# 1957 NBA playoffs

The 1957 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1956-57 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
It was the first title in Celtics history; as of 2024, they have won the most NBA titles with 18.
The Celtics and Hawks met in 4 out of 5 NBA Finals from 1957–1961, with the Celtics winning 3 out of 4. While the Hawks' dominance of the Western Division was succeeded by the Los Angeles Lakers afterward, Boston missed the NBA Finals just once between 1957–1969, and won the NBA title in every year but two.
In the division semifinals, the Philadelphia Warriors were swept by the Syracuse Nationals 2–0. This was the first time in NBA history that the defending champions were swept in the opening round. The next time the defending champions were swept in the opening round was in 2007. It was also the only time in which the playoff series leading to the Final resulted in sweeps.

## Bracket

| Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals |
| | | | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | | | |
| | | | E1 | Boston* | 3 | | | |
| E3 | Philadelphia | 0 | E2 | Syracuse | 0 | | | |
| E2 | Syracuse | 2 | | | | E1 | Boston* | 4 |
| | | | Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | W1 | St. Louis* | 3 |
| | | | W1 | St. Louis* | 3 | | | |
| W3 | Fort Wayne | 0 | W2 | Minneapolis | 0 | | | |
| W2 | Minneapolis | 2 | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

## Division Tiebreakers
### Western Division Tiebreakers
#### Fort Wayne Pistons @ St. Louis Hawks

* March 14
* Boxscore
Fort Wayne Pistons 103, St. Louis Hawks 115 :
| Scoring by quarter: 29–21, 18–45, 33–24, 23–25 |||
| Pts: George Yardley 26 Rebs: Hutchins, Foust 10 each | Pts: Jack McMahon 24 Rebs: Cliff Hagan 16 |
| Fort Wayne finishes as the West's #3 seed |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri

#### Minneapolis Lakers @ St. Louis Hawks

* March 16
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 111, St. Louis Hawks 114 (OT) :
| Scoring by quarter: 19–22, 24–21, 29–27, 28–30, Overtime: 11–14 |||
| Pts: Clyde Lovellette 30 Rebs: Lovellette, Dukes 12 each | Pts: Cliff Hagan 28 Rebs: Bob Pettit 18 |
| St. Louis finishes as the West's #1 seed, Minneapolis as the West's #2 seed |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Referees: Arnie Heft, Jim Duffy

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

* March 16
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 103, Philadelphia Warriors 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–27, 24–21, 23–18, 32–30 |||
| Pts: Red Kerr 25 Rebs: Red Kerr 21 Asts: Dolph Schayes 6 | Pts: Neil Johnston 25 Rebs: Neil Johnston 26 Asts: George Dempsey 8 |
| Syracuse leads series, 1–0 |||
* Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* March 18
* Boxscore
Philadelphia Warriors 80, Syracuse Nationals 91 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17–20, 20–15, 16–23, 27–33 |||
| Pts: Joe Graboski 16 Rebs: Walt Davis 10 Asts: Neil Johnston 5 | Pts: Red Kerr 22 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 20 Asts: Schayes, Conlin 4 each |
| Syracuse wins series, 2–0 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers/Nationals winning three of the first four meetings.
Philadelphia 76ers/ Syracuse Nationals leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series :
1950
Philadelphia Warriors 0, Syracuse Nationals 2
1950 Eastern Division Semifinals
1951
Philadelphia Warriors 0, Syracuse Nationals 2
1951 Eastern Division Semifinals
1952
Philadelphia Warriors 1, Syracuse Nationals 2
1952 Eastern Division Semifinals
1956
Philadelphia Warriors 3, Syracuse Nationals 2
1956 Eastern Division Finals :

### Western Division Semifinals
#### (2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Fort Wayne Pistons

* March 17
* Boxscore
Fort Wayne Pistons 127, Minneapolis Lakers 131 :
| Scoring by quarter: 32–41, 37–29, 28–37, 30–24 |||
| Pts: George Yardley 34 | Pts: Clyde Lovellette 30 |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 |||
* Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
* March 19
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 110, Fort Wayne Pistons 108 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 27–23, 30–24, 28–33 |||
| Pts: Slick Leonard 19 | Pts: Larry Foust 30 |
| Minneapolis wins series, 2–0 |||
* War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning three of the first four meetings.
Minneapolis leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series :
1950
Fort Wayne Pistons 0, Minneapolis Lakers 2
1950 Central Division Finals
1953
Fort Wayne Pistons 2, Minneapolis Lakers 3
1953 Western Division Finals
1954
Fort Wayne Pistons 0, Minneapolis Lakers 2
1954 Western Division Round Robin Semifinals
1955
Fort Wayne Pistons 3, Minneapolis Lakers 1
1955 Western Division Finals :

## Division Finals
### Eastern Division Finals
#### (1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Syracuse Nationals

