
TNT
|
June 2
8:30 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 82, Cleveland Cavaliers 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–27, 27–21, 18–19, 16–31 | ||
| Pts: Richard Hamilton 29 Rebs: three players 6 each Asts: Tayshaun Prince 6 |
Pts: Daniel Gibson 31 Rebs: LeBron James 14 Asts: LeBron James 8 | |
| Cleveland wins series, 4–2 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Jack Nies, Eddie Rush |
| Detroit won 3–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning the first meeting.
| Detroit leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
In a rematch of the thrilling 2006 second-round series, the Pistons and Cavaliers matched up in perhaps one of the most closely contested series in NBA history, with the first five games being decided by six points or less. The spotlight fell on LeBron James. Despite gaining some momentum in the opening games of the series against the experienced Pistons, key last-second decisions by James led to Cleveland losses in Games 1 and 2 in Detroit, by identical scores, in which Cleveland led for most of the two games. They faced a 0–2 deficit for the second straight year, but would easily remember from the year before that they could win three straight games to get back into the series.
With media circles on his back for his complacency in these games (James had a then playoff career low 10 points in Game 1), James came back to will the Cavs to close victories in Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland, evening the series at 2. The series shifted back to Detroit for a Game 5 that proved to be one of the most memorable postseason games in recent NBA history. In a match that went into double overtime, the Cavaliers stunned the Pistons on their home court, thanks to LeBron James' playoff career-high 48-point performance. James scored the Cavaliers' final 25 points, including all 18 points in overtime, forced the second OT with a driving dunk and made a driving layup with 2.2 seconds left in the second OT to silence the Palace crowd. A game tying buzzer beater by Chauncey Billups rimmed out making it two straight 2-point wins at the Palace in Game 5.
The Cavaliers took advantage of their home court in 2007 and exploded in Game 6 to close out the Pistons, and to clinch the franchise's first trip to the NBA Finals. Rookie Daniel Gibson scored a career-high 31 points, including five 3-pointers, to lift the Cavs in the second half behind a roaring home crowd.
Western Conference finals
[edit](3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Utah Jazz
[edit]May 20
2:30 pm |
| Utah Jazz 100, San Antonio Spurs 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–23, 16–31, 26–24, 38–30 | ||
| Pts: Deron Williams 34 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 12 Asts: Deron Williams 9 |
Pts: Tim Duncan 27 Rebs: Tim Duncan 10 Asts: Manu Ginóbili 10 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 22
8:00 pm |
| Utah Jazz 96, San Antonio Spurs 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–26, 17–32, 24–23, 31–24 | ||
| Pts: Carlos Boozer 33 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 15 Asts: Deron Williams 10 |
Pts: Tim Duncan 26 Rebs: Tim Duncan 14 Asts: Tony Parker 14 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 2–0 | ||
AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Sean Corbin, Jack Nies, Bennett Salvatore |
ABC
|
May 26
6:30 pm |
| San Antonio Spurs 83, Utah Jazz 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–15, 24–28, 20–32, 16–34 | ||
| Pts: Tony Parker 25 Rebs: Tim Duncan 8 Asts: Tony Parker 7 |
Pts: Deron Williams 31 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 12 Asts: Deron Williams 8 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 2–1 | ||
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City
Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Bob Delaney, Monty McCutchen, Eddie Rush |
ESPN
|
May 28
7:00 pm |
| San Antonio Spurs 91, Utah Jazz 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–20, 29–22, 13–20, 28–17 | ||
| Pts: Manu Ginóbili 22 Rebs: Fabricio Oberto 11 Asts: Jacque Vaughn 4 |
Pts: Deron Williams 27 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 9 Asts: Deron Williams 10 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 3–1 | ||
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Steve Javie, Joe DeRosa, Ken Mauer |
ESPN
|
May 30
8:00 pm |
| Utah Jazz 84, San Antonio Spurs 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–34, 24–21, 17–28, 28–26 | ||
| Pts: Andrei Kirilenko 13 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 12 Asts: Carlos Boozer 4 |
Pts: Duncan, Parker 21 each Rebs: Fabricio Oberto 10 Asts: Jacque Vaughn 6 | |
| San Antonio wins series, 4–1 | ||
AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Bernie Fryer, Tom Washington, Greg Willard |
| Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning the first three meetings.
| Utah leads 3–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
For the first time since 1990, neither the #1 nor #2 seed participated in the Western Conference Finals. However, the series pitted youth against experience as the up-and-coming Utah Jazz faced off against the seasoned San Antonio Spurs. Coming into the series, the Jazz were not given much of a chance due to their inexperience. However, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and the Jazz were able to hold their own against San Antonio for a good part of the series.
