# 2010 NBA playoffs

The 2010 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2009-10 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Kobe Bryant was named NBA Finals MVP for the second straight year.

## Overview
### Western Conference

For the 2nd time in 3 seasons and the first time since 2008, all Western Conference playoff teams had at least 50 wins. The 7 games separating 1–8 was tied for the smallest margin, also from 2008.
The Phoenix Suns returned to the playoffs after a one-season absence.
The Oklahoma City Thunder made their first playoff appearance since relocating from Seattle in 2008; the team's last appearance was as the Seattle SuperSonics in 2005. They made the most of their debut playoff appearance, pushing the eventual champion Lakers to six games.
The Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, and Oklahoma City Thunder entered the playoffs tied with 50 regular season wins. The Trail Blazers won the overall tie breaker, and were seeded sixth. The Spurs and Thunder were seeded seventh and eighth, respectively.

### Eastern Conference

The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the NBA Playoffs with the league's best record for the second straight season. Their 61 wins in the NBA was the smallest win total for best record since the Pacers won 61 in 2004. However, due to LeBron James joining the Miami Heat the following season, this would be the Cavaliers' last postseason appearance until 2015, which was also James' first season back with the Cavaliers.
The Boston Celtics, who won the Atlantic Division, entered the playoffs as a fourth seed. This would be the first time since 2008 that this occurred.
The Charlotte Bobcats made their first playoff appearance in franchise history, and the first in the Charlotte NBA team's history since 2002.
The Detroit Pistons missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

### First Round

Games 3, 4, and 6 of the Lakers-Thunder series were the first playoff games ever played at Ford Center (the arena's former tenants, the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, didn't play a single playoff game in the building).
With their first round win over the Chicago Bulls, The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Bulls in a playoff series for the first time since The Shot.
With their first round win over the Dallas Mavericks, the San Antonio Spurs became the first seventh seed since 1998 (and fifth overall) to beat a second seeded team in a playoff series. This would not happen again until 2023, when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies. In addition, the Spurs also avenged their own series losses to the Mavericks, who beat them twice in the previous four seasons. It was also the Spurs’ first series win against the Mavericks since 2003.
With their first round loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the Dallas Mavericks earned the dubious distinction of losing 3 first round series while holding the top 2 playoff seeds. They lost to the seventh-seeded San Antonio Spurs in 6. They have also lost a playoff series against the Seattle SuperSonics (1987, as the second seed) and the Golden State Warriors (2007, as the top seed).

### Conference Semifinals

With a conference semifinals sweep over the seventh–seeded San Antonio Spurs, the Phoenix Suns defeated the Spurs in the postseason for the first time since 2000. Prior to this, the Spurs won the previous four meetings. The Suns also made the conference finals for the first time since 2006.
With a conference semifinals sweep of the Atlanta Hawks, the Orlando Magic became the third team in NBA history to go 8–0 through the first two rounds of the playoffs. As of 2024, this remains the Magic's most recent series victory.
The Cavaliers–Celtics series was extremely notable because marked the first time that each team lost a home playoff game by record margins: Boston lost Game 3 124–95; Cleveland lost Game 5 120–88. The Cavaliers' second round playoff exit (4–2 vs. Boston) was the earliest for the top seed since the Dallas Mavericks' first round loss to the Golden State Warriors in 2007. Game 6 of the same series was LeBron James’ last game with the Cleveland Cavaliers until 2014.

### Conference Finals

Game 5 of the Magic-Celtics series was the last game played at Amway Arena (formerly known as Orlando Arena and TD Waterhouse Centre).
With a Game 6 win over the Orlando Magic, the Boston Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons. With the win, the Celtics avenged the Magic for last year's Game 7 loss. With the loss, the Magic, who last year upset the top-seeded Cavaliers in 6 (after they went 8–0 through the first two rounds), suffered the same fate as last season's Cavaliers by becoming the third straight team to go 8–0 through the first two rounds, only to lose in the conference finals.
With a Game 6 win over the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals for the third straight season. In addition, the Lakers avenged the Suns for their first round losses in 2006 (in which the Lakers led 3–1 before losing the series) and 2007. The Suns would not return to the playoffs until 2021.

### NBA Finals

The 2010 NBA Finals featured a 2008 Finals rematch between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, marking the first time since 2005 that the last two NBA Champions met in the NBA Finals.
The 2010 NBA Finals would be the last NBA Finals featuring Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rasheed Wallace. It would also be the last NBA Finals to feature Phil Jackson as a head coach.
With a Game 7 win, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Celtics, who defeated them in the 2008 NBA Finals, to win their 16th NBA Championship. The Lakers also became the third team under the 2-3-2 format to come back from a 3–2 deficit to win the final two games at home (the other two teams being their 1988 team and the 1994 Houston Rockets. The Lakers would not return to the NBA Finals until 2020, while the Celtics would not return until 2022.

## Format

The 3 division winners and 5 other teams with the most wins from each conference qualified for the playoffs. The seedings are based on each team's record; however, a division winner is guaranteed to be ranked at least fourth, regardless of record.

### Tiebreak procedures

The tiebreakers that determine seedings were:
* Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division
* Head-to-head record
* Division record (if the teams are in the same division)
* Conference record
* Record vs. playoff teams, own conference
* Record vs. playoff teams, other conference
* Point differential, all games
If there were more than two teams tied, the team that wins the tiebreaker get the highest seed, while the other teams were "re-broken" from the first step until all ties were resolved. Since the three division winners were guaranteed a spot in the top four, ties to determine the division winners had to be broken before any other ties.

## Playoff qualifying
### Eastern Conference

| Seed | Team | Wins | Clinched | Clinched | Clinched | Clinched |
| Seed | Team | Wins | Playoff berth | Division title | Best record in Conference | Best record in NBA |
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 61 | March 8 | March 17 | April 2 | April 4 |
| 2 | Orlando Magic | 59 | March 16 | April 5 | — | — |
| 3 | Atlanta Hawks | 53 | March 21 | — | — | — |
| 4 | Boston Celtics | 50 | March 24 | March 26 | — | — |
| 5 | Miami Heat | 47 | April 6 | — | — | — |
| 6 | Milwaukee Bucks | 46 | April 6 | — | — | — |
| 7 | Charlotte Bobcats | 44 | April 6 | — | — | — |
| 8 | Chicago Bulls | 41 | April 14 | — | — | — |

### Western Conference

| Seed | Team | Wins | Tiebreaker | Clinched | Clinched | Clinched |
| Seed | Team | Wins | Tiebreaker | Playoff berth | Division title | Best record in Conference |
| 1 | Los Angeles Lakers | 57 | — | March 19 | April 3 | April 9 |
| 2 | Dallas Mavericks | 55 | — | March 26 | April 9 | — |
| 3 | Phoenix Suns | 54 | — | March 30 | — | — |
| 4 | Denver Nuggets | 53 | 3–1 vs. UTA | March 28 | April 14 | — |
| 5 | Utah Jazz | 53 | 1–3 vs. DEN | March 28 | — | — |
| 6 | Portland Trail Blazers | 50 | 6–1 vs. SA and OKC | March 31 | — | — |
| 7 | San Antonio Spurs | 50 | 3–4 vs. POR and OKC | April 4 | — | — |
| 8 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 50 | 2–6 vs. POR and SA | April 3 | — | — |
— = Not Applicable

## Home-court advantage

The team with the better record earned the home-court advantage through any playoff round, regardless of seeding. (The NBA is the only one of the four major North American leagues that awards home advantage based strictly on record.)
| Rank | Team | Conference | Division | Wins | Losses |
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Eastern | Central | 61 | 21 |
| 2 | Orlando Magic | Eastern | Southeast | 59 | 23 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Lakers | Western | Pacific | 57 | 25 |
| 4 | Dallas Mavericks | Western | Southwest | 55 | 27 |
| 5 | Phoenix Suns | Western | Pacific | 54 | 28 |
| 6 | Denver Nuggets | Western | Northwest | 53 | 29 |
| 7 | Atlanta Hawks | Eastern | Southeast | 53 | 29 |
| 8 | Utah Jazz | Western | Northwest | 53 | 29 |
| 9 | Boston Celtics | Eastern | Atlantic | 50 | 32 |
| 10 | Portland Trail Blazers | Western | Northwest | 50 | 32 |
| 11 | San Antonio Spurs | Western | Southwest | 50 | 32 |
| 12 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Western | Northwest | 50 | 32 |
| 13 | Miami Heat | Eastern | Southeast | 47 | 35 |
| 14 | Milwaukee Bucks | Eastern | Central | 46 | 36 |
| 15 | Charlotte Bobcats | Eastern | Southeast | 44 | 38 |
| 16 | Chicago Bulls | Eastern | Central | 41 | 41 |

