1965 NBA playoffs
The 1965 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1964–65 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
| Dates | March 24–April 15, 1965 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 1964–65 | ||
| Teams | 6 | ||
| Champions | Boston Celtics (8th title) | ||
| Runners-up | Los Angeles Lakers (9th finals appearance) | ||
| Semifinalists | |||
| |||
Boston won its seventh consecutive NBA title and eighth overall while handing the Lakers their fourth straight Finals loss in the process.
This was the first playoff appearance for the Baltimore Bullets, who had begun play in the 1961–62 season as the Chicago Packers.
Bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | L.A. Lakers | 4 | |||||||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Baltimore | 2 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Baltimore | 3 | |||||||||||
| 2 | St. Louis | 1 | |||||||||||
| W1 | L.A. Lakers | 1 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Philadelphia | 3 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Philadelphia | 3 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Cincinnati | 1 | |||||||||||
Western Division
Champion: Los Angeles Lakers
Division Semifinals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers received a first-round bye.
(2) St. Louis Hawks vs. (3) Baltimore Bullets: Bullets win series 3-1
- Game 1 @ St. Louis (March 24): Baltimore 108, St. Louis 105
- Game 2 @ St. Louis (March 26): St. Louis 129, Baltimore 105
- Game 3 @ Baltimore (March 27): Baltimore 131, St. Louis 99
- Game 4 @ Baltimore (March 30): Baltimore 109, St. Louis 103 (Bob Pettit's last NBA game)
Division Finals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Baltimore Bullets: Lakers win series 4-2
- Game 1 @ Los Angeles (April 3): Los Angeles 121, Baltimore 115
- Game 2 @ Los Angeles (April 5): Los Angeles 118, Baltimore 115
- Game 3 @ Baltimore (April 7): Baltimore 122, Los Angeles 115
- Game 4 @ Baltimore (April 9): Baltimore 114, Los Angeles 112
- Game 5 @ Los Angeles (April 11): Los Angeles 120, Baltimore 112
- Game 6 @ Baltimore (April 13): Los Angeles 117, Baltimore 115
Eastern Division
Champion: Boston Celtics
Division Semifinals
(1) Boston Celtics received a first-round bye.
(2) Cincinnati Royals vs. (3) Philadelphia 76ers: 76ers win series 3-1
- Game 1 @ Cincinnati (March 24): Philadelphia 119, Cincinnati 117 (OT)
- Game 2 @ Philadelphia (March 26): Cincinnati 121, Philadelphia 120
- Game 3 @ Cincinnati (March 28): Philadelphia 109, Cincinnati 94
- Game 4 @ Philadelphia (March 31): Philadelphia 119, Cincinnati 112
Division Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Philadelphia 76ers: Celtics win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ Boston (April 4): Boston 108, Philadelphia 98
- Game 2 @ Philadelphia (April 6): Philadelphia 109, Boston 103
- Game 3 @ Boston (April 8): Boston 112, Philadelphia 94
- Game 4 @ Philadelphia (April 9): Philadelphia 134, Boston 131 (OT)
- Game 5 @ Boston (April 11): Boston 114, Philadelphia 108
- Game 6 @ Philadelphia (April 13): Philadelphia 112, Boston 106
- Game 7 @ Boston (April 15): Boston 110, Philadelphia 109 (John Havlicek steals the inbounds pass by Hal Greer)
NBA Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (1) Los Angeles Lakers: Celtics win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ Boston (April 18): Boston 142, Los Angeles 110
- Game 2 @ Boston (April 19): Boston 129, Los Angeles 123
- Game 3 @ Los Angeles (April 21): Los Angeles 126, Boston 105
- Game 4 @ Los Angeles (April 23): Boston 112, Los Angeles 99
- Game 5 @ Boston (April 25): Boston 129, Los Angeles 96 (Tom Heinsohn's final NBA game)