# 2008 NBA playoffs

The 2008 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2007–08 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. Paul Pierce was named NBA Finals MVP.

## Overview

Thanks to preseason trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, the Boston Celtics entered the playoffs with an NBA best 66–16 record. It was also their first playoff appearance since 2005.
The Los Angeles Lakers entered their third consecutive postseason. Thanks to a midseason trade for Pau Gasol, they entered the playoffs as the top seed in the west for the first time since 2000.
The Phoenix Suns entered their fourth consecutive postseason. However, they lost to the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in the first round.
The Atlanta Hawks made the playoffs for the first time since 1999, taking the top seed and eventual champion Boston Celtics to seven games before bowing out.
The New Orleans Hornets made the playoffs for the first time since 2004 and for the first time as a member of the Western Conference. This was notable since this marks the playoff debut of Chris Paul and the Hornets’ first postseason appearance after Hurricane Katrina, pushing the defending champions San Antonio Spurs to seven games in the Conference Semifinals before bowing out. The Hornets would not win another playoff series until 2018, in which they were now known today as the Pelicans. To date, 2008 was the closest the New Orleans franchise had ever come from reaching the Conference Finals; as of 2024 the Pelicans and the Charlotte Hornets are the only active teams to never advance to the Conference Finals.
The Golden State Warriors won 48 games, more than 5 of the 8 playoff teams in the Eastern Conference. However, all eight qualifiers in the Western Conference finished with at least 50 wins, thus leaving the Warriors out of the postseason.
The New Jersey Nets missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001, largely due to a trade that sent Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks. The Miami Heat missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003, thanks to a league worst 15–67 record. It also marked the first NBA postseason since 2003 not to feature Dwyane Wade. The Chicago Bulls also missed the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
With their first round series victory over the Toronto Raptors, the Orlando Magic won their first playoff series since 1996. However, they lost to the Detroit Pistons in the Conference Semifinals.
With their first round sweep of the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Lakers won their first playoff series since 2004 (when they last made the NBA Finals). It also marked the only sweep of the 2008 playoffs.
With their conference semifinals win over the Orlando Magic, the Detroit Pistons entered their sixth consecutive conference finals. The Pistons also became the first team since the Showtime Lakers to accomplish this feat. As of 2024, this remains The Pistons’ most recent series win.
Game 7 of the conference semifinals between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers became notable for a duel between Paul Pierce and LeBron James, who scored 41 and 45 points, respectively. The Celtics won this game and advanced to the conference finals.
With their conference finals win over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Lakers returned to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2004. They also became the first top seed since 2003 to make the NBA Finals.
With their conference finals win over the Detroit Pistons, the Boston Celtics made the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987. As of 2024, Game 4 of the Conference Finals was The Pistons’ most recent playoff win.
For the first time since 2000, the top seeds from each Conference met in the NBA Finals. The 2008 Finals was also the first since 1998 to feature neither Shaquille O'Neal nor Tim Duncan.
The Boston Celtics played 26 playoff games (2 games short of a full length postseason of 28), breaking the 25 game record of the 1994 Knicks and 2005 Pistons by 1 game for the most playoff games in a single season played by 1 NBA team. The Knicks, however, only played a Best–of–5 First Round, and so had 2 fewer games to accomplish that feat.

## Playoff qualifying
### Eastern Conference

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:
* Boston Celtics (66–16, clinched Atlantic Division, and home court advantage throughout the playoffs)
* Detroit Pistons (59–23, clinched Central Division title)
* Orlando Magic (52–30, clinched Southeast Division title)
* Cleveland Cavaliers (45–37)
* Washington Wizards (43–39)
* Toronto Raptors (41–41)
* Philadelphia 76ers (40–42)
* Atlanta Hawks (37–45)

### Western Conference

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:
* Los Angeles Lakers (57–25, clinched Pacific Division title, and home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs)
* New Orleans Hornets (56–26, clinched Southwest Division title, 34–18 record vs. Western Conference)
* San Antonio Spurs (56–26, 33–19 record vs. Western Conference)
* Utah Jazz (54–28, clinched Northwest Division title)
* Houston Rockets (55–27, 2–2 head-to-head vs. PHO, 33–19 record vs. Western Conference)
* Phoenix Suns (55–27, 2–2 head-to-head vs. HOU, 31–21 record vs. Western Conference)
* Dallas Mavericks (51–31)
* Denver Nuggets (50–32)

## Bracket

This was the outlook for the 2008 NBA Playoffs. Teams in italics had home court advantage. Teams in bold advanced to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original seeding in their respective conferences. Numbers to the right of each team indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions possess an asterisk (*).
| 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 | Boston* | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E8 | Atlanta | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E8 | Atlanta | 3 | | | E1 | Boston* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E4 | Cleveland | 3 | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Cleveland | 4 | | | E4 | Cleveland | 3 | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Washington | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Washington | 2 | | | | | | E1 | Boston* | 4 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Boston* | 4 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Detroit* | 2 | | | | |
| E3 | Orlando* | 4 | | | | | | | | | E2 | Detroit* | 2 | | | | |
| E6 | Toronto | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E6 | Toronto | 1 | | | E3 | Orlando* | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | E2 | Detroit* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E2 | Detroit* | 4 | | | E2 | Detroit* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E7 | Philadelphia | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E7 | Philadelphia | 2 | | | | | | | | | | E1 | Boston* | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 2 |
| W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 2 |
| W8 | Denver | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W8 | Denver | 0 | | | W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W4 | Utah* | 2 | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Utah* | 4 | | | W4 | Utah* | 2 | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Houston | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Houston | 2 | | | | | | 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 | San Antonio | 1 | | | | |
| W3 | San Antonio | 4 | | | | | | | | | W3 | San Antonio | 1 | | | | |
| W6 | Phoenix | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W6 | Phoenix | 1 | | | W3 | San Antonio | 4 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | W2 | New Orleans* | 3 | | | | | | | |
| W2 | New Orleans* | 4 | | | W2 | New Orleans* | 3 | | | | | | | |
| W7 | Dallas | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage

## First round
### Eastern Conference first round
#### (1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Atlanta Hawks

* TNT
* April 20 8:30 pm (ET)
* Recap
Atlanta Hawks 81, Boston Celtics 104 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–29, 19–20, 15–24, 26–31 |||
| Pts: Al Horford 20 Rebs: Al Horford 10 Asts: Joe Johnson 7 | Pts: Ray Allen 18 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 10 Asts: Rajon Rondo 9 |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 |||
* TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Steve Javie, Jimmy Clark, Luis Grillo
* TNT
* April 23 8:00 pm (ET)
* Recap
Atlanta Hawks 77, Boston Celtics 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–24, 22–28, 16–24, 19–20 |||
| Pts: Smith, Williams 13 Rebs: Al Horford 9 Asts: Horford, Smith 3 | Pts: Kevin Garnett 19 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 10 Asts: Rajon Rondo 8 |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 |||
* TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Bill Spooner, Ed Malloy
* ESPN
* April 26 8:00 pm (ET)
* Recap
Boston Celtics 93, Atlanta Hawks 102 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–32, 30–24, 18–28, 19–18 |||
| Pts: Kevin Garnett 32 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 10 Asts: Paul Pierce 8 | Pts: Josh Smith 26 Rebs: Al Horford 14 Asts: Mike Bibby 8 |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 |||
* Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia Attendance: 19,725 Referees: Violet Palmer, Bennet Salvatore. Tom Washington
* TNT
* April 28 8:00 pm (ET)
* Recap
Boston Celtics 92, Atlanta Hawks 97 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–29, 24–22, 27–14, 17–32 |||
| Pts: Ray Allen 21 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 9 Asts: Rajon Rondo 12 | Pts: Joe Johnson 35 Rebs: Al Horford 13 Asts: Joe Johnson 6 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia Attendance: 20,016 Referees: Mike Callahan, Eddie Rush, Monty McCutchen
* TNT
* April 30 8:30 pm (ET)
* Recap
Atlanta Hawks 85, Boston Celtics 110 :
| Scoring by quarter: 19–27, 24–31, 21–23, 21–29 |||
| Pts: Joe Johnson 21 Rebs: Al Horford 10 Asts: Al Horford 5 | Pts: Paul Pierce 22 Rebs: Paul Pierce 7 Asts: Kevin Garnett 7 |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 |||
* TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: David Jones, Dick Bavetta, Joe Forte
* ESPN
* May 2 8:00 pm (ET)
* Recap
Boston Celtics 100, Atlanta Hawks 103 :
| Scoring by quarter: 32–20, 18–29, 32–30, 18–24 |||
| Pts: Kevin Garnett 22 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 7 Asts: Kevin Garnett 6 | Pts: Marvin Williams 18 Rebs: Mike Bibby 6 Asts: Mike Bibby 7 |
| Series tied, 3–3 |||
* Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia Attendance: 20,425 Referees: Joe Crawford, Mark Wunderlich, Bob Delaney
* ABC
* May 4 1:00 pm (ET)
* Recap
Atlanta Hawks 65, Boston Celtics 99 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16–27, 10–17, 17–35, 22–20 |||
| Pts: Joe Johnson 16 Rebs: Al Horford 12 Asts: Al Horford 3 | Pts: Paul Pierce 22 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 11 Asts: Rajon Rondo 6 |
| Boston wins series, 4–3 |||
* TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Ken Mauer, Dan Crawford, Bennett Salvatore
Boston won 3–0 in the regular-season series :
November 9, 2007
Recap
Atlanta Hawks 83, Boston Celtics 106
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston
March 2, 2008
Recap
Atlanta Hawks 88, Boston Celtics 98
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston
April 12, 2008
Recap
Boston Celtics 99, Atlanta Hawks 89
Philips Arena, Atlanta :
This was the tenth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning eight of the first nine meetings.
Boston leads 8–1 in all-time playoff series :
1957
Boston Celtics 4, St. Louis Hawks 3
1957 NBA Finals
1958
Boston Celtics 2, St. Louis Hawks 4
1958 NBA Finals
1960
Boston Celtics 4, St. Louis Hawks 3
1960 NBA Finals
1961
Boston Celtics 4, St. Louis Hawks 1
1961 NBA Finals
1972
Atlanta Hawks 2, Boston Celtics 4
1972 Eastern Conference Semifinals
1973
Atlanta Hawks 2, Boston Celtics 4
1973 Eastern Conference Semifinals
1983
Atlanta Hawks 1, Boston Celtics 2
1983 Eastern Conference First Round
1986
Atlanta Hawks 1, Boston Celtics 4
1986 Eastern Conference Semifinals
1988
Atlanta Hawks 3, Boston Celtics 4
1988 Eastern Conference Semifinals :
Games 1 and 2 were Celtic routs, keyed by great team defense (Atlanta averaged 79 points in the first 2 games) and balanced Celtic scoring (six players were in double figures in Game 1, five in Game 2). The most buzz was generated by Mike Bibby stating that Celtic fans were bandwagoners after Game 1, prompting boos every time he touched the ball in Game 2.
In Game 3, Atlanta showed its athleticism with an array of dunks from Josh Smith (26 points) and a strong interior performance by the rookie Al Horford (17 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists), who also jawed with Paul Pierce near the end of the game. There would be more jawing in Game 4 between Zaza Pachulia and Kevin Garnett, but the outcome was a surprise: thanks to fourth quarter heroics by Joe Johnson and Smith, who combined to score 32 of Atlanta's 34 4th quarter points, the upstart Hawks rallied from a 10-point third quarter deficit in Game 4 to tie the series going back to Boston. Boston dominated Game 5, but in Game 6, six Hawks players finished in double figures to force a winner-take-all Game 7. The Hawks were no match for the Celtics in Game 7, as the Celtics held them to 26 points in the 1st half. 3 minutes into the 2nd half, the series' tensions finally boiled over when Marvin Williams was ejected for committing a hard foul on Rajon Rondo. Then after that, Kevin Garnett was noted for trucking Zaza Pachulia while going for a screen.

