2018 NBA playoffs
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 14 – June 8, 2018 |
| Season | 2017–18 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Golden State Warriors (6th title) |
| Runner-up | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Semifinalists | |
The 2018 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2017–18 season. The playoffs began on April 14, 2018, and ended on June 8, with the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors sweeping the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers 4–0. Kevin Durant was named the NBA Finals MVP for the second straight year.
Overview
Western Conference
- The Houston Rockets entered the playoffs with their best regular–season record in franchise history and appeared in their sixth consecutive postseason. They also finished with the best record in the NBA.
- The Golden State Warriors entered their sixth consecutive postseason, tying their franchise streak of 6 straight postseason appearances since the league's first six years of existence (1946–47 to 1951–52).
- The San Antonio Spurs entered their 21st consecutive postseason.
- The Minnesota Timberwolves qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2004 and snapped the league's longest active streak of seasons without a playoff appearance.
- The New Orleans Pelicans qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
Eastern Conference
- The Toronto Raptors also finished with a franchise record for single-season victories, winning 59 games and finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference.
- The Philadelphia 76ers qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
- The Miami Heat returned to the NBA playoffs after a one-season absence.
First Round
- With their first round sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers, the New Orleans Pelicans won their first playoff series since 2008.
- Game 5 of the Sixers–Heat series was Dwyane Wade's final NBA postseason game. He would retire the following season.
- In Game 5 of their series against the Utah Jazz, the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from a 25-point deficit in the second half to win the game 107–99.
- Game 7 between the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks ensured a 19th–straight postseason in which at least one Game 7 was played; 1999 was the most recent postseason to not feature a Game 7.
- Game 6 of the Celtics–Bucks series was the last game played at the Bradley Center.
- For the first time in his career, LeBron James was forced to play a Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs, courtesy of the Indiana Pacers’ 121–87 victory in Game 6 over the Cleveland Cavaliers. This would be their last postseason victory until game 2 of the 2024 postseason against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Conference semifinals
- Game 2 of the Raptors–Cavaliers series was the last game before the Air Canada Centre was renamed to Scotiabank Arena.
- Game 3 of the Raptors–Cavaliers series was extremely notable for LeBron James’ floater to win the game 105–103 for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- The Toronto Raptors became the first top seeded team to be swept from the conference semifinals as well as the first top seed to be swept out of the playoffs since the 2015 Atlanta Hawks (who were, ironically, also swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers).
- With their Game 5 win over the Utah Jazz, the Houston Rockets made the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2015.
Conference finals
- For the first time since 1994, the Houston Rockets held home court advantage in the Western Conference finals.
- Game 6 and Game 7 of the Western Conference finals was extremely notable for the Golden State Warriors’ second half comebacks to beat the Houston Rockets. The Warriors trailed the Rockets by as many as 17 points in Game 6 and as many as 11 points in Game 7 before coming back to win 115–86 and 101–92, respectively.
- Klay Thompson helped the Warriors force Game 7 by putting up another monster Game 6. He dropped 35 to defeat the Houston Rockets.
- The Houston Rockets set an NBA record 27 missed threes in Game 7. James Harden, Trevor Ariza and Eric Gordon shot a combined 4-34 from 3.
- For the first time since 1979 both Conference finals series went to a deciding Game 7.[1][2]
- In both Conference finals series, the road teams won both Game 7s. In the other two instances in which both Conference finals series went to a Game 7, the home team won each Conference finals Game 7 in the 1963 and 1979 Playoffs.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors advanced to their fourth consecutive NBA Finals appearances. This also marked the first time the same two NBA teams met in the NBA Finals four seasons in a row.
NBA Finals
- Game 1 of the NBA Finals was notable for JR Smith's infamous play that cost the Cleveland Cavaliers the game in the waning moments in regulation (they would lose in Overtime to the Golden State Warriors). LeBron James scored 51 points in the losing effort.
- Game 4 of the 2018 NBA Finals was the last game LeBron James played as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- This was also the first time a team was swept in the NBA Finals since 2007. Like in 2007, the Cleveland Cavaliers were also the team that got swept in the 2018 NBA Finals.
- The Golden State Warriors won their second consecutive championship, their third in four seasons.
Format
Within each conference, the eight teams with the most wins qualify for the playoffs. The seedings are based on each team's record.
Each conference's bracket is fixed; there is no reseeding. All rounds are best-of-seven series; the team that has four wins advances to the next round. All rounds, including the NBA Finals, are in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. Home court advantage in any round belong to the higher-seeded team, who has the better regular season record (number 1 is the highest). If two teams with the same record meet in a round, standard tiebreaker rules are used. The rule for determining home court advantage in the NBA Finals is winning percentage, then head-to-head record, followed by intra-conference record.
Playoff qualifying
On March 7, 2018, the Toronto Raptors became the first team to clinch a playoff spot.[3] On March 30, 2018, the Houston Rockets clinched the Western Conference ending a three-year run by the Golden State Warriors as the top seed.[4] The Rockets clinched the best record in the NBA a day later on March 31, 2018. For the first time since the 1996–97 NBA season, two teams played their last game against each other for the 8th and final spot in the playoffs. The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Denver Nuggets 112–106 in overtime to clinch the final playoff seed in the West. This also ended Minnesota's 13-year drought without a playoff appearance having last played in 2003–04 season.[5] For the first time since the 2010–11 NBA season, the Los Angeles Clippers would miss the postseason following a loss to the Denver Nuggets on April 7, 2018. This is the first time since 1960 that none of the teams from New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago made the playoffs.[6] For the first time since 2005, both the Lakers and Clippers missed the playoffs in the same season.
Eastern Conference
| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff berth | Division title | Best record in conference |
Best record in NBA | |||
| 1 | Toronto Raptors | 59–23 | March 7[7] | April 6[8] | April 6[8] | — |
| 2 | Boston Celtics | 55–27 | March 8[9] | — | — | — |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | 52–30 | March 26[10] | — | — | — |
| 4 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 50–32 | March 22[11] | April 10[12] | — | — |
| 5 | Indiana Pacers | 48–34 | March 25 [13] | — | — | — |
| 6 | Miami Heat | 44–38 | April 3[14] | April 11[15] | — | — |
| 7 | Milwaukee Bucks | 44–38 | April 4[16] | — | — | — |
| 8 | Washington Wizards | 43–39 | March 31[17] | — | — | — |
Western Conference
| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff berth | Division title | Best record in conference |
Best record in NBA | |||
| 1 | Houston Rockets | 65–17 | March 11[18] | March 15[19] | March 29[20] | March 29[20] |
| 2 | Golden State Warriors | 58–24 | March 12[21] | March 15[22] | — | — |
| 3 | Portland Trail Blazers | 49–33 | April 1[23] | April 11[24] | — | — |
| 4 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 48–34 | April 9[25] | — | — | — |
| 5 | Utah Jazz | 48–34 | April 8[26] | — | — | — |
| 6 | New Orleans Pelicans | 48–34 | April 10[27] | — | — | — |
| 7 | San Antonio Spurs | 47–35 | April 10 [28] | — | — | — |
| 8 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 47–35 | April 11[29] | — | — | — |
Bracket
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Teams with home court advantage, the higher seeded team, are shown in italics.