Unfortunately, it was not enough. The series' first 2 games – both San Antonio home victories – saw the Spurs blow big first-half leads and the Jazz mount last-gasp rallies that were thwarted by San Antonio's clutch shooting. When the Spurs' 19-point first-half lead dwindled to 95-87 late in the fourth quarter of Game 1, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginóbili came through with timely shots down the stretch. When San Antonio's 22-point edge shrank to 83-76 late in Game 2, Bruce Bowen broke Utah's rhythm with a 3 from the left corner and another from the right to end the threat.
The Jazz, who were undefeated at home in the postseason coming into the series, had their most cohesive effort in a 109-83 Game 3 rout. Utah pestered Duncan into early foul trouble and got baskets from players other than Williams and Boozer, who had combined for 57.7% of their team's points through the first two games. But Jazz fans' euphoria over the team's only series victory gave way to frustration in Game 4 – with most of it aimed at Ginóbili and his flopping. 11 of his 16 fourth-quarter points came at the foul line in an ugly overall team performance in which the Spurs made more free throws (30) than field goals (28). Contributing to that discrepancy were four technical fouls called against Utah in the fourth. The subsequent ejections of Utah head coach Jerry Sloan and Jazz guard Derek Fisher had a charged-up EnergySolutions Arena crowd raining debris onto the court in protest.
The unflappable Spurs responded with yet another commanding start in Game 5. They outscored the Jazz by 19 in the first quarter and led by as many as 29. Not even another late-game arrival of Fisher (from New York again) could help the Jazz enough and the Spurs won a 109–84 series-clinching victory and an eventual date in the NBA Finals with the Cavaliers.
NBA Finals: (W3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (E2) Cleveland Cavaliers
[edit]June 7
8:00 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 76, San Antonio Spurs 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–20, 20–20, 14–24, 27–21 | ||
| Pts: Daniel Gibson 16 Rebs: LeBron James 7 Asts: James, Gibson 4 each |
Pts: Tony Parker 27 Rebs: Tim Duncan 13 Asts: Tony Parker 7 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 1–0 | ||
June 10
8:00 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 92, San Antonio Spurs 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–28, 16–30, 29–31, 30–14 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 25 Rebs: Anderson Varejão 10 Asts: LeBron James 6 |
Pts: Tony Parker 30 Rebs: Duncan, Horry 9 each Asts: Tim Duncan 8 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 2–0 | ||
June 12
9:00 pm |
| San Antonio Spurs 75, Cleveland Cavaliers 72 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–18, 24–20, 15–12, 20–22 | ||
| Pts: Tony Parker 17 Rebs: Bowen, Duncan 9 each Asts: Manu Ginóbili 5 |
Pts: LeBron James 25 Rebs: Zydrunas Ilgauskas 18 Asts: LeBron James 7 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 3–0 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Dan Crawford, Bob Delaney, Bernie Fryer |
June 14
9:00 pm |
| San Antonio Spurs 83, Cleveland Cavaliers 82 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–20, 20–14, 21–18, 23–30 | ||
| Pts: Manu Ginóbili 27 Rebs: Tim Duncan 15 Asts: three players 3 each |
Pts: LeBron James 24 Rebs: Zydrunas Ilgauskas 13 Asts: LeBron James 10 | |
| San Antonio wins series 4–0 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Joe Forte, Eddie Rush, Bennett Salvatore |
| Cleveland won 2–0 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Cavaliers and the Spurs.[18]
The Cavaliers, led by superstar LeBron James, entered the 2007 Finals looking for their first franchise championship, as well as the first championship for a pro team based out of Cleveland since the Cleveland Browns won the 1964 National Football League Championship. However, the Cavs were considered heavy underdogs against the 3-time champion Spurs. The Spurs' veteran leadership and championship experience overwhelmed the Cavs, who were swept by the Spurs after two blowouts in San Antonio and two close games in Cleveland.