#### (2) Detroit Pistons vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers

* TNT
* April 20 6:00 pm (ET)
* Recap
Philadelphia 76ers 90, Detroit Pistons 86 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–27, 16–24, 25–19, 27–16 |||
| Pts: Andre Miller 20 Rebs: Reggie Evans 14 Asts: Andre Iguodala 8 | Pts: Rasheed Wallace 24 Rebs: Jason Maxiell 11 Asts: Richard Hamilton 4 |
| Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 |||
* The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Tom Washington, Eddie Rush, Monty McCutchen
* NBATV
* April 23 7:30 pm (ET)
* Recap
Philadelphia 76ers 88, Detroit Pistons 105 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–25, 18–28, 26–31, 26–21 |||
| Pts: Lou Williams 17 Rebs: Reggie Evans 11 Asts: Andre Iguodala 4 | Pts: Richard Hamilton 20 Rebs: Antonio McDyess 12 Asts: Richard Hamilton 7 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Steve Javie, Derrick Collins, Mark Wunderlich
* ESPN2
* April 25 7:00 pm (ET)
* Recap
Detroit Pistons 75, Philadelphia 76ers 95 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 20–24, 15–26, 20–25 |||
| Pts: Richard Hamilton 23 Rebs: Richard Hamilton 6 Asts: Rodney Stuckey 5 | Pts: Samuel Dalembert 22 Rebs: Samuel Dalembert 16 Asts: Andre Iguodala 6 |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 |||
* Wachovia Center, Philadelphia Attendance: 18,805 Referees: Joe Crawford, Bill Spooner, Michael Smith
* TNT
* April 27 7:00 pm (ET)
* Recap
Detroit Pistons 93, Philadelphia 76ers 84 :
| Scoring by quarter: 19–25, 17–21, 34–16, 23–22 |||
| Pts: Tayshaun Prince 23 Rebs: Rasheed Wallace 10 Asts: Chauncey Billups 6 | Pts: Thaddeus Young 15 Rebs: Samuel Dalembert 12 Asts: Andre Iguodala 5 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* Wachovia Center, Philadelphia Attendance: 18,347 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Ron Garretson, Derrick Stafford
* NBATV
* April 29 7:00 pm (ET)
* Recap
Philadelphia 76ers 81, Detroit Pistons 98 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–35, 21–19, 17–25, 22–19 |||
| Pts: Andre Iguodala 23 Rebs: Reggie Evans 7 Asts: Andre Iguodala 6 | Pts: Chauncey Billups 21 Rebs: Jason Maxiell 11 Asts: Chauncey Billups 12 |
| Detroit leads series, 3–2 |||
* The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Ken Mauer, Bob Delaney, Tony Brothers
* TNT
* May 1 8:00 pm (ET)
* Recap
Detroit Pistons 100, Philadelphia 76ers 77 :
| Scoring by quarter: 30–12, 21–21, 28–18, 21–26 |||
| Pts: Richard Hamilton 24 Rebs: Tayshaun Prince 7 Asts: Chauncey Billups 7 | Pts: Andre Iguodala 18 Rebs: Reggie Evans 6 Asts: Reggie Evans 7 |
| Detroit wins series, 4–2 |||
* Wachovia Center, Philadelphia Attendance: 14,130 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Scott Foster, Jim Clark
Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series :
November 23, 2007
Recap
Philadelphia 76ers 78, Detroit Pistons 83
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
January 23, 2008
Recap
Detroit Pistons 86, Philadelphia 76ers 78
Wachovia Center, Philadelphia
March 12, 2008
Recap
Philadelphia 76ers 83, Detroit Pistons 82
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
April 9, 2008
Recap
Detroit Pistons 94, Philadelphia 76ers 101
Wachovia Center, Philadelphia :
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning two of the first three meetings. The first meeting took place while the Nationals/76ers franchise were in Syracuse and the Pistons franchise were in Fort Wayne.
Detroit leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series :
1955
Fort Wayne Pistons 3, Syracuse Nationals 4
1955 NBA Finals
2003
Detroit Pistons 4, Philadelphia 76ers 2
2003 Eastern Conference Semifinals
2005
Detroit Pistons 4, Philadelphia 76ers 1
2005 Eastern Conference First Round :
Misses down the stretch by Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace kept the Pistons from beating the Sixers at their home floor as Andre Iguodala grabbed clutch defensive rebounds to seize home court advantage. The Pistons responded with a blowout in Game 2. Game 3 was close at halftime, but Samuel Dalembert and Andre Miller helped to break it open with strong overall performances. Detroit was behind by 10 in Game 4 at halftime and in danger of falling behind 3–1 going back home, but three second-half 3s by Rasheed Wallace and strong showings by Tayshaun Prince and Chauncey Billups keyed an 18-point 3rd quarter turnaround which evened the series. Detroit dominated Game 5 behind Billups's 14 points and 5 first quarter assists, jumping out to a 14-point lead and never looking back. Richard Hamilton keyed a similar start in Game 6, scoring 13 points, as the Pistons took an 18-point first quarter lead and eventually rolled into the second round.

