# 1956 NBA playoffs

The 1956 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1955-56 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Warriors defeating the Western Conference champion Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
It was the Warriors' second NBA title; their first was in 1947 back when the NBA was known as the BAA. They would have to wait until 1975 to taste championship gold again; by that time they had moved to the Bay Area and become the Golden State Warriors. Philadelphia's later team, the Philadelphia 76ers, would win the title in 1967.
This was the Pistons' second straight trip to the NBA Finals, but they would not make another appearance until 1988 as the Detroit Pistons. No team from Indiana would return to the NBA Finals until the Indiana Pacers did so in 2000.
The play-in game between the Syracuse Nationals and the New York Knicks was the last play-in game to determine a playoff spot until 2020.

## Bracket

| Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals |
| | | | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | | | |
| | | | E1 | Philadelphia* | 3 | | | |
| E3 | Syracuse | 2 | E3 | Syracuse | 2 | | | |
| E2 | Boston | 1 | | | | E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 |
| | | | Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | W1 | Fort Wayne* | 1 |
| | | | W1 | Fort Wayne* | 3 | | | |
| W3 | St. Louis | 2 | W3 | St. Louis | 2 | | | |
| W2 | Minneapolis | 1 | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

## Division Tiebreakers
### Eastern Division Tiebreaker
#### New York Knicks @ Syracuse Nationals

* March 15
* Boxscore
New York Knicks 77, Syracuse Nationals 82 :
| Scoring by quarter: 19–17, 21–27, 21–20, 16–18 |||
| Pts: Harry Gallatin 19 Rebs: Ray Felix 13 Asts: Dick McGuire 9 | Pts: Dolph Schayes 14 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 14 Asts: Seymour, King 6 each |
| Syracuse finishes as the East's #3 seed, New York fails to qualify |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Referees: Sid Borgia, Mendy Rudolph

### Western Division Tiebreaker
#### Minneapolis Lakers @ St. Louis Hawks

* March 16
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 103, St. Louis Hawks 97 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–33, 25–19, 29–17, 22–28 |||
| Pts: Slater Martin 28 | Pts: Bob Pettit 22 |
| Minneapolis finishes as the West's #2 seed, St. Louis as the West's #3 seed |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Arnie Heft

## Division Semifinals
### Eastern Division Semifinals
#### (2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals

* March 17
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 93, Boston Celtics 110 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 19–26, 31–29, 21–30 |||
| Pts: Ed Conlin 21 Asts: Dolph Schayes 6 | Pts: Bob Cousy 29 Asts: Bob Cousy 9 |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
* March 19
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 98, Syracuse Nationals 101 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–21, 29–32, 20–28, 28–20 |||
| Pts: Bob Cousy 28 Rebs: Arnie Risen 17 Asts: Bob Cousy 10 | Pts: Red Kerr 23 Rebs: Red Kerr 14 Asts: Seymour, Schayes 5 each |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
* March 21
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 102, Boston Celtics 97 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–22, 36–23, 21–31, 24–21 |||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 27 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 17 Asts: Dolph Schayes 5 | Pts: Bill Sharman 24 Rebs: Arnie Risen 15 Asts: Bob Cousy 7 |
| Syracuse wins series, 2–1 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nationals winning three of the first four meetings.
Syracuse leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series :
1953
Boston Celtics 2, Syracuse Nationals 0
1953 Eastern Division Semifinals
1954
Boston Celtics 0, Syracuse Nationals 2
1954 Eastern Division Round Robin Semifinals
1954
Boston Celtics 0, Syracuse Nationals 2
1954 Eastern Division Finals
1955
Boston Celtics 1, Syracuse Nationals 3
1955 Eastern Division Finals :

### Western Division Semifinals
#### (2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) St. Louis Hawks

* March 17
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 115, St. Louis Hawks 116 :
| Scoring by quarter: 31–25, 29–20, 31–39, 24–32 |||
| Pts: Mikkelsen, Martin 19 each | Pts: Bob Pettit 25 |
| St. Louis leads series, 1–0 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
* March 19
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 75, Minneapolis Lakers 133 :
| Scoring by quarter: 15–25, 15–36, 24–36, 21–36 |||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 14 | Pts: Slater Martin 19 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
* March 21
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 116, Minneapolis Lakers 115 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–27, 32–29, 33–28, 31–31 |||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 41 | Pts: Clyde Lovellette 31 |
| St. Louis wins series, 2–1 |||
* Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
* George Mikan’s final NBA game.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.

