 A logo used by The Walt Disney Company promoting its hosting of the playoffs at Walt Disney World, using the resort's original 1971 to 1994 logo below. | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| City | Bay Lake, Florida |
| Dates | August 17 – October 11, 2020 |
| Season | 2019–20 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Los Angeles Lakers (17th title) |
| Runner-up | Miami Heat |
| Semifinalists | |
The 2020 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2019–20 season. The playoffs were originally scheduled to begin on April 18. However, the league suspended the season on March 11, 2020, hours after the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus.[1]
On June 4, the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan to restart the season on July 31 in the NBA Bubble.[2] This proposal was then approved by members of the National Basketball Players Association on June 5. Under this plan, the 22 top teams in the league at the time of the suspension (all the teams who had a mathematical chance at making the playoffs under the 82-game season) played eight additional regular season games to determine playoff seeding, with 16 of those teams playing in a conventional postseason tournament. If the ninth seed within a conference would have finished the regular season within four games of the eighth seed, they would have then competed in a play–in series.[3] The last time a play-in game was played to determine a playoff spot was in 1956.[4]
As part of the bubble, all playoff games were held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex inside Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida.
All three games that were scheduled to take place on August 26 were postponed by a wildcat strike,[5][6] in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with the Milwaukee Bucks being the first team not to take the court prior to their game five matchup against the Orlando Magic. The games on August 27 and 28 were also postponed, with games resuming on August 29.[7]
The Toronto Raptors were defending champions, but lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals round to the Boston Celtics. None of the teams that made it to the conference finals in the 2019 NBA playoffs made the conference finals in 2020. These were the first playoffs since 1997 without the San Antonio Spurs, as they were eliminated from playoff contention on August 14, 2020, ending what was then the longest active playoff streak in the NBA and in the four major sports leagues in North America.
Overview
Western Conference
- The Houston Rockets entered their eighth consecutive postseason.
- The Portland Trail Blazers entered their seventh consecutive postseason. They also became the first Western Conference team since 1997 to qualify for the playoffs despite posting a losing record.
- The Los Angeles Lakers made the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
- The Dallas Mavericks made the playoffs for the first time in four years.
- The Golden State Warriors missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
- Despite being invited to the bubble, the San Antonio Spurs missed the playoffs for the first time in twenty-three years. This was only the fifth time since the merger that the Spurs missed the playoffs.
- Despite the Phoenix Suns going a perfect 8–0 in the bubble, they missed the playoffs due to the Grizzlies defeating the Bucks and the Blazers defeating the Nets earlier in the day.
Eastern Conference
- The Toronto Raptors entered their seventh consecutive postseason.
- The Boston Celtics entered their sixth consecutive postseason.
- The Indiana Pacers entered their fifth consecutive postseason.
- The Milwaukee Bucks entered their fourth consecutive postseason.
- The Orlando Magic entered their second consecutive postseason.
- The Brooklyn Nets entered their second consecutive postseason.
- The Miami Heat returned to the postseason after a one year absence.
First round
- This was the first time since 2003 that both No. 1 seeds (the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers) from each conference lost their opening game of the playoffs.
- LeBron James became the first player with 20+ points, 15+ rebounds, and 15+ assists in an NBA playoff game.
- The Boston Celtics swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, marking the 44th straight year a sweep occurred in the NBA playoffs. The last year a sweep did not occur in the playoffs was 1976.
- The Toronto Raptors swept the Brooklyn Nets, making it their first series sweep in franchise history, leaving the Los Angeles Clippers and the Minnesota Timberwolves as the only two teams remaining that had never swept a series in the playoffs.
- With their first round sweep of the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat swept a playoff series for the first time since 2014.
- Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray joined Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson as the only players to have multiple 50–point games in a single playoff series.
- This was the first time in NBA playoff history that two players on opposing teams (Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz and Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets) tallied 50+ points in the same game.
- Luka Dončić joined Charles Barkley and Oscar Robertson as the only players with 40+ points, 15+ rebounds, 10+ assists in an NBA playoff game.
- Luka Dončić joined Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Damian Lillard as the only players to score 40+ points and hit a buzzer–beater in a playoff game.