#### (3) Orlando Magic vs. (6) Toronto Raptors

* TNT
* April 20 12:30 pm (ET)
* Recap
Toronto Raptors 100, Orlando Magic 114 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–43, 24–17, 28–25, 25–29 |||
| Pts: Anthony Parker 24 Rebs: Rasho Nesterović 8 Asts: José Calderón 8 | Pts: Dwight Howard 25 Rebs: Dwight Howard 22 Asts: Jameer Nelson 7 |
| Orlando leads series, 1–0 |||
* Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida Attendance: 17,519 Referees: Derrick Stafford, Greg Willard, Joe DeRosa
* NBA TV
* April 22 7:30 pm (ET)
* Recap
Toronto Raptors 103, Orlando Magic 104 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–35, 39–24, 21–24, 25–21 |||
| Pts: Chris Bosh 29 Rebs: Chris Bosh 10 Asts: Bosh, Ford 6 each | Pts: Dwight Howard 29 Rebs: Dwight Howard 20 Asts: Türkoğlu, Lewis 5 each |
| Orlando leads series, 2–0 |||
* Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida Attendance: 17,519 Referees: Jason Phillips, Jim Clark, Bob Delaney
* NBA TV
* April 24 7:30 pm (ET)
* Recap
Orlando Magic 94, Toronto Raptors 108 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–28, 20–33, 29–19, 25–28 |||
| Pts: Hedo Türkoğlu 26 Rebs: Dwight Howard 12 Asts: Jameer Nelson 6 | Pts: T. J. Ford 21 Rebs: Jamario Moon 10 Asts: José Calderón 13 |
| Orlando leads series, 2–1 |||
* Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario Attendance: 20,023 Referees: Violet Palmer, Scott Foster, Dan Crawford
* TNT
* April 26 3:00 pm (ET)
* Recap
Orlando Magic 106, Toronto Raptors 94 :
| Scoring by quarter: 31–26, 17–27, 25–21, 33–20 |||
| Pts: Rashard Lewis 27 Rebs: Dwight Howard 16 Asts: Nelson, Lewis 5 each | Pts: Chris Bosh 39 Rebs: Chris Bosh 15 Asts: T. J. Ford 13 |
| Orlando leads series, 3–1 |||
* Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario Attendance: 20,416 Referees: Derrick Collins, Dick Bavetta, Joe Forte
* NBA TV
* April 28 7:30 pm (ET)
* Recap
Toronto Raptors 92, Orlando Magic 102 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–22, 24–27, 18–25, 24–28 |||
| Pts: Chris Bosh 16 Rebs: Chris Bosh 9 Asts: T. J. Ford 5 | Pts: Dwight Howard 21 Rebs: Dwight Howard 21 Asts: Hedo Türkoğlu 9 |
| Orlando wins series, 4–1 |||
* Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida Attendance: 17,519 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Tom Washington, Marc Davis
Orlando won 2–1 in the regular-season series :
November 7, 2007
Recap
Orlando Magic 105, Toronto Raptors 96
Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
February 20, 2008
Recap
Orlando Magic 110, Toronto Raptors 127
Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
March 4, 2008
Recap
Toronto Raptors 87, Orlando Magic 102
Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida :
This was the first playoff meeting between the Magic and the Raptors.
Scoring 25 points and grabbing 22 rebounds, Dwight Howard gave the Magic their first playoffs win since 2003 as they practically led the entire game. Howard put up 29 and 20 in Game 2, as Hedo Türkoğlu scored the final four go-ahead points to give the Magic a 2–0 lead. The Raptors would respond with a strong Game 3 victory keyed by great point guard play from T. J. Ford and José Calderón. But Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis and Keith Bogans keyed strong three point shooting in Game 4 and overcame Chris Bosh's 39 points and 15 rebounds to bring the Magic out of Toronto with a 3–1 lead. Howard finished off the series in Game 5 as impressively as he started–21 points, 21 rebounds, 3 blocks giving the Magic their first playoff series victory since 1996.

#### (4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Washington Wizards

* ESPN
* April 19 12:30 pm
* Recap
Washington Wizards 86, Cleveland Cavaliers 93 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–19, 22–27, 23–19, 17–28 |||
| Pts: Antawn Jamison 23 Rebs: Antawn Jamison 19 Asts: DeShawn Stevenson 5 | Pts: LeBron James 32 Rebs: Zydrunas Ilgauskas 11 Asts: West, Gibson 5 each |
| Cleveland leads series, 1–0 |||
* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Bob Delaney, Scott Foster, David Jones
* TNT
* April 21 7:00 pm
* Recap
Washington Wizards 86, Cleveland Cavaliers 116 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–27, 18–26, 23–33, 23–30 |||
| Pts: three players 12 each Rebs: Antawn Jamison 9 Asts: Caron Butler 5 | Pts: LeBron James 30 Rebs: Ilgauskas, James 9 each Asts: LeBron James 12 |
| Cleveland leads series, 2–0 |||
* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Dan Crawford, Rodney Mott, Mark Wunderlich
* TNT
* April 24 8:00 pm
* Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 72, Washington Wizards 108 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17–21, 16–28, 18–28, 21–31 |||
| Pts: LeBron James 22 Rebs: Anderson Varejão 9 Asts: three players 3 each | Pts: DeShawn Stevenson 19 Rebs: Jamison, Blatche 7 each Asts: Antonio Daniels 6 |
| Cleveland leads series, 2–1 |||
* Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. Attendance: 20,173 Referees: Jim Clark, Sean Corbin, Eddie Rush
* ABC
* April 27 1:00 pm
* Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 100, Washington Wizards 97 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–28, 30–16, 26–29, 20–24 |||
| Pts: LeBron James 34 Rebs: James, Wallace 12 each Asts: LeBron James 7 | Pts: Antawn Jamison 23 Rebs: Antawn Jamison 11 Asts: DeShawn Stevenson 5 |
| Cleveland leads series, 3–1 |||
* Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. Attendance: 20,173 Referees: Joe Crawford, Michael Smith, Bill Spooner
* TNT
* April 30 6:00 pm
* Recap
Washington Wizards 88, Cleveland Cavaliers 87 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–16, 22–27, 24–22, 19–22 |||
| Pts: Caron Butler 32 Rebs: Antawn Jamison 11 Asts: Caron Butler 5 | Pts: LeBron James 34 Rebs: LeBron James 10 Asts: Delonte West 8 |
| Cleveland leads series, 3–2 |||
* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Mike Callahan, James Capers, Joe Derosa
* ESPN2
* May 2 7:00 pm
* Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 105, Washington Wizards 88 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–31, 29–17, 23–16, 26–24 |||
| Pts: LeBron James 27 Rebs: LeBron James 13 Asts: LeBron James 13 | Pts: Antawn Jamison 23 Rebs: Antawn Jamison 15 Asts: Antonio Daniels 5 |
| Cleveland wins series, 4–2 |||
* Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. Attendance: 20,173 Referees: Steve Javie, Ken Mauer, Tom Washington
Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series :
December 5, 2007
Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 86, Washington Wizards 105
Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
January 23, 2008
Recap
Washington Wizards 85, Cleveland Cavaliers 121
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
February 22, 2008
Recap
Washington Wizards 89, Cleveland Cavaliers 90
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
March 13, 2008
Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 99, Washington Wizards 101
Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. :
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Cavaliers winning three of the first four meetings.
Cleveland leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series :
1976
Cleveland Cavaliers 4, Washington Bullets 3
1976 Eastern Conference Semifinals
1977
Cleveland Cavaliers 1, Washington Bullets 2
1977 Eastern Conference First Round
2006
Cleveland Cavaliers 4, Washington Wizards 2
2006 Eastern Conference First Round
2007
Cleveland Cavaliers 4, Washington Wizards 0
2007 Eastern Conference First Round :
LeBron James, labeled as "overrated" by Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson, scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half to help the Cavs draw first blood in their third first round meeting in as many years. The Cavs and Wizards traded blowouts in Games 2 and 3, but Cleveland took a 3–1 lead in the Verizon Center off of Delonte West's last second 3. Washington stayed alive by winning Game 5 when Caron Butler converted a running shot with only seconds left, capping off his 32-point performance. However, James led the Cavs to a dominating Game 6 victory in Washington with a triple-double (27 points, 13 rebounds, 13 assists); he also received crucial outside shooting from Wally Szczerbiak and Daniel Gibson, who combined for 48 points.
This series was marked by several physical plays on James, with Brendan Haywood, Stevenson, and Darius Songaila picking up technical and flagrant fouls for hard contact on him.

### Western Conference first round
#### (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Denver Nuggets

* ABC
* April 20 12:00 pm
* Recap
Denver Nuggets 114, Los Angeles Lakers 128 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–26, 34–32, 22–39, 36–31 |||
| Pts: Iverson, Anthony 30 each Rebs: Carmelo Anthony 12 Asts: Allen Iverson 7 | Pts: Pau Gasol 36 Rebs: Pau Gasol 16 Asts: Pau Gasol 8 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 1–0 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Joe Crawford, Marc Davis, Ken Mauer
* TNT
* April 23 7:30 pm
* Recap
Denver Nuggets 107, Los Angeles Lakers 122 :
| Scoring by quarter: 32–33, 17–26, 30–30, 28–33 |||
| Pts: Allen Iverson 31 Rebs: Marcus Camby 17 Asts: Allen Iverson 6 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 49 Rebs: Pau Gasol 10 Asts: Kobe Bryant 10 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–0 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Luis Grillo, Monty McCutchen, Bennett Salvatore
* TNT
* April 26 3:30 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 102, Denver Nuggets 84 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–20, 30–26, 30–18, 19–20 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 22 Rebs: three players 7 each Asts: Kobe Bryant 8 | Pts: Carmelo Anthony 16 Rebs: Marcus Camby 12 Asts: Marcus Camby 4 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 3–0 |||
* Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado Attendance: 19,602 Referees: Dan Crawford, Bill Kennedy, Greg Willard
* TNT
* April 28 8:30 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 107, Denver Nuggets 101 :
| Scoring by quarter: 32–23, 32–31, 15–23, 28–24 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 31 Rebs: Lamar Odom 12 Asts: Kobe Bryant 6 | Pts: Allen Iverson 22 Rebs: Marcus Camby 17 Asts: Anthony Carter 6 |
| LA Lakers win series, 4–0 |||
* Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado Attendance: 19,264 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Joe Forte, Courtney Kirkland
Los Angeles won 3–0 in the regular-season series :
November 29, 2007
Recap
Denver Nuggets 99, Los Angeles Lakers 127
Staples Center, Los Angeles
December 5, 2007
Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 111, Denver Nuggets 107
Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
January 21, 2008
Recap
Denver Nuggets 99, Los Angeles Lakers 116
Staples Center, Los Angeles :
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first three meetings.
Los Angeles leads 3–0 in all-time playoff series :
1979
Denver Nuggets 1, Los Angeles Lakers 2
1979 Western Conference First Round
1985
Denver Nuggets 1, Los Angeles Lakers 4
1985 Western Conference Finals
1987
Denver Nuggets 0, Los Angeles Lakers 3
1987 Western Conference First Round :
In Pau Gasol's playoff debut with the Lakers, he scored 36 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 blocks as the Lakers beat the Nuggets in Game 1. Kobe Bryant gave the fans a vintage performance in Game 2 by scoring 49 points and adding 10 assists in a blowout at Staples Center. The Nuggets were routed at home in Game 3, with Carmelo Anthony stating the team quit in the second half. Game 4 was closer, but Bryant led the Lakers with 14 points in the last 5½ minutes to sweep the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. It was the first time the Lakers advanced to the second round since the 2004 season. The Lakers led at the end of every quarter throughout the whole series, only the seventh time that had happened in NBA history.