| First round | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Toronto* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E8 | Washington | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Toronto* | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Cleveland* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Cleveland* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E5 | Indiana | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Cleveland* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E6 | Miami* | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E7 | Milwaukee | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Cleveland* | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Golden State* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Houston* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W8 | Minnesota | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Houston* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W5 | Utah | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Oklahoma City | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W5 | Utah | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Houston* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Golden State* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland* | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | New Orleans | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | New Orleans | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Golden State* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Golden State* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W7 | San Antonio | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage
First round
- Note: Times are EDT (UTC−4) as listed by the NBA. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.
Eastern Conference first round
(1) Toronto Raptors vs. (8) Washington Wizards
April 14 5:30 pm |
| Washington Wizards 106, Toronto Raptors 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–28, 36–27, 26–31, 21–28 | ||
| Pts: John Wall 23 Rebs: Markieff Morris 11 Asts: John Wall 15 |
Pts: Serge Ibaka 23 Rebs: Serge Ibaka 12 Asts: Kyle Lowry 9 | |
| Toronto leads series, 1–0 | ||
Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario Attendance: 19,937 Referees: Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, Pat Fraher |
April 17 7:00 pm |
| Washington Wizards 119, Toronto Raptors 130 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–44, 31–32, 32–24, 29–30 | ||
| Pts: John Wall 29 Rebs: Kelly Oubre Jr. 5 Asts: John Wall 9 |
Pts: DeMar DeRozan 37 Rebs: Jonas Valančiūnas 14 Asts: Kyle Lowry 12 | |
| Toronto leads series, 2–0 | ||
Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario Attendance: 20,242 Referees: Mike Callahan, Courtney Kirkland, Tom Washington |
April 20 8:00 pm |
| Toronto Raptors 103, Washington Wizards 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–30, 32–39, 21–32, 21–21 | ||
| Pts: DeMar DeRozan 23 Rebs: Serge Ibaka 6 Asts: Kyle Lowry 8 |
Pts: Beal, Wall 28 each Rebs: Otto Porter 8 Asts: John Wall 14 | |
| Toronto leads series, 2–1 | ||
Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C. Attendance: 20,356 Referees: Ken Mauer, James Williams, Gary Zielinski |
April 22 6:00 pm |
| Toronto Raptors 98, Washington Wizards 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–22, 21–18, 29–40, 18–26 | ||
| Pts: DeMar DeRozan 35 Rebs: Serge Ibaka 10 Asts: DeMar DeRozan 6 |
Pts: Bradley Beal 31 Rebs: three players 6 each Asts: John Wall 14 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C. Attendance: 20,356 Referees: Derrick Stafford, Derrick Collins, Josh Tiven |
April 25 7:00 pm |
| Washington Wizards 98, Toronto Raptors 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–23, 23–25, 31–31, 20–29 | ||
| Pts: John Wall 26 Rebs: Marcin Gortat 12 Asts: John Wall 9 |
Pts: DeMar DeRozan 32 Rebs: Jonas Valančiūnas 13 Asts: Kyle Lowry 10 | |
| Toronto leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 27 7:00 pm |
| Toronto Raptors 102, Washington Wizards 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–30, 30–23, 23–25, 29–14 | ||
| Pts: Kyle Lowry 24 Rebs: Jonas Valančiūnas 12 Asts: Kyle Lowry 6 |
Pts: Bradley Beal 32 Rebs: Markieff Morris 15 Asts: John Wall 8 | |
| Toronto wins series, 4–2 | ||
Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C. Attendance: 20,356 Referees: James Capers, Sean Corbin, Zach Zarba |
| Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Wizards winning the first meeting in 2015.[30]
| Washington leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Milwaukee Bucks
April 15 1:00 pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 107, Boston Celtics 113 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–29, 30–15, 19–26, 33–29, Overtime: 8–14 | ||
| Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 35 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 13 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 7 |
Pts: Al Horford 24 Rebs: Al Horford 12 Asts: three players 4 each | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Mike Callahan, Brian Forte, Jason Phillips |
April 17 8:00 pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 106, Boston Celtics 120 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–33, 29–27, 24–30, 31–30 | ||
| Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 30 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 9 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 8 |
Pts: Jaylen Brown 30 Rebs: Jayson Tatum 7 Asts: Terry Rozier 8 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 20 9:30 pm (8:30 pm CDT) |
| Boston Celtics 92, Milwaukee Bucks 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–27, 23–31, 32–27, 25–31 | ||
| Pts: Al Horford 16 Rebs: Greg Monroe 12 Asts: Terry Rozier 9 |
Pts: Khris Middleton 23 Rebs: Khris Middleton 8 Asts: Khris Middleton 7 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 | ||
Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Attendance: 18,717 Referees: Scott Foster, Sean Corbin, Courtney Kirkland |
April 22 1:00 pm (12:00 pm CDT) |
| Boston Celtics 102, Milwaukee Bucks 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–24, 18–27, 32–24, 35–29 | ||
| Pts: Jaylen Brown 34 Rebs: Aron Baynes 11 Asts: Terry Rozier 8 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 27 Rebs: Antetokounmpo, Parker 7 each Asts: Antetokounmpo, Bledsoe 5 each | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Attendance: 18,717 Referees: Ed Malloy, Brent Barnaky, Tom Washington |