- The Milwaukee Bucks were the first team in the playoffs to refuse to play a game over racial injustice in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The players described their actions as a "boycott", although commentators have pointed out that the event was a strike.[8] It is the first time an NBA team refused to play a game since the Boston Celtics protested for racial justice in 1961.[9]
- Kawhi Leonard was the first player to have 30+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 5+ steals in a playoff game since Gary Payton in 2000.
- The Nuggets–Jazz series was the first of the 2020 playoffs to have a Game 7, making it the 21st consecutive NBA postseason with a Game 7. The last time a Game 7 did not take place in the playoffs was 1999.
- Jamal Murray was the first player to have three straight playoff games with 40+ points since Allen Iverson in 2001.
- The Denver Nuggets became just the 12th team in NBA history to come back from a 3–1 series deficit, when they defeated the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference first round. They were the first team to come back from a 3–1 series deficit since the Cleveland Cavaliers did so in the 2016 NBA Finals.
Conference semifinals
- Game 2 between the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks was the first playoff game since Game 1 of the 1979 NBA Finals to be decided by free throws with time expired.
- This was the first time that the top two seeds in a conference (the Milwaukee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference) were both down 0–2 in a best of 7 series.
- Luguentz Dort became the youngest player and first undrafted player to score 30+ points in a Game 7.
- This was the first time since 2013 that the fifth seed (Miami Heat) beat the first seed (Milwaukee Bucks) 4–1 in the conference semifinals.
- Despite all the games being in the same location, the Celtics–Raptors series was the first series in NBA history where the (designated) road team won every game of a best–of–seven series. The only other instances when this had happened in major North American sports leagues history were the 2019 World Series and the 2023 American League Championship Series, which Houston Astros lost both.
- With their conference semifinals victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, the Denver Nuggets also became the thirteenth NBA team to overcome a 3–1 deficit in the NBA playoffs, and the first time that an NBA team overcame a 3–1 deficit twice in the same playoffs.
Conference finals
- This was the first time that neither the first seed nor the second seed were in the Eastern Conference finals. By coincidence, this would happen again the very next year.
- Tyler Herro set the NBA rookie conference finals scoring record by scoring a career–high 37 points off the bench in game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. The record was previously held by Andrew Toney who scored 35 in 1981.[10] Herro's 37 points are the second-most ever scored by a player aged 20 or younger in a playoff game, only behind Magic Johnson's 42 points back in 1980.[11]
- With their Eastern Conference finals victory over the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat became the first 5th seed or lower team to advance to the NBA Finals since the 1999 New York Knicks became the first eighth seed to make the NBA Finals. Ironically, the Knicks eliminated the Heat en route to their 1999 NBA Finals appearance.
NBA Finals
- This was the first time that both teams in the NBA Finals failed to make the playoffs in the previous season.
- Andre Iguodala reached the NBA Finals for the sixth consecutive year, joining LeBron James and James Jones as the only players to do so with two different teams.
- Before this season, the last time the Heat reached the NBA Finals was in 2014, after which LeBron James ended a four-year stint with the team. James became the second player (after Wilt Chamberlain in 1967) to win MVP with a franchise before later playing against that franchise in the Finals. James was the first Finals MVP to play their previous franchise in the Finals.
- Anthony Davis joined Kevin Durant, Michael Jordan, Rick Barry, and Hal Greer as the only players in NBA History to score 30+ points in their first two career NBA Finals games.
- Tyler Herro became the youngest player to start an NBA Finals game at 20 years, 256 days during the Game 2 of the 2020 NBA Finals on October 2, 2020. He was eight days younger than Magic Johnson was when he started Game 1 for the Lakers in 1980.[12]
- Jimmy Butler became the 3rd player in NBA History to record a 40+ point triple-double in the NBA Finals, joining LeBron James in 2015 and Jerry West in 1969.[13] At the end of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Butler also became the first player (opponent or teammate) to out-score/-rebound/-assist/ LeBron James in a Finals game.
- With their Game 6 win over the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Lakers won their 17th NBA championship, tying the Boston Celtics as the two teams to win the most NBA championships (17). In addition to winning their first championship since 2010, the Lakers also became the first team since the 2008 Boston Celtics (who ironically defeated the Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals) to win a championship after missing the playoffs the previous season.