#### (2) New Orleans Hornets vs. (7) Dallas Mavericks

* ESPN
* April 19 6:00 pm
* Recap
Dallas Mavericks 92, New Orleans Hornets 104 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–19, 26–21, 20–36, 20–28 |||
| Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 31 Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 10 Asts: Jason Kidd 9 | Pts: Chris Paul 35 Rebs: Tyson Chandler 15 Asts: Chris Paul 10 |
| New Orleans leads series, 1–0 |||
* New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana Attendance: 17,446 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Sean Corbin, Joe Forte
* TNT
* April 22 6:00 pm
* Recap
Dallas Mavericks 103, New Orleans Hornets 127 :
| Scoring by quarter: 29–39, 22–28, 28–32, 24–28 |||
| Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 27 Rebs: Brandon Bass 8 Asts: Jason Kidd 8 | Pts: Chris Paul 32 Rebs: Tyson Chandler 11 Asts: Chris Paul 17 |
| New Orleans leads series, 2–0 |||
* New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana Attendance: 17,855 Referees: Joe Crawford, Courtney Kirkland, Greg Willard
* ESPN
* April 25 7:00 pm
* Recap
New Orleans Hornets 87, Dallas Mavericks 97 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16–23, 24–24, 23–27, 24–23 |||
| Pts: Jannero Pargo 30 Rebs: Tyson Chandler 11 Asts: Chris Paul 10 | Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 32 Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 19 Asts: Nowitzki, Terry 6 each |
| New Orleans leads series, 2–1 |||
* American Airlines Center, Dallas Attendance: 20,839 Referees: Tony Brothers, Joe DeRosa, Ron Garretson
* TNT
* April 27 8:30 pm
* Recap
New Orleans Hornets 97, Dallas Mavericks 84 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–30, 25–14, 28–22, 21–18 |||
| Pts: David West 30 Rebs: David West 9 Asts: Chris Paul 8 | Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 22 Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 13 Asts: three players 3 each |
| New Orleans leads series, 3–1 |||
* American Airlines Center, Dallas Attendance: 20,644 Referees: James Capers, Steve Javie, Mark Wunderlich
* TNT
* April 29 6:00 pm
* Recap
Dallas Mavericks 94, New Orleans Hornets 99 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–28, 17–26, 24–17, 31–28 |||
| Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 22 Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 13 Asts: Terry, Kidd 9 each | Pts: David West 29 Rebs: Tyson Chandler 14 Asts: Chris Paul 15 |
| New Orleans wins series, 4–1 |||
* New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana Attendance: 18,260 Referees: Dan Crawford, Scott Foster, Bill Kennedy
Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series :
December 1, 2007
Recap
Dallas Mavericks 108, New Orleans Hornets 112 (OT)
New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
December 14, 2007
Recap
New Orleans Hornets 80, Dallas Mavericks 89
American Airlines Center, Dallas
February 20, 2008
Recap
Dallas Mavericks 93, New Orleans Hornets 104
New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
April 16, 2008
Recap
New Orleans Hornets 98, Dallas Mavericks 111
American Airlines Center, Dallas :
This was the first playoff meeting between the Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans/Hornets franchise.
In his playoff debut, Chris Paul scored 35 points, dished out 10 assists, and stole the ball 4 times to lead the Hornets to a comeback home win against the Mavericks. He would replicate that type of performance in Game 2 with 32 points and 17 assists. Dallas would come out with a dominant Game 3 performance at home after inserting Jason Terry into the starting lineup, but New Orleans would win the final 2 games of the series, keyed by David West in Game 4 and Paul's triple-double in Game 5.

#### (3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Phoenix Suns

* ABC
* April 19 2:00 pm
* Recap
Phoenix Suns 115, San Antonio Spurs 117 (2OT) :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–20, 24–20, 23–25, 22–28, Overtime: 11–11, 11–13 |||
| Pts: Steve Nash 25 Rebs: Leandro Barbosa 8 Asts: Steve Nash 13 | Pts: Tim Duncan 40 Rebs: Tim Duncan 15 Asts: three players 5 each |
| San Antonio leads series, 1–0 |||
* AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Tony Brothers, Mike Callahan, Bennett Salvatore
* TNT
* April 22 8:30 pm
* Recap
Phoenix Suns 96, San Antonio Spurs 102 :
| Scoring by quarter: 35–26, 26–28, 11–27, 24–21 |||
| Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 33 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 14 Asts: Steve Nash 10 | Pts: Tony Parker 32 Rebs: Tim Duncan 17 Asts: Tony Parker 7 |
| San Antonio leads series, 2–0 |||
* AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Ken Mauer, Leon Wood
* ESPN
* April 25 7:30 pm
* Recap
San Antonio Spurs 115, Phoenix Suns 99 :
| Scoring by quarter: 33–19, 28–28, 30–25, 24–27 |||
| Pts: Tony Parker 41 Rebs: Tim Duncan 10 Asts: Tony Parker 12 | Pts: Amar'e Stoudemire 28 Rebs: Amar'e Stoudemire 11 Asts: Steve Nash 9 |
| San Antonio leads series, 3–0 |||
* US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona Attendance: 18,422 Referees: James Capers, Steve Javie, Monty McCutchen
* ABC
* April 27 1:30 pm
* Recap
San Antonio Spurs 86, Phoenix Suns 105 :
| Scoring by quarter: 13–34, 30–31, 22–28, 21–12 |||
| Pts: Tony Parker 18 Rebs: Tim Duncan 10 Asts: Tony Parker 3 | Pts: Raja Bell 27 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 12 Asts: Boris Diaw 8 |
| San Antonio leads series, 3–1 |||
* US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona Attendance: 18,422 Referees: Bob Delaney, Scott Foster, David Jones
* TNT
* April 29 8:30 pm
* Recap
Phoenix Suns 87, San Antonio Spurs 92 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–30, 19–24, 27–15, 15–23 |||
| Pts: Boris Diaw 22 Rebs: Amar'e Stoudemire 11 Asts: Boris Diaw 8 | Pts: Tony Parker 31 Rebs: Tim Duncan 17 Asts: Tony Parker 8 |
| San Antonio wins series, 4–1 |||
* AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Joe Crawford, Derrick Stafford, Greg Willard
Phoenix won 3–1 in the regular-season series :
December 17, 2007
Recap
Phoenix Suns 100, San Antonio Spurs 95
AT&T Center, San Antonio
January 31, 2008
Recap
San Antonio Spurs 84, Phoenix Suns 81
US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
March 9, 2008
Recap
San Antonio Spurs 87, Phoenix Suns 94
US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
April 9, 2008
Recap
Phoenix Suns 96, San Antonio Spurs 79
AT&T Center, San Antonio :
This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning five of the first eight meetings.
San Antonio leads 5–3 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 :
Michael Finley made a game-tying three in regulation, Tim Duncan scored 40 points, including a rare three-point field goal to force a second overtime, and Manu Ginóbili clinched victory with a drive to the basket to break the 115-all deadlock with 1.8 seconds left to win a classic Game 1. Tony Parker would then pace the Spurs to their next two victories in the series, scoring 32 and 41 in Games 2 and 3 respectively. At the brink of elimination, Phoenix responded with a strong Game 4. But costly missed free throws by Shaquille O'Neal and key turnovers by Steve Nash helped San Antonio to prevail in Game 5, led again by Parker's 31 points.
Also notable was Gregg Popovich's use of the Hack-a-Shaq throughout the series to disrupt the Suns offense when Shaquille O'Neal was on the floor. O'Neal would shoot 64 free throws in the five games, making 32 of them.

