# 1958 NBA playoffs

The 1958 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1957-58 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion St. Louis Hawks defeating the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.
It was the second straight year the Celtics and Hawks met in the Finals; they met four out of five years, with the Celtics winning three series and the Hawks one.
This was the first (and as of 2024, only) title in Hawks franchise history. St. Louis made it to the NBA Finals four times in five years between 1957–1961, but since moving to Atlanta in 1968, they have had considerably less success in the playoffs.

## 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 | Boston* | 4 | | | |
| E3 | Philadelphia | 2 | E3 | Philadelphia | 1 | | | |
| E2 | Syracuse | 1 | | | | E1 | Boston* | 2 |
| | | | Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | W1 | St. Louis* | 4 |
| | | | W1 | St. Louis* | 4 | | | |
| W3 | Cincinnati | 0 | W2 | Detroit | 1 | | | |
| W2 | Detroit | 2 | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

## Division Semifinals
### Eastern Division Semifinals
#### (2) Syracuse Nationals vs. (3) Philadelphia Warriors

* March 15
* Boxscore
Philadelphia Warriors 82, Syracuse Nationals 86 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–31, 24–18, 22–18, 16–19 |||
| Pts: Paul Arizin 24 Rebs: Graboski, Gola 13 each Asts: Jack George 5 | Pts: Dolph Schayes 22 Rebs: Red Kerr 22 Asts: Schayes, Costello 4 each |
| Syracuse leads series, 1–0 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
* March 16
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 93, Philadelphia Warriors 95 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16–21, 22–25, 29–23, 26–26 |||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 32 Rebs: Red Kerr 20 Asts: Paul Seymour 4 | Pts: Joe Graboski 23 Rebs: Woody Sauldsberry 14 Asts: George, Gola 5 each |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* March 18
* Boxscore
Philadelphia Warriors 101, Syracuse Nationals 88 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 25–19, 24–27, 26–15 |||
| Pts: Paul Arizin 25 Rebs: Joe Graboski 15 Asts: Joe Graboski 7 | Pts: Dolph Schayes 26 Rebs: Red Kerr 19 Asts: Larry Costello 7 |
| Philadelphia wins series, 2–1 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers/Nationals winning four of the first five meetings.
Philadelphia 76ers/ Syracuse Nationals leads 4–1 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
1956
Philadelphia Warriors 3, Syracuse Nationals 2
1956 Eastern Division Finals
1957
Philadelphia Warriors 0, Syracuse Nationals 2
1957 Eastern Division Semifinals :

### Western Division Semifinals
#### (2) Detroit Pistons vs. (3) Cincinnati Royals

* March 15
* Boxscore
Cincinnati Royals 83, Detroit Pistons 100 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–32, 18–24, 29–19, 18–25 |||
| Pts: Clyde Lovellette 15 | Pts: George Yardley 29 |
| Detroit leads series, 1–0 |||
* Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan
* March 16
* Boxscore
Detroit Pistons 124, Cincinnati Royals 104 :
| Scoring by quarter: 29–20, 28–27, 28–27, 39–30 |||
| Pts: Yardley, Dukes 24 each | Pts: Jack Twyman 24 |
| Detroit wins series, 2–0 |||
* Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati, Ohio
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Royals winning three of the first five meetings while the Pistons were based in Fort Wayne and the Royals were based in Rochester.
Cincinnati/ Rochester leads 3–2 in all-time playoff series :
1950
Fort Wayne Pistons 2, Rochester Royals 0
1950 Central Division Semifinals
1951
Fort Wayne Pistons 1, Rochester Royals 2
1951 Western Division Semifinals
1952
Fort Wayne Pistons 0, Rochester Royals 2
1952 Western Division Semifinals
1953
Fort Wayne Pistons 2, Rochester Royals 0
1953 Western Division Semifinals
1954
Fort Wayne Pistons 0, Rochester Royals 2
1954 Western Division Round Robin Semifinals :

## Division Finals
### Eastern Division Finals
#### (1) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Philadelphia Warriors