- LeBron James became the first NBA player to win the Finals MVP with three different teams and the third to win a championship with three different teams, joining John Salley and Robert Horry.
- Anthony Davis became the 8th player to win an Olympic Gold Medal, NCAA Championship, and NBA Championship, joining Clyde Lovellette, Bill Russell, K.C. Jones, Jerry Lucas, Quinn Buckner, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan
Format
After the NBA suspended its season on March 11, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league started to explore implementing a special postseason format just for this year.[14]
On June 4, the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan to restart the season on July 31 in the NBA Bubble, with 22 of the 30 teams in the league, all clubs mathematically alive for a playoff spot under the 82 game schedule. Under this plan, the 22 teams played eight regular-season "seeding" games. A possible best-of-three play-in series for the final seed in each conference would then be held if the ninth seed finished the regular season within four games of the eighth seed. The eighth seed would start with a de facto 1–0 lead, meaning that it would need just one win to advance, while the ninth seed must win two in a row.[15][16] The NBA's regular playoff format proceeded as normal. All games were played behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World.[2]
Under the NBA's regular playoff format, the eight teams with the most wins in each conference qualified for the playoffs. The seedings were based on each team's record. Each conference's bracket was fixed; there was no reseeding. All rounds were best-of-seven series; the series ended when one team won four games, and that team advanced to the next round. All rounds, including the NBA Finals, were in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. In the conference playoffs, home court advantage went to the higher-seeded team (number one being the highest), although since all games were played in the same location, this was merely a designated home court. Seeding was based on each team's regular season record within a conference; if two teams had the same record, standard tiebreaker rules were used. Conference seedings were ignored for the NBA Finals: Home court advantage went to the team with the better regular season record, and, if needed, ties were broken based on head-to-head record, followed by intra-conference record.
Playoff qualifying
On February 23, 2020, the Milwaukee Bucks became the first team to clinch a playoff spot.[17] The Toronto Raptors,[18] Los Angeles Lakers,[19] and Boston Celtics[20] subsequently clinched playoff berths before the season was suspended on March 11.[14]
| † | Denotes team that clinched a playoff berth prior to the March 11 suspension of the season |
| * | Denotes team that automatically clinched a playoff berth or a division title on the June approval of the 22-team plan to resume the season |
Eastern Conference
| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff berth | Division title | Best record in conference | Best record in NBA | |||
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks | 56–17 | February 23†[17] | June 4* | August 6[21] | August 8 |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 53–19 | March 5†[18] | August 9 | — | — |
| 3 | Boston Celtics | 48–24 | March 10†[20] | — | — | — |
| 4 | Indiana Pacers | 45–28 | June 4*[2] | — | — | — |
| 5 | Miami Heat | 44–29 | June 4*[2] | June 4* | — | — |
| 6 | Philadelphia 76ers | 43–30 | June 4*[2] | — | — | — |
| 7 | Brooklyn Nets | 35–37 | August 7[22] | — | — | — |
| 8 | Orlando Magic | 33–40 | August 7[23] | — | — | — |
Western Conference
| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play-in | Playoff berth | Division title | Best record in conference | Best record in NBA | |||
| 1 | Los Angeles Lakers | 52–19 | — | March 6†[19] | August 3[24] | August 3[24] | — |
| 2 | Los Angeles Clippers | 49–23 | — | June 4*[2] | — | — | — |
| 3 | Denver Nuggets | 46–27 | — | June 4*[2] | August 10 | — | — |
| 4 | Houston Rockets | 44–28 | — | June 4*[2] | August 9 | — | — |
| 5 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 44–28 | — | June 4*[2] | — | — | — |
| 6 | Utah Jazz | 44–28 | — | June 4*[2] | — | — | — |
| 7 | Dallas Mavericks | 43–32 | — | August 2[25] | — | — | — |
| 8 | Portland Trail Blazers | 35–39 | August 13 | August 15 | — | — | — |
| 9 | Memphis Grizzlies | 34–39 | August 13 | — | — | — | — |
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.
| First round | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Milwaukee* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E8 | Orlando | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Milwaukee* | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E5 | Miami* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Indiana | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E5 | Miami* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E5 | Miami* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Boston | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E6 | Philadelphia | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Toronto* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Toronto* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E7 | Brooklyn | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E5 | Miami* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W8 | Portland | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Houston* | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Houston* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W5 | Oklahoma City | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Denver* | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Denver* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Utah | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Denver* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | LA Clippers | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | LA Clippers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W7 | Dallas | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold – series winner
- Italic – team with home-court advantage
First round
- Note: All times are EDT (UTC−4) as listed by the NBA. All games were played behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World.
