# 1959 NBA playoffs

The 1959 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1958-59 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Minneapolis Lakers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. It was the Celtics' second NBA championship.
This was the first NBA Finals matchup between the Lakers and Celtics; as of 2020, they have met in the Finals 12 times. Boston won the first eight NBA Finals series of the rivalry, spanning 3 decades – the 1950s, 1960s and 1980s – before the Lakers finally defeated Boston for the title in 1985 and again in 1987. Boston again topped the Lakers in 2008, but the Lakers gained revenge in 2010. This was the only Celtics/Lakers NBA Finals series that took place while the Lakers were based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They remained in Minneapolis one more year before moving to their current home of Los Angeles, California.

## 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* | 4 | | | |
| E3 | Syracuse | 2 | E3 | Syracuse | 3 | | | |
| E2 | New York | 0 | | | | E1 | Boston* | 4 |
| | | | Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | W2 | Minneapolis | 0 |
| | | | W1 | St. Louis* | 2 | | | |
| W3 | Detroit | 1 | W2 | Minneapolis | 4 | | | |
| 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) Syracuse Nationals

* March 13
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 129, New York Knicks 123 :
| Scoring by quarter: 36–29, 31–27, 40–38, 22–29 |||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 35 | Pts: Richie Guerin 24 |
| Syracuse leads series, 1–0 |||
* Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan, New York
* March 15
* Boxscore
New York Knicks 115, Syracuse Nationals 131 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–26, 25–37, 25–29, 38–39 |||
| Pts: Willie Naulls 26 | Pts: Red Kerr 34 |
| Syracuse wins series, 2–0 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with both teams splitting the first four meetings.
Tied 2–2 in all-time playoff series :
1950
New York Knicks 1, Syracuse Nationals 2
1950 Eastern Division Finals
1951
New York Knicks 3, Syracuse Nationals 2
1951 Eastern Division Finals
1952
New York Knicks 3, Syracuse Nationals 1
1952 Eastern Division Finals
1954
New York Knicks 0, Syracuse Nationals 2
1954 Eastern Division Round Robin Semifinals :

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

* March 14
* Boxscore
Detroit Pistons 89, Minneapolis Lakers 92 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–26, 15–19, 29–23, 22–24 |||
| Pts: Phil Jordon 22 | Pts: Larry Foust 17 |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 |||
* Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
* March 15
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 103, Detroit Pistons 117 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–32, 19–20, 31–40, 32–25 |||
| Pts: Elgin Baylor 26 | Pts: Gene Shue 32 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan
* March 18
* Boxscore
Detroit Pistons 102, Minneapolis Lakers 129 :
| Scoring by quarter: 28–25, 26–31, 26–33, 22–40 |||
| Pts: Gene Shue 31 | Pts: Elgin Baylor 30 |
| Minneapolis wins series, 2–1 |||
* Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning four of the first five meetings while the Pistons were based in Fort Wayne.
Minneapolis leads 4–1 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
1957
Fort Wayne Pistons 0, Minneapolis Lakers 2
1957 Western Division Semifinals :

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

* March 18
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 109, Boston Celtics 131 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17–27, 38–42, 26–29, 28–33 |||
| Pts: George Yardley 30 Rebs: George Yardley 17 | Pts: Tom Heinsohn 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 32 |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
* March 21
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 118, Syracuse Nationals 120 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 35–29, 31–35, 27–28 |||
| Pts: Bob Cousy 27 Rebs: Bill Russell 19 | Pts: Dolph Schayes 34 Rebs: Schayes, Kerr 17 each |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
* March 22
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 111, Boston Celtics 133 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–31, 18–34, 33–37, 33–31 |||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 21 Rebs: Connie Dierking 11 | Pts: Frank Ramsey 24 Rebs: Bill Russell 27 |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
* March 25
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 107, Syracuse Nationals 119 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–22, 32–40, 30–27, 24–30 |||
| Pts: Frank Ramsey 29 Rebs: Bill Russell 21 | Pts: Dolph Schayes 28 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 18 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
* March 28
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 108, Boston Celtics 129 :
| Scoring by quarter: 32–35, 27–28, 26–30, 23–36 |||
| Pts: George Yardley 23 Rebs: Schayes, Kerr 11 each | Pts: Bob Cousy 27 Rebs: Bill Russell 32 |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
* March 29
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 121, Syracuse Nationals 133 :
| Scoring by quarter: 28–29, 30–38, 31–32, 32–34 |||
| Pts: Frank Ramsey 26 Rebs: Bill Russell 24 | Pts: Dolph Schayes 39 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 12 |
| Series tied, 3–3 |||
* Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
* April 1
* Boxscore
Syracuse Nationals 125, Boston Celtics 130 :
| Scoring by quarter: 32–26, 36–34, 26–35, 31–35 |||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 35 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 16 Asts: Schayes, Costello 9 each | Pts: Frank Ramsey 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 32 Asts: Bob Cousy 10 |
| Boston wins series, 4–3 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nationals winning four of the first six meetings.
Syracuse leads 4–2 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
1957
Boston Celtics 3, Syracuse Nationals 0
1957 Eastern Division Finals :