## Bracket

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage in the NBA Finals does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record (for example, the 4th seed in the Western Conference could have a better regular season record than the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference and would therefore have home court advantage if the two met in the Finals); teams with home court advantage are shown in italics.
| First Round | First Round | First Round | | | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | | NBA Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals |
| E1 | Cleveland* | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E8 | Chicago | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E8 | Chicago | 1 | | | E1 | Cleveland* | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E4 | Boston* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Boston* | 4 | | | E4 | Boston* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Miami | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Miami | 1 | | | | | | E4 | Boston* | 4 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E4 | Boston* | 4 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Orlando* | 2 | | | | |
| E3 | Atlanta | 4 | | | | | | | | | E2 | Orlando* | 2 | | | | |
| E6 | Milwaukee | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E6 | Milwaukee | 3 | | | E3 | Atlanta | 0 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E2 | Orlando* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E2 | Orlando* | 4 | | | E2 | Orlando* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E7 | Charlotte | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E7 | Charlotte | 0 | | | | | | | | | | E4 | Boston* | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 |
| W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 |
| W8 | Oklahoma City | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W8 | Oklahoma City | 2 | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W5 | Utah | 0 | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Denver* | 2 | | | W5 | Utah | 0 | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Utah | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Utah | 4 | | | | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W3 | Phoenix | 2 | | | | |
| W3 | Phoenix | 4 | | | | | | | | | W3 | Phoenix | 2 | | | | |
| W6 | Portland | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | Portland | 2 | | | W3 | Phoenix | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W7 | San Antonio | 0 | | | | | | | |
| W2 | Dallas* | 2 | | | W7 | San Antonio | 0 | | | | | | | |
| W7 | San Antonio | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage

## First round

    All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

### Eastern Conference first round
#### (1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (8) Chicago Bulls

* ABC
* April 17 3:00 pm
* Recap
Chicago Bulls 83, Cleveland Cavaliers 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–32, 23–24, 19–17, 23–23 |||
| Pts: Derrick Rose 28 Rebs: Hinrich, Noah 8 each Asts: Derrick Rose 10 | Pts: LeBron James 24 Rebs: Anderson Varejão 15 Asts: Mo Williams 10 |
| Cleveland leads series, 1–0 |||
* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Eddie Rush, Bob Delaney, John Goble
* TNT
* April 19 8:00 pm
* Recap
Chicago Bulls 102, Cleveland Cavaliers 112 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–28, 28–24, 27–25, 25–35 |||
| Pts: Joakim Noah 25 Rebs: Joakim Noah 13 Asts: Derrick Rose 8 | Pts: LeBron James 40 Rebs: LeBron James 8 Asts: LeBron James 8 |
| Cleveland leads series, 2–0 |||
* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Joe Crawford, Ron Garretson, Eric Lewis
* TNT
* April 22 7:00 pm
* Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 106, Chicago Bulls 108 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–32, 24–24, 23–23, 38–29 |||
| Pts: LeBron James 39 Rebs: Antawn Jamison 11 Asts: LeBron James 8 | Pts: Derrick Rose 31 Rebs: Joakim Noah 15 Asts: Derrick Rose 7 |
| Cleveland leads series, 2–1 |||
* United Center, Chicago Attendance: 22,991 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Jason Phillips, Tony Brothers
* ABC
* April 25 3:30 pm
* Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 121, Chicago Bulls 98 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–21, 38–31, 37–24, 22–22 |||
| Pts: LeBron James 37 Rebs: LeBron James 12 Asts: LeBron James 11 | Pts: Noah, Rose 21 each Rebs: Joakim Noah 20 Asts: Derrick Rose 5 |
| Cleveland leads series, 3–1 |||
* United Center, Chicago Attendance: 22,991 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Derrick Stafford, Mike Callahan
* TNT
* April 27 8:00 pm
* Recap
Chicago Bulls 94, Cleveland Cavaliers 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 22–28, 23–18, 23–23 |||
| Pts: Derrick Rose 31 Rebs: Taj Gibson 11 Asts: Derrick Rose 6 | Pts: Antawn Jamison 25 Rebs: LeBron James 10 Asts: LeBron James 9 |
| Cleveland wins series, 4–1 |||
* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Ken Mauer, Bill Kennedy, Zach Zarba
Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series :
November 5, 2009
Recap
Chicago Bulls 86, Cleveland Cavaliers 85
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
December 4, 2009
Recap
Chicago Bulls 87, Cleveland Cavaliers 101
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
March 19, 2010
Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 92, Chicago Bulls 85
United Center, Chicago, Illinois
April 8, 2010
Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 108, Chicago Bulls 109
United Center, Chicago, Illinois :
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning the first five meetings.
Chicago leads 5–0 in all-time playoff series :
1988
Chicago Bulls 3, Cleveland Cavaliers 2
1988 Eastern Conference First Round
1989
Chicago Bulls 3, Cleveland Cavaliers 2
1989 Eastern Conference First Round
1992
Chicago Bulls 4, Cleveland Cavaliers 2
1992 Eastern Conference Finals
1993
Chicago Bulls 4, Cleveland Cavaliers 0
1993 Eastern Conference Semifinals
1994
Chicago Bulls 3, Cleveland Cavaliers 0
1994 Eastern Conference First Round :

#### (2) Orlando Magic vs. (7) Charlotte Bobcats

* TNT
* April 18 5:30 pm
* Recap
Charlotte Bobcats 89, Orlando Magic 98 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–31, 23–28, 23–17, 23–22 |||
| Pts: Gerald Wallace 25 Rebs: Gerald Wallace 17 Asts: Raymond Felton 4 | Pts: Jameer Nelson 32 Rebs: Dwight Howard 7 Asts: Jameer Nelson 6 |
| Orlando leads series, 1–0 |||
* Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida Attendance: 17,461 Referees: Dan Crawford, Tony Brothers, Sean Wright
* TNT
* April 21 7:00 pm
* Recap
Charlotte Bobcats 77, Orlando Magic 92 :
| Scoring by quarter: 14–18, 16–23, 25–34, 22–17 |||
| Pts: Stephen Jackson 27 Rebs: Boris Diaw 7 Asts: Diaw, Felton 4 each | Pts: Vince Carter 19 Rebs: Dwight Howard 9 Asts: Jameer Nelson 5 |
| Orlando leads series, 2–0 |||
* Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida Attendance: 17,461 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Rodney Mott, Bill Spooner
* TNT
* April 24 2:00 pm
* Recap
Orlando Magic 90, Charlotte Bobcats 86 :
| Scoring by quarter: 29–27, 12–19, 25–20, 24–20 |||
| Pts: Jameer Nelson 32 Rebs: Gortat, Howard 8 each Asts: Barnes, Howard, Lewis, Nelson 3 each | Pts: Stephen Jackson 19 Rebs: Gerald Wallace 8 Asts: Diaw, Felton 6 each |
| Orlando leads series, 3–0 |||
* Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Joe Crawford, Ed Malloy, Leon Wood
* TNT
* April 26 8:00 pm
* Recap
Orlando Magic 99, Charlotte Bobcats 90 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–25, 20–20, 28–23, 28–22 |||
| Pts: Vince Carter 21 Rebs: Dwight Howard 13 Asts: Carter, Nelson 4 each | Pts: Tyrus Thomas 21 Rebs: Tyrus Thomas 9 Asts: Stephen Jackson 8 |
| Orlando wins series, 4–0 |||
* Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina Attendance: 19,086 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Sean Corbin, Marc Davis
Orlando won 3–1 in the regular-season series :
November 10, 2009
Recap
Orlando Magic 93, Charlotte Bobcats 81
Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina
November 16, 2009
Recap
Charlotte Bobcats 91, Orlando Magic 97
Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
January 23, 2010
Recap
Orlando Magic 106, Charlotte Bobcats 95
Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina
March 14, 2010
Recap
Charlotte Bobcats 96, Orlando Magic 89
Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida :
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hornets franchise winning the first meeting. Note that historical records of the original Charlotte Hornets franchise (later relocated and renamed the New Orleans Pelicans) from 1988 to 2002 are currently with the present Hornets/Bobcats franchise since the 2014–15 season.
Charlotte leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series :
2002
Charlotte Hornets 3, Orlando Magic 1
2002 Eastern Conference First Round :