Eastern Conference first round
(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (8) Orlando Magic
August 18 1:30pm |
| Orlando Magic 122, Milwaukee Bucks 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–23, 29–29, 30–27, 30–31 | ||
| Pts: Nikola Vučević 35 Rebs: Nikola Vučević 14 Asts: D. J. Augustin 11 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 31 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 17 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 7 | |
| Orlando leads series, 1–0 | ||
August 20 6:00pm |
| Orlando Magic 96, Milwaukee Bucks 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–25, 30–39, 30–29, 23–18 | ||
| Pts: Nikola Vučević 32 Rebs: Ennis, Vučević 10 each Asts: D. J. Augustin 5 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 28 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 20 Asts: Eric Bledsoe 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
August 22 1:00pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 121, Orlando Magic 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–23, 39–20, 29–34, 22–30 | ||
| Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 35 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 11 Asts: Eric Bledsoe 8 |
Pts: D. J. Augustin 24 Rebs: Gary Clark 8 Asts: D. J. Augustin 6 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 2–1 | ||
August 24 1:30pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 121, Orlando Magic 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–18, 36–34, 26–29, 37–25 | ||
| Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 31 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 15 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 8 |
Pts: Nikola Vučević 31 Rebs: Nikola Vučević 11 Asts: Fultz, Vučević 7 each | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 3–1 | ||
August 29 3:30pm |
| Orlando Magic 104, Milwaukee Bucks 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–26, 29–41, 29–23, 25–28 | ||
| Pts: Nikola Vučević 22 Rebs: Nikola Vučević 15 Asts: Fultz, Vučević 5 each |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 28 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 17 Asts: Eric Bledsoe 8 | |
| Milwaukee wins series, 4–1 | ||
Milwaukee was the first team in the league to refuse to play a game for social justice following the shooting of Jacob Blake.[26]
| Milwaukee won in the regular-season series 4–0 |
|---|
This was the second playoff meeting between the two teams, with the Bucks winning the first meeting.[27]
| Milwaukee leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Toronto Raptors vs. (7) Brooklyn Nets
August 17 4:00pm |
| Brooklyn Nets 110, Toronto Raptors 134 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–37, 31–36, 35–22, 24–39 | ||
| Pts: Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot 26 Rebs: Jarrett Allen 12 Asts: Caris LeVert 15 |
Pts: Fred VanVleet 30 Rebs: Pascal Siakam 11 Asts: Fred VanVleet 11 | |
| Toronto leads series, 1–0 | ||
August 19 1:30pm |
| Brooklyn Nets 99, Toronto Raptors 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–29, 20–21, 27–24, 19–30 | ||
| Pts: Garrett Temple 21 Rebs: Allen, Harris 15 each Asts: Caris LeVert 11 |
Pts: Powell, VanVleet 24 each Rebs: Kyle Lowry 9 Asts: Fred VanVleet 10 | |
| Toronto leads series, 2–0 | ||
August 21 1:30pm |
| Toronto Raptors 117, Brooklyn Nets 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–17, 33–25, 27–26, 33–24 | ||
| Pts: Pascal Siakam 26 Rebs: Serge Ibaka 13 Asts: Kyle Lowry 7 |
Pts: Tyler Johnson 23 Rebs: Jarrett Allen 17 Asts: Caris LeVert 6 | |
| Toronto leads series, 3–0 | ||
August 23 6:30pm |
| Toronto Raptors 150, Brooklyn Nets 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 39–32, 38–36, 39–19, 34–35 | ||
| Pts: Norman Powell 29 Rebs: Serge Ibaka 15 Asts: Pascal Siakam 10 |
Pts: Caris LeVert 35 Rebs: Jarrett Allen 15 Asts: Chiozza, LeVert 6 each | |
| Toronto wins series, 4–0 | ||