* March 19
* Boxscore
Philadelphia Warriors 98, Boston Celtics 107 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–33, 25–26, 24–25, 29–23 |||
| Pts: Woody Sauldsberry 25 Rebs: Woody Sauldsberry 12 Asts: Paul Arizin 5 | Pts: Bob Cousy 29 Rebs: Bill Russell 25 Asts: Bob Cousy 8 |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
* March 22
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 109, Philadelphia Warriors 87 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–21, 30–28, 30–21, 31–17 |||
| Pts: Bill Sharman 32 Rebs: Bill Russell 28 Asts: Sharman, Cousy 4 each | Pts: Paul Arizin 25 Rebs: Joe Graboski 15 Asts: George, Beck 4 each |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 |||
* Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* March 23
* Boxscore
Philadelphia Warriors 92, Boston Celtics 106 :
| Scoring by quarter: 28–26, 20–22, 20–28, 24–30 |||
| Pts: Paul Arizin 25 Rebs: Joe Graboski 15 Asts: Joe Graboski 8 | Pts: Bill Sharman 27 Rebs: Bill Russell 40 Asts: Bob Cousy 14 |
| Boston leads series, 3–0 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
* March 26
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 97, Philadelphia Warriors 112 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16–23, 25–22, 29–34, 27–33 |||
| Pts: Tom Heinsohn 20 Rebs: Bill Russell 21 Asts: Cousy, Ramsey 5 each | Pts: Gola, Arizin 31 each Rebs: Neil Johnston 17 Asts: Neil Johnston 7 |
| Boston leads series, 3–1 |||
* Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* March 27
* Boxscore
Philadelphia Warriors 88, Boston Celtics 93 :
| Scoring by quarter: 15–20, 29–21, 23–25, 21–27 |||
| Pts: Paul Arizin 28 Rebs: Woody Sauldsberry 18 Asts: Tom Gola 6 | Pts: Heinsohn, Ramsey 22 each Rebs: Bill Russell 30 Asts: Bob Cousy 5 |
| Boston wins series, 4–1 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.

### Western Division Finals
#### (1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Detroit Pistons

* March 19
* Boxscore
Detroit Pistons 111, St. Louis Hawks 114 :
| Scoring by quarter: 30–23, 32–35, 28–26, 21–30 |||
| Pts: Gene Shue 29 | Pts: Cliff Hagan 38 |
| St. Louis leads series, 1–0 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 7,328 Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Jim Duffy
* March 22
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 99, Detroit Pistons 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 29–28, 32–22, 13–27, 25–19 |||
| Pts: Cliff Hagan 27 | Pts: George Yardley 26 |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–0 |||
* University of Detroit Fieldhouse, Detroit, Michigan Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Jim Duffy
* March 23
* Boxscore
Detroit Pistons 109, St. Louis Hawks 89 :
| Scoring by quarter: 35–21, 20–23, 23–15, 31–30 |||
| Pts: George Yardley 31 | Pts: Cliff Hagan 29 |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–1 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 9,321 Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Jim Duffy
* March 25
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 145, Detroit Pistons 101 :
| Scoring by quarter: 40–20, 32–24, 31–26, 42–31 |||
| Pts: Cliff Hagan 28 | Pts: Yardley, Dukes 16 each |
| St. Louis leads series, 3–1 |||
* Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan
* March 27
* Boxscore
Detroit Pistons 96, St. Louis Hawks 120 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–18, 22–31, 26–39, 28–32 |||
| Pts: Yardley, Dukes 18 each | Pts: Cliff Hagan 32 |
| St. Louis wins series, 4–1 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 7,661 Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Jim Duffy
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning the first meeting while being based in Fort Wayne.
Detroit/ Fort Wayne leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series :
1956
Fort Wayne Pistons 3, St. Louis Hawks 2
1956 Western Division Finals :

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

* March 29
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 104, Boston Celtics 102 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17–23, 42–30, 21–30, 24–19 |||
| Pts: Cliff Hagan 33 Rebs: Bob Pettit 19 | Pts: Bob Cousy 27 Rebs: Bill Russell 29 |
| St. Louis leads series, 1–0 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 3,652 Referees: Arnie Heft, Mendy Rudolph
* March 30
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 112, Boston Celtics 136 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–33, 35–35, 28–38, 24–30 |||
| Pts: Cliff Hagan 37 Rebs: Cliff Hagan 12 | Pts: Bob Cousy 25 Rebs: Bill Russell 27 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 10,249
* April 2
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 108, St. Louis Hawks 111 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–23, 24–26, 26–34, 33–28 |||
| Pts: Frank Ramsey 29 Rebs: Bill Russell 13 | Pts: Bob Pettit 32 Rebs: Bob Pettit 19 |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–1 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 10,148
* April 5
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 109, St. Louis Hawks 98 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–16, 32–35, 27–20, 25–27 |||
| Pts: Bob Cousy 24 Rebs: three players 13 each | Pts: Cliff Hagan 27 Rebs: Bob Pettit 17 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 10,216
* April 9
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 102, Boston Celtics 100 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–18, 32–25, 26–27, 18–30 |||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 33 Rebs: Bob Pettit 21 | Pts: Frank Ramsey 30 Rebs: Tom Heinsohn 20 |
| St. Louis leads series, 3–2 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 13,909
* April 12
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 109, St. Louis Hawks 110 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–22, 34–35, 25–21, 32–32 |||
| Pts: Bill Sharman 26 Rebs: Arnie Risen 13 | Pts: Bob Pettit 50 Rebs: Bob Pettit 19 |
| St. Louis wins series, 4–2 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 10,216
* Andy Phillip and Arnie Risen’s final NBA game.
* Bob Pettit's 50 points tied the then-NBA playoff record at the time.
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 :
1957
Boston Celtics 4, St. Louis Hawks 3
1957 NBA Finals :