#### (3) Atlanta Hawks vs. (6) Milwaukee Bucks

* ESPN
* April 17 5:30 pm
* Recap
Milwaukee Bucks 92, Atlanta Hawks 102 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17–34, 23–28, 30–19, 22–21 |||
| Pts: Brandon Jennings 34 Rebs: Kurt Thomas 9 Asts: Brandon Jennings 3 | Pts: Joe Johnson 22 Rebs: Josh Smith 10 Asts: Joe Johnson 5 |
| Atlanta leads series, 1–0 |||
* Philips Arena, Atlanta Attendance: 18,729 Referees: Ken Mauer, Ron Garretson, Sean Corbin
* NBA TV
* April 20 7:00 pm
* Recap
Milwaukee Bucks 86, Atlanta Hawks 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–28, 26–24, 16–24, 24–20 |||
| Pts: John Salmons 21 Rebs: Ersan İlyasova 15 Asts: Delfino, Salmons 4 each | Pts: Joe Johnson 27 Rebs: Josh Smith 14 Asts: Josh Smith 9 |
| Atlanta leads series, 2–0 |||
* Philips Arena, Atlanta Attendance: 18,938 Referees: Dan Crawford, Derrick Collins, Ed Malloy
* ESPN
* April 24 7:00 pm
* Recap
Atlanta Hawks 89, Milwaukee Bucks 107 :
| Scoring by quarter: 19–36, 21–16, 17–26, 32–29 |||
| Pts: Joe Johnson 25 Rebs: Josh Smith 12 Asts: Crawford, Johnson 4 each | Pts: John Salmons 22 Rebs: Kurt Thomas 13 Asts: John Salmons 10 |
| Atlanta leads series, 2–1 |||
* Bradley Center, Milwaukee Attendance: 18,717 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Tony Brothers, James Capers
* NBA TV
* April 26 8:30 pm
* Recap
Atlanta Hawks 104, Milwaukee Bucks 111 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 25–26, 24–31, 30–26 |||
| Pts: Joe Johnson 29 Rebs: Josh Smith 9 Asts: Joe Johnson 9 | Pts: Brandon Jennings 23 Rebs: Kurt Thomas 9 Asts: Brandon Jennings 6 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* Bradley Center, Milwaukee Attendance: 18,717 Referees: Eddie F. Rush, Tom Washington, Tom Goble
* TNT
* April 28 8:00 pm
* Recap
Milwaukee Bucks 91, Atlanta Hawks 87 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–23, 19–23, 18–23, 30–18 |||
| Pts: Brandon Jennings 25 Rebs: Ersan İlyasova 7 Asts: John Salmons 5 | Pts: Al Horford 25 Rebs: Al Horford 11 Asts: Joe Johnson 6 |
| Milwaukee leads series, 3–2 |||
* Philips Arena, Atlanta Attendance: 19,304 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Dick Bavetta, Marc Davis
* ESPN
* April 30 7:00 pm
* Recap
Atlanta Hawks 83, Milwaukee Bucks 69 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16–19, 15–15, 29–11, 23–24 |||
| Pts: Jamal Crawford 24 Rebs: Al Horford 15 Asts: Joe Johnson 6 | Pts: Carlos Delfino 20 Rebs: Kurt Thomas 9 Asts: John Salmons 4 |
| Series tied, 3–3 |||
* Bradley Center, Milwaukee Attendance: 18,717 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Mike Callahan, Zach Zarba
* ABC
* May 2 1:00 pm
* Recap
Milwaukee Bucks 74, Atlanta Hawks 95 :
| Scoring by quarter: 13–20, 27–33, 20–20, 14–22 |||
| Pts: Brandon Jennings 15 Rebs: Ersan İlyasova 11 Asts: Brandon Jennings 5 | Pts: Jamal Crawford 22 Rebs: Al Horford 15 Asts: Jamal Crawford 6 |
| Atlanta wins series, 4–3 |||
* Philips Arena, Atlanta Attendance: 19,241 Referees: Joe Crawford, Scott Foster, Greg Willard
The Atlanta Hawks quickly took control of the series by winning the first 2 games against the Milwaukee Bucks, without star center Andrew Bogut. But the Bucks managed to take the next 3 games, including a shocking Game 5 win in Atlanta, where they overcame a 9-point deficit in the final 4 minutes. However, Atlanta managed to stave off elimination in front of a raucous Bradley Center crowd, coming away with an 83–69 Game 6 victory. The Hawks then finished off the Bucks in Game 7 and advanced to the next round.
Atlanta won 2–1 in the regular-season series :
February 28, 2010
Recap
Milwaukee Bucks 102, Atlanta Hawks 106
Philips Arena, Atlanta
March 22, 2010
Recap
Atlanta Hawks 95, Milwaukee Bucks 98
Bradley Center, Milwaukee
April 12, 2010
Recap
Atlanta Hawks 104, Milwaukee Bucks 96
Bradley Center, Milwaukee :
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bucks winning two of the first three meetings.
Milwaukee leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series :
1984
Atlanta Hawks 2, Milwaukee Bucks 3
1984 Eastern Conference First Round
1988
Atlanta Hawks 3, Milwaukee Bucks 2
1988 Eastern Conference First Round
1989
Atlanta Hawks 2, Milwaukee Bucks 3
1989 Eastern Conference First Round :

#### (4) Boston Celtics vs. (5) Miami Heat

* ESPN
* April 17 8:00 pm
* Recap
Miami Heat 76, Boston Celtics 85 :
| Scoring by quarter: 29–28, 15–13, 22–23, 10–21 |||
| Pts: Dwyane Wade 26 Rebs: Jermaine O'Neal 9 Asts: Dwyane Wade 6 | Pts: Paul Pierce 16 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 9 Asts: Rajon Rondo 10 |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 |||
* TD Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Dick Bavetta, Ed Malloy
* TNT
* April 20 8:00 pm
* Recap
Miami Heat 77, Boston Celtics 106 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 10–26, 26–36, 18–21 |||
| Pts: Dwyane Wade 29 Rebs: Michael Beasley 7 Asts: Dwyane Wade 5 | Pts: Ray Allen 25 Rebs: Kendrick Perkins 9 Asts: Rajon Rondo 12 |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 |||
* TD Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Eddie Rush, Bob Delaney, Marc Davis
* ESPN
* April 23 7:00 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 100, Miami Heat 98 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–29, 21–20, 32–23, 20–26 |||
| Pts: Paul Pierce 32 Rebs: Kendrick Perkins 12 Asts: Rajon Rondo 8 | Pts: Dwyane Wade 34 Rebs: Udonis Haslem 8 Asts: Dwyane Wade 8 |
| Boston leads series, 3–0 |||
* American Airlines Arena, Miami Attendance: 19,500 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Eric Lewis, Bill Spooner
* ABC
* April 25 1:00 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 92, Miami Heat 101 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–31, 25–18, 34–22, 15–30 |||
| Pts: Rajon Rondo 23 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 12 Asts: Rajon Rondo 9 | Pts: Dwyane Wade 46 Rebs: Udonis Haslem 11 Asts: Wade, Chalmers 5 each |
| Boston leads series, 3–1 |||
* American Airlines Arena, Miami Attendance: 19,520 Referees: Ken Mauer, Bill Kennedy, Greg Willard
* NBATV
* April 27 7:00 pm
* Recap
Miami Heat 86, Boston Celtics 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–29, 17–19, 27–23, 21–25 |||
| Pts: Dwyane Wade 31 Rebs: Udonis Haslem 10 Asts: Dwyane Wade 10 | Pts: Ray Allen 24 Rebs: Garnett, Rondo 8 each Asts: Rajon Rondo 12 |
| Boston wins series, 4–1 |||
* TD Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Scott Foster, Derrick Stafford, James Capers
Boston won 3–0 in the regular-season series :
November 29, 2009
Recap
Boston Celtics 92, Miami Heat 85
American Airlines Arena, Miami
January 6, 2010
Recap
Boston Celtics 112, Miami Heat 106
American Airlines Arena, Miami
February 3, 2010
Recap
Miami Heat 102, Boston Celtics 107
TD Garden, Boston :
This was the first playoff meeting between the Celtics and the Heat.

