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The 1966 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1965–66 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 23–April 28, 1966 |
| Season | 1965–66 |
| Teams | 6 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Boston Celtics (9th title) |
| Runner-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Semifinalists | |
The Celtics won their eighth consecutive NBA title and ninth overall, defeating the Lakers in the Finals for a fifth straight time.
This was the last NBA playoffs under the "top team in each division gets a first-round bye" format established in 1955, although teams receiving a bye would be reused in 1975, and strictly for division winners from 1977–1983 (albeit in a four-round playoff format). the 1967 NBA playoffs featured an eight-team tournament with no first-round byes.
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| E1 | Philadelphia* | 1 | |||||||||||
| E3 | Cincinnati | 2 | E2 | Boston | 4 | ||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 3 | E2 | Boston | 4 | ||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles* | 3 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | |||||||||||
| W3 | St. Louis | 3 | W3 | St. Louis | 3 | ||||||||
| W2 | Baltimore | 0 | |||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals
Eastern Division Semifinals
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Cincinnati Royals
March 23 |
| Cincinnati Royals 107, Boston Celtics 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–17, 29–31, 26–19, 28–36 | ||
| Pts: Smith, Robertson 26 each Rebs: Jerry Lucas 27 Asts: Oscar Robertson 3 |
Pts: Bill Russell 22 Rebs: Bill Russell 29 Asts: Russell, Havlicek 4 each | |
| Cincinnati leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 26 |
| Boston Celtics 132, Cincinnati Royals 125 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–42, 33–29, 25–28, 39–26 | ||
| Pts: Sam Jones 42 Rebs: Bill Russell 16 Asts: K. C. Jones 9 |
Pts: Oscar Robertson 35 Rebs: Jerry Lucas 24 Asts: Oscar Robertson 11 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 27 |
| Cincinnati Royals 113, Boston Celtics 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–27, 26–29, 25–26, 31–25 | ||
| Pts: Robertson, Lucas 27 each Rebs: Jerry Lucas 16 Asts: Adrian Smith 6 |
Pts: John Havlicek 36 Rebs: Bill Russell 25 Asts: K. C. Jones 6 | |
| Cincinnati leads series, 2–1 | ||
March 30 |
| Boston Celtics 120, Cincinnati Royals 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–27, 27–21, 29–24, 33–31 | ||
| Pts: Sam Jones 32 Rebs: Bill Russell 26 Asts: John Havlicek 8 |
Pts: Oscar Robertson 34 Rebs: Jerry Lucas 17 Asts: Oscar Robertson 11 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 1 |
| Cincinnati Royals 103, Boston Celtics 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–26, 25–35, 23–28, 24–23 | ||
| Pts: Oscar Robertson 37 Rebs: Jerry Lucas 17 Asts: Oscar Robertson 9 |
Pts: Sam Jones 34 Rebs: Bill Russell 31 Asts: Bill Russell 11 | |
| Boston wins series, 3–2 | ||
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning both prior meetings.
| Boston leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Division Semifinals
(2) Baltimore Bullets vs. (3) St. Louis Hawks
March 24 |
| St. Louis Hawks 113, Baltimore Bullets 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–22, 31–31, 23–26, 32–32 | ||
| Pts: Joe Caldwell 33 Rebs: Bill Bridges 19 Asts: Richie Guerin 12 |
Pts: Don Ohl 38 Rebs: Green, Howell 11 each Asts: Johnny Egan 9 | |
| St. Louis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 27 |
| St. Louis Hawks 105, Baltimore Bullets 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–24, 19–32, 30–23, 30–21 | ||
| Pts: Richie Guerin 25 Rebs: Bill Bridges 19 Asts: Richie Guerin 8 |
Pts: Jim Barnes 27 Rebs: Bob Ferry 17 Asts: Johnny Egan 8 | |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–0 | ||
March 30 |
| Baltimore Bullets 112, St. Louis Hawks 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–28, 31–31, 20–34, 32–28 | ||
| Pts: Don Ohl 32 Rebs: Bailey Howell 12 Asts: Johnny Egan 6 |
Pts: Bill Bridges 32 Rebs: Bill Bridges 20 Asts: Lenny Wilkens 10 | |
| St. Louis wins series, 3–0 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bullets winning the first meeting.
| Baltimore leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Eastern Division Finals
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (2) Boston Celtics
April 3 |
| Boston Celtics 115, Philadelphia 76ers 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–24, 25–24, 30–22, 33–26 | ||
| Pts: Sam Jones 29 Rebs: Bill Russell 18 Asts: three players 4 each |
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 25 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 32 Asts: Chamberlain, W. Jones 5 each | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 6 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 93, Boston Celtics 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–27, 24–31, 26–27, 23–29 | ||
| Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 23 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 25 Asts: Billy Cunningham 4 |
Pts: Sam Jones 23 Rebs: Bill Russell 29 Asts: K. C. Jones 11 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 7 |
| Boston Celtics 105, Philadelphia 76ers 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–31, 26–27, 31–27, 26–26 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 27 Rebs: Bill Russell 23 Asts: Sam Jones 6 |
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 31 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 27 Asts: Hal Greer 9 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 10 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 108, Boston Celtics 114 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–28, 28–21, 22–21, 24–30, Overtime: 8–14 | ||
| Pts: Hal Greer 25 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 33 Asts: Hal Greer 4 |
Pts: John Havlicek 27 Rebs: Bill Russell 30 Asts: Russell, Havlicek 7 each | |
| Boston leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 12 |
| Boston Celtics 120, Philadelphia 76ers 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–25, 29–26, 20–21, 39–40 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 32 Rebs: Bill Russell 31 Asts: Bill Russell 6 |
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 46 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 34 Asts: Chet Walker 8 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–1 | ||
This was the 10th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning five of the first nine meetings.