Toronto set an NBA playoff record in Game 4 with 100 bench points in a single game.[28]
| Toronto won 3–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nets winning the two previous meetings.[29]
| Brooklyn/New Jersey leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(3) Boston Celtics vs. (6) Philadelphia 76ers
August 17 6:30pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 101, Boston Celtics 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 23–30, 30–20, 22–34 | ||
| Pts: Joel Embiid 26 Rebs: Joel Embiid 16 Asts: Tobias Harris 8 |
Pts: Jayson Tatum 32 Rebs: Jayson Tatum 13 Asts: Kemba Walker 5 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
August 19 6:30pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 101, Boston Celtics 128 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–27, 24–38, 18–33, 26–30 | ||
| Pts: Joel Embiid 34 Rebs: Tobias Harris 11 Asts: Shake Milton 4 |
Pts: Jayson Tatum 33 Rebs: Enes Kanter 9 Asts: Jayson Tatum 5 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
August 21 6:30pm |
| Boston Celtics 102, Philadelphia 76ers 94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–24, 25–25, 25–23, 26–22 | ||
| Pts: Kemba Walker 24 Rebs: Smart, Walker 8 each Asts: Kemba Walker 4 |
Pts: Joel Embiid 30 Rebs: Tobias Harris 15 Asts: Tobias Harris 4 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–0 | ||
August 23 1:00pm |
| Boston Celtics 110, Philadelphia 76ers 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–32, 30–26, 32–19, 21–29 | ||
| Pts: Kemba Walker 32 Rebs: Jayson Tatum 15 Asts: Smart, Tatum, Walker 4 each |
Pts: Joel Embiid 30 Rebs: Embiid, Horford 10 each Asts: Josh Richardson 5 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–0 | ||
| Philadelphia won 3–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
This was the 22nd playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning 13 of the first 21 meetings.[30]
| Boston leads 13–8 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(4) Indiana Pacers vs. (5) Miami Heat
August 18 4:00pm |
| Miami Heat 113, Indiana Pacers 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–33, 29–19, 25–28, 32–21 | ||
| Pts: Jimmy Butler 28 Rebs: Bam Adebayo 10 Asts: Bam Adebayo 6 |
Pts: T. J. Warren 22 Rebs: Myles Turner 9 Asts: Malcolm Brogdon 10 | |
| Miami leads series, 1–0 | ||
August 20 1:00pm |
| Miami Heat 109, Indiana Pacers 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–24, 29–22, 37–31, 21–23 | ||
| Pts: Duncan Robinson 24 Rebs: Jae Crowder 8 Asts: Dragić, Butler 6 each |
Pts: Victor Oladipo 22 Rebs: Myles Turner 8 Asts: Malcolm Brogdon 9 | |
| Miami leads series, 2–0 | ||
August 22 3:30pm |
| Indiana Pacers 115, Miami Heat 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–34, 29–40, 34–20, 25–30 | ||
| Pts: Malcolm Brogdon 34 Rebs: Myles Turner 12 Asts: Malcolm Brogdon 14 |
Pts: Jimmy Butler 27 Rebs: Bam Adebayo 11 Asts: Goran Dragić 6 | |
| Miami leads series, 3–0 | ||
August 24 6:30pm |
| Indiana Pacers 87, Miami Heat 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 20–27, 20–22, 25–29 | ||
| Pts: Victor Oladipo 25 Rebs: Myles Turner 14 Asts: Malcolm Brogdon 7 |
Pts: Goran Dragić 23 Rebs: Bam Adebayo 19 Asts: Bam Adebayo 6 | |
| Miami wins series, 4–0 | ||
| Miami won 3–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Heat winning three of the first four meetings.[31]
| Miami leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Conference first round
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Portland Trail Blazers
August 18 9:00pm |
| Portland Trail Blazers 100, Los Angeles Lakers 93 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 36–25, 21–31, 21–19, 22–18 | ||
| Pts: Damian Lillard 34 Rebs: Jusuf Nurkić 15 Asts: Anthony, Lillard 5 each |
Pts: Anthony Davis 28 Rebs: LeBron James 17 Asts: LeBron James 16 | |
| Portland leads series, 1–0 | ||
Despite a losing effort, LeBron James had the first 20-point, 15 rebound, 15 assist performance in NBA playoff history.
