# 1957 NBA Finals

The 1957 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1956–57 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the 1957 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Division champion St. Louis Hawks and the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics. This was the first trip to the Finals for each team, the first Finals in which both teams competing were making their first appearances since 1951. Red Auerbach became the first head coach to have taken two separate teams to the NBA Finals, having done so with Washington in 1949. The Celtics won the series over the Hawks, 4–3. It remains the only Game 7 in NBA history to be decided in double-overtime.
This was the second meeting between teams from Boston and St. Louis for a major professional sports championship.

## Game summaries

| Game | Date | Home team | Result | Road team |
| Game 1 | March 30 | Boston Celtics | 123–125 (2OT) (0–1) | St. Louis Hawks |
| Game 2 | March 31 | Boston Celtics | 119–99 (1–1) | St. Louis Hawks |
| Game 3 | April 6 | St. Louis Hawks | 100–98 (2–1) | Boston Celtics |
| Game 4 | April 7 | St. Louis Hawks | 118–123 (2–2) | Boston Celtics |
| Game 5 | April 9 | Boston Celtics | 124–109 (3–2) | St. Louis Hawks |
| Game 6 | April 11 | St. Louis Hawks | 96–94 (3–3) | Boston Celtics |
| Game 7 | April 13 | Boston Celtics | 125–123 (2OT) (4–3) | St. Louis Hawks |
Celtics win series 4–3

## Box scores

* 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.
Celtics center Bill Russell set a rookie record for rebounds in a single NBA finals game with 32 in game 7, and averaged an NBA finals rookie record of 22.9 rebounds per game for the entire series.