### Western Conference first round
#### (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Oklahoma City Thunder

* ABC
* April 18 3:00 pm
* Recap
Oklahoma City Thunder 79, Los Angeles Lakers 87 :
| Scoring by quarter: 13–27, 26–20, 17–17, 23–23 |||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 24 Rebs: Nick Collison 8 Asts: Russell Westbrook 8 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 21 Rebs: Pau Gasol 13 Asts: Bryant, Gasol 3 each |
| LA Lakers lead series, 1–0 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Jason Phillips, Tom Washington
* TNT
* April 20 10:30 pm
* Recap
Oklahoma City Thunder 92, Los Angeles Lakers 95 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–26, 29–19, 22–28, 23–22 |||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 32 Rebs: Kevin Durant 8 Asts: Sefolosha, Westbrook 3 each | Pts: Kobe Bryant 39 Rebs: Pau Gasol 12 Asts: Derek Fisher 6 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–0 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Derrick Stafford, Scott Foster, Zach Zarba
* TNT
* April 22 9:30 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 96, Oklahoma City Thunder 101 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–22, 23–21, 25–31, 21–27 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 24 Rebs: Pau Gasol 15 Asts: Kobe Bryant 8 | Pts: Kevin Durant 29 Rebs: Kevin Durant 19 Asts: Durant, Westbrook 4 each |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–1 |||
* Ford Center, Oklahoma City Attendance: 18,342 Referees: Joe Crawford, Sean Wright, Marc Davis
* This was the first playoff game at Ford Center in Oklahoma City
* ESPN
* April 24 9:30 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 89, Oklahoma City Thunder 110 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17–29, 25–26, 22–31, 25–24 |||
| Pts: Bynum, Gasol 13 each Rebs: Andrew Bynum 10 Asts: Kobe Bryant 4 | Pts: Kevin Durant 22 Rebs: Jeff Green 9 Asts: Russell Westbrook 6 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* Ford Center, Oklahoma City Attendance: 18,342 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Sean Corbin, Michael Smith
* TNT
* April 27 10:30 pm
* Recap
Oklahoma City Thunder 87, Los Angeles Lakers 111 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16–31, 18–24, 26–33, 27–23 |||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 17 Rebs: Serge Ibaka 9 Asts: Russell Westbrook 6 | Pts: Pau Gasol 25 Rebs: Bynum, Gasol 11 each Asts: Kobe Bryant 7 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 3–2 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Dan Crawford, Bob Delaney, Leon Wood
* ESPN
* April 30 9:30 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 95, Oklahoma City Thunder 94 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 27–20, 23–26, 19–21 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 32 Rebs: Pau Gasol 18 Asts: Derek Fisher 6 | Pts: Kevin Durant 26 Rebs: Nenad Krstić 11 Asts: Russell Westbrook 9 |
| LA Lakers win series, 4–2 |||
* Ford Center, Oklahoma City Attendance: 18,342 Referees: Ken Mauer, Bill Kennedy, Greg Willard
* Pau Gasol tip-in hits the series-winning shot after his teammate Kobe Bryant's miss.
Los Angeles won 3–1 in the regular-season series :
November 3, 2009
Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 101, Oklahoma City Thunder 98
Ford Center, Oklahoma City
November 22, 2009
Recap
Oklahoma City Thunder 85, Los Angeles Lakers 101
Staples Center, Los Angeles
December 22, 2009
Recap
Oklahoma City Thunder 108, Los Angeles Lakers 111
Staples Center, Los Angeles
March 26, 2010
Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 75, Oklahoma City Thunder 91
Ford Center, Oklahoma City :
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning five of the first seven meetings. All previous meetings took place while the Thunder franchise were still known as the Seattle SuperSonics.
Los Angeles leads 5–2 in all-time playoff series :
1978
Los Angeles Lakers 1, Seattle SuperSonics 2
1978 Western Conference First Round
1979
Los Angeles Lakers 1, Seattle SuperSonics 4
1979 Western Conference Semifinals
1980
Los Angeles Lakers 4, Seattle SuperSonics 1
1980 Western Conference Finals
1987
Los Angeles Lakers 4, Seattle SuperSonics 0
1987 Western Conference Finals
1989
Los Angeles Lakers 4, Seattle SuperSonics 0
1989 Western Conference Semifinals
1995
Los Angeles Lakers 3, Seattle SuperSonics 1
1995 Western Conference First Round
1998
Los Angeles Lakers 4, Seattle SuperSonics 1
1998 Western Conference Semifinals :

#### (2) Dallas Mavericks vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs

* TNT
* April 18 8:00 pm
* Recap
San Antonio Spurs 94, Dallas Mavericks 100 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–23, 27–27, 24–26, 25–24 |||
| Pts: Tim Duncan 27 Rebs: Duncan, McDyess 8 each Asts: Manu Ginóbili 6 | Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 36 Rebs: Erick Dampier 12 Asts: Jason Kidd 11 |
| Dallas leads series, 1–0 |||
* American Airlines Center, Dallas Attendance: 20,372 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Michael Smith, Bill Kennedy
* TNT
* April 21 9:30 pm
* Recap
San Antonio Spurs 102, Dallas Mavericks 88 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–20, 34–26, 24–26, 20–16 |||
| Pts: Tim Duncan 25 Rebs: Tim Duncan 17 Asts: Tony Parker 8 | Pts: Jason Terry 27 Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 10 Asts: Jason Kidd 8 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* American Airlines Center, Dallas Attendance: 20,728 Referees: Ken Mauer, James Capers, Mike Callahan
* ESPN
* April 23 9:30 pm
* Recap
Dallas Mavericks 90, San Antonio Spurs 94 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16–23, 28–24, 26–19, 20–28 |||
| Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 35 Rebs: Kidd, Nowitzki 7 each Asts: Jason Kidd 5 | Pts: Tim Duncan 25 Rebs: Antonio McDyess 6 Asts: Manu Ginóbili 7 |
| San Antonio leads series, 2–1 |||
* AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,581 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Dan Crawford, Rodney Mott
* TNT
* April 25 7:00 pm
* Recap
Dallas Mavericks 89, San Antonio Spurs 92 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17–20, 31–17, 11–29, 30–26 |||
| Pts: Butler, Nowitzki 17 each Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 11 Asts: Jason Kidd 5 | Pts: George Hill 29 Rebs: Tim Duncan 11 Asts: Manu Ginóbili 7 |
| San Antonio leads series, 3–1 |||
* AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,581 Referees: Bob Delaney, David Jones, Scott Foster
* NBATV
* April 27 9:30 pm
* Recap
San Antonio Spurs 81, Dallas Mavericks 103 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–27, 25–26, 18–29, 17–21 |||
| Pts: Tony Parker 18 Rebs: DeJuan Blair 8 Asts: Tony Parker 6 | Pts: Caron Butler 35 Rebs: Caron Butler 11 Asts: Jason Kidd 7 |
| San Antonio leads series, 3–2 |||
* American Airlines Center, Dallas Attendance: 20,728 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Pat Fraher, Greg Willard
* TNT
* April 29 8:00 pm
* Recap
Dallas Mavericks 87, San Antonio Spurs 97 :
| Scoring by quarter: 8–22, 26–25, 29–23, 24–27 |||
| Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 33 Rebs: Jason Kidd 8 Asts: Jason Kidd 6 | Pts: Manu Ginóbili 26 Rebs: Tim Duncan 10 Asts: Tony Parker 8 |
| San Antonio wins series, 4–2 |||
* AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,581 Referees: Eddie F. Rush, Bill Spooner, Tom Washington
The Mavs won 55 games and the Southwest Division title, but for the 3rd time in four years, they failed to escape the first round. The 2007 Mavericks were defeated by the Golden State Warriors as a No. 1 seed, and the 2008 Mavericks lost in the 1st round to the New Orleans Hornets. The Mavs took Game 1 in Dallas, but would go on to drop the next three games (including two in San Antonio) to wind up trailing 3 to 1. Dallas won Game 5 to keep their season alive, but the Spurs managed to finish them off with a 10-point win in Game 6.
Dallas won 3–1 in the regular-season series :
November 11, 2009
Recap
Dallas Mavericks 83, San Antonio Spurs 92
AT&T Center, San Antonio
November 18, 2009
Recap
San Antonio Spurs 94, Dallas Mavericks 99
American Airlines Center, Dallas
January 8, 2010
Recap
Dallas Mavericks 112, San Antonio Spurs 103
AT&T Center, San Antonio
April 14, 2010
Recap
San Antonio Spurs 89, Dallas Mavericks 96
American Airlines Center, Dallas :
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning two series apiece.
Tied 2–2 in all-time playoff series :
2001
Dallas Mavericks 1, San Antonio Spurs 4
2001 Western Conference Semifinals
2003
Dallas Mavericks 2, San Antonio Spurs 4
2003 Western Conference Finals
2006
Dallas Mavericks 4, San Antonio Spurs 3
2006 Western Conference Semifinals
2009
Dallas Mavericks 4, San Antonio Spurs 1
2009 Western Conference First Round :