* March 21
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 90, Boston Celtics 108 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–22, 17–31, 20–30, 26–25 |||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 21 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 23 | Pts: Frank Ramsey 20 Rebs: Bill Russell 31 |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
* March 23
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 120, Syracuse Nationals 105 :
| Scoring by quarter: 31–26, 23–23, 26–27, 40–29 |||
| Pts: Tom Heinsohn 30 Rebs: Bill Russell 30 | Pts: Dolph Schayes 31 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 15 |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
* March 24
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 80, Boston Celtics 83 :
| Scoring by quarter: 19–23, 17–18, 23–22, 21–20 |||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 22 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 17 | Pts: Bill Sharman 23 Rebs: Bill Russell 23 |
| Boston wins series, 3–0 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nationals winning four of the first five meetings.
Syracuse leads 4–1 in all-time playoff series :
1953
Boston Celtics 2, Syracuse Nationals 0
1953 Eastern Division Semifinals
1954
Boston Celtics 0, Syracuse Nationals 2
1954 Eastern Division Round Robin Semifinals
1954
Boston Celtics 0, Syracuse Nationals 2
1954 Eastern Division Finals
1955
Boston Celtics 1, Syracuse Nationals 3
1955 Eastern Division Finals
1956
Boston Celtics 1, Syracuse Nationals 2
1956 Eastern Division Semifinals :

### Western Division Finals
#### (1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Minneapolis Lakers

* March 21
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 109, St. Louis Hawks 118 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–30, 26–31, 37–27, 23–30 |||
| Pts: Vern Mikkelsen 24 Rebs: Clyde Lovellette 11 Asts: Slick Leonard 9 | Pts: Slater Martin 24 Rebs: Bob Pettit 16 Asts: Jack McMahon 9 |
| St. Louis leads series, 1–0 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 6,028
* March 24
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 104, St. Louis Hawks 106 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–26, 24–25, 30–26, 25–29 |||
| Pts: Clyde Lovellette 33 Rebs: Walter Dukes 20 | Pts: Bob Pettit 30 Rebs: Jack Coleman 15 |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–0 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 9,451 Referees: Sid Borgia, Lou Bonder
* March 25
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 143, Minneapolis Lakers 135 (2OT) :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 28–26, 27–32, 38–33, Overtime: 17–17, 12–4 |||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 35 | Pts: Slick Leonard 42 |
| St. Louis wins series, 3–0 |||
* Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning the first meeting.
St. Louis leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series :
1956
St. Louis Hawks 2, Minneapolis Lakers 1
1956 Western Division Semifinals :

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

* March 30
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 125, Boston Celtics 123 (2OT) :
| Scoring by quarter: 31–21, 18–26, 22–27, 31–28, Overtime: 11–11, 12–10 |||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 37 Rebs: Bob Pettit 14 | Pts: Bill Sharman 36 Rebs: Bill Russell 18 |
| St. Louis leads series, 1–0 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 5,976
* Tom Heinsohn hits the game-tying lay-up with 6 seconds left in regulation to force the first OT; Bob Cousy hits the game-tying shot with 15 seconds left in the first OT to force the second OT.
* March 31
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 99, Boston Celtics 119 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–31, 22–31, 27–32, 29–25 |||
| Pts: Ed Macauley 19 Rebs: Bob Pettit 13 Asts: Slick Leonard 4 | Pts: Cousy, Ramsey 22 each Rebs: Bill Russell 25 Asts: Bob Cousy 7 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 13,909 Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Sid Borgia
* April 6
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 98, St. Louis Hawks 100 :
| Scoring by quarter: 19–19, 25–21, 28–29, 26–31 |||
| Pts: Bill Sharman 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 19 Asts: Bob Cousy 8 | Pts: Bob Pettit 26 Rebs: Bob Pettit 28 Asts: three players 5 each |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–1 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 10,048
* Bob Pettit hits the game-winner with 45 seconds left.
* April 7
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 123, St. Louis Hawks 118 :
| Scoring by quarter: 31–36, 35–17, 30–37, 27–28 |||
| Pts: Bob Cousy 31 Rebs: Bill Russell 20 Asts: Arnie Risen 9 | Pts: Bob Pettit 33 Rebs: Bob Pettit 16 Asts: Martin, Hagan 6 each |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 10,035 Referees: Sid Borgia, Arnie Heft
* April 9
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 109, Boston Celtics 124 :
| Scoring by quarter: 30–21, 30–38, 25–35, 24–30 |||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 33 Rebs: Bob Pettit 15 Asts: Med Park 6 | Pts: Bill Sharman 32 Rebs: Bill Russell 23 Asts: Bob Cousy 19 |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 13,909
* April 11
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 94, St. Louis Hawks 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–22, 28–27, 27–28, 16–19 |||
| Pts: Tom Heinsohn 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 23 | Pts: Bob Pettit 32 Rebs: Bob Pettit 23 |
| Series tied, 3–3 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 10,053 Referees: Sid Borgia, Arnie Heft
* Cliff Hagan hits the game-winning shot at the buzzer, which is believed to be the first buzzer-beater shot to win a playoff game in NBA history.
* April 13
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 123, Boston Celtics 125 (2OT) :
| Scoring by quarter: 28–26, 25–25, 24–32, 26–20, Overtime: 10–10, 10–12 |||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 39 Rebs: Bob Pettit 19 Asts: Martin, Coleman 7 each | Pts: Tom Heinsohn 37 Rebs: Bill Russell 32 Asts: Bob Cousy 11 |
| Boston wins series, 4–3 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 13,909
* Bob Pettit hits the game-tying free throws with 7 seconds left in regulation to force the first OT; Jack Coleman makers the game-tying basket with 9 seconds left in the first OT to force the second OT. Bob Pettit misses the game-tying shot at the buzzer to force a third OT.
* Only NBA Finals Game 7 to date to go past the first overtime, and as of 2021, the only Game 7 in NBA history to go past the first overtime.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.