#### (4) Utah Jazz vs. (5) Houston Rockets

* ESPN
* April 19 8:30 pm
* Recap
Utah Jazz 93, Houston Rockets 82 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 24–23, 21–19, 25–22 |||
| Pts: Andrei Kirilenko 21 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 16 Asts: Deron Williams 10 | Pts: Shane Battier 22 Rebs: Luis Scola 13 Asts: Tracy McGrady 7 |
| Utah leads series, 1–0 |||
* Toyota Center, Houston, Texas Attendance: 18,213 Referees: Dan Crawford, Ron Garretson, Bill Kennedy
* TNT
* April 21 8:30 pm
* Recap
Utah Jazz 90, Houston Rockets 84 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–17, 21–24, 22–26, 21–17 |||
| Pts: Deron Williams 22 Rebs: Mehmet Okur 16 Asts: Deron Williams 5 | Pts: Tracy McGrady 23 Rebs: Tracy McGrady 13 Asts: Tracy McGrady 9 |
| Utah leads series, 2–0 |||
* Toyota Center, Houston, Texas Attendance: 18,158 Referees: Tony Brothers, Mike Callahan, Bennett Salvatore
* TNT
* April 24 8:30 pm
* Recap
Houston Rockets 94, Utah Jazz 92 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–23, 17–21, 26–32, 24–16 |||
| Pts: Tracy McGrady 27 Rebs: Carl Landry 11 Asts: Tracy McGrady 7 | Pts: Deron Williams 28 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 13 Asts: Deron Williams 12 |
| Utah leads series, 2–1 |||
* EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Bob Delaney, Tom Washington, Leon Wood
* ESPN
* April 26 8:30 pm
* Recap
Houston Rockets 82, Utah Jazz 86 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–21, 15–25, 23–20, 21–20 |||
| Pts: Tracy McGrady 23 Rebs: Tracy McGrady 10 Asts: Tracy McGrady 8 | Pts: Deron Williams 17 Rebs: Mehmet Okur 18 Asts: Deron Williams 9 |
| Utah leads series, 3–1 |||
* EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Marc Davis, Ken Mauer, Eddie Rush
* NBA TV
* April 29 8:30 pm
* Recap
Utah Jazz 69, Houston Rockets 95 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16–18, 16–25, 23–31, 14–21 |||
| Pts: Carlos Boozer 19 Rebs: Okur, Boozer 10 each Asts: Deron Williams 6 | Pts: Tracy McGrady 29 Rebs: Luis Scola 12 Asts: Rafer Alston 6 |
| Utah leads series, 3–2 |||
* Toyota Center, Houston, Texas Attendance: 18,269 Referees: Sean Corbin, Steve Javie, Mark Wunderlich
* ESPN
* May 2 8:30 pm
* Recap
Houston Rockets 91, Utah Jazz 113 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–32, 32–26, 11–27, 26–28 |||
| Pts: Tracy McGrady 40 Rebs: Tracy McGrady 10 Asts: Tracy McGrady 5 | Pts: Deron Williams 25 Rebs: Mehmet Okur 13 Asts: Deron Williams 9 |
| Utah wins series, 4–2 |||
* EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford
Utah won 2–1 in the regular-season series :
November 1, 2007
Recap
Houston Rockets 106, Utah Jazz 95
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City
January 27, 2008
Recap
Utah Jazz 97, Houston Rockets 89
Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
April 14, 2008
Recap
Houston Rockets 96, Utah Jazz 105
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City :
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning four of the first six meetings.
Utah leads 4–2 in all-time playoff series :
1985
Houston Rockets 2, Utah Jazz 3
1985 Western Conference First Round
1994
Houston Rockets 4, Utah Jazz 1
1994 Western Conference Finals
1995
Houston Rockets 3, Utah Jazz 2
1995 Western Conference First Round
1997
Houston Rockets 2, Utah Jazz 4
1997 Western Conference Finals
1998
Houston Rockets 2, Utah Jazz 3
1998 Western Conference First Round
2007
Houston Rockets 3, Utah Jazz 4
2007 Western Conference First Round :
The Jazz had a balanced game from Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams to steal the home court advantage away from the Rockets. A similar performance in Game 2 put Utah in a commanding 2–0 lead going back to Salt Lake City. Rafer Alston's return to the Houston lineup after injury, along with Tracy McGrady's 27 points and Carl Landry's key block of Deron Williams helped Houston steal Game 3 on the road. Williams responded with a strong performance in a Game 4 victory, plus got some help from Mehmet Okur with his offensive rebound off of his two missed free throws. The Rockets controlled Game 5 to stay alive, but despite getting 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists from McGrady in Game 6 and 15 pts from Luis Scola, the rest of the team shot 10/39 from the field and could not overcome losing Alston to an ankle injury as the Jazz blew the game open with a 27–11 3rd quarter.

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

* TNT
* May 6 8:00 pm
* Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 72, Boston Celtics 76 :
| Scoring by quarter: 15–25, 22–16, 15–12, 20–23 |||
| Pts: Zydrunas Ilgauskas 22 Rebs: Zydrunas Ilgauskas 12 Asts: LeBron James 9 | Pts: Kevin Garnett 28 Rebs: Kendrick Perkins 12 Asts: Rajon Rondo 6 |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 |||
* TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Scott Foster, Eddie Rush, Michael Smith
* ESPN
* May 8 7:00 pm
* Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 73, Boston Celtics 89 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–17, 12–27, 15–26, 22–19 |||
| Pts: LeBron James 21 Rebs: Anderson Varejão 10 Asts: LeBron James 6 | Pts: Paul Pierce 19 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 12 Asts: Rajon Rondo 6 |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 |||
* TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Joe Crawford, Bill Spooner, Derrick Stafford
* ABC
* May 10 8:00 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 84, Cleveland Cavaliers 108 :
| Scoring by quarter: 13–32, 22–20, 28–27, 21–29 |||
| Pts: Kevin Garnett 17 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 9 Asts: Paul Pierce 5 | Pts: James, West 21 each Rebs: Ben Wallace 9 Asts: LeBron James 8 |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 |||
* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Bob Delaney, Steve Javie, Mark Wunderlich
* TNT
* May 12 8:00 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 77, Cleveland Cavaliers 88 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 22–22, 22–23, 12–20 |||
| Pts: three players 15 each Rebs: Kevin Garnett 10 Asts: Garnett, Rondo 4 each | Pts: LeBron James 21 Rebs: Ilgauskas, Wallace 7 each Asts: LeBron James 13 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Jim Clark, Bennett Salvatore, Greg Willard
* TNT
* May 14 8:00 pm
* Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 89, Boston Celtics 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 23–25, 17–29, 26–24 |||
| Pts: LeBron James 35 Rebs: Ilgauskas, Varejão 7 each Asts: LeBron James 5 | Pts: Paul Pierce 29 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 16 Asts: Rajon Rondo 13 |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 |||
* TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Tony Brothers, Dan Crawford, Ron Garretson
* ESPN
* May 16 8:00 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 69, Cleveland Cavaliers 74 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–18, 15–24, 17–17, 19–15 |||
| Pts: Kevin Garnett 25 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 8 Asts: Rajon Rondo 5 | Pts: LeBron James 32 Rebs: LeBron James 12 Asts: LeBron James 6 |
| Series tied, 3–3 |||
* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Joe DeRosa, Joe Forte
* ABC
* May 18 3:30 pm
* Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 92, Boston Celtics 97 :
| Scoring by quarter: 13–18, 27–32, 28–23, 24–24 |||
| Pts: LeBron James 45 Rebs: Joe Smith 6 Asts: LeBron James 6 | Pts: Paul Pierce 41 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 13 Asts: Rajon Rondo 8 |
| Boston wins series, 4–3 |||
* TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Ken Mauer, Eddie Rush, Bennett Salvatore
Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series :
November 27, 2007
Recap
Boston Celtics 104, Cleveland Cavaliers 109 (OT)
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
December 2, 2007
Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 70, Boston Celtics 80
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston
February 5, 2008
Recap
Boston Celtics 113, Cleveland Cavaliers 114
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
February 27, 2008
Recap
Cleveland Cavaliers 87, Boston Celtics 92
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston :
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning two of the first three meetings.
Boston leads 2–1 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 :
Although the Celtics had a quick turnaround from their unexpected seven-game series with Atlanta, they managed to hold off the Cavs by winning the first two games in Boston. Kevin Garnett scored 28 points and 8 rebounds and made the go-ahead shot in Game 1. LeBron James would only shoot 8 for 42 from the field in the first 2 games.
Cleveland would come back to win the next two games, Game 3, a blowout where five Cavs scored in double figures, and Game 4 where James would punctuate the victory with a dunk over Garnett. James's shooting improved in the return to the Garden in Game 5, but received minimal help from his teammates as Rajon Rondo, Garnett, and Paul Pierce all scored over 20 points to push Boston over the top. Game 6 was an ugly affair, with both teams shooting under 40 percent, but a 32–12–6 performance by James was enough. Boston, the best road team in the regular season, fell to 0–6 on the road.
Game 7 would end in a duel between Pierce (41 points) and James (45 points) that some compared to the Bird–Wilkins duel in the 1988 Eastern Conference Semifinals. But timely offensive rebounding (10 in all), 18 second chance points, and a few key shots from Celtics veteran P.J. Brown helped push Boston into the Eastern Conference Finals.