April 24 7:00 pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 87, Boston Celtics 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–23, 22–25, 24–24, 26–20 | ||
| Pts: Khris Middleton 23 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 10 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 9 |
Pts: Al Horford 22 Rebs: Al Horford 14 Asts: Terry Rozier 5 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 26 8:00 pm (7:00 pm CDT) |
| Boston Celtics 86, Milwaukee Bucks 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–22, 15–26, 26–26, 21–23 | ||
| Pts: Jayson Tatum 22 Rebs: Al Horford 10 Asts: Terry Rozier 5 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 31 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 14 Asts: Matthew Dellavedova 6 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Attendance: 18,717 Referees: Mike Callahan, Tony Brothers, David Guthrie |
April 28 8:00 pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 96, Boston Celtics 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–30, 25–20, 25–31, 29–31 | ||
| Pts: Khris Middleton 32 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 9 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 5 |
Pts: Horford, Rozier 26 each Rebs: Al Horford 8 Asts: Terry Rozier 9 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–3 | ||
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Derrick Stafford, John Goble, Josh Tiven |
| Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning four of the first five meetings.[31]
| Boston leads 4–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Miami Heat
April 14 8:00 pm |
| Miami Heat 103, Philadelphia 76ers 130 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–29, 25–27, 18–34, 25–40 | ||
| Pts: Kelly Olynyk 26 Rebs: Olynyk, Winslow 7 each Asts: Kelly Olynyk 5 |
Pts: JJ Redick 28 Rebs: Ersan İlyasova 14 Asts: Ben Simmons 14 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 | ||
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Attendance: 20,617 Referees: Marc Davis, Bill Kennedy, Bill Spooner |
April 16 8:00 pm |
| Miami Heat 113, Philadelphia 76ers 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–29, 34–13, 30–33, 27–28 | ||
| Pts: Dwyane Wade 28 Rebs: Johnson, Wade 7 each Asts: Kelly Olynyk 6 |
Pts: Ben Simmons 24 Rebs: Ersan İlyasova 11 Asts: Ben Simmons 8 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Attendance: 20,753 Referees: Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, Karl Lane |
April 19 7:00 pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 128, Miami Heat 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 37–33, 26–31, 33–30, 32–14 | ||
| Pts: Joel Embiid 23 Rebs: Ben Simmons 12 Asts: Ben Simmons 7 |
Pts: Goran Dragić 23 Rebs: Justise Winslow 10 Asts: Goran Dragić 8 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 | ||
American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida Attendance: 19,812 Referees: James Capers, Tony Brown, Kane Fitzgerald |
April 21 2:30 pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 106, Miami Heat 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–26, 30–35, 23–22, 27–19 | ||
| Pts: JJ Redick 24 Rebs: Ben Simmons 13 Asts: Ben Simmons 10 |
Pts: Dwyane Wade 25 Rebs: Hassan Whiteside 13 Asts: Josh Richardson 7 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 3–1 | ||
American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida Attendance: 19,804 Referees: Mike Callahan, Jason Phillips, Kevin Scott |
April 24 8:00 pm |
| Miami Heat 91, Philadelphia 76ers 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 25–23, 20–34, 25–24 | ||
| Pts: Kelly Olynyk 18 Rebs: Kelly Olynyk 8 Asts: Kelly Olynyk 6 |
Pts: JJ Redick 27 Rebs: Joel Embiid 12 Asts: Ben Simmons 6 | |
| Philadelphia wins series, 4–1 | ||
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Attendance: 21,171 Referees: Derrick Stafford, Eric Lewis, Josh Tiven |
With the win, the Sixers won their first playoff series since 2012.
| Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Heat winning the first meeting.[32]
| Miami leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Indiana Pacers
April 15 3:30 pm |
| Indiana Pacers 98, Cleveland Cavaliers 80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–14, 22–24, 18–27, 25–15 | ||
| Pts: Victor Oladipo 32 Rebs: Myles Turner 8 Asts: Darren Collison 6 |
Pts: LeBron James 24 Rebs: Kevin Love 17 Asts: LeBron James 12 | |
| Indiana leads series, 1–0 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Zach Zarba, Bennie Adams, John Goble |
April 18 7:00 pm |
| Indiana Pacers 97, Cleveland Cavaliers 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–33, 28–25, 21–16, 30–26 | ||
| Pts: Victor Oladipo 22 Rebs: Thaddeus Young 6 Asts: Collison, Oladipo 6 each |
Pts: LeBron James 46 Rebs: LeBron James 12 Asts: LeBron James 5 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Ed Malloy, David Guthrie, Eric Lewis |
April 20 7:00 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 90, Indiana Pacers 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–20, 26–20, 12–23, 21–29 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 28 Rebs: LeBron James 12 Asts: LeBron James 8 |
Pts: Bojan Bogdanović 30 Rebs: Myles Turner 10 Asts: Victor Oladipo 7 | |
| Indiana leads series, 2–1 | ||
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 17,923 Referees: Derrick Stafford, Derrick Collins, Josh Tiven |
April 22 8:30 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 104, Indiana Pacers 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–24, 30–26, 20–28, 24–22 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 32 Rebs: LeBron James 13 Asts: LeBron James 7 |
Pts: Domantas Sabonis 19 Rebs: Thaddeus Young 16 Asts: Darren Collison 8 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 17,923 Referees: Ken Mauer, Pat Fraher, Rodney Mott |
April 25 7:00 pm |
| Indiana Pacers 95, Cleveland Cavaliers 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–23, 31–26, 17–32, 22–17 | ||
| Pts: Domantas Sabonis 22 Rebs: Victor Oladipo 12 Asts: Cory Joseph 6 |
Pts: LeBron James 44 Rebs: James, Love 10 each Asts: LeBron James 8 | |
| Cleveland leads series, 3–2 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: James Capers, Bill Kennedy, Bill Spooner |
LeBron James capped off his heroic Game 5 performance with a game-winning 3 at the buzzer to put the Cavaliers up 3–2 in the series. This was the fourth time James has hit a game-winning buzzer beater in the playoffs.