## Division Finals
### Eastern Division Finals
#### (1) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals

* March 23
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 87, Philadelphia Warriors 109 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17–28, 27–23, 25–24, 18–34 |||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 19 Rebs: Kerr, Schayes 14 each Asts: George King 8 | Pts: Paul Arizin 29 Rebs: Neil Johnston 24 Asts: Gola, Beck 5 each |
| Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 |||
* Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* March 25
* Boxscore
Philadelphia Warriors 118, Syracuse Nationals 122 :
| Scoring by quarter: 38–35, 19–27, 33–36, 28–24 |||
| Pts: Neil Johnston 43 Rebs: Neil Johnston 16 Asts: Neil Johnston 7 | Pts: Dolph Schayes 33 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 16 Asts: George King 10 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
* March 27
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 96, Philadelphia Warriors 119 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–32, 24–30, 25–25, 24–32 |||
| Pts: Ed Conlin 19 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 21 Asts: George King 6 | Pts: Joe Graboski 20 Rebs: Neil Johnston 18 Asts: Tom Gola 10 |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 |||
* Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* March 28
* Boxscore
Philadelphia Warriors 104, Syracuse Nationals 108 :
| Scoring by quarter: 31–26, 25–26, 18–30, 30–26 |||
| Pts: Neil Johnston 35 Rebs: Neil Johnston 12 Asts: Neil Johnston 7 | Pts: George King 25 Rebs: Red Kerr 9 Asts: George King 15 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
* March 29
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 104, Philadelphia Warriors 109 :
| Scoring by quarter: 28–32, 20–24, 25–22, 31–31 |||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 28 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 16 Asts: George King 13 | Pts: Paul Arizin 35 Rebs: Neil Johnston 18 Asts: Neil Johnston 8 |
| Philadelphia wins series, 3–2 |||
* Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers/Nationals winning the first three meetings.
Philadelphia 76ers/ Syracuse Nationals leads 3–0 in all-time playoff series :
1950
Philadelphia Warriors 0, Syracuse Nationals 2
1950 Eastern Division Semifinals
1951
Philadelphia Warriors 0, Syracuse Nationals 2
1951 Eastern Division Semifinals
1952
Philadelphia Warriors 1, Syracuse Nationals 2
1952 Eastern Division Semifinals :

### Western Division Finals
#### (1) Fort Wayne Pistons vs. (3) St. Louis Hawks

* March 22
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 86, Fort Wayne Pistons 85 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–25, 23–20, 19–23, 17–17 |||
| Pts: Al Ferrari 17 | Pts: George Yardley 23 |
| St. Louis leads series, 1–0 |||
* War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana
* March 24
* Boxscore
Fort Wayne Pistons 74, St. Louis Hawks 84 :
| Scoring by quarter: 12–30, 23–17, 18–19, 21–18 |||
| Pts: Larry Foust 16 | Pts: Al Ferrari 21 |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–0 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Referees: Stan Stutz, Sid Borgia
* March 25
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 84, Fort Wayne Pistons 107 :
| Scoring by quarter: 19–29, 24–26, 16–22, 25–30 |||
| Pts: Alex Hannum 18 | Pts: Houbregs, Yardley 19 each |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–1 |||
* War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana
* March 27
* Boxscore
Fort Wayne Pistons 93, St. Louis Hawks 84 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–21, 28–27, 18–18, 23–18 |||
| Pts: George Yardley 30 | Pts: Jack Coleman 19 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
* March 29
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 97, Fort Wayne Pistons 102 :
| Scoring by quarter: 19–24, 18–22, 31–21, 29–35 |||
| Pts: Jack Coleman 20 | Pts: Foust, Yardley 20 each |
| Fort Wayne wins series, 3–2 |||
* War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana
* Pistons become first team to come back after from a 2–0 deficit in NBA playoffs.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.

## NBA Finals: (E1) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (W1) Fort Wayne Pistons

* March 31
* Boxscore
Fort Wayne Pistons 94, Philadelphia Warriors 98 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–20, 24–20, 15–33, 30–25 |||
| Pts: George Yardley 27 Rebs: George Yardley 15 Asts: Hutchins, Phillip 6 each | Pts: Paul Arizin 28 Rebs: Neil Johnston 14 Asts: Tom Gola 10 |
| Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 |||
* Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Attendance: 4,128
* April 1
* Boxscore
Philadelphia Warriors 83, Fort Wayne Pistons 84 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 26–22, 19–23, 18–19 |||
| Pts: Paul Arizin 27 Rebs: Arizin, Johnston 9 each Asts: Ernie Beck 6 | Pts: George Yardley 30 Rebs: George Yardley 19 Asts: Andy Phillip 5 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana Attendance: 6,976
* April 3
* Boxscore
Fort Wayne Pistons 96, Philadelphia Warriors 100 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 25–23, 14–25, 31–27 |||
| Pts: Larry Foust 19 Rebs: Larry Foust 14 Asts: Chuck Noble 4 | Pts: Paul Arizin 27 Rebs: Neil Johnston 17 Asts: Tom Gola 8 |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 |||
* Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Attendance: 11,698
* April 5
* Boxscore
Philadelphia Warriors 107, Fort Wayne Pistons 105 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–24, 26–32, 30–26, 27–23 |||
| Pts: Paul Arizin 30 Rebs: Tom Gola 9 Asts: Joe Graboski 7 | Pts: George Yardley 21 Rebs: Larry Foust 14 Asts: Andy Phillip 6 |
| Philadelphia leads series, 3–1 |||
* War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana Attendance: 7,852
* April 7
* Boxscore
Fort Wayne Pistons 88, Philadelphia Warriors 99 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–22, 19–22, 20–28, 25–27 |||
| Pts: George Yardley 30 Rebs: George Yardley 20 Asts: Corky Devlin 6 | Pts: Joe Graboski 29 Rebs: Joe Graboski 16 Asts: Jack George 10 |
| Philadelphia wins series, 4–1 |||
* Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Attendance: 11,194
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.