| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 21–April 26, 1964 |
| Season | 1963–64 |
| Teams | 6 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Boston Celtics (7th title) |
| Runner-up | San Francisco Warriors |
| Semifinalists | |
The 1964 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1963–64 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion San Francisco Warriors 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
Boston earned their 6th straight and 7th overall NBA title, as they continued to dominate the decade; except for 1967, they won every NBA title in the 1960s.
This was the San Francisco Warriors' first trip to the NBA Finals since 1956 when they were based in Philadelphia; they would make a repeat appearance in 1967 and (as the Golden State Warriors) would earn the franchise's third championship in 1975.
The Philadelphia 76ers earned their first playoff appearance in their new city; they had been founded as the independent Syracuse Nationals in 1939 and joined the NBL in 1946.
Bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 2 | E2 | Cincinnati | 1 | ||||||||
| E2 | Cincinnati | 3 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||
| W1 | San Francisco* | 1 | |||||||||||
| W1 | San Francisco* | 4 | |||||||||||
| W3 | Los Angeles | 2 | W2 | St. Louis | 3 | ||||||||
| W2 | St. Louis | 3 | |||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals
Division Semifinals
Eastern Division Semifinals
(2) Cincinnati Royals vs. (3) Philadelphia 76ers
March 22
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 102, Cincinnati Royals 127 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–29, 19–32, 25–33, 28–33 | ||
|
Pts:
Greer,
Kerr 21 each Rebs: Red Kerr 15 Asts: Paul Neumann 8 |
Pts:
Oscar Robertson 31 Rebs: Jerry Lucas 25 Asts: Oscar Robertson 16 | |
| Cincinnati leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 24
|
| Cincinnati Royals 114, Philadelphia 76ers 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–36, 32–25, 25–29, 23–32 | ||
|
Pts:
Oscar Robertson 30 Rebs: Wayne Embry 11 Asts: three players 5 each |
Pts:
Hal Greer 29 Rebs: Red Kerr 15 Asts: Hal Greer 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 25
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 89, Cincinnati Royals 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–26, 27–32, 19–23, 25–20 | ||
|
Pts:
Chet Walker 21 Rebs: Red Kerr 19 |
Pts:
Oscar Robertson 28 Rebs: Jack Twyman 21 | |
| Cincinnati leads series, 2–1 | ||
March 28
|
| Cincinnati Royals 120, Philadelphia 76ers 129 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–31, 33–29, 24–36, 35–33 | ||
|
Pts:
Oscar Robertson 31 Rebs: Oscar Robertson 14 Asts: Bucky Bockhorn 7 |
Pts:
Hal Greer 22 Rebs: Ben Warley 15 Asts: Hal Greer 8 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
March 29
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 124, Cincinnati Royals 130 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–29, 36–30, 28–35, 37–36 | ||
|
Pts:
Red Kerr 31 Rebs: Red Kerr 11 |
Pts:
Oscar Robertson 32 Rebs: Wayne Embry 17 | |
| Cincinnati wins series, 3–2 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Royals winning the first meeting when the 76ers were the Syracuse Nationals.
| Cincinnati leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Division Semifinals
(2) St. Louis Hawks vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers
March 21
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 104, St. Louis Hawks 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–32, 35–25, 29–29, 17–29 | ||
|
Pts:
Jerry West 35 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 15 Asts: Dick Barnett 5 |
Pts:
Cliff Hagan 27 Rebs: Bob Pettit 22 Asts: Hagan, Wilkens 7 each | |
| St. Louis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 22
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 90, St. Louis Hawks 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 19–27, 26–24, 23–34 | ||
|
Pts:
Elgin Baylor 20 Rebs: LeRoy Ellis 18 Asts: Jim King 4 |
Pts:
Richie Guerin 22 Rebs: Bob Pettit 18 Asts: Cliff Hagan 6 | |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–0 | ||
March 25
|
| St. Louis Hawks 105, Los Angeles Lakers 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–33, 27–26, 29–24, 27–24 | ||
|
Pts:
Bob Pettit 23 Rebs: Bob Pettit 10 Asts: Cliff Hagan 5 |
Pts:
Jerry West 39 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 16 Asts: Elgin Baylor 11 | |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–1 | ||
March 28
|
| St. Louis Hawks 88, Los Angeles Lakers 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 26–18, 18–34, 21–22 | ||
|
Pts:
Bob Pettit 23 Rebs: Bob Pettit 12 Asts: Lenny Wilkens 7 |
Pts:
Jerry West 39 Rebs: LeRoy Ellis 11 Asts: Elgin Baylor 10 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
March 30
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 108, St. Louis Hawks 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–34, 31–22, 19–31, 33–34 | ||
|
Pts:
Elgin Baylor 28 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 11 Asts: Dick Barnett 4 |
Pts:
Lenny Wilkens 30 Rebs: Bob Pettit 20 Asts: Hagan, Guerin 6 each | |
| St. Louis wins series, 3–2 | ||
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning four of the first six meetings.