April 27 8:00 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 87, Indiana Pacers 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–29, 21–28, 20–35, 20–29 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 22 Rebs: Kevin Love 7 Asts: LeBron James 7 |
Pts: Victor Oladipo 28 Rebs: Victor Oladipo 13 Asts: Victor Oladipo 10 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 17,923 Referees: Marc Davis, Jason Phillips, Sean Wright |
April 29 1:00 pm |
| Indiana Pacers 101, Cleveland Cavaliers 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–31, 24–23, 31–22, 27–29 | ||
| Pts: Victor Oladipo 30 Rebs: Victor Oladipo 12 Asts: Victor Oladipo 6 |
Pts: LeBron James 45 Rebs: Tristan Thompson 10 Asts: LeBron James 7 | |
| Cleveland wins series, 4–3 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, Kane Fitzgerald |
| Indiana won 3–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series.[33]
| Tied 1–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Conference first round
(1) Houston Rockets vs. (8) Minnesota Timberwolves
April 15 9:00 pm (8:00 pm CDT) |
| Minnesota Timberwolves 101, Houston Rockets 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–27, 26–27, 25–22, 29–28 | ||
| Pts: Andrew Wiggins 18 Rebs: Karl-Anthony Towns 12 Asts: Jeff Teague 8 |
Pts: James Harden 44 Rebs: Clint Capela 12 Asts: James Harden 8 | |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 18 9:30 pm (8:30 pm CDT) |
| Minnesota Timberwolves 82, Houston Rockets 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 17–37, 18–25, 24–22 | ||
| Pts: Nemanja Bjelica 16 Rebs: Karl-Anthony Towns 10 Asts: Jones, Wiggins 3 each |
Pts: Chris Paul 27 Rebs: Clint Capela 16 Asts: Chris Paul 8 | |
| Houston leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 21 7:30 pm (6:30 pm CDT) |
| Houston Rockets 105, Minnesota Timberwolves 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–27, 23–25, 24–35, 30–34 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 29 Rebs: Clint Capela 11 Asts: James Harden 7 |
Pts: Jimmy Butler 28 Rebs: Karl-Anthony Towns 16 Asts: Jeff Teague 8 | |
| Houston leads series, 2–1 | ||
Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 18,978 Referees: Marc Davis, Kevin Cutler, Bill Kennedy |
April 23 8:00 pm (7:00 pm CDT) |
| Houston Rockets 119, Minnesota Timberwolves 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–21, 29–28, 50–20, 19–31 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 36 Rebs: Clint Capela 17 Asts: Chris Paul 6 |
Pts: Karl-Anthony Towns 22 Rebs: Karl-Anthony Towns 15 Asts: Butler, Teague 5 each | |
| Houston leads series, 3–1 | ||
Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 18,978 Referees: James Capers, Mark Ayotte, David Guthrie |
April 25 9:30 pm (8:30 pm CDT) |
| Minnesota Timberwolves 104, Houston Rockets 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 33–30, 15–30, 30–37 | ||
| Pts: Karl-Anthony Towns 23 Rebs: Karl-Anthony Towns 14 Asts: Jeff Teague 7 |
Pts: Clint Capela 26 Rebs: Clint Capela 15 Asts: James Harden 12 | |
| Houston wins series, 4–1 | ||
| Houston won 4–0 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Rockets winning the first meeting.[34]
| Houston leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Golden State Warriors vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs
April 14 3:00 pm (12:00 pm PDT) |
| San Antonio Spurs 92, Golden State Warriors 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–28, 24–29, 22–29, 29–27 | ||
| Pts: Rudy Gay 15 Rebs: Rudy Gay 6 Asts: Pau Gasol 4 |
Pts: Klay Thompson 27 Rebs: Durant, Green 8 each Asts: Draymond Green 11 | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 19,596 Referees: James Capers, Kane Fitzgerald, Ron Garretson |
April 16 10:30 pm (7:30 pm PDT) |
| San Antonio Spurs 101, Golden State Warriors 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–23, 28–24, 22–33, 26–36 | ||
| Pts: LaMarcus Aldridge 34 Rebs: LaMarcus Aldridge 12 Asts: five players 3 each |
Pts: Kevin Durant 32 Rebs: Iguodala, McGee 7 each Asts: Durant, Green 6 each | |
| Golden State leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 19 9:30 pm (6:30 pm PDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 110, San Antonio Spurs 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–23, 26–23, 32–26, 26–25 | ||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 26 Rebs: Kevin Durant 9 Asts: Draymond Green 7 |
Pts: LaMarcus Aldridge 18 Rebs: LaMarcus Aldridge 10 Asts: Aldridge, Murray 4 each | |
| Golden State leads series, 3–0 | ||
April 22 3:30 pm (12:30 pm PDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 90, San Antonio Spurs 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–30, 20–26, 29–21, 19–26 | ||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 34 Rebs: Draymond Green 18 Asts: Draymond Green 9 |
Pts: LaMarcus Aldridge 22 Rebs: LaMarcus Aldridge 10 Asts: Ginóbili, Mills 5 each | |
| Golden State leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 24 10:30 pm (7:30 pm PDT) |
| San Antonio Spurs 91, Golden State Warriors 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–22, 18–27, 27–30, 26–20 | ||
| Pts: LaMarcus Aldridge 30 Rebs: LaMarcus Aldridge 12 Asts: Manu Ginóbili 7 |
Pts: Kevin Durant 25 Rebs: Draymond Green 19 Asts: Draymond Green 7 | |
| Golden State wins series, 4–1 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Mike Callahan, Tony Brown, Jason Phillips |
- Game 5 is Manu Ginóbili's final NBA game.
| Golden State won 3–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Warriors winning two of the first three meetings.[35]
| Golden State leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) New Orleans Pelicans
April 14 10:30 pm (7:30 pm PDT) |
| New Orleans Pelicans 97, Portland Trail Blazers 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–18, 24–18, 30–27, 22–32 | ||
| Pts: Anthony Davis 35 Rebs: Anthony Davis 14 Asts: Rajon Rondo 17 |
Pts: CJ McCollum 19 Rebs: Ed Davis 13 Asts: Damian Lillard 7 | |
| New Orleans leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 17 10:30 pm (7:30 pm PDT) |
| New Orleans Pelicans 111, Portland Trail Blazers 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–23, 29–36, 33–19, 24–24 | ||
| Pts: Jrue Holiday 33 Rebs: Anthony Davis 13 Asts: Holiday, Rondo 9 each |
Pts: CJ McCollum 22 Rebs: Al-Farouq Aminu 15 Asts: CJ McCollum 6 | |
| New Orleans leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 19 9:00 pm (8:00 pm CDT) |
| Portland Trail Blazers 102, New Orleans Pelicans 119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–36, 25–28, 25–27, 32–28 | ||
| Pts: CJ McCollum 22 Rebs: Al-Farouq Aminu 8 Asts: Maurice Harkless 4 |
Pts: Nikola Mirotić 30 Rebs: Anthony Davis 11 Asts: Rajon Rondo 11 | |
| New Orleans leads series, 3–0 | ||
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana Attendance: 18,551 Referees: Mike Callahan, Jason Phillips, Tom Washington |
April 21 5:00 pm (4:00 pm CDT) |
| Portland Trail Blazers 123, New Orleans Pelicans 131 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–26, 31–32, 31–42, 36–31 | ||
| Pts: CJ McCollum 38 Rebs: Jusuf Nurkić 11 Asts: Damian Lillard 6 |
Pts: Anthony Davis 47 Rebs: Davis, Mirotić 11 each Asts: Rajon Rondo 16 | |
| New Orleans wins series, 4–0 | ||
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana Attendance: 18,544 Referees: James Capers, Kane Fitzgerald, Ron Garretson |
The Pelicans completed a sweep of the Trail Blazers for their 1st series win in the playoffs since the 2008 NBA playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks as the New Orleans Hornets.
| Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Trail Blazers and Pelicans.[36]
(4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Utah Jazz
April 15 6:30 pm (5:30 pm CDT) |
| Utah Jazz 108, Oklahoma City Thunder 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–25, 23–29, 24–27, 36–35 | ||
| Pts: Donovan Mitchell 27 Rebs: Donovan Mitchell 10 Asts: Ricky Rubio 5 |
Pts: Paul George 36 Rebs: Russell Westbrook 13 Asts: Russell Westbrook 8 | |
| Oklahoma City leads series, 1–0 | ||
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Attendance: 18,203 Referees: Derrick Stafford, David Guthrie, Josh Tiven |
April 18 8:00 pm (7:00 pm CDT) |
| Utah Jazz 102, Oklahoma City Thunder 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 27–21, 21–33, 28–16 | ||
| Pts: Donovan Mitchell 28 Rebs: Derrick Favors 16 Asts: Ricky Rubio 9 |
Pts: Russell Westbrook 19 Rebs: Paul George 10 Asts: Russell Westbrook 13 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Attendance: 18,203 Referees: Ken Mauer, James Williams, Gary Zielinski |
April 21 10:00 pm (8:00 pm MDT) |
| Oklahoma City Thunder 102, Utah Jazz 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–22, 23–36, 22–31, 27–26 | ||
| Pts: Paul George 23 Rebs: Russell Westbrook 11 Asts: Russell Westbrook 9 |
Pts: Ricky Rubio 26 Rebs: Rudy Gobert 12 Asts: Ricky Rubio 10 | |
| Utah leads series, 2–1 | ||
Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah Attendance: 18,306 Referees: Zach Zarba, Bennie Adams, John Goble |
April 23 10:30 pm (8:30 pm MDT) |
| Oklahoma City Thunder 96, Utah Jazz 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–24, 22–34, 21–32, 23–23 | ||
| Pts: Paul George 32 Rebs: Russell Westbrook 14 Asts: Russell Westbrook 3 |
Pts: Donovan Mitchell 33 Rebs: Rudy Gobert 10 Asts: Ricky Rubio 8 | |
| Utah leads series, 3–1 | ||
Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah Attendance: 18,306 Referees: Marc Davis, Bill Kennedy, Bill Spooner |
April 25 9:30 pm (8:30 pm CDT) |
| Utah Jazz 99, Oklahoma City Thunder 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–29, 22–12, 22–37, 21–29 | ||
| Pts: Jae Crowder 27 Rebs: Ricky Rubio 12 Asts: Ricky Rubio 7 |
Pts: Russell Westbrook 45 Rebs: Russell Westbrook 15 Asts: Russell Westbrook 7 | |
| Utah leads series, 3–2 | ||
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Attendance: 18,203 Referees: Ed Malloy, Kane Fitzgerald, Tom Washington |
The Thunder trailed by as much as 25 points in the 3rd quarter. However, Russell Westbrook and Paul George combined for 47 second-half points to help keep their season alive. The Thunder outscored the Jazz 61-28 since the comeback started with 8:32 left in the 3rd quarter. The 25-point rally was their largest in franchise history and one of the biggest comebacks for a team facing elimination in playoff history.
April 27 10:30 pm (8:30 pm MDT) |
| Oklahoma City Thunder 91, Utah Jazz 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–18, 19–23, 29–37, 21–18 | ||
| Pts: Russell Westbrook 46 Rebs: Steven Adams 15 Asts: Paul George 8 |
Pts: Donovan Mitchell 38 Rebs: Rudy Gobert 13 Asts: Joe Ingles 5 | |
| Utah wins series, 4–2 | ||
Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah Attendance: 18,306 Referees: Scott Foster, Ron Garretson, Eric Lewis |
| Oklahoma City won 3–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the fifth playoff meeting between the SuperSonics/Thunder franchise and the Jazz, but the first since the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder in 2008. The two teams have split their previous four playoff matchups.[37]
| Tied 2–2 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Conference semifinals
- Note: Times are EDT (UTC−4) as listed by the NBA. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.
Eastern Conference semifinals
(1) Toronto Raptors vs. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers
May 1 8:00 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 113, Toronto Raptors 112 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–33, 38–27, 25–27, 23–18, Overtime: 8–7 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 26 Rebs: Kevin Love 13 Asts: LeBron James 13 |
Pts: DeMar DeRozan 22 Rebs: Jonas Valančiūnas 21 Asts: Kyle Lowry 10 | |
| Cleveland leads series, 1–0 | ||
Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario Attendance: 19,954 Referees: Derrick Stafford, Pat Fraher, John Goble |
May 3 6:00 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 128, Toronto Raptors 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–29, 35–34, 37–24, 30–23 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 43 Rebs: Kevin Love 11 Asts: LeBron James 14 |
Pts: DeMar DeRozan 24 Rebs: Jonas Valančiūnas 12 Asts: Kyle Lowry 8 | |
| Cleveland leads series, 2–0 | ||
Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario Attendance: 20,127 Referees: Ken Mauer, Kane Fitzgerald, Brian Forte |
May 5 8:30 pm |
| Toronto Raptors 103, Cleveland Cavaliers 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–24, 21–31, 25–24, 38–26 | ||
| Pts: Kyle Lowry 27 Rebs: Jonas Valančiūnas 11 Asts: Kyle Lowry 7 |
Pts: LeBron James 38 Rebs: Kevin Love 16 Asts: LeBron James 7 | |
| Cleveland leads series, 3–0 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Mike Callahan, Courtney Kirkland, Josh Tiven |
LeBron James capped off a 38-point performance with a fadeaway bank shot floater[38] at the buzzer to lead the Cavs to a commanding 3–0 series lead.