#### (3) Phoenix Suns vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers

* TNT
* April 18 10:30 pm
* Recap
Portland Trail Blazers 105, Phoenix Suns 100 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–24, 19–19, 26–29, 35–28 |||
| Pts: Andre Miller 31 Rebs: Marcus Camby 17 Asts: Andre Miller 8 | Pts: Steve Nash 25 Rebs: Jason Richardson 10 Asts: Steve Nash 9 |
| Portland leads series, 1–0 |||
* US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona Attendance: 18,422 Referees: Scott Foster, James Capers, Derrick Stafford
* NBATV
* April 20 10:00 pm
* Recap
Portland Trail Blazers 90, Phoenix Suns 119 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–32, 23–31, 19–31, 22–25 |||
| Pts: Martell Webster 16 Rebs: Marcus Camby 10 Asts: Andre Miller 3 | Pts: Jason Richardson 29 Rebs: Grant Hill 8 Asts: Steve Nash 16 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona Attendance: 18.422 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Tom Washington, Greg Willard
* NBATV
* April 22 10:00 pm
* Recap
Phoenix Suns 108, Portland Trail Blazers 89 :
| Scoring by quarter: 34–16, 32–21, 15–23, 27–29 |||
| Pts: Jason Richardson 42 Rebs: Jason Richardson 8 Asts: Steve Nash 10 | Pts: LaMarcus Aldridge 17 Rebs: Marcus Camby 10 Asts: Andre Miller 9 |
| Phoenix leads series, 2–1 |||
* Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon Attendance: 20,271 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Pat Fraher, Bill Kennedy
* TNT
* April 24 4:30 pm
* Recap
Phoenix Suns 87, Portland Trail Blazers 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–26, 23–28, 22–20, 15–22 |||
| Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 26 Rebs: Grant Hill 12 Asts: Steve Nash 8 | Pts: LaMarcus Aldridge 31 Rebs: LaMarcus Aldridge 11 Asts: Andre Miller 8 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon Attendance: 20,151 Referees: Eddie F. Rush, Derrick Collins, Ron Garretson
* TNT
* April 26 10:30 pm
* Recap
Portland Trail Blazers 88, Phoenix Suns 107 :
| Scoring by quarter: 28–27, 19–30, 19–27, 22–23 |||
| Pts: Andre Miller 21 Rebs: Marcus Camby 11 Asts: Marcus Camby 5 | Pts: Channing Frye 20 Rebs: Frye, Richardson 8 each Asts: Steve Nash 10 |
| Phoenix leads series, 3–2 |||
* US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona Attendance: 18,422 Referees: Joe Crawford, Jason Phillips, Bill Spooner
* TNT
* April 29 10:30 pm
* Recap
Phoenix Suns 99, Portland Trail Blazers 90 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–17, 29–24, 21–24, 25–25 |||
| Pts: Jason Richardson 28 Rebs: Grant Hill 12 Asts: Steve Nash 6 | Pts: Martell Webster 19 Rebs: LaMarcus Aldridge 9 Asts: Jerryd Bayless 7 |
| Phoenix wins series, 4–2 |||
* Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon Attendance: 20,313 Referees: Sean Corbin, Bob Delaney, Dan Crawford
Portland won 2–1 in the regular-season series :
December 17, 2009
Recap
Phoenix Suns 102, Portland Trail Blazers 105
Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon
February 10, 2010
Recap
Portland Trail Blazers 108, Phoenix Suns 101
US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
March 21, 2010
Recap
Portland Trail Blazers 87, Phoenix Suns 93
US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona :
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning three series apiece.
Tied 3–3 in all-time playoff series :
1979
Phoenix Suns 2, Portland Trail Blazers 1
1979 Western Conference First Round
1984
Phoenix Suns 3, Portland Trail Blazers 2
1984 Western Conference First Round
1990
Phoenix Suns 2, Portland Trail Blazers 4
1990 Western Conference Finals
1992
Phoenix Suns 1, Portland Trail Blazers 4
1992 Western Conference Semifinals
1995
Phoenix Suns 3, Portland Trail Blazers 0
1995 Western Conference First Round
1999
Phoenix Suns 0, Portland Trail Blazers 3
1999 Western Conference First Round :

#### (4) Denver Nuggets vs. (5) Utah Jazz

* ESPN
* April 17 10:30 pm
* Recap
Utah Jazz 113, Denver Nuggets 126 :
| Scoring by quarter: 28–30, 28–27, 30–31, 27–38 |||
| Pts: Deron Williams 26 Rebs: Paul Millsap 10 Asts: Deron Williams 11 | Pts: Carmelo Anthony 42 Rebs: Kenyon Martin 12 Asts: Chauncey Billups 8 |
| Denver leads series, 1–0 |||
* Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado Attendance: 19,155 Referees: Joe Crawford, Greg Willard, Zach Zarba
* TNT
* April 19 10:30 pm
* Recap
Utah Jazz 114, Denver Nuggets 111 :
| Scoring by quarter: 33–30, 30–21, 25–31, 26–29 |||
| Pts: Deron Williams 33 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 14 Asts: Deron Williams 14 | Pts: Carmelo Anthony 32 Rebs: Anthony, Nenê, Smith 6 each Asts: Chauncey Billups 11 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado Attendance: 19,155 Referees: Ken Mauer, Bill Spooner, Leon Wood
* ESPN2
* April 23 10:30 pm
* Recap
Denver Nuggets 93, Utah Jazz 105 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–21, 21–31, 20–32, 25–21 |||
| Pts: Anthony, Billups 25 each Rebs: Kenyon Martin 13 Asts: Billups, Carter 3 each | Pts: Deron Williams 24 Rebs: Paul Millsap 19 Asts: Deron Williams 10 |
| Utah leads series, 2–1 |||
* EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City Attendance: 19,911 Referees: David Jones, Mike Callahan, Scott Foster
* TNT
* April 25 9:30 pm
* Recap
Denver Nuggets 106, Utah Jazz 117 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–31, 20–23, 23–32, 38–31 |||
| Pts: Carmelo Anthony 39 Rebs: Anthony, Nenê 11 each Asts: Chauncey Billups 4 | Pts: Carlos Boozer 31 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 13 Asts: Deron Williams 13 |
| Utah leads series, 3–1 |||
* EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Dan Crawford, Dick Bavetta, Pat Fraher
* TNT
* April 28 10:30 pm
* Recap
Utah Jazz 102, Denver Nuggets 116 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–25, 25–25, 29–36, 21–30 |||
| Pts: Deron Williams 34 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 16 Asts: Deron Williams 10 | Pts: Carmelo Anthony 26 Rebs: Carmelo Anthony 11 Asts: Billups, Nenê 4 each |
| Utah leads series, 3–2 |||
* Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado Attendance: 19,155 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Ron Garretson, Ed Malloy
* ESPN2
* April 30 10:00 pm
* Recap
Denver Nuggets 104, Utah Jazz 112 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–32, 31–24, 26–27, 24–29 |||
| Pts: Chauncey Billups 30 Rebs: Carmelo Anthony 12 Asts: Chauncey Billups 8 | Pts: Wesley Matthews 23 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 20 Asts: Deron Williams 10 |
| Utah wins series, 4–2 |||
* EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Marc Davis, Derrick Stafford
* Game 6 is Carmelo Anthony's final playoff game with the Nuggets before being traded to the New York Knicks shortly before the trade deadline.
Denver won 3–1 in the regular-season series :
October 28, 2009
Recap
Utah Jazz 105, Denver Nuggets 114
Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
January 2, 2010
Recap
Denver Nuggets 105, Utah Jazz 95
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City
January 17, 2010
Recap
Utah Jazz 112, Denver Nuggets 119
Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
February 6, 2010
Recap
Denver Nuggets 106, Utah Jazz 116
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City :
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning two of the first three meetings.
Utah leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series :
1984
Denver Nuggets 2, Utah Jazz 3
1984 Western Conference First Round
1985
Denver Nuggets 4, Utah Jazz 1
1985 Western Conference Semifinals
1994
Denver Nuggets 3, Utah Jazz 4
1994 Western Conference Semifinals :

## Conference semifinals
### Eastern Conference semifinals
#### (1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (4) Boston Celtics

