# 1955 NBA playoffs

The 1955 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1954-55 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Syracuse Nationals defeating the Western Conference champion Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
This was the only title for the Nationals under that moniker; the franchise won its next title in 1967 as the Philadelphia 76ers.
For the Pistons, this was their first trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history; they returned the next year, but didn't win their first title until 1989 as the Detroit Pistons.
After experimenting with a round robin playoff format in 1954, the NBA moved to a system in which the top team in each conference earned a first-round bye, giving them the right to start out in the division finals. It remained in place until 1967, when it changed to an eight-team format in which all teams played the first round.

## 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 | Syracuse* | 3 | | | |
| E3 | Boston | 2 | E3 | Boston | 1 | | | |
| E2 | New York | 1 | | | | E1 | Syracuse* | 4 |
| | | | Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | W1 | Fort Wayne* | 3 |
| | | | W1 | Fort Wayne* | 3 | | | |
| W3 | Rochester | 1 | W2 | Minneapolis | 1 | | | |
| W2 | Minneapolis | 2 | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

## Division Semifinals
### Eastern Division Semifinals
#### (2) New York Knicks vs. (3) Boston Celtics

* March 15
* Boxscore
New York Knicks 101, Boston Celtics 122 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–24, 19–29, 30–34, 30–35 |||
| Pts: Jim Baechtold 17 | Pts: Bob Cousy 30 |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
* March 16
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 95, New York Knicks 102 :
| Scoring by quarter: 33–21, 26–27, 18–28, 18–26 |||
| Pts: Bob Cousy 26 | Pts: Nat Clifton 25 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan, New York
* March 19
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 116, New York Knicks 109 :
| Scoring by quarter: 30–16, 25–45, 32–20, 29–28 |||
| Pts: Bob Cousy 26 Asts: Bob Cousy 10 | Pts: Nat Clifton 21 Asts: Nat Clifton 6 |
| Boston wins series, 2–1 |||
* Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan, New York
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning three of the first four meetings.
New York leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series :
1951
Boston Celtics 0, New York Knicks 2
1951 Eastern Division Semifinals
1952
Boston Celtics 1, New York Knicks 2
1952 Eastern Division Semifinals
1953
Boston Celtics 1, New York Knicks 3
1953 Eastern Division Finals
1954
Boston Celtics 2, New York Knicks 0
1954 Eastern Division Round Robin Semifinals :

### Western Division Semifinals
#### (2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Rochester Royals

* March 16
* Boxscore
Rochester Royals 78, Minneapolis Lakers 82 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–13, 17–25, 21–19, 22–25 |||
| Pts: Bobby Wanzer 30 | Pts: Clyde Lovellette 26 |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 |||
* St. Paul Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota Attendance: 4,841
* March 18
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 92, Rochester Royals 94 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–24, 23–25, 20–22, 22–23 |||
| Pts: Clyde Lovellette 19 | Pts: Arnie Risen 19 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Edgerton Park Arena, Rochester, New York
* March 19
* Boxscore
Rochester Royals 110, Minneapolis Lakers 119 :
| Scoring by quarter: 29–28, 30–32, 18–35, 33–24 |||
| Pts: Arnie Risen 24 | Pts: Jim Pollard 26 |
| Minneapolis wins series, 2–1 |||
* St. Paul Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota Attendance: 4,219
* Bob Davies’s final NBA game.
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning four of the first five meetings.
Minneapolis leads 4–1 in all-time playoff series :
1949
Minneapolis Lakers 2, Rochester Royals 0
1949 Western Division Finals
1951
Minneapolis Lakers 1, Rochester Royals 3
1951 Western Division Finals
1952
Minneapolis Lakers 3, Rochester Royals 1
1952 Western Division Finals
1954
Minneapolis Lakers 1, Rochester Royals 0
1954 Western Division Round Robin Semifinals
1954
Minneapolis Lakers 2, Rochester Royals 1
1954 Western Division Finals :

## Division Finals
### Eastern Division Finals
#### (1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (3) Boston Celtics