May 7 8:30 pm |
| Toronto Raptors 93, Cleveland Cavaliers 128 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–30, 21–33, 25–37, 21–28 | ||
| Pts: Jonas Valančiūnas 18 Rebs: DeRozan, Valančiūnas, 5 each Asts: Kyle Lowry 10 |
Pts: LeBron James 29 Rebs: LeBron James 8 Asts: LeBron James 11 | |
| Cleveland wins series, 4–0 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Marc Davis, Tony Brown, David Guthrie |
| Cleveland won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with Cleveland winning the first two meetings.[39]
| Cleveland leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Philadelphia 76ers
April 30 8:00 pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 101, Boston Celtics 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 23–31, 30–31, 26–30 | ||
| Pts: Joel Embiid 31 Rebs: Joel Embiid 13 Asts: Ben Simmons 6 |
Pts: Terry Rozier 29 Rebs: Terry Rozier 8 Asts: Marcus Smart 9 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 3 8:30 pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 103, Boston Celtics 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–22, 25–29, 19–28, 28–29 | ||
| Pts: JJ Redick 23 Rebs: Joel Embiid 14 Asts: Ben Simmons 7 |
Pts: Jayson Tatum 21 Rebs: Al Horford 12 Asts: Terry Rozier 9 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Mike Callahan, Jason Phillips, Sean Wright |
May 5 5:00 pm |
| Boston Celtics 101, Philadelphia 76ers 98 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–20, 29–31, 21–17, 20–21, Overtime: 12–9 | ||
| Pts: Jayson Tatum 24 Rebs: Aron Baynes 10 Asts: Jayson Tatum 4 |
Pts: Joel Embiid 22 Rebs: Joel Embiid 19 Asts: Ben Simmons 8 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–0 | ||
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Attendance: 20,758 Referees: Derrick Stafford, Pat Fraher, John Goble |
May 7 6:00 pm |
| Boston Celtics 92, Philadelphia 76ers 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 21–26, 22–29, 27–27 | ||
| Pts: Jayson Tatum 20 Rebs: Al Horford 10 Asts: Jayson Tatum 4 |
Pts: Dario Šarić 25 Rebs: Embiid, Simmons 13 each Asts: McConnell, Simmons 5 each | |
| Boston leads series, 3–1 | ||
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Attendance: 20,936 Referees: Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, Sean Corbin |
May 9 8:00 pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 112, Boston Celtics 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–25, 28–36, 30–22, 30–31 | ||
| Pts: Embiid, Šarić 27 each Rebs: Joel Embiid 12 Asts: McConnell, Simmons 6 each |
Pts: Jayson Tatum 25 Rebs: Aron Baynes 9 Asts: Marcus Smart 6 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–1 | ||
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 18,624 Referees: James Capers, Tom Washington, Zach Zarba |
| Boston won 3–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
This was the 21st playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning 12 of the first 20 meetings.[40]
| Boston leads 12–8 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Conference semifinals
(1) Houston Rockets vs. (5) Utah Jazz
April 29 3:30 pm (2:30 pm CDT) |
| Utah Jazz 96, Houston Rockets 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–34, 18–30, 29–22, 28–24 | ||
| Pts: Crowder, Mitchell 21 each Rebs: Rudy Gobert 9 Asts: Ingles, Mitchell 5 each |
Pts: James Harden 41 Rebs: Clint Capela 12 Asts: James Harden 7 | |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 2 8:00 pm (7:00 pm CDT) |
| Utah Jazz 116, Houston Rockets 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 36–28, 28–27, 22–30, 30–23 | ||
| Pts: Joe Ingles 27 Rebs: Rudy Gobert 14 Asts: Donovan Mitchell 11 |
Pts: James Harden 32 Rebs: Clint Capela 11 Asts: James Harden 11 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
May 4 10:30 pm (8:30 pm MDT) |
| Houston Rockets 113, Utah Jazz 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 39–22, 31–18, 23–25, 20–27 | ||
| Pts: Gordon, Harden 25 each Rebs: Clint Capela 8 Asts: James Harden 12 |
Pts: Royce O'Neale 17 Rebs: Rudy Gobert 9 Asts: Raulzinho Neto 4 | |
| Houston leads series, 2–1 | ||
Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah Attendance: 18,306 Referees: Marc Davis, Ron Garretson, Ed Malloy |
May 6 8:00 pm (6:00 pm MDT) |
| Houston Rockets 100, Utah Jazz 87 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–23, 28–25, 21–17, 21–22 | ||
| Pts: Chris Paul 27 Rebs: Clint Capela 15 Asts: Chris Paul 6 |
Pts: Donovan Mitchell 25 Rebs: Rudy Gobert 10 Asts: Joe Ingles 4 | |
| Houston leads series, 3–1 | ||
Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah Attendance: 18,306 Referees: Ken Mauer, Bill Kennedy, James Williams |
May 8 8:00 pm (7:00 pm CDT) |
| Utah Jazz 102, Houston Rockets 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–21, 30–33, 32–21, 24–37 | ||
| Pts: Donovan Mitchell 24 Rebs: Rudy Gobert 9 Asts: Donovan Mitchell 9 |
Pts: Chris Paul 41 Rebs: Chris Paul 7 Asts: Chris Paul 10 | |
| Houston wins series, 4–1 | ||
| Houston won 4–0 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning five of the first seven meetings.[41]
| Utah leads 5–2 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Golden State Warriors vs. (6) New Orleans Pelicans
April 28 10:30 pm (7:30 pm PDT) |
| New Orleans Pelicans 101, Golden State Warriors 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–35, 21–41, 19–27, 27–20 | ||
| Pts: Anthony Davis 21 Rebs: Anthony Davis 10 Asts: Rajon Rondo 11 |
Pts: Klay Thompson 27 Rebs: Draymond Green 15 Asts: Draymond Green 11 | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Ken Mauer, Bill Kennedy, James Williams |
May 1 10:30 pm (7:30 pm PDT) |
| New Orleans Pelicans 116, Golden State Warriors 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–27, 26–31, 31–30, 30–33 | ||
| Pts: Anthony Davis 25 Rebs: Anthony Davis 15 Asts: Rajon Rondo 12 |
Pts: Kevin Durant 29 Rebs: Draymond Green 9 Asts: Draymond Green 12 | |
| Golden State leads series, 2–0 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Mike Callahan, Jason Phillips, Sean Wright |
May 4 8:00 pm (7:00 pm CDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 100, New Orleans Pelicans 119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–30, 35–32, 19–30, 25–27 | ||
| Pts: Klay Thompson 26 Rebs: Draymond Green 12 Asts: Draymond Green 9 |
Pts: Anthony Davis 33 Rebs: Anthony Davis 18 Asts: Rajon Rondo 21 | |
| Golden State leads series, 2–1 | ||
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana Attendance: 18,551 Referees: Scott Foster, Mark Ayotte, Eric Lewis |
May 6 3:30 pm (2:30 pm CDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 118, New Orleans Pelicans 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 37–22, 24–32, 33–19, 24–19 | ||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 38 Rebs: Durant, Green 9 each Asts: Draymond Green 9 |
Pts: Anthony Davis 26 Rebs: Anthony Davis 12 Asts: Rajon Rondo 6 | |
| Golden State leads series, 3–1 | ||
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana Attendance: 18,513 Referees: James Capers, Tom Washington, Zach Zarba |
May 8 10:30 pm (7:30 pm PDT) |
| New Orleans Pelicans 104, Golden State Warriors 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–32, 30–27, 19–36, 29–18 | ||
| Pts: Anthony Davis 34 Rebs: Anthony Davis 19 Asts: Jrue Holiday 11 |
Pts: Stephen Curry 28 Rebs: Draymond Green 14 Asts: Draymond Green 9 | |
| Golden State wins series, 4–1 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Derrick Stafford, Ed Malloy, Josh Tiven |
| Golden State won 3–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||
This was the second meeting in the playoffs between the two teams, with the Warriors winning the first meeting.[42]
| Golden State leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Conference finals
- Note: Times are EDT (UTC−4) as listed by the NBA. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.