#### (2) Detroit Pistons vs. (3) Orlando Magic

* TNT
* May 3 7:30 pm
* Recap
Orlando Magic 72, Detroit Pistons 91 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 20–21, 16–22, 14–26 |||
| Pts: Lewis, Türkoğlu 18 each Rebs: Dwight Howard 8 Asts: Jameer Nelson 5 | Pts: Chauncey Billups 19 Rebs: Jason Maxiell 9 Asts: Chauncey Billups 7 |
| Detroit leads series, 1–0 |||
* The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Sean Corbin, Monty McCutchen
* TNT
* May 5 7:00 pm
* Recap
Orlando Magic 93, Detroit Pistons 100 :
| Scoring by quarter: 29–29, 11–21, 36–28, 17–22 |||
| Pts: Howard, Nelson 22 Rebs: Dwight Howard 18 Asts: Hedo Türkoğlu 7 | Pts: Chauncey Billups 28 Rebs: Tayshaun Prince 10 Asts: Tayshaun Prince 5 |
| Detroit leads series, 2–0 |||
* The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Joe Forte, Steve Javie, Derrick Stafford
* TNT
* May 7 8:00 pm
* Recap
Detroit Pistons 86, Orlando Magic 111 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16–30, 26–24, 27–19, 17–38 |||
| Pts: Richard Hamilton 24 Rebs: Tayshaun Prince 7 Asts: Hamilton, Prince 3 each | Pts: Rashard Lewis 33 Rebs: Dwight Howard 12 Asts: Hedo Türkoğlu 6 |
| Detroit leads series, 2–1 |||
* Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida Attendance: 17,519 Referees: Joe Forte, Steve Javie, Derrick Stafford
* ESPN
* May 10 5:00 pm
* Recap
Detroit Pistons 90, Orlando Magic 89 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–27, 23–28, 26–15, 20–19 |||
| Pts: Richard Hamilton 32 Rebs: Antonio McDyess 14 Asts: Tayshaun Prince 5 | Pts: Hedo Türkoğlu 20 Rebs: Dwight Howard 12 Asts: Hedo Türkoğlu 4 |
| Detroit leads series, 3–1 |||
* Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida Attendance: 17,519 Referees: Mike Callahan, Joe Crawford, Tom Washington
* TNT
* May 13 7:00 pm
* Recap
Orlando Magic 86, Detroit Pistons 91 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 21–27, 27–18, 18–26 |||
| Pts: Hedo Türkoğlu 18 Rebs: Dwight Howard 17 Asts: Hedo Türkoğlu 7 | Pts: Richard Hamilton 31 Rebs: Antonio McDyess 11 Asts: Rodney Stuckey 6 |
| Detroit wins series, 4–1 |||
* The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Scott Foster, Ken Mauer, Eddie Rush
Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series :
November 2, 2007
Recap
Detroit Pistons 116, Orlando Magic 92
Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
January 21, 2008
Recap
Detroit Pistons 100, Orlando Magic 102
Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
January 25, 2008
Recap
Orlando Magic 93, Detroit Pistons 101
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
February 19, 2008
Recap
Orlando Magic 103, Detroit Pistons 85
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan :
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning two of the first three meetings.
Detroit leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series :
1996
Detroit Pistons 0, Orlando Magic 3
1996 Eastern Conference First Round
2003
Detroit Pistons 4, Orlando Magic 3
2003 Eastern Conference First Round
2007
Detroit Pistons 4, Orlando Magic 0
2007 Eastern Conference First Round :
The Pistons opened up with a rout in Game 1, as Detroit's big men keyed in on Dwight Howard and forced him to playoff lows 12 points and 8 rebounds, with five Pistons scoring in double figures. After being quiet in Game 1, the Magic's 3-point shooting picked up (11/26, with Jameer Nelson making 5-of-8), but could not overcome 19 turnovers and fell down in the series 2–0. There was a controversial call at the end of the third quarter, where Chauncey Billups made a 3 near the end of the 3rd quarter when the clock froze and approximately 0.5 seconds remained, but TNT clocks later revealed that Billups could not have gotten the ball off in time.
The Magic would take a 24–6 lead at home in Game 3 and use a 38–17 4th quarter to blow out Detroit; they were paced by 33 points by Rashard Lewis. Billups would injure his right hamstring early in the game and miss the remainder of the series, but they would not need him for Game 4 as Richard Hamilton scored 32 points and the Pistons came from 15 back in the 3rd quarter. Tayshaun Prince made the go-ahead basket with 8.9 seconds left and Hedo Türkoğlu missed a layup as time ran out.
Billups's starting replacement, Rodney Stuckey, struggled in Game 4, but came back with a strong Game 5. The Magic would outshoot the Pistons 48 to 36 percent, would make 36 percent of their 3s compared to 21 percent for Detroit, and outrebound them 46 to 38, but turned the ball over 21 times while Detroit had only 3. Rip Hamilton again led Detroit with 31 points, and Prince made the crucial defensive play by blocking Türkoğlu's layup in the waning seconds. Detroit advanced to their sixth straight Eastern Conference Finals, the longest Conference Finals streak since the Los Angeles Lakers went to eight straight in the 80s. As of 2024, this was most recent postseason series win by the Pistons.

### Western Conference semifinals
#### (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Utah Jazz

* ABC
* May 4 1:30 pm
* Recap
Utah Jazz 98, Los Angeles Lakers 109 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–25, 17–29, 31–25, 26–30 |||
| Pts: Mehmet Okur 21 Rebs: Mehmet Okur 19 Asts: Deron Williams 9 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 38 Rebs: Pau Gasol 10 Asts: Kobe Bryant 7 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 1–0 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Jim Clark, Joe Crawford, Ron Garretson
* TNT
* May 7 7:30 pm
* Recap
Utah Jazz 110, Los Angeles Lakers 120 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–33, 31–30, 34–30, 27–27 |||
| Pts: Deron Williams 25 Rebs: Paul Millsap 10 Asts: Deron Williams 10 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 34 Rebs: Lamar Odom 16 Asts: Kobe Bryant 6 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–0 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Tony Brothers, Dan Crawford, Greg Willard
* ESPN
* May 9 7:00 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 99, Utah Jazz 104 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 20–29, 29–27, 27–25 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 34 Rebs: Lamar Odom 12 Asts: Kobe Bryant 7 | Pts: Carlos Boozer 27 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 20 Asts: Deron Williams 12 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–1 |||
* EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Ken Mauer, Monty McCutchen
* ABC
* May 11 1:30 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 115, Utah Jazz 123 (OT) :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–31, 34–24, 20–24, 33–29, Overtime: 7–15 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 33 Rebs: Lamar Odom 13 Asts: Kobe Bryant 10 | Pts: Deron Williams 29 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 12 Asts: Deron Williams 14 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City Attendance: 19,911 Referees: Sean Corbin, Joe DeRosa, Eddie Rush
* TNT
* May 14 7:30 pm
* Recap
Utah Jazz 104, Los Angeles Lakers 111 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–29, 28–32, 27–20, 23–30 |||
| Pts: Deron Williams 27 Rebs: Mehmet Okur 13 Asts: Deron Williams 10 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 26 Rebs: Lamar Odom 11 Asts: Pau Gasol 8 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 3–2 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Bob Delaney, Steve Javie, Tom Washington
* ESPN
* May 16 8:30 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 108, Utah Jazz 105 :
| Scoring by quarter: 33–20, 29–23, 24–27, 22–35 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 34 Rebs: Pau Gasol 13 Asts: Kobe Bryant 6 | Pts: Deron Williams 21 Rebs: Carlos Boozer 14 Asts: Deron Williams 14 |
| LA Lakers win series, 4–2 |||
* EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City Attendance: 19,911 Referees: James Capers, Joe Crawford, Scott Foster
Los Angeles won 3–1 in the regular-season series :
November 4, 2007
Recap
Utah Jazz 109, Los Angeles Lakers 119
Staples Center, Los Angeles
November 30, 2007
Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 96, Utah Jazz 120
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City
December 28, 2007
Recap
Utah Jazz 109, Los Angeles Lakers 123
Staples Center, Los Angeles
March 20, 2008
Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 106, Utah Jazz 95
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 :
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 :
The Lakers took Game 1 in Staples Center, winning by 11 against the Jazz. After being presented with the season's NBA MVP award in Game 2, Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to victory with 34 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. However, as the series shifted back to Utah, the Jazz responded, winning Games 3 and 4 behind the performances of Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, who bounced back after two poor games in Los Angeles. The Lakers came back with authority as they took Game 5 with Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom scoring 20 plus points each. The Jazz looked to force a Game 7, but the Lakers did not trail and closed out the series in Game 6 with a 108–105 win at Utah, where the Jazz were 37–4 during the regular season. Bryant led the team with 34 points as the Lakers advanced to the Western Conference Finals, which they had not reached since 2004. This was the first playoff meeting between the two teams since the 1998 Western Conference Finals.