August 20 9:00pm |
| Portland Trail Blazers 88, Los Angeles Lakers 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–27, 20–29, 19–32, 30–23 | ||
| Pts: Damian Lillard 18 Rebs: Hassan Whiteside 9 Asts: CJ McCollum 3 |
Pts: Anthony Davis 31 Rebs: Anthony Davis 11 Asts: LeBron James 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
August 22 8:30pm |
| Los Angeles Lakers 116, Portland Trail Blazers 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–29, 28–28, 40–29, 23–22 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 38 Rebs: LeBron James 12 Asts: Davis, James 8 each |
Pts: Damian Lillard 34 Rebs: McCollum, Whiteside 8 each Asts: Damian Lillard 7 | |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–1 | ||
August 24 9:00pm |
| Los Angeles Lakers 135, Portland Trail Blazers 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 43–25, 37–26, 32–36, 23–28 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 30 Rebs: McGee, Howard 8 each Asts: LeBron James 10 |
Pts: Jusuf Nurkić 20 Rebs: Jusuf Nurkić 13 Asts: Anfernee Simons 6 | |
| LA Lakers lead series, 3–1 | ||
August 29 9:00pm |
| Portland Trail Blazers 122, Los Angeles Lakers 131 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–35, 37–33, 24–32, 30–31 | ||
| Pts: CJ McCollum 36 Rebs: Jusuf Nurkić 10 Asts: CJ McCollum 7 |
Pts: Anthony Davis 43 Rebs: LeBron James 10 Asts: LeBron James 10 | |
| LA Lakers win series, 4–1 | ||
This was the Lakers first playoff series win since 2012.
Game 5 was postponed by the league after the Lakers and Trail Blazers refused to play.[32]
| LA Lakers won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
This was the 12th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning nine of the first eleven meetings.[33]
| Los Angeles leads 9–2 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Los Angeles Clippers vs. (7) Dallas Mavericks
August 17 9:00pm |
| Dallas Mavericks 110, Los Angeles Clippers 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 38–34, 31–32, 13–21, 28–31 | ||
| Pts: Luka Dončić 42 Rebs: Boban Marjanović 8 Asts: Luka Dončić 9 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 29 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 12 Asts: Kawhi Leonard 6 | |
| LA Clippers lead series, 1–0 | ||
Dončić's 42 points are the most points in a playoff debut. Following the game, many people, including LeBron James and current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, criticized the officials for controversially ejecting Porziņģis during the 3rd quarter after he received two technical fouls that the critics considered "bogus".[34]
August 19 9:00pm |
| Dallas Mavericks 127, Los Angeles Clippers 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–25, 32–31, 37–29, 29–29 | ||
| Pts: Luka Dončić 28 Rebs: Maxi Kleber 10 Asts: Luka Dončić 7 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 35 Rebs: George, Leonard 10 each Asts: Lou Williams 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
August 21 9:00pm |
| Los Angeles Clippers 130, Dallas Mavericks 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 45–31, 34–31, 28–37 | ||
| Pts: Kawhi Leonard 36 Rebs: George, Leonard 9 each Asts: Kawhi Leonard 8 |
Pts: Kristaps Porziņģis 34 Rebs: Kristaps Porziņģis 13 Asts: Luka Dončić 10 | |
| LA Clippers lead series, 2–1 | ||
August 23 3:30pm |
| Los Angeles Clippers 133, Dallas Mavericks 135 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–24, 32–34, 19–35, 36–28, Overtime: 12–14 | ||
| Pts: Lou Williams 36 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 9 Asts: Lou Williams 5 |
Pts: Luka Dončić 43 Rebs: Luka Dončić 17 Asts: Luka Dončić 13 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Down by 1, Luka Dončić hit the game-winning 3 point buzzer-beater at the end of overtime. He becomes the youngest player to hit a buzzer-beater in the playoffs. His winning shot capped an incredible triple-double performance with 43 points, 17 rebounds, and 13 assists.