| Boston leads 5–4 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Division Finals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) St. Louis Hawks
April 1 |
| St. Louis Hawks 106, Los Angeles Lakers 129 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–37, 30–31, 30–26, 15–35 | ||
| Pts: Beaty, Guerin 22 each Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 14 Asts: Richie Guerin 8 |
Pts: Jerry West 28 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 15 Asts: Jerry West 12 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 3 |
| St. Louis Hawks 116, Los Angeles Lakers 125 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–30, 24–31, 29–30, 36–34 | ||
| Pts: Zelmo Beaty 36 Rebs: Bill Bridges 16 Asts: Lenny Wilkens 9 |
Pts: Elgin Baylor 42 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 14 Asts: Elgin Baylor 9 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 6 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 113, St. Louis Hawks 120 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–31, 29–31, 32–34, 25–24 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 32 Rebs: Jerry West 11 Asts: Jerry West 8 |
Pts: Bill Bridges 27 Rebs: Bill Bridges 17 Asts: Richie Guerin 8 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 9 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 107, St. Louis Hawks 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 24–28, 30–18, 30–26 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 42 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 13 Asts: three players 4 each |
Pts: Zelmo Beaty 22 Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 19 Asts: Richie Guerin 7 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 10 |
| St. Louis Hawks 112, Los Angeles Lakers 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–30, 27–25, 27–19, 26–26 | ||
| Pts: Lenny Wilkens 29 Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 19 Asts: Lenny Wilkens 12 |
Pts: Jerry West 31 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 17 Asts: Elgin Baylor 4 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 13 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 127, St. Louis Hawks 131 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 36–36, 32–33, 36–36, 23–26 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 38 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 13 Asts: West, Hazzard 5 each |
Pts: Bill Bridges 29 Rebs: Bridges, Beaty 11 each Asts: Richie Guerin 11 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 15 |
| St. Louis Hawks 121, Los Angeles Lakers 130 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–27, 30–30, 33–34, 30–39 | ||
| Pts: Cliff Hagan 29 Rebs: Bill Bridges 13 Asts: Richie Guerin 5 |
Pts: Jerry West 35 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 11 Asts: Baylor, LaRusso 7 each | |
| Los Angeles wins series, 4–3 | ||
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning five of the first seven meetings.
| St. Louis leads 5–2 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
April 17 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 133, Boston Celtics 129 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–34, 41–28, 34–37, 26–22, Overtime: 12–8 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 41 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 20 Asts: Gail Goodrich 5 |
Pts: Bill Russell 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 26 Asts: Sam Jones 9 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 19 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 109, Boston Celtics 129 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–35, 22–36, 35–30, 27–28 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 18 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 14 Asts: Walt Hazzard 5 |
Pts: Havlicek, S. Jones 21 each Rebs: Bill Russell 24 Asts: John Havlicek 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 20 |
| Boston Celtics 120, Los Angeles Lakers 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–29, 32–27, 35–19, 28–31 | ||
| Pts: Sam Jones 36 Rebs: Bill Russell 19 Asts: Sanders, K. C. Jones 5 each |
Pts: Jerry West 34 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 15 Asts: Jim King 6 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 22 |
| Boston Celtics 122, Los Angeles Lakers 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–27, 35–29, 34–33, 22–28 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 32 Rebs: Bill Russell 18 Asts: Larry Siegfried 7 |
Pts: Jerry West 45 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 12 Asts: Jerry West 10 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 24 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 121, Boston Celtics 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 37–23, 27–35, 26–31, 31–28 | ||
| Pts: Elgin Baylor 41 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 16 Asts: Jerry West 5 |
Pts: Bill Russell 32 Rebs: Bill Russell 28 Asts: Siegfried, K. C. Jones 6 each | |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 26 |
| Boston Celtics 115, Los Angeles Lakers 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–32, 29–36, 32–21, 25–34 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 27 Rebs: Bill Russell 23 Asts: K. C. Jones 6 |
Pts: Jerry West 32 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 14 Asts: Jerry West 7 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 28 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 93, Boston Celtics 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–27, 18–26, 22–23, 33–19 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 36 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 14 Asts: West, Hazzard 3 each |
Pts: Bill Russell 25 Rebs: Bill Russell 32 Asts: Sanders, K. C. Jones 3 each | |
| Boston wins series, 4–3 | ||
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first four meetings.
| Boston leads 4–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
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