Eastern Conference finals
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers
May 13 3:30 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 83, Boston Celtics 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–36, 17–25, 29–17, 19–30 | ||
| Pts: Kevin Love 17 Rebs: Tristan Thompson 11 Asts: LeBron James 9 |
Pts: Jaylen Brown 23 Rebs: Marcus Morris 10 Asts: Terry Rozier 8 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 15 8:30 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 94, Boston Celtics 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–23, 28–25, 22–36, 17–23 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 42 Rebs: Kevin Love 15 Asts: LeBron James 12 |
Pts: Jaylen Brown 23 Rebs: Al Horford 10 Asts: Marcus Smart 9 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Mike Callahan, Derrick Stafford, Sean Wright |
May 19 8:30 pm |
| Boston Celtics 86, Cleveland Cavaliers 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–32, 24–29, 22–26, 23–29 | ||
| Pts: Jayson Tatum 18 Rebs: Al Horford 7 Asts: Marcus Smart 6 |
Pts: LeBron James 27 Rebs: Kevin Love 14 Asts: LeBron James 12 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: James Capers, Josh Tiven, Zach Zarba |
May 21 8:30 pm |
| Boston Celtics 102, Cleveland Cavaliers 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–34, 35–34, 23–21, 26–22 | ||
| Pts: Jaylen Brown 25 Rebs: Al Horford 7 Asts: Terry Rozier 11 |
Pts: LeBron James 44 Rebs: Tristan Thompson 12 Asts: four players 3 each | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Scott Foster, Bill Kennedy, Eric Lewis |
May 23 8:30 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 83, Boston Celtics 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–32, 23–21, 18–23, 23–20 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 26 Rebs: LeBron James 10 Asts: LeBron James 5 |
Pts: Jayson Tatum 24 Rebs: Al Horford 12 Asts: Terry Rozier 6 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 | ||
May 25 8:30 pm |
| Boston Celtics 99, Cleveland Cavaliers 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–20, 18–34, 30–29, 26–26 | ||
| Pts: Terry Rozier 28 Rebs: Al Horford 9 Asts: Marcus Smart 8 |
Pts: LeBron James 46 Rebs: LeBron James 11 Asts: LeBron James 9 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Mike Callahan, John Goble, Derrick Stafford |
May 27 8:30 pm |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 87, Boston Celtics 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–26, 21–17, 20–13, 28–23 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 35 Rebs: LeBron James 15 Asts: LeBron James 9 |
Pts: Jayson Tatum 24 Rebs: Marcus Morris 12 Asts: Marcus Smart 7 | |
| Cleveland wins series, 4–3 | ||
It marked the first time since the 1987–88 season that the Celtics made two consecutive Conference finals. It was also the Celtics' first home loss of the postseason. Their loss at home after leading 3–2 in the series was the first time that had happened since 2009. This was the fifth time in NBA history that the road team won a Game 7 after the home team had won each of the first six games. LeBron James became the first non-Celtic to advance to 8 consecutive NBA Finals. It was also the second time in the Celtics' history that they had lost a playoff series in which they had taken a 2–0 lead.
| Cleveland won 2–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning four of the first seven meetings.[43]
| Boston leads 4–3 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Conference finals
(1) Houston Rockets vs. (2) Golden State Warriors
May 14 9:00 pm (8:00 pm CDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 119, Houston Rockets 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–30, 27–26, 31–24, 32–26 | ||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 37 Rebs: Draymond Green 9 Asts: Draymond Green 9 |
Pts: James Harden 41 Rebs: Chris Paul 11 Asts: James Harden 7 | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
Toyota Center, Houston, Texas Attendance: 18,055 Referees: Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, Tom Washington |
May 16 9:00 pm (8:00 pm CDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 105, Houston Rockets 127 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–26, 29–38, 29–31, 26–32 | ||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 38 Rebs: Stephen Curry 7 Asts: Stephen Curry 7 |
Pts: Gordon, Harden 27 each Rebs: Capela, Harden 10 each Asts: Ariza, Paul 6 each | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
May 20 8:00 pm (5:00 pm PDT) |
| Houston Rockets 85, Golden State Warriors 126 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–31, 21–23, 24–34, 18–38 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 20 Rebs: Chris Paul 10 Asts: James Harden 9 |
Pts: Stephen Curry 35 Rebs: Draymond Green 17 Asts: Durant, Green 6 each | |
| Golden State leads series, 2–1 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Marc Davis, Sean Corbin, Jason Phillips |
May 22 9:00 pm (6:00 pm PDT) |
| Houston Rockets 95, Golden State Warriors 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–28, 34–18, 17–34, 25–12 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 30 Rebs: P. J. Tucker 16 Asts: Harden, Paul 4 each |
Pts: Stephen Curry 28 Rebs: Draymond Green 13 Asts: Draymond Green 8 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Mike Callahan, Kane Fitzgerald, Derrick Stafford |
May 24 9:00 pm (8:00 pm CDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 94, Houston Rockets 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–23, 28–22, 27–26, 22–27 | ||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 29 Rebs: Draymond Green 15 Asts: Stephen Curry 6 |
Pts: Eric Gordon 24 Rebs: Clint Capela 14 Asts: Chris Paul 6 | |
| Houston leads series, 3–2 | ||
The game was a memorable back-and-forth affair that came down to the wire. In the final seconds (6.7 seconds to be exact) with the Rockets up 96–94, the Warriors had one last chance to tie or take the lead in the game, Draymond Green however lost his balance and turned the ball over to Eric Gordon who was then fouled and sealed the game making both of his free throws sending Houston within 1 game to their first trip to the NBA Finals since 1995, but it came at a cost however as Chris Paul suffered a "right hamstring injury" in the final minute, he did not play for the rest of the series.
Kevin Durant scored 29 points while Draymond Green had 15 rebounds & Stephen Curry had 6 assists for the Warriors
Eric Gordon scored 24 points while Clint Capela scored 14 rebounds & Chris Paul with 6 assists for the Rockets.
May 26 9:00 pm (6:00 pm PDT) |
| Houston Rockets 86, Golden State Warriors 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 39–22, 22–29, 16–33, 9–31 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 32 Rebs: Clint Capela 15 Asts: James Harden 9 |
Pts: Klay Thompson 35 Rebs: Draymond Green 10 Asts: Draymond Green 9 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
Golden State rallied from a 17-point first quarter deficit by outscoring Houston 64–25 in the second half to force a Game 7. The Rockets' 25 second-half points tied a franchise record low for scoring in any half in the postseason.
May 28 9:00 pm (8:00 pm CDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 101, Houston Rockets 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–24, 24–30, 33–15, 25–23 | ||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 34 Rebs: Draymond Green 13 Asts: Stephen Curry 10 |
Pts: James Harden 32 Rebs: P. J. Tucker 12 Asts: Gordon, Harden 6 each | |
| Golden State wins series, 4–3 | ||
Toyota Center, Houston, Texas Attendance: 18,055 Referees: Scott Foster, Mike Callahan, Derrick Stafford |
The Rockets controlled the 1st half, leading by as much as 15 points, the half ended on an Eric Gordon buzzer-beating layup putting the score at halftime 54–43 in Favor of Houston. However, the game took a drastic change from that point as the Warriors would once again rally and took the lead with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, a lead they never relinquished as they continued to cruise throughout the rest of the game to win their 4th Consecutive Western Conference title.