August 25 9:00pm |
| Dallas Mavericks 111, Los Angeles Clippers 154 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–41, 30–35, 34–35, 25–43 | ||
| Pts: Luka Dončić 22 Rebs: Luka Dončić 8 Asts: Dončić, Finney-Smith 4 each |
Pts: Paul George 35 Rebs: Montrezl Harrell 11 Asts: Reggie Jackson 5 | |
| LA Clippers lead series, 3–2 | ||
The Clippers set 5 franchise records in this game, including: most points scored in a playoff game, as well as most 3-pointers made in a playoff game, as they shot 22-of-35 from long range.
August 30 3:30pm |
| Los Angeles Clippers 111, Dallas Mavericks 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–34, 28–17, 28–23, 26–23 | ||
| Pts: Kawhi Leonard 33 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 14 Asts: George, Leonard 7 each |
Pts: Luka Dončić 38 Rebs: Burke, Dončić 9 each Asts: Luka Dončić 9 | |
| LA Clippers win series, 4–2 | ||
Kawhi Leonard became the first player since 2000 to have 30+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 5+ steals in a playoff game.
| LA Clippers won 3–0 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
This was the first playoff meeting between the Clippers and the Mavericks.[35]
(3) Denver Nuggets vs. (6) Utah Jazz
August 17 1:30pm |
| Utah Jazz 125, Denver Nuggets 135 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–31, 27–28, 31–19, 32–37, Overtime: 10–20 | ||
| Pts: Donovan Mitchell 57 Rebs: Bradley, Mitchell 9 each Asts: Donovan Mitchell 7 |
Pts: Jamal Murray 36 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 10 Asts: Jamal Murray 9 | |
| Denver leads series, 1–0 | ||
Mitchell's 57 points became the third most points scored in a single playoff game.
August 19 4:00pm |
| Utah Jazz 124, Denver Nuggets 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–25, 34–23, 43–29, 20–28 | ||
| Pts: Donovan Mitchell 30 Rebs: Bradley, Gobert, O'Neale 7 each Asts: Mitchell, O'Neale 8 each |
Pts: Jokić, Porter Jr. 28 each Rebs: Nikola Jokić 11 Asts: Nikola Jokić 6 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
August 21 4:00pm |
| Denver Nuggets 87, Utah Jazz 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–25, 28–34, 20–35, 25–30 | ||
| Pts: Nikola Jokić 15 Rebs: Plumlee, Dozier 6 each Asts: Jokić, Murray 6 each |
Pts: Mike Conley 27 Rebs: Rudy Gobert 14 Asts: Joe Ingles 8 | |
| Utah leads series, 2–1 | ||
August 23 9:00pm |
| Denver Nuggets 127, Utah Jazz 129 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 36–33, 29–31, 24–33, 38–32 | ||
| Pts: Jamal Murray 50 Rebs: Jamal Murray 11 Asts: Jamal Murray 7 |
Pts: Donovan Mitchell 51 Rebs: Rudy Gobert 11 Asts: Donovan Mitchell 7 | |
| Utah leads series, 3–1 | ||
This was the first playoff game in NBA history in which two players scored 50 points.
August 25 6:30pm |
| Utah Jazz 107, Denver Nuggets 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–33, 31–21, 23–28, 21–35 | ||
| Pts: Donovan Mitchell 30 Rebs: Rudy Gobert 12 Asts: Conley, Mitchell 5 each |
Pts: Jamal Murray 42 Rebs: Jamal Murray 8 Asts: Jamal Murray 8 | |
| Utah leads series, 3–2 | ||
August 30 8:30pm |
| Denver Nuggets 119, Utah Jazz 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–36, 31–20, 27–23, 31–28 | ||
| Pts: Jamal Murray 50 Rebs: Michael Porter Jr. 12 Asts: Nikola Jokić 9 |
Pts: Donovan Mitchell 44 Rebs: Rudy Gobert 11 Asts: Mike Conley 6 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
September 1 8:30pm |
| Utah Jazz 78, Denver Nuggets 80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–26, 15–24, 24–15, 18–15 | ||
| Pts: Donovan Mitchell 22 Rebs: Rudy Gobert 18 Asts: Mike Conley 7 |
Pts: Nikola Jokić 30 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 14 Asts: Monté Morris 5 | |
| Denver wins series, 4–3 | ||
Denver became the 12th team in NBA history to come back from a 3–1 deficit. Nikola Jokić scored the go-ahead hook shot with 27.8 seconds remaining in regulation. Mike Conley Jr.'s potential series-winning three-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out.