#### (2) New Orleans Hornets vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs

* TNT
* May 3 9:00 pm
* Recap
San Antonio Spurs 82, New Orleans Hornets 101 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–23, 22–22, 17–29, 16–27 |||
| Pts: Tony Parker 23 Rebs: Ginóbili, Oberto 6 each Asts: Manu Ginóbili 7 | Pts: David West 30 Rebs: Tyson Chandler 15 Asts: Chris Paul 13 |
| New Orleans leads series, 1–0 |||
* New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana Attendance: 18,040 Referees: Mike Callahan, Marc Davis, Eddie Rush
* TNT
* May 5 8:30 pm
* Recap
San Antonio Spurs 84, New Orleans Hornets 102 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–22, 20–20, 18–36, 23–24 |||
| Pts: Tim Duncan 18 Rebs: Tim Duncan 8 Asts: Manu Ginóbili 7 | Pts: Chris Paul 30 Rebs: Tyson Chandler 11 Asts: Chris Paul 12 |
| New Orleans leads series, 2–0 |||
* New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana Attendance: 17,927 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Tom Washington, Mark Wunderlich
* ESPN
* May 8 8:30 pm
* Recap
New Orleans Hornets 99, San Antonio Spurs 110 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–21, 33–33, 22–29, 21–27 |||
| Pts: Chris Paul 35 Rebs: David West 12 Asts: Chris Paul 9 | Pts: Tony Parker 31 Rebs: Tim Duncan 13 Asts: Tony Parker 11 |
| New Orleans leads series, 2–1 |||
* AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Bob Delaney, Steve Javie, Bill Kennedy
* TNT
* May 11 7:00 pm
* Recap
New Orleans Hornets 80, San Antonio Spurs 100 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–24, 20–31, 19–30, 19–15 |||
| Pts: Chris Paul 23 Rebs: Paul, Armstrong 6 each Asts: Chris Paul 5 | Pts: Tim Duncan 22 Rebs: Tim Duncan 15 Asts: Ginóbili, Parker 8 each |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,797 Referees: James Capers, Dan Crawford, Ron Garretson
* TNT
* May 13 8:30 pm
* Recap
San Antonio Spurs 79, New Orleans Hornets 101 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–21, 24–23, 11–28, 21–29 |||
| Pts: Manu Ginóbili 20 Rebs: Tim Duncan 23 Asts: Manu Ginóbili 7 | Pts: David West 38 Rebs: David West 14 Asts: Chris Paul 14 |
| New Orleans leads series, 3–2 |||
* New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana Attendance: 18,246 Referees: Joe Crawford, Joe DeRosa, Joe Forte
* ESPN
* May 15 8:00 pm
* Recap
New Orleans Hornets 80, San Antonio Spurs 99 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–36, 27–22, 12–20, 17–21 |||
| Pts: Chris Paul 21 Rebs: five players 6 each Asts: Chris Paul 8 | Pts: Manu Ginóbili 25 Rebs: Tim Duncan 15 Asts: Tim Duncan 6 |
| Series tied, 3–3 |||
* AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Ken Mauer, Monty McCutchen, Bennett Salvatore
* TNT
* May 19 7:30 pm
* Recap
San Antonio Spurs 91, New Orleans Hornets 82 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–20, 28–22, 20–14, 20–26 |||
| Pts: Manu Ginóbili 26 Rebs: Tim Duncan 14 Asts: Parker, Ginóbili 5 each | Pts: David West 20 Rebs: Tyson Chandler 15 Asts: Chris Paul 14 |
| San Antonio wins series, 4–3 |||
* New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana Attendance: 18,235 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Scott Foster, Steve Javie
Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series :
November 9, 2007
Recap
San Antonio Spurs 97, New Orleans Hornets 85
New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
January 26, 2008
Recap
New Orleans Hornets 102, San Antonio Spurs 78
AT&T Center, San Antonio
February 23, 2008
Recap
New Orleans Hornets 89, San Antonio Spurs 98
AT&T Center, San Antonio
March 12, 2008
Recap
San Antonio Spurs 75, New Orleans Hornets 100
New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana :
This was the first playoff meeting between the Spurs and the New Orleans Pelicans/Hornets franchise.
The Hornets, who earned the home-court advantage via winning the Southwest division, were able to gain a quick 2–0 lead over the veteran Spurs. But when the series shifted to San Antonio, the Spurs regained their edge, returning the favor in Games 3 and 4. Game 5 back in New Orleans shocked many as the Hornets played off the home crowd to a 22-point rout. The home teams were clearly dominating in this series as Game 6 was more of the same in San Antonio. However, that all changed when a much anticipated Game 7 saw the Spurs build a 15-point lead after 3 quarters, which proved to be enough (even after the Hornets cut the deficit to 3 with 1:35 left) to send them to another Western Conference Finals. The Spurs were the 4th team to win game 7 on the road after the home team won the first six.

## Conference finals
### Eastern Conference finals
#### (1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Detroit Pistons

* ESPN
* May 20 8:30 pm
* Recap
Detroit Pistons 79, Boston Celtics 88 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17–22, 23–19, 17–28, 22–19 |||
| Pts: Tayshaun Prince 16 Rebs: Antonio McDyess 11 Asts: Rasheed Wallace 4 | Pts: Kevin Garnett 26 Rebs: Kendrick Perkins 10 Asts: Rajon Rondo 7 |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 |||
* TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Joe Crawford, Greg Willard, Mark Wunderlich
* ESPN
* May 22 8:30 pm
* Recap
Detroit Pistons 103, Boston Celtics 97 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–20, 32–23, 28–26, 25–28 |||
| Pts: Richard Hamilton 25 Rebs: Rasheed Wallace 10 Asts: Chauncey Billups 7 | Pts: Paul Pierce 26 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 13 Asts: Rajon Rondo 8 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Sean Corbin, Steve Javie, Tom Washington
* ABC
* May 24 8:30 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 94, Detroit Pistons 80 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–17, 25–15, 23–23, 21–25 |||
| Pts: Kevin Garnett 22 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 13 Asts: Ray Allen 6 | Pts: Richard Hamilton 26 Rebs: McDyess, Wallace 8 each Asts: Billups, Stuckey 4 each |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 |||
* The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Ron Garretson, Monty McCutchen
* ESPN
* May 26 8:30 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 75, Detroit Pistons 94 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17–22, 22–21, 19–22, 17–29 |||
| Pts: Garnett, Pierce 16 each Rebs: Kevin Garnett 10 Asts: Rajon Rondo 4 | Pts: Antonio McDyess 21 Rebs: Antonio McDyess 16 Asts: Billups, Hamilton 7 each |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Dan Crawford, Bob Delaney, Scott Foster
* ESPN
* May 28 8:30 pm
* Recap
Detroit Pistons 102, Boston Celtics 106 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 23–29, 25–32, 31–22 |||
| Pts: Chauncey Billups 26 Rebs: Billups, McDyess 5 each Asts: Billups, Hamilton 6 each | Pts: Kevin Garnett 33 Rebs: Kendrick Perkins 16 Asts: Rajon Rondo 13 |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 |||
* TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Mike Callahan, Ken Mauer, Eddie Rush
* ESPN
* May 30 8:30 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 89, Detroit Pistons 81 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–21, 16–16, 20–31, 29–13 |||
| Pts: Paul Pierce 27 Rebs: Paul Pierce 8 Asts: Kevin Garnett 4 | Pts: Chauncey Billups 29 Rebs: Rasheed Wallace 10 Asts: Chauncey Billups 6 |
| Boston wins series, 4–2 |||
* The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Tony Brothers, Joe Derosa, Bennett Salvatore
Boston won 2–1 in the regular-season series :
December 19, 2007
Recap
Detroit Pistons 87, Boston Celtics 85
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston
January 5, 2008
Recap
Boston Celtics 92, Detroit Pistons 85
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
March 5, 2008
Recap
Detroit Pistons 78, Boston Celtics 90
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston :
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning four of the first seven meetings.
Boston leads 4–3 in all-time playoff series :
1968
Boston Celtics 4, Detroit Pistons 2
1968 Eastern Division Semifinals
1985
Boston Celtics 4, Detroit Pistons 2
1985 Eastern Conference Semifinals
1987
Boston Celtics 4, Detroit Pistons 3
1987 Eastern Conference Finals
1988
Boston Celtics 2, Detroit Pistons 4
1988 Eastern Conference Finals
1989
Boston Celtics 0, Detroit Pistons 3
1989 Eastern Conference First Round
1991
Boston Celtics 2, Detroit Pistons 4
1991 Eastern Conference Semifinals
2002
Boston Celtics 4, Detroit Pistons 1
2002 Eastern Conference Semifinals :
Detroit walked into the NBA Eastern Conference Finals for the sixth straight season. Boston held off the Pistons in Game 1 88–79, but let Detroit rally a strong performance in Game 2 to win it 103–97 (marking Boston's first home court loss in the post-season). However, they let the Celtics win their first road playoff game 94–80 in Game 3. Game 4 saw the Pistons win 94–75, however they lost Game 5 106–102 despite a scoring run late in the game. In Game 6, the Pistons strolled into the fourth quarter leading 70–60, but a lack of focus, a poor game from Rasheed Wallace, and a rally-destroying turnover by Tayshaun Prince ultimately led to their demise, as the Pistons would end their season losing 89–81. With that, the Celtics moved on to the NBA Finals, and they would face the Los Angeles Lakers for the 11th time.
As of 2024 Detroit hasn't won a playoff game since game 4 of this series.