* March 22
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 100, Syracuse Nationals 110 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 21–21, 27–37, 30–27 |||
| Pts: Bill Sharman 20 Asts: Bob Cousy 10 | Pts: Red Kerr 27 Asts: Paul Seymour 8 |
| Syracuse leads series, 1–0 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
* March 24
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 110, Syracuse Nationals 116 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–28, 30–41, 34–23, 22–24 |||
| Pts: Bill Sharman 32 Rebs: Don Barksdale 10 Asts: Bob Cousy 15 | Pts: Dolph Schayes 22 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 18 Asts: Paul Seymour 12 |
| Syracuse leads series, 2–0 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
* March 26
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 97, Boston Celtics 100 (OT) :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–23, 22–29, 21–21, 22–16, Overtime: 8–11 |||
| Pts: Red Kerr 20 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 14 Asts: George King 10 | Pts: Bob Cousy 23 Rebs: Bob Brannum 15 Asts: Bob Cousy 8 |
| Syracuse leads series, 2–1 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
* March 27
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 110, Boston Celtics 94 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–18, 31–24, 26–21, 35–31 |||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 28 Rebs: Earl Lloyd 18 Asts: King, Seymour 8 each | Pts: Bill Sharman 29 Rebs: Bob Brannum 14 Asts: Bob Cousy 9 |
| Syracuse wins series, 3–1 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nationals winning two of the first three meetings.
Syracuse leads 2–1 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 :

### Western Division Finals
#### (1) Fort Wayne Pistons vs. (2) Minneapolis Lakers

* March 20
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 79, Fort Wayne Pistons 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 14–19, 18–30, 21–27, 26–20 |||
| Pts: Clyde Lovellette 18 | Pts: Larry Foust 15 |
| Fort Wayne leads series, 1–0 |||
* North Side Gymnasium, Elkhart, Indiana Referees: Lou Eisenstein, Arnie Heft
* March 22
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 97, Fort Wayne Pistons 98 (OT) :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–27, 28–24, 21–25, 26–21, Overtime: 0–1 |||
| Pts: Whitey Skoog 24 | Pts: Mel Hutchins 20 |
| Fort Wayne leads series, 2–0 |||
* Butler Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
* March 23
* Boxscore
Fort Wayne Pistons 91, Minneapolis Lakers 99 (OT) :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–12, 19–20, 25–30, 18–22, Overtime: 7–15 |||
| Pts: George Yardley 25 | Pts: Whitey Skoog 24 |
| Fort Wayne leads series, 2–1 |||
* Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
* March 27
* Boxscore
Fort Wayne Pistons 105, Minneapolis Lakers 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–31, 20–15, 27–20, 33–30 |||
| Pts: Rosenthal, Hutchins 21 each | Pts: Clyde Lovellette 25 |
| Fort Wayne wins series, 3–1 |||
* Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
* Jim Pollard’s final NBA game.
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first three meetings.
Minneapolis leads 3–0 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 :

## NBA Finals: (E1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (W1) Fort Wayne Pistons

* March 31
* Boxscore
Fort Wayne Pistons 82, Syracuse Nationals 86 :
| Scoring by quarter: 19–26, 25–22, 20–18, 18–20 |||
| Pts: Larry Foust 26 | Pts: Red Rocha 19 |
| Syracuse leads series, 1–0 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Attendance: 7,500
* April 2
* Boxscore
Fort Wayne Pistons 84, Syracuse Nationals 87 :
| Scoring by quarter: 13–30, 25–29, 27–14, 19–24 |||
| Pts: George Yardley 21 | Pts: Dolph Schayes 24 |
| Syracuse leads series, 2–0 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Attendance: 5,845
* April 3
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 89, Fort Wayne Pistons 96 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–23, 21–20, 14–26, 32–27 |||
| Pts: Rocha, Schayes 21 each | Pts: Mel Hutchins 23 |
| Syracuse leads series, 2–1 |||
* Butler Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 3,200
* April 5
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 102, Fort Wayne Pistons 109 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–27, 24–26, 22–29, 32–27 |||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 28 | Pts: Frankie Brian 18 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* Butler Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 2,611
* April 7
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 71, Fort Wayne Pistons 74 :
| Scoring by quarter: 18–22, 13–16, 14–20, 26–16 |||
| Pts: Bill Kenville 15 | Pts: George Yardley 16 |
| Fort Wayne leads series, 3–2 |||
* Butler Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 4,110
* April 9
* Boxscore
Fort Wayne Pistons 104, Syracuse Nationals 109 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–19, 28–34, 19–25, 30–31 |||
| Pts: George Yardley 31 | Pts: Dolph Schayes 28 |
| Series tied, 3–3 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Attendance: 4,997
* April 10
* Boxscore
Fort Wayne Pistons 91, Syracuse Nationals 92 :
| Scoring by quarter: 31–21, 22–26, 21–27, 17–18 |||
| Pts: Larry Foust 24 Asts: Andy Phillip 10 | Pts: King, Kenville 15 each Asts: Paul Seymour 8 |
| Syracuse wins series, 4–3 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Attendance: 6,697
* George King hit a free throw with 12 seconds left, then stole the ball from Andy Phillip with 3 seconds left to seal it.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.