* TNT
* May 1 8:00 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 93, Cleveland Cavaliers 101 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–20, 28–23, 24–36, 15–22 |||
| Pts: Rajon Rondo 27 Rebs: Kendrick Perkins 11 Asts: Rajon Rondo 12 | Pts: LeBron James 35 Rebs: Antawn Jamison 9 Asts: LeBron James 7 |
| Cleveland leads series, 1–0 |||
* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Eddie F. Rush, Bill Spooner, Jason Phillips
* TNT
* May 3 8:00 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 104, Cleveland Cavaliers 86 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–22, 26–26, 31–12, 21–26 |||
| Pts: Ray Allen 22 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 10 Asts: Rajon Rondo 19 | Pts: LeBron James 24 Rebs: James, Varejão 7 each Asts: Mo Williams 7 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Dan Crawford, Dick Bavetta, Ed Malloy
* ESPN
* May 7 7:00 pm
* Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 124, Boston Celtics 95 :
| Scoring by quarter: 36–17, 29–26, 31–27, 28–25 |||
| Pts: LeBron James 38 Rebs: Antawn Jamison 12 Asts: James, Williams 7 each | Pts: Kevin Garnett 19 Rebs: Rajon Rondo 5 Asts: Rajon Rondo 8 |
| Cleveland leads series, 2–1 |||
* TD Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Ken Mauer, Zach Zarba
* ABC
* May 9 3:30 pm
* Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 87, Boston Celtics 97 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–31, 23–23, 27–20, 15–23 |||
| Pts: LeBron James 22 Rebs: LeBron James 9 Asts: LeBron James 8 | Pts: Rajon Rondo 29 Rebs: Rajon Rondo 18 Asts: Rajon Rondo 13 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* TD Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Mike Callahan, Michael Smith
* TNT
* May 11 8:00 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 120, Cleveland Cavaliers 88 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–23, 30–21, 30–19, 40–25 |||
| Pts: Ray Allen 25 Rebs: Paul Pierce 11 Asts: Rondo, Pierce 7 each | Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 21 Rebs: Anderson Varejão 8 Asts: LeBron James 7 |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 |||
* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Joe Crawford, Marc Davis, Greg Willard
* ESPN
* May 13 8:00 pm
* Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 85, Boston Celtics 94 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 27–26, 18–25, 18–18 |||
| Pts: LeBron James 27 Rebs: LeBron James 19 Asts: LeBron James 10 | Pts: Kevin Garnett 22 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 12 Asts: Rajon Rondo 12 |
| Boston wins series, 4–2 |||
* TD Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Bob Delaney, Eddie F. Rush
The Cavaliers were considered heavy favorites coming in, but had to rally from an 11-point halftime deficit to win Game 1. The Celtics took home-court in Game 2, as Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo's 19 assists powered them past the Cavaliers to an 18-point victory. The Cavaliers struck back in Game 3 and handed the Celtics their worst home-playoff loss in franchise history. Cavaliers forward LeBron James scored 21 points in the first quarter alone and 38 for the game. Antawn Jamison added another 20. Celtics forward Paul Pierce called the loss "embarrassing". Rondo's triple-double (29 points, a career playoff high 18 rebounds and 13 assists) pushed the Celtics to a Game 4 victory. The Celtics reciprocated their Game 3 humiliation with a 32-point victory in Cleveland during Game 5. LeBron James was held to 3 of 14 shooting. The Celtics clinched the series in Game 6, holding James to 8 of 21 shooting.
The Cavaliers early exit led to James's departure for the Miami Heat during the offseason. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert then accused James of quitting on the team during the series and also alleged that he did the same thing the previous year's Conference Finals. The Cavaliers did not make the playoffs again until the 2014–2015 NBA season (James' first season back in Cleveland), and in fact, they would be the first team Byron Scott failed to take to the playoffs during his tenure as head coach; he had led his two previous teams to the playoffs at least once.
Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series :
October 27, 2009
Recap
Boston Celtics 95, Cleveland Cavaliers 89
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
February 25, 2010
Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 108, Boston Celtics 88
TD Garden, Boston
March 14, 2010
Recap
Boston Celtics 93, Cleveland Cavaliers 104
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
April 4, 2010
Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 113, Boston Celtics 117
TD Garden, Boston :
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning three of the first four meetings.
Boston leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series :
1976
Boston Celtics 4, Cleveland Cavaliers 2
1976 Eastern Conference Finals
1985
Boston Celtics 3, Cleveland Cavaliers 1
1985 Eastern Conference First Round
1992
Boston Celtics 3, Cleveland Cavaliers 4
1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals
2008
Boston Celtics 4, Cleveland Cavaliers 3
2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals :

#### (2) Orlando Magic vs. (3) Atlanta Hawks

* TNT
* May 4 8:00 pm
* Recap
Atlanta Hawks 71, Orlando Magic 114 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–25, 10–28, 11–32, 27–29 |||
| Pts: Josh Smith 14 Rebs: Johnson, Pachulia 7 each Asts: Bibby, Johnson 3 each | Pts: Dwight Howard 21 Rebs: Dwight Howard 12 Asts: Jameer Nelson 5 |
| Orlando leads series, 1–0 |||
* Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida Attendance: 17,461 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Bob Delaney, Tom Washington
* ESPN
* May 6 8:00 pm
* Recap
Atlanta Hawks 98, Orlando Magic 112 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–32, 30–17, 26–35, 15–28 |||
| Pts: Al Horford 24 Rebs: Marvin Williams 11 Asts: Joe Johnson 5 | Pts: Dwight Howard 29 Rebs: Dwight Howard 17 Asts: Lewis, Nelson 6 each |
| Orlando leads series, 2–0 |||
* Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida Attendance: 17,461 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Mike Callahan, Marc Davis
* ESPN
* May 8 5:00 pm
* Recap
Orlando Magic 105, Atlanta Hawks 75 :
| Scoring by quarter: 28–18, 24–15, 27–22, 26–20 |||
| Pts: Rashard Lewis 22 Rebs: Dwight Howard 16 Asts: Jameer Nelson 4 | Pts: Jamal Crawford 22 Rebs: Josh Smith 11 Asts: Al Horford 3 |
| Orlando leads series, 3–0 |||
* Philips Arena, Atlanta Attendance: 18,729 Referees: Ed Malloy, Dan Crawford, Eddie F. Rush
* TNT
* May 10 8:00 pm
* Recap
Orlando Magic 98, Atlanta Hawks 84 :
| Scoring by quarter: 34–23, 19–22, 22–21, 23–18 |||
| Pts: Vince Carter 22 Rebs: Anderson, Howard 8 each Asts: Jameer Nelson 9 | Pts: Jamal Crawford 18 Rebs: Josh Smith 8 Asts: Joe Johnson 5 |
| Orlando wins series, 4–0 |||
* Philips Arena, Atlanta Attendance: 18,729 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford
The Magic's victory was the most lopsided four-game sweep in playoff history.
Orlando won 3–1 in the regular-season series :
November 26, 2009
Recap
Orlando Magic 93, Atlanta Hawks 76
Philips Arena, Atlanta
January 9, 2010
Recap
Atlanta Hawks 81, Orlando Magic 113
Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
January 30, 2010
Recap
Atlanta Hawks 86, Orlando Magic 104
Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
March 24, 2010
Recap
Orlando Magic 84, Atlanta Hawks 86
Philips Arena, Atlanta :
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Magic winning the first meeting.
Orlando leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series :
1996
Atlanta Hawks 1, Orlando Magic 4
1996 Eastern Conference Semifinals :

### Western Conference semifinals
#### (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Utah Jazz

* ABC
* May 2 3:30 pm
* Recap
Utah Jazz 99, Los Angeles Lakers 104 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–30, 22–23, 28–28, 26–23 |||
| Pts: Deron Williams 24 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 12 Asts: Deron Williams 8 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 31 Rebs: Gasol, Odom 12 each Asts: Bryant, Gasol 4 each |
| LA Lakers lead series, 1–0 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Mike Callahan, James Capers
* TNT
* May 4 10:30 pm
* Recap
Utah Jazz 103, Los Angeles Lakers 111 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–27, 23–31, 31–29, 26–24 |||
| Pts: Paul Millsap 26 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 12 Asts: Deron Williams 9 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 30 Rebs: Gasol, Odom 15 each Asts: Kobe Bryant 8 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–0 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, Sean Corbin
* ABC
* May 8 8:00 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 111, Utah Jazz 110 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17–22, 33–32, 32–26, 29–30 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 35 Rebs: Pau Gasol 17 Asts: Kobe Bryant 7 | Pts: Deron Williams 28 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 14 Asts: Deron Williams 9 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 3–0 |||
* EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Joe Crawford, Dick Bavetta, Greg Willard
* TNT
* May 10 10:30 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 111, Utah Jazz 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 29–24, 29–17, 22–26, 31–29 |||
| Pts: Pau Gasol 33 Rebs: Pau Gasol 14 Asts: Kobe Bryant 4 | Pts: Millsap, Williams 21 each Rebs: Carlos Boozer 14 Asts: Deron Williams 9 |
| LA Lakers win series, 4–0 |||
* EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Dan Crawford, Bill Kennedy, Tom Washington
* Game 4 is Jerry Sloan's final playoff game as head coach of the Utah Jazz before he was resigned midway through the 2010–11 season.
Los Angeles won 3–1 in the regular-season series :
December 9, 2009
Recap
Utah Jazz 77, Los Angeles Lakers 101
Staples Center, Los Angeles
December 12, 2009
Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 94, Utah Jazz 102
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City
February 10, 2010
Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 96, Utah Jazz 81
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City
April 2, 2010
Recap
Utah Jazz 92, Los Angeles Lakers 106
Staples Center, Los Angeles :
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning three of the first five meetings.
Los Angeles leads 3–2 in all-time playoff series :
1988
Los Angeles Lakers 4, Utah Jazz 3
1988 Western Conference Semifinals
1997
Los Angeles Lakers 1, Utah Jazz 4
1997 Western Conference Semifinals
1998
Los Angeles Lakers 0, Utah Jazz 4
1998 Western Conference Finals
2008
Los Angeles Lakers 4, Utah Jazz 2
2008 Western Conference Semifinals
2009
Los Angeles Lakers 4, Utah Jazz 1
2009 Western Conference First Round :