Statistic leaders
[edit]| Category | High | Average | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Total | Player | Team | Avg. | Games played | |
| Points | LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers | 48 | Kobe Bryant | Los Angeles Lakers | 32.8 | 5 |
| Rebounds | Amar'e Stoudemire | Phoenix Suns | 21 | Marcus Camby | Denver Nuggets | 14.8 | 5 |
| Assists | Steve Nash | Phoenix Suns | 23 | Steve Nash | Phoenix Suns | 13.3 | 11 |
| Steals | Baron Davis | Golden State Warriors | 6 | Baron Davis | Golden State Warriors | 2.9 | 11 |
| Blocks | Tim Duncan | San Antonio Spurs | 9 | Marcus Camby | Denver Nuggets | 3.2 | 5 |
Broadcasters
[edit] | This section is missing information about broadcasts for Conference Finals. (July 2022) |
Eastern Conference first round
[edit]National television
[edit]| Year | Teams | Network | Play-by-play announcer | Color analyst(s) | Sideline reporter(s) | Studio host | Studio analyst(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Cleveland–Washington | TNT (Games 1, 3) NBA TV (Games 2, 4) |
Marv Albert |
Local television
[edit]| Year | Teams | Network | Play-by-play announcer | Color analyst(s) | Sideline reporter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Cleveland–Washington | Fox Sports Ohio and WUAB-TV (Cleveland area) | Michael Reghi | Austin Carr | |
| Comcast SportsNet (Washington D.C. area) |
Local radio
[edit]| Year | Teams | Flagship station | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) |
| 2007 | Detroit–Orlando | WDFN-AM (Detroit) | ||
| WDBO-AM (Orlando) | ||||
| Chicago–Miami | WCKG-FM (Chicago) | |||
| WIOD-AM (Miami) | ||||
| Cleveland–Washington | WTAM-AM (Cleveland) | Joe Tait | ||
| WTEM-AM (Washington) | ||||
| New Jersey–Toronto | WFAN-AM (New Jersey) | |||
| CJCL-AM (Toronto) |
Western Conference first round
[edit]Eastern Conference semifinals
[edit]National television
[edit]| Year | Teams | Network | Play-by-play announcer | Color analyst(s) | Sideline reporter(s) | Studio host | Studio analyst(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Cleveland–New Jersey | ABC (Game 1) TNT (Games 2, 4–5) ESPN (Games 3, 6) |
Local television
[edit]| Year | Teams | Network | Play-by-play announcer | Color analyst(s) | Sideline reporter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Cleveland–New Jersey | Fox Sports Ohio and WUAB-TV (Cleveland area) (Games 3, 6) | |||
| YES Network (New Jersey) (New York area) (Games 3, 6) |
National radio
[edit]| Year | Teams | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) |
| 2007 | Detroit–Chicago | |||
| Cleveland–New Jersey | ESPN (Game 1) |
Local radio
[edit]| Year | Teams | Flagship station | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) |
| 2007 | Detroit–Chicago | WDFN-AM (Detroit) | ||
| WCKG-FM (Chicago) | ||||
| Cleveland–New Jersey | WTAM-AM (Cleveland) | Joe Tait | ||
| WFAN-AM (New Jersey) |
Eastern Conference finals
[edit]Western Conference finals
[edit]NBA Finals
[edit]See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ "NBA announces postseason seeding format change". ESPN.com. Associated Press. August 2, 2006. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Orlando Magic (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Cleveland Cavaliers versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Brooklyn Nets versus Toronto Raptors (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Miami Heat (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Dallas Mavericks versus Golden State Warriors (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Phoenix Suns (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Denver Nuggets versus San Antonio Spurs (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Houston Rockets versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ Houston Rockets and Jeff Van Gundy to Part Ways, nba.com, accessed May 18, 2007
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Detroit Pistons (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder —Brooklyn Nets versus Cleveland Cavaliers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Phoenix Suns versus San Antonio Spurs (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ espn.com, Spurs-Suns series highlights NBA's international scope
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Cleveland Cavaliers versus Detroit Pistons (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — San Antonio Spurs versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Cleveland Cavaliers versus San Antonio Spurs (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.