For The Warriors: Kevin Durant scored 34 points, Draymond Green scored 13 rebounds & Steph Curry scored 10 assists, the Team went 16-of-39 from the 3-point line during the game
For The Rockets: Although James Harden scored 32 points & 6 Assists with P.J. Tucker securing 12 rebounds, the Rockets missed 27 consecutive 3-pointers, which is a record for most ever missed consecutively in a playoff game. They also went 1-of-30 from the 3-point line to close out the game.
This is the Warriors' first game 7 road win since 1948 and the first Western Conference team to win a conference finals game 7 on the road since the 2001–02 Los Angeles Lakers.
| Houston won 2–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Warriors winning the first two meetings.[44]
| Golden State leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
2018 NBA Finals: (E4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (W2) Golden State Warriors
- Note: Times are EDT (UTC−4) as listed by the NBA. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.
May 31 9:00 pm (6:00 pm PDT) |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 114, Golden State Warriors 124 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–29, 26–27, 22–28, 29–23, Overtime: 7–17 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 51 Rebs: Kevin Love 13 Asts: LeBron James 8 |
Pts: Stephen Curry 29 Rebs: Draymond Green 11 Asts: Green, Curry 9 each | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
June 3 8:00 pm (5:00 pm PDT) |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 103, Golden State Warriors 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–32, 18–27, 34–31, 23–32 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 29 Rebs: Kevin Love 10 Asts: LeBron James 13 |
Pts: Stephen Curry 33 Rebs: Kevin Durant 9 Asts: Stephen Curry 8 | |
| Golden State leads series, 2–0 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Mike Callahan, David Guthrie, Derrick Stafford |
June 6 9:00 pm |
| Golden State Warriors 110, Cleveland Cavaliers 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–29, 24–29, 31–23, 27–21 | ||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 43 Rebs: Kevin Durant 13 Asts: Draymond Green 9 |
Pts: LeBron James 33 Rebs: Kevin Love 13 Asts: LeBron James 11 | |
| Golden State leads series, 3–0 | ||
June 8 9:00 pm |
| Golden State Warriors 108, Cleveland Cavaliers 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–25, 27–27, 25–13, 22–20 | ||
| Pts: Stephen Curry 37 Rebs: Kevin Durant 12 Asts: Kevin Durant 10 |
Pts: LeBron James 23 Rebs: Kevin Love 9 Asts: LeBron James 8 | |
| Golden State wins series, 4–0 | ||
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Scott Foster, James Capers, Jason Phillips |
Game 1 would go on to be an instant classic, with LeBron James scoring 51 points. The game was tight throughout, as neither team was able to gain separation. However, the final minutes did not come without controversy as Durant seemingly charged onto James when driving to the basket. The officials reviewed that James was not within the restricted area, and the call was then reversed into a blocking foul, thus allowing Durant to tie the game with a pair of free throws. Eventually, when the Warriors were leading 107–106, James passed the ball that went out of bounds while George Hill was fouled, thus giving him a pair of free throws. After making the first free throw to tie it at 107, he missed the second free throw, which was rebounded by J.R. Smith, who ran the clock as it was perceived that he believed the Cavaliers had the lead. He passed the ball to Hill, whose shot was blocked by Draymond Green at the buzzer. The Warriors dominated overtime 17–7 as they won the series opener 124–114.[45][46][47] Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson respectively scored 29, 26, and 24 points. In Game 2, the Warriors blew out the Cavs 122–103 as Curry sinked in 9 three-pointers and finished with 33 points and Durant dropped 26 points. The Warriors sent more double teams on James, holding him to 29 points.[48] As Game 3 shifted to Cleveland, the Cavaliers dominated the first half, leading by as many as 13. Curry and Thompson, the Splash Brothers, had a bad night only combining for only 21 points on 7-27 shooting.[49] However, in the second half, the Warriors fought back, making it a back-and-forth game as Kevin Durant scored 43 points, and made a key clutch shot in the closing minutes that put the Warriors up 106–100, and eventually winning 110–102 to put the Warriors up 3–0 for the second straight year.[50] After a close first half in Game 4, the Warriors dominated the third quarter and routed the Cavaliers 108–85 behind Stephen Curry's 37 points and seven three-pointers, as well as a triple-double by Durant, thus completing the sweep.[51] Durant won Finals MVP for the second straight year behind averages of 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists, while Curry averaged 27.5 points for the series. LeBron James led both teams in scoring and assists, putting up averages of 34.0 points and 10.0 assists in a losing effort.[52]
| Golden State won 2–0 in the regular-season series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
This was the fourth meeting in the NBA Finals between these two teams, with the Warriors winning two of the first three meetings.[53]
| Golden State leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Statistical leaders
| Category | Game High | Average | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | High | Player | Team | Avg. | GP | |
| Points | LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers | 51 | LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers | 34.0 | 22 |
| Rebounds | Jonas Valančiūnas | Toronto Raptors | 21 | Anthony Davis | New Orleans Pelicans | 13.4 | 9 |
| Assists | Rajon Rondo | New Orleans Pelicans | 21 | Rajon Rondo | New Orleans Pelicans | 12.2 | 9 |
| Steals | Josh Richardson | Miami Heat | 7 | Victor Oladipo | Indiana Pacers | 2.43 | 7 |
| Blocks | John Henson Clint Capela |
Milwaukee Bucks Houston Rockets |
6 | Anthony Davis | New Orleans Pelicans | 2.33 | 9 |
Media coverage
Television
ESPN, TNT, ABC, NBA TV, ESPN2, and ESPNews televised the playoffs nationally in the United States. In the first round, regional sports networks affiliated with the teams also broadcast the games, except for games televised on ABC. Throughout the first two rounds, TNT televised games Sunday through Wednesday(2nd round), Thursday (1st round), ESPN televised games Thursday (2nd round)and Friday, and ABC televised selected games on Saturday and Sunday, usually in the afternoon. NBA TV, ESPN2 and ESPNEWS has aired select weekday games in the first round. ESPN/ABC televised the Eastern Conference finals, while the Western Conference finals was televised by TNT. ABC had exclusive television rights to the 2018 NBA Finals, which was the 16th consecutive year for the network.[54]
See also
References
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- ^ Hellin, Kurt (May 27, 2018). "Both conference finals reach Game 7 for first time in 39 years". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
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- ^ Conway, Tyler. "Rockets Clinch No. 1 Seed in Western Conference, End Warriors' 3-Year Streak". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ Katie Nelson (April 12, 2018). "Timberwolves clinch playoffs, end 13-year postseason drought". Armchairallamericans.com. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
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- ^ a b "Toronto Raptors clinch Eastern Conference title". toronto.citynews.ca. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
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- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Miami Heat versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
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