| St. Louis leads 4–2 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Division Finals
Eastern Division Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Cincinnati Royals
March 31
|
| Cincinnati Royals 87, Boston Celtics 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 19–26, 21–26, 26–28 | ||
|
Pts:
Wayne Embry 21 Rebs: Wayne Embry 16 Asts: Robertson, Arnette 3 each |
Pts:
Sam Jones 27 Rebs: Bill Russell 31 Asts: K. C. Jones 9 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 2
|
| Cincinnati Royals 90, Boston Celtics 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–29, 23–21, 22–27, 26–24 | ||
|
Pts:
Oscar Robertson 30 Rebs: Oscar Robertson 12 Asts: Oscar Robertson 9 |
Pts:
Tom Heinsohn 31 Rebs: Bill Russell 28 Asts: K. C. Jones 8 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 5
|
| Boston Celtics 102, Cincinnati Royals 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–21, 30–16, 26–27, 21–28 | ||
|
Pts:
Bill Russell 22 Rebs: Bill Russell 28 |
Pts:
Oscar Robertson 34 Rebs: Jerry Lucas 24 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–0 | ||
April 7
|
| Boston Celtics 93, Cincinnati Royals 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–25, 24–21, 23–29, 21–27 | ||
|
Pts:
Sam Jones 33 Rebs: Bill Russell 24 Asts: K. C. Jones 5 |
Pts:
Oscar Robertson 33 Rebs: Jerry Lucas 25 Asts: Jerry Lucas 10 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 9
|
| Cincinnati Royals 95, Boston Celtics 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–33, 22–26, 21–26, 33–24 | ||
|
Pts:
Oscar Robertson 24 Rebs: Wayne Embry 10 Asts: Oscar Robertson 6 |
Pts:
Sam Jones 23 Rebs: Bill Russell 35 Asts: Russell, K. C. Jones 7 each | |
| Boston wins series, 4–1 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first meeting.
| Boston leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Division Finals
(1) San Francisco Warriors vs. (2) St. Louis Hawks
April 1
|
| St. Louis Hawks 116, San Francisco Warriors 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–25, 15–32, 25–22, 32–29 | ||
| Pts: Richie Guerin 32 | Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 37 | |
| St. Louis leads series, 1–0 | ||
This is the only playoff game that was held in the San Francisco city limit until 2022.
April 3
|
| St. Louis Hawks 85, San Francisco Warriors 120 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–28, 21–34, 18–28, 23–30 | ||
| Pts: Richie Guerin 23 | Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 28 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 5
|
| San Francisco Warriors 109, St. Louis Hawks 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–29, 31–33, 25–23, 25–28 | ||
| Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 46 | Pts: Bob Pettit 26 | |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 8
|
| San Francisco Warriors 111, St. Louis Hawks 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–30, 28–24, 27–28, 28–27 | ||
| Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 36 | Pts: Bob Pettit 29 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 10
|
| St. Louis Hawks 97, San Francisco Warriors 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–36, 28–22, 21–29, 27–34 | ||
|
Pts:
Bob Pettit 19 Rebs: Bob Pettit 11 |
Pts:
Wilt Chamberlain 50 Rebs: Chamberlain, Thurmond 15 each | |
| San Francisco leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 12
|
| San Francisco Warriors 95, St. Louis Hawks 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–28, 17–31, 36–34, 26–30 | ||
| Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 34 | Pts: Bob Pettit 21 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 16
|
| St. Louis Hawks 95, San Francisco Warriors 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–32, 19–21, 25–23, 18–29 | ||
|
Pts:
Bob Pettit 24 Rebs: Bob Pettit 14 Asts: Cliff Hagan 5 |
Pts:
Wilt Chamberlain 39 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 30 Asts: Guy Rodgers 8 | |
| San Francisco wins series, 4–3 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. [5]
NBA Finals: (E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W1) San Francisco Warriors
April 18
|
| San Francisco Warriors 96, Boston Celtics 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–25, 15–32, 25–22, 32–29 | ||
|
Pts:
Wilt Chamberlain 22 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 23 Asts: Guy Rodgers 8 |
Pts:
Sam Jones 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 25 Asts: K. C. Jones 7 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 20
|
| San Francisco Warriors 101, Boston Celtics 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–31, 21–31, 25–36, 33–26 | ||
|
Pts:
Wilt Chamberlain 32 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 25 Asts: Phillips, Rodgers 4 each |
Pts:
Sam Jones 31 Rebs: Bill Russell 24 Asts: Bill Russell 9 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 22
|
| Boston Celtics 91, San Francisco Warriors 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–40, 22–27, 21–23, 27–25 | ||
|
Pts:
John Havlicek 22 Rebs: Bill Russell 32 Asts: K. C. Jones 8 |
Pts:
Wilt Chamberlain 35 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 25 Asts: Guy Rodgers 7 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 24
|
| Boston Celtics 98, San Francisco Warriors 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–24, 23–20, 36–20, 22–31 | ||
|
Pts:
Tom Heinsohn 25 Rebs: Bill Russell 19 Asts: K. C. Jones 5 |
Pts:
Wilt Chamberlain 27 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 38 Asts: Guy Rodgers 6 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 26
|
| San Francisco Warriors 99, Boston Celtics 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–22, 17–23, 30–29, 28–31 | ||
|
Pts:
Wilt Chamberlain 30 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 27 Asts: Guy Rodgers 7 |
Pts:
Tom Heinsohn 19 Rebs: Bill Russell 26 Asts: Bill Russell 6 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–1 | ||
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first three meetings when the Warriors were based in Philadelphia.
| Boston leads 3–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
See also
References
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Philadelphia 76ers versus Sacramento Kings (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Sacramento Kings (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "S.F.'s last NBA playoff game was historic: Wilt's Warriors vs. 5 Hall of Famers". April 16, 2022.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Golden State Warriors (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Golden State Warriors (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.