| Denver won 3–0 in the regular-season series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning three of the first four meetings.[36]
| Utah leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(4) Houston Rockets vs. (5) Oklahoma City Thunder
August 18 6:30pm |
| Oklahoma City Thunder 108, Houston Rockets 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–28, 32–40, 31–36, 25–19 | ||
| Pts: Danilo Gallinari 29 Rebs: Steven Adams 12 Asts: Chris Paul 9 |
Pts: James Harden 37 Rebs: James Harden 11 Asts: Danuel House 5 | |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 | ||
August 20 3:30pm |
| Oklahoma City Thunder 98, Houston Rockets 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–35, 29–18, 19–24, 20–34 | ||
| Pts: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 31 Rebs: Steven Adams 11 Asts: Dennis Schröder 5 |
Pts: James Harden 21 Rebs: Danuel House 9 Asts: James Harden 9 | |
| Houston leads series, 2–0 | ||
August 22 6:00pm |
| Houston Rockets 107, Oklahoma City Thunder 119 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–23, 34–34, 19–21, 22–26, Overtime: 3–15 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 38 Rebs: Danuel House 10 Asts: James Harden 8 |
Pts: Dennis Schröder 29 Rebs: Steven Adams 13 Asts: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 6 | |
| Houston leads series, 2–1 | ||
August 24 4:00pm |
| Houston Rockets 114, Oklahoma City Thunder 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 37–35, 23–25, 33–32, 21–25 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 32 Rebs: P. J. Tucker 11 Asts: James Harden 15 |
Pts: Dennis Schröder 30 Rebs: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 12 Asts: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 6 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
August 29 6:30pm |
| Oklahoma City Thunder 80, Houston Rockets 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–24, 31–24, 18–37, 17–29 | ||
| Pts: Dennis Schröder 19 Rebs: Steven Adams 14 Asts: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 4 |
Pts: James Harden 31 Rebs: Jeff Green 10 Asts: Russell Westbrook 7 | |
| Houston leads series, 3–2 | ||
Game 5 was postponed by the league following a boycott by the Rockets and Thunder.[37]
August 31 9:00pm |
| Houston Rockets 100, Oklahoma City Thunder 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–24, 26–24, 24–29, 25–27 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 32 Rebs: P. J. Tucker 11 Asts: James Harden 7 |
Pts: Chris Paul 28 Rebs: Steven Adams 14 Asts: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 6 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
September 2 9:00pm |
| Oklahoma City Thunder 102, Houston Rockets 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–29, 29–32, 21–24, 22–19 | ||
| Pts: Luguentz Dort 30 Rebs: Chris Paul 11 Asts: Chris Paul 12 |
Pts: Covington, Gordon 21 each Rebs: Robert Covington 10 Asts: James Harden 9 | |
| Houston wins series, 4–3 | ||
| Oklahoma City won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Thunder/SuperSonics winning six of the first eight meetings.[38]
| Oklahoma City/Seattle leads 6–2 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Conference semifinals
- Note: All times are EDT (UTC−4) as listed by the NBA. All games were played behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World.
Eastern Conference semifinals
(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (5) Miami Heat
August 31 6:30pm |
| Miami Heat 115, Milwaukee Bucks 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–40, 31–23, 32–23, 23–18 | ||
| Pts: Jimmy Butler 40 Rebs: Bam Adebayo 17 Asts: Bam Adebayo 6 |
Pts: Khris Middleton 28 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 10 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 9 | |
| Miami leads series, 1–0 | ||
September 2 6:30pm |
| Miami Heat 116, Milwaukee Bucks 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 38–29, 28–31, 24–26, 26–28 | ||
| Pts: Goran Dragić 23 Rebs: Bam Adebayo 9 Asts: Jimmy Butler 6 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 29 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 14 Asts: Khris Middleton 8 | |
| Miami leads series, 2–0 | ||
After being fouled by Giannis Antetokounmpo on a game-winning shot attempt as time expired in