#### (3) Phoenix Suns vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs

* TNT
* May 3 10:30 pm
* Recap
San Antonio Spurs 102, Phoenix Suns 111 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–31, 25–26, 28–28, 27–26 |||
| Pts: Manu Ginóbili 27 Rebs: Tim Duncan 11 Asts: Manu Ginóbili 5 | Pts: Steve Nash 33 Rebs: Amar'e Stoudemire 13 Asts: Steve Nash 10 |
| Phoenix leads series, 1–0 |||
* US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona Attendance: 18,422 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Ken Mauer, Michael Smith
* TNT
* May 5 9:00 pm
* Recap
San Antonio Spurs 102, Phoenix Suns 110 :
| Scoring by quarter: 30–21, 21–30, 25–27, 26–32 |||
| Pts: Tim Duncan 29 Rebs: Duncan, Jefferson 10 each Asts: Manu Ginóbili 11 | Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 23 Rebs: Amar'e Stoudemire 11 Asts: Steve Nash 6 |
| Phoenix leads series, 2–0 |||
* US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona Attendance: 18,422 Referees: Joe Crawford, Ron Garretson, Derrick Stafford
* ESPN
* May 7 9:30 pm
* Recap
Phoenix Suns 110, San Antonio Spurs 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 19–28, 25–22, 27–22, 39–24 |||
| Pts: Goran Dragić 26 Rebs: Nash, Stoudemire 8 each Asts: Steve Nash 6 | Pts: Manu Ginóbili 27 Rebs: Tim Duncan 13 Asts: Ginóbili, Parker 5 each |
| Phoenix leads series, 3–0 |||
* AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,581 Referees: Scott Foster, James Capers, Bill Kennedy
* TNT
* May 9 8:00 pm
* Recap
Phoenix Suns 107, San Antonio Spurs 101 :
| Scoring by quarter: 19–25, 31–22, 22–24, 35–30 |||
| Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 29 Rebs: Jason Richardson 8 Asts: Steve Nash 9 | Pts: Tony Parker 22 Rebs: Duncan, Jefferson 8 each Asts: Manu Ginóbili 9 |
| Phoenix wins series, 4–0 |||
* AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,581 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Bob Delaney, Jason Phillips
Phoenix won 2–1 in the regular-season series :
December 15, 2009
Recap
San Antonio Spurs 104, Phoenix Suns 116
US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
February 28, 2010
Recap
Phoenix Suns 110, San Antonio Spurs 113
AT&T Center, San Antonio
April 7, 2010
Recap
San Antonio Spurs 101, Phoenix Suns 112
US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona :
This was the tenth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning six of the first nine meetings.
San Antonio leads 6–3 in all-time playoff series :
1992
Phoenix Suns 3, San Antonio Spurs 0
1992 Western Conference First Round
1993
Phoenix Suns 4, San Antonio Spurs 2
1993 Western Conference Semifinals
1996
Phoenix Suns 1, San Antonio Spurs 3
1996 Western Conference First Round
1998
Phoenix Suns 1, San Antonio Spurs 3
1998 Western Conference First Round
2000
Phoenix Suns 3, San Antonio Spurs 1
2000 Western Conference First Round
2003
Phoenix Suns 2, San Antonio Spurs 4
2003 Western Conference First Round
2005
Phoenix Suns 1, San Antonio Spurs 4
2005 Western Conference Finals
2007
Phoenix Suns 2, San Antonio Spurs 4
2007 Western Conference Semifinals
2008
Phoenix Suns 1, San Antonio Spurs 4
2008 Western Conference First Round :

## Conference finals
### Eastern Conference finals
#### (2) Orlando Magic vs. (4) Boston Celtics

* ABC
* May 16 3:30 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 92, Orlando Magic 88 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–14, 19–18, 33–26, 18–30 |||
| Pts: Ray Allen 25 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 11 Asts: Rajon Rondo 8 | Pts: Vince Carter 23 Rebs: Dwight Howard 12 Asts: Carter, Howard, Lewis, Nelson 2 each |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 |||
* Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida Attendance: 17,461 Referees: Dan Crawford, Ken Mauer, Michael Smith
* ESPN
* May 18 8:30 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 95, Orlando Magic 92 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–28, 26–23, 25–19, 17–22 |||
| Pts: Paul Pierce 28 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 9 Asts: Rajon Rondo 8 | Pts: Dwight Howard 30 Rebs: Dwight Howard 8 Asts: Lewis, Nelson, Redick 4 each |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 |||
* Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida Attendance: 17,461 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Marc Davis, Bill Kennedy
* ESPN
* May 22 8:30 pm
* Recap
Orlando Magic 71, Boston Celtics 94 :
| Scoring by quarter: 12–27, 22–24, 13–24, 24–19 |||
| Pts: Carter, Nelson 15 each Rebs: Dwight Howard 7 Asts: Barnes, Carter, Redick 2 each | Pts: Glen Davis 17 Rebs: Paul Pierce 9 Asts: Rajon Rondo 12 |
| Boston leads series, 3–0 |||
* TD Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Bill Spooner, Greg Willard
* ESPN
* May 24 8:30 pm
* Recap
Orlando Magic 96, Boston Celtics 92 (OT) :
| Scoring by quarter: 31–26, 20–21, 16–21, 19–18, Overtime: 10–6 |||
| Pts: Dwight Howard 32 Rebs: Dwight Howard 16 Asts: Jameer Nelson 9 | Pts: Paul Pierce 32 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 12 Asts: Rajon Rondo 8 |
| Boston leads series, 3–1 |||
* TD Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Scott Foster, Bob Delaney, Derrick Stafford
* ESPN
* May 26 8:30 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 92, Orlando Magic 113 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–31, 22–26, 26–27, 17–29 |||
| Pts: Rasheed Wallace 21 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 5 Asts: Ray Allen 7 | Pts: Jameer Nelson 24 Rebs: Dwight Howard 10 Asts: Nelson, Williams 5 each |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 |||
* Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida Attendance: 17,461 Referees: Joe Crawford, Eddie F. Rush, Tom Washington
* ESPN
* May 28 8:30 pm
* Recap
Orlando Magic 84, Boston Celtics 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 19–30, 23–25, 19–27, 23–14 |||
| Pts: Dwight Howard 28 Rebs: Dwight Howard 12 Asts: Jameer Nelson 4 | Pts: Paul Pierce 31 Rebs: Paul Pierce 13 Asts: Rajon Rondo 6 |
| Boston wins series, 4–2 |||
* TD Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Mike Callahan, Ken Mauer
The Boston Celtics were able to hold off a late Magic rally to steal home-court advantage in Game 1. They even used that momentum to grab Game 2 in Orlando to take a 2–0 lead going into Boston. After winning back-to-back road games to begin a series for the first time in franchise history, the Celtics would go on to blow out the Magic by 23 points in Game 3 to take a 3 to nothing lead. The Magic, however, would rally for a desperate Game 4 victory in overtime to force Game 5 in Orlando. Dwight Howard poured in 32 points in that victory. The Celtics seemed to lose control of the series, as the Magic scored another victory in Game 5, making the series 3–2, to force it back to Boston. Boston fans began to become anxious, especially after recently seeing the NHL's Boston Bruins lose their playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers even though the Bruins had a 3–0 lead initially. No team in NBA history has rallied from a 3–0 deficit to win a post-season series. However, Orlando fell short as the Celtics were able to advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in three years with a 12-point win in Game 6.
Orlando won 3–1 in the regular-season series :
November 20, 2009
Recap
Orlando Magic 83, Boston Celtics 78
TD Garden, Boston
December 25, 2009
Recap
Boston Celtics 86, Orlando Magic 77
Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
January 28, 2010
Recap
Boston Celtics 94, Orlando Magic 96
Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
February 7, 2010
Recap
Orlando Magic 96, Boston Celtics 89
TD Garden, Boston :
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Magic winning the first two meetings.
Orlando leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series :
1995
Boston Celtics 1, Orlando Magic 3
1995 Eastern Conference First Round
2009
Boston Celtics 3, Orlando Magic 4
2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals :

### Western Conference finals
#### (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Phoenix Suns

* TNT
* May 17 9:00 pm
* Recap
Phoenix Suns 107, Los Angeles Lakers 128 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–35, 29–27, 24–31, 28–35 |||
| Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 23 Rebs: Amundson, Lopez, Richardson 6 each Asts: Steve Nash 13 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 40 Rebs: Lamar Odom 19 Asts: Artest, Bryant, Farmar, Gasol 5 each |
| LA Lakers lead series, 1–0 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Scott Foster, Jason Phillips, Greg Willard
* TNT
* May 19 9:00 pm
* Recap
Phoenix Suns 112, Los Angeles Lakers 124 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–36, 32–29, 34–25, 22–34 |||
| Pts: Jason Richardson 27 Rebs: Lopez, Stoudemire 6 each Asts: Steve Nash 15 | Pts: Pau Gasol 29 Rebs: Lamar Odom 11 Asts: Kobe Bryant 13 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–0 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Joe Crawford, Mike Callahan, Ed Malloy
* TNT
* May 23 8:30 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 109, Phoenix Suns 118 :
| Scoring by quarter: 32–29, 15–25, 37–32, 25–32 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 36 Rebs: Bryant, Gasol 9 each Asts: Kobe Bryant 11 | Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 42 Rebs: Amar'e Stoudemire 11 Asts: Steve Nash 15 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–1 |||
* US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona Attendance: 18,422 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Eddie F. Rush, Tom Washington
* TNT
* May 25 9:00 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 106, Phoenix Suns 115 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 32–41, 29–21, 22–30 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 38 Rebs: Lamar Odom 10 Asts: Kobe Bryant 10 | Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 21 Rebs: Amar'e Stoudemire 8 Asts: Dragić, Nash 8 each |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona Attendance: 18,422 Referees: Dan Crawford, James Capers, Ken Mauer
* TNT
* May 27 9:00 pm
* Recap
Phoenix Suns 101, Los Angeles Lakers 103 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–24, 24–29, 27–25, 29–25 |||
| Pts: Steve Nash 29 Rebs: Channing Frye 10 Asts: Steve Nash 11 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 30 Rebs: Lamar Odom 13 Asts: Kobe Bryant 9 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 3–2 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Marc Davis, Bob Delaney
* TNT
* May 29 8:30 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 111, Phoenix Suns 103 :
| Scoring by quarter: 37–34, 28–19, 26–21, 20–29 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 37 Rebs: Lamar Odom 12 Asts: Jordan Farmar 5 | Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 27 Rebs: Channing Frye 13 Asts: Steve Nash 9 |
| LA Lakers win series, 4–2 |||
* US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona Attendance: 18,422 Referees: Scott Foster, Bill Kennedy, Greg Willard
The Lakers put their home-court advantage to good use by winning the first two games at home. The Suns struck back to tie the series by taking Games 3 & 4 in Phoenix, but after a heart-breaking loss in Game 5 in which Ron Artest followed a missed airball by Kobe Bryant and hit the game-winner at the buzzer, the Suns found themselves trailing 3–2. Los Angeles held off a late Suns rally to steal Game 6 in Phoenix, as Kobe poured in 37 points, including a long jump shot in the final minute that put the game out of reach.
* Game 6 is Amar'e Stoudemire's final game with the Suns before he signed with the New York Knicks following the season.
Los Angeles won 3–1 in the regular-season series :
November 12, 2009
Recap
Phoenix Suns 102, Los Angeles Lakers 121
Staples Center, Los Angeles
December 6, 2009
Recap
Phoenix Suns 88, Los Angeles Lakers 108
Staples Center, Los Angeles
December 28, 2009
Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 103, Phoenix Suns 118
US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
March 12, 2010
Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 102, Phoenix Suns 96
US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona :
This was the 12th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning seven of the first 11 meetings.
Los Angeles leads 7–4 in all-time playoff series :
1970
Los Angeles Lakers 4, Phoenix Suns 3
1970 Western Division Semifinals
1980
Los Angeles Lakers 4, Phoenix Suns 1
1980 Western Conference Semifinals
1982
Los Angeles Lakers 4, Phoenix Suns 0
1982 Western Conference Semifinals
1984
Los Angeles Lakers 4, Phoenix Suns 2
1984 Western Conference Finals
1985
Los Angeles Lakers 3, Phoenix Suns 0
1985 Western Conference First Round
1989
Los Angeles Lakers 4, Phoenix Suns 0
1989 Western Conference Finals
1990
Los Angeles Lakers 1, Phoenix Suns 4
1990 Western Conference Semifinals
1993
Los Angeles Lakers 2, Phoenix Suns 3
1993 Western Conference First Round
2000
Los Angeles Lakers 4, Phoenix Suns 1
2000 Western Conference Semifinals
2006
Los Angeles Lakers 3, Phoenix Suns 4
2006 Western Conference First Round
2007
Los Angeles Lakers 1, Phoenix Suns 4
2007 Western Conference First Round :

## NBA Finals: (W1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E4) Boston Celtics

    All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)
* ABC
* June 3 9:00 p.m.
* Recap
Boston Celtics 89, Los Angeles Lakers 102 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–26, 20–24, 23–34, 25–18 |||
| Pts: Paul Pierce 24 Rebs: Paul Pierce 9 Asts: Rajon Rondo 8 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 30 Rebs: Pau Gasol 14 Asts: Kobe Bryant 6 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 1–0 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Joe Crawford, Joe DeRosa, Derrick Stafford
* ABC
* June 6 8:00 p.m.
* Recap
Boston Celtics 103, Los Angeles Lakers 94 :
| Scoring by quarter: 29–22, 25–26, 18–24, 31–22 |||
| Pts: Ray Allen 32 Rebs: Rajon Rondo 12 Asts: Rajon Rondo 10 | Pts: Pau Gasol 25 Rebs: Pau Gasol 8 Asts: Kobe Bryant 6 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Mike Callahan, Ken Mauer
* ABC
* June 8 9:00 p.m.
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 91, Boston Celtics 84 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–17, 26–23, 15–21, 24–23 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 29 Rebs: Bynum, Gasol 10 each Asts: Bryant, Gasol 4 each | Pts: Kevin Garnett 25 Rebs: Kendrick Perkins 11 Asts: Rajon Rondo 8 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–1 |||
* TD Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Dan Crawford, Bill Kennedy, Bennett Salvatore
* ABC
* June 10 9:00 p.m.
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 89, Boston Celtics 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16–19, 29–23, 17–18, 27–36 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 33 Rebs: Artest, Odom 7 each Asts: Artest, Gasol 3 each | Pts: Paul Pierce 19 Rebs: Kendrick Perkins 7 Asts: Paul Pierce 5 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* TD Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Scott Foster, Eddie F. Rush, Greg Willard
* ABC
* June 13 8:00 p.m.
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 86, Boston Celtics 92 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–22, 19–23, 26–28, 21–19 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 38 Rebs: Pau Gasol 12 Asts: Kobe Bryant 4 | Pts: Paul Pierce 27 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 10 Asts: Rajon Rondo 8 |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 |||
* TD Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Joe Crawford, Mike Callahan, Derrick Stafford
* ABC
* June 15 9:00 p.m.
* Recap
Boston Celtics 67, Los Angeles Lakers 89 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–28, 13–23, 20–25, 16–13 |||
| Pts: Ray Allen 19 Rebs: Glen Davis 9 Asts: Rajon Rondo 6 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 26 Rebs: Pau Gasol 13 Asts: Pau Gasol 9 |
| Series tied, 3–3 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Joe DeRosa, Ken Mauer
* ABC
* June 17 9:00 p.m.
* Recap
Boston Celtics 79, Los Angeles Lakers 83 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–14, 17–20, 17–19, 22–30 |||
| Pts: Paul Pierce 18 Rebs: Paul Pierce 10 Asts: Rajon Rondo 10 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 23 Rebs: Pau Gasol 18 Asts: Pau Gasol 4 |
| LA Lakers win series, 4–3 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Dan Crawford, Joe Crawford, Scott Foster
Tied 1–1 in the regular-season series :
January 31, 2010
Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 90, Boston Celtics 89
TD Garden, Boston
February 18, 2010
Recap
Boston Celtics 87, Los Angeles Lakers 86
Staples Center, Los Angeles :
This was the 12th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning nine of the first 11 meetings.
Boston leads 9–2 in all-time playoff series :
1959
Boston Celtics 4, Minneapolis Lakers 0
1959 NBA Finals
1962
Boston Celtics 4, Los Angeles Lakers 3
1962 NBA Finals
1963
Boston Celtics 4, Los Angeles Lakers 2
1963 NBA Finals
1965
Boston Celtics 4, Los Angeles Lakers 1
1965 NBA Finals
1966
Boston Celtics 4, Los Angeles Lakers 3
1966 NBA Finals
1968
Boston Celtics 4, Los Angeles Lakers 2
1968 NBA Finals
1969
Boston Celtics 4, Los Angeles Lakers 3
1969 NBA Finals
1984
Boston Celtics 4, Los Angeles Lakers 3
1984 NBA Finals
1985
Boston Celtics 2, Los Angeles Lakers 4
1985 NBA Finals
1987
Boston Celtics 2, Los Angeles Lakers 4
1987 NBA Finals
2008
Boston Celtics 4, Los Angeles Lakers 2
2008 NBA Finals :

## Statistic leaders

| Category | High | High | High | Average | Average | Average | Average |
| Category | Player | Team | Total | Player | Team | Avg. | Games played |
| Points | Dwyane Wade | Miami Heat | 46 | Dwyane Wade | Miami Heat | 33.2 | 5 |
| Rebounds | Carlos Boozer Joakim Noah | Utah Jazz Chicago Bulls | 20 20 | Carlos Boozer | Utah Jazz | 13.2 | 10 |
| Assists | Rajon Rondo | Boston Celtics | 19 | Deron Williams | Utah Jazz | 10.2 | 10 |
| Steals | John Salmons | Milwaukee Bucks | 6 | Manu Ginóbili | San Antonio Spurs | 2.6 | 10 |
| Blocks | Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic | 9 | Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic | 3.5 | 14 |