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

* March 21
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 90, St. Louis Hawks 124 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–27, 18–30, 30–30, 22–37 |||
| Pts: Elgin Baylor 21 | Pts: Cliff Hagan 40 |
| St. Louis leads series, 1–0 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
* March 22
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 98, Minneapolis Lakers 106 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–29, 25–21, 21–24, 32–32 |||
| Pts: Cliff Hagan 27 Rebs: Bob Pettit 7 | Pts: Elgin Baylor 33 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 15 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Arnie Heft
* March 24
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 97, St. Louis Hawks 127 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–34, 18–29, 28–30, 30–34 |||
| Pts: Baylor, Fleming 15 each Rebs: Elgin Baylor 8 | Pts: Bob Pettit 39 Rebs: Cliff Hagan 18 |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–1 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Attendance: 9,324 Referees: Sid Borgia, Jim Duffy
* March 26
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 98, Minneapolis Lakers 108 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–36, 23–23, 35–19, 18–30 |||
| Pts: Cliff Hagan 38 | Pts: Elgin Baylor 32 |
| Series tied, 2–2 |||
* Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Referees: Sid Borgia, Jim Duffy
* March 28
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 98, St. Louis Hawks 97 (OT) :
| Scoring by quarter: 31–23, 18–25, 22–25, 19–17, Overtime: 8–7 |||
| Pts: Elgin Baylor 36 | Pts: Bob Pettit 36 |
| Minneapolis leads series, 3–2 |||
* Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
* March 29
* Boxscore
St. Louis Hawks 104, Minneapolis Lakers 106 :
| Scoring by quarter: 28–32, 22–24, 29–32, 25–18 |||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 24 Rebs: Clyde Lovellette 15 | Pts: Elgin Baylor 33 Rebs: Boo Ellis 15 |
| Minneapolis wins series, 4–2 |||
* Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 10,179 Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Arnie Heft
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning the first two meetings.
St. Louis leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series :
1956
St. Louis Hawks 2, Minneapolis Lakers 1
1956 Western Division Semifinals
1957
St. Louis Hawks 3, Minneapolis Lakers 0
1957 Western Division Finals :

## NBA Finals: (E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W2) Minneapolis Lakers

* April 4
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 115, Boston Celtics 118 :
| Scoring by quarter: 29–29, 24–36, 31–19, 31–34 |||
| Pts: Elgin Baylor 34 Rebs: Larry Foust 19 | Pts: Frank Ramsey 29 Rebs: Bill Russell 28 |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 8,195
* April 5
* Boxscore
Minneapolis Lakers 108, Boston Celtics 128 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17–32, 31–40, 37–28, 23–28 |||
| Pts: Vern Mikkelsen 24 Rebs: Steve Hamilton 13 | Pts: Bill Sharman 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 30 |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 |||
* Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 11,082
* April 7
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 123, Minneapolis Lakers 110 :
| Scoring by quarter: 35–27, 34–26, 32–32, 22–25 |||
| Pts: Tom Heinsohn 26 Rebs: Bill Russell 30 | Pts: Larry Foust 26 Rebs: Larry Foust 22 |
| Boston leads series, 3–0 |||
* St. Paul Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota Attendance: 11,272
* April 9
* Boxscore
Boston Celtics 118, Minneapolis Lakers 113 :
| Scoring by quarter: 34–34, 30–28, 24–25, 30–26 |||
| Pts: Bill Sharman 29 Rebs: Bill Russell 30 | Pts: Elgin Baylor 30 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 14 |
| Boston wins series, 4–0 |||
* Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 8,124
* Vern Mikkelsen’s final NBA game.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.