### Western Conference finals
#### (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs

* TNT
* May 21 6:00 pm
* Recap
San Antonio Spurs 85, Los Angeles Lakers 89 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–24, 24–19, 21–22, 13–24 |||
| Pts: Tim Duncan 30 Rebs: Tim Duncan 18 Asts: Tony Parker 6 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 27 Rebs: Lamar Odom 8 Asts: Kobe Bryant 9 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 1–0 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Jim Clark, Dan Crawford, Bob Delaney
* TNT
* May 23 6:00 pm
* Recap
San Antonio Spurs 71, Los Angeles Lakers 101 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16–21, 21–25, 20–28, 14–27 |||
| Pts: Tony Parker 13 Rebs: Tim Duncan 16 Asts: Parker, Duncan 4 each | Pts: Kobe Bryant 22 Rebs: Lamar Odom 12 Asts: Kobe Bryant 5 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–0 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Tony Brothers, Ken Mauer, Bennett Salvatore
* TNT
* May 25 7:30 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 84, San Antonio Spurs 103 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–21, 15–28, 18–20, 27–34 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 30 Rebs: Lamar Odom 11 Asts: Lamar Odom 6 | Pts: Manu Ginóbili 30 Rebs: Tim Duncan 21 Asts: Duncan, Parker 5 each |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–1 |||
* AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Mike Callahan, Joe Derosa, Eddie Rush
* TNT
* May 27 8:00 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 93, San Antonio Spurs 91 :
| Scoring by quarter: 28–23, 25–24, 24–23, 16–21 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 28 Rebs: Bryant, Gasol 10 each Asts: Pau Gasol 6 | Pts: Tim Duncan 29 Rebs: Tim Duncan 17 Asts: Tony Parker 9 |
| LA Lakers lead series, 3–1 |||
* AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Joe Crawford, Joe Forte, Mark Wunderlich
* TNT
* May 29 6:00 pm
* Recap
San Antonio Spurs 92, Los Angeles Lakers 100 :
| Scoring by quarter: 28–15, 20–27, 15–22, 29–36 |||
| Pts: Tony Parker 23 Rebs: Tim Duncan 15 Asts: Tim Duncan 10 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 39 Rebs: Pau Gasol 19 Asts: Pau Gasol 5 |
| LA Lakers win series, 4–1 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Steve Javie, Monty McCutchen, Tom Washington
Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series :
November 13, 2007
Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 92, San Antonio Spurs 107
AT&T Center, San Antonio
December 13, 2007
Recap
San Antonio Spurs 97, Los Angeles Lakers 102
Staples Center, Los Angeles
January 23, 2008
Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 91, San Antonio Spurs 103
AT&T Center, San Antonio
April 13, 2008
Recap
San Antonio Spurs 85, Los Angeles Lakers 106
Staples Center, Los Angeles :
This was the 11th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning seven of the first ten meetings.
Los Angeles leads 7–3 in all-time playoff series :
1982
Los Angeles Lakers 4, San Antonio Spurs 0
1982 Western Conference Finals
1983
Los Angeles Lakers 4, San Antonio Spurs 2
1983 Western Conference Finals
1986
Los Angeles Lakers 3, San Antonio Spurs 0
1986 Western Conference First Round
1988
Los Angeles Lakers 3, San Antonio Spurs 0
1988 Western Conference First Round
1995
Los Angeles Lakers 2, San Antonio Spurs 4
1995 Western Conference Semifinals
1999
Los Angeles Lakers 0, San Antonio Spurs 4
1999 Western Conference Semifinals
2001
Los Angeles Lakers 4, San Antonio Spurs 0
2001 Western Conference Finals
2002
Los Angeles Lakers 4, San Antonio Spurs 1
2002 Western Conference Semifinals
2003
Los Angeles Lakers 2, San Antonio Spurs 4
2003 Western Conference Semifinals
2004
Los Angeles Lakers 4, San Antonio Spurs 2
2004 Western Conference Semifinals :
The series pitted the two best teams in the Western Conference over the last 10 years. Having home court advantage, the Lakers started out as a favorite and did not disappoint their home crowd as they overcame a 20-point deficit in Game 1 and won behind Kobe Bryant's 27 points, 25 of which were scored in the second half. Game 2 was a cruise for the Lakers as they made a 9–0 run before halftime, led all game and built the lead to 30.
The Spurs easily took Game 3 at home with Manu Ginóbili carrying the Spurs after two terrible games at L.A, making 5 3-pointers and finishing with 30 points; Tony Parker and Tim Duncan added 42 more. In Game 4 the Lakers never trailed (the Spurs missed several opportunities to take the lead) and led comfortably late, but a furious run by the Spurs and several mistakes by the Lakers (Bryant attempting a running fallaway with plenty of time on the shot clock, Gasol missing 2 free throws) gave San Antonio a chance to tie or win with seconds left. On a disputed no-call, Derek Fisher jumped up and collided with Brent Barry, but no foul was called and Barry missed a last second 3. The NBA later ruled that a foul should have been called on Fisher when he collided with Barry.
Heading home up 3–1 in the series, the Lakers trailed in the first quarter by 17, but were able to cut the lead to six by halftime. Again, Bryant stepped up by scoring 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, enabling the Lakers to surge ahead and seal the series, helping them to reach the NBA Finals for the 5th time in 9 seasons and the first time in the post-Shaq era.
The Lakers were able to reach the NBA Finals again as the #1 seed. The last time this happened to the team was during the 1999–2000 season, where they beat the Indiana Pacers 4–2. They also improved to 4–0 against San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals.

## NBA Finals: (W1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E1) Boston Celtics

* ABC
* June 5 9:00 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 88, Boston Celtics 98 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 30–23, 22–31, 15–21 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 24 Rebs: Pau Gasol 8 Asts: Kobe Bryant 6 | Pts: Kevin Garnett 24 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 13 Asts: Rajon Rondo 7 |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 |||
* TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Scott Foster, Eddie Rush
* ABC
* June 8 9:00 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 102, Boston Celtics 108 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–20, 20–34, 19–29, 41–25 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 30 Rebs: Gasol, Radmanović 10 each Asts: Kobe Bryant 8 | Pts: Paul Pierce 28 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 14 Asts: Rajon Rondo 16 |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 |||
* TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Dan Crawford, Bob Delaney, Ken Mauer
* ABC
* June 10 6:00 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 81, Los Angeles Lakers 87 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 17–23, 25–17, 19–27 |||
| Pts: Ray Allen 25 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 12 Asts: Kevin Garnett 5 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 36 Rebs: Pau Gasol 12 Asts: Jordan Farmar 5 |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Joe Crawford, Bennett Salvatore, Mark Wunderlich
* ABC
* June 12 6:00 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 97, Los Angeles Lakers 91 :
| Scoring by quarter: 14–35, 26–23, 31–15, 26–18 |||
| Pts: Paul Pierce 20 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 11 Asts: Paul Pierce 7 | Pts: Lamar Odom 19 Rebs: Gasol, Odom 10 each Asts: Kobe Bryant 10 |
| Boston leads series, 3–1 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Joe Derosa, Steve Javie, Tom Washington
* ABC
* June 15 6:00 pm
* Recap
Boston Celtics 98, Los Angeles Lakers 103 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–39, 30–16, 18–24, 28–24 |||
| Pts: Paul Pierce 38 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 14 Asts: Paul Pierce 8 | Pts: Kobe Bryant 25 Rebs: Pau Gasol 13 Asts: Pau Gasol 6 |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 |||
* Staples Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 18,997 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Scott Foster, Ken Mauer
* ABC
* June 17 9:00 pm
* Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 92, Boston Celtics 131 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–24, 15–34, 25–31, 32–42 |||
| Pts: Kobe Bryant 22 Rebs: Lamar Odom 10 Asts: Lamar Odom 5 | Pts: Garnett, Allen 26 each Rebs: Kevin Garnett 14 Asts: Paul Pierce 10 |
| Boston wins series, 4–2 |||
* TD Banknorth Garden, Boston Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Joe Crawford, Eddie Rush, Bennett Salvatore
Boston won 2–0 in the regular-season series :
November 23, 2007
Recap
Los Angeles Lakers 94, Boston Celtics 107
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston
December 30, 2007
Recap
Boston Celtics 110, Los Angeles Lakers 91
Staples Center, Los Angeles :
This was the 11th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning eight of the first ten meetings. Two teams in the same cities, Boston and Los Angeles met in the 2008 ALDS when the Boston Red Sox defeated the Los Angeles Angels in four games.
Boston leads 8–2 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 :

## Statistic leaders

| Category | High | High | High | Average | Average | Average | Average |
| Category | Player | Team | Total | Player | Team | Avg. | Games played |
| Points | Kobe Bryant | Los Angeles Lakers | 49 | Kobe Bryant | Los Angeles Lakers | 30.1 | 21 |
| Rebounds | Tim Duncan | San Antonio Spurs | 23 | Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic | 15.8 | 10 |
| Assists | Chris Paul | New Orleans Hornets | 17 | Chris Paul | New Orleans Hornets | 11.3 | 12 |
| Steals | Rajon Rondo Derek Fisher Kevin Garnett | Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics | 6 | Chris Paul | New Orleans Hornets | 2.3 | 12 |
| Blocks | Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic | 8 | Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic | 3.4 | 10 |

## Broadcast notes

* The Playoffs began on Saturday April 19, with the Washington Wizards facing the Cleveland Cavaliers on ESPN. ABC kicked off its coverage with the Phoenix Suns facing the San Antonio Spurs. TNT's coverage began with a tripleheader on Sunday, April 20 in a game between the Toronto Raptors and the Orlando Magic, with the Denver Nuggets playing the L.A. Lakers on ABC in between. NBA TV has been broadcasting weeknight coverage of playoff games for at least the first round.
* The Eastern Conference Finals were televised on ABC and ESPN, beginning Tuesday May 20 at 8:30 pm EST. Game 3 was scheduled to be televised on ABC—all other games are scheduled on ESPN. The last possible end date for the Eastern Conference Finals will be on June 1, if the series goes to a seventh and deciding game.
* The Western Conference Finals were televised on TNT, beginning Wednesday May 21 at 9 pm EST. The last possible end date for the Western Conference Finals will be on June 2, if the series goes to a seventh and deciding game.
* The NBA Finals were televised on ABC, beginning Thursday June 5 at 9 pm EST. The latest possible end date for the NBA Finals will be June 19, if the Finals goes to a seventh and deciding game.
* ABC's lead announcing team for the NBA Playoffs (and, by extension, the NBA Finals) was play-by-play man Mike Breen, joined by analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy along with sideline reporter Michele Tafoya. Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown and Lisa Salters were the second team broadcasting on ABC. The latter, with the exception of Salters, were the lead broadcast team for ESPN Radio's NBA coverage, with Jim Durham and Jack Ramsay the secondary broadcast duo.
* ESPN's other play-by-play announcers include Dave Pasch and Dan Shulman, along with analysts Rick Carlisle, Jon Barry and Doris Burke. Sideline reporters include Heather Cox, Holly Rowe and Ric Bucher.
* TNT's lead announcing teams for the NBA Playoffs were Marv Albert with Reggie Miller and Kevin Harlan with Doug Collins. Play-by-play announcers Dick Stockton and Matt Devlin was also teamed with Mike Fratello and Los Angeles Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy on a rotating basis. Sideline reporters include Craig Sager, Cheryl Miller, Pam Oliver, David Aldridge, Marty Snider, Dei Lynam, and Stephanie Ready.

## Ratings

TNT's coverage of the 2008 NBA Playoffs was strong in audience delivery, with the playoff averages showing year-over-year growth among households (+15%), viewers (+14%), adults 18–34 (+25%), adults 18–49 (+22%), adults 25–54 (+24%), men 18–34 (+30%), women 18–34 (+5%), men 18–49 (+23%) and men 25–54 (+22%).