1961 NBA playoffs
The 1961 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1960-61 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
| Dates | March 14–April 11, 1961 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 1960–61 | ||
| Teams | 6 | ||
| Champions | Boston Celtics (4th title) | ||
| Runners-up | St. Louis Hawks (4th finals appearance) | ||
| Semifinalists | |||
| |||
The Lakers made the playoffs for the first time after moving to Los Angeles. They were one game away from their first Finals in L.A. as the St. Louis Hawks defeat them.
For the Celtics, it was their third straight NBA title and fourth overall. This would be the last Finals appearance for the Hawks franchise to date; though they still exist in the NBA as the Atlanta Hawks, they have yet to return to the Finals as of 2020.
Bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | St. Louis | 4 | |||||||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||
| 2 | L.A. Lakers | 3 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Detroit | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2 | L.A. Lakers | 3 | |||||||||||
| W1 | St. Louis | 1 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Syracuse | 1 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Syracuse | 3 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia | 0 | |||||||||||
Western Division
Champion: St. Louis Hawks
Division Semifinals
(1) St. Louis Hawks have division semifinals byes.
(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Detroit Pistons: Lakers win series 3-2
- Game 1 @ Los Angeles (March 14): Los Angeles 120, Detroit 102
- Game 2 @ Los Angeles (March 15): Los Angeles 127, Detroit 118
- Game 3 @ Detroit (March 17): Detroit 124, Los Angeles 113
- Game 4 @ Detroit (March 18): Detroit 123, Los Angeles 114
- Game 5 @ Los Angeles (March 19): Los Angeles 137, Detroit 120
Division Finals
(1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Los Angeles Lakers: Hawks win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ St. Louis (March 21): Los Angeles 122, St. Louis 118
- Game 2 @ St. Louis (March 22): St. Louis 121, Los Angeles 106
- Game 3 @ Los Angeles (March 24): Los Angeles 118, St. Louis 112
- Game 4 @ Los Angeles (March 25): St. Louis 118, Los Angeles 117
- Game 5 @ St. Louis (March 27): Los Angeles 121, St. Louis 112
- Game 6 @ Los Angeles (March 29): St. Louis 114, Los Angeles 113 (OT)
- Game 7 @ St. Louis (April 1): St. Louis 105, Los Angeles 103
Eastern Division
Champion: Boston Celtics
Division Semifinals
(1) Boston Celtics have division semifinals byes.
(2) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals:Nationals win series 3-0
- Game 1 @ Philadelphia (March 14): Syracuse 115, Philadelphia 107
- Game 2 @ Syracuse (March 16): Syracuse 115, Philadelphia 114
- Game 3 @ Philadelphia (March 18): Syracuse 106, Philadelphia 103
Division Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals: Celtics win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ Boston (March 19): Boston 128, Syracuse 115
- Game 2 @ Syracuse (March 21): Syracuse 115, Boston 98
- Game 3 @ Boston (March 23): Boston 133, Syracuse 110
- Game 4 @ Syracuse (March 25): Boston 120, Syracuse 107
- Game 5 @ Boston (March 26): Boston 123, Syracuse 101
NBA Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (1) St. Louis Hawks: Celtics win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ Boston (April 2): Boston 129, St. Louis 95
- Game 2 @ Boston (April 5): Boston 116, St. Louis 108
- Game 3 @ St. Louis (April 8): St. Louis 124, Boston 120
- Game 4 @ St. Louis (April 9): Boston 119, St. Louis 104
- Game 5 @ Boston (April 11): Boston 121, St. Louis 112 (Bill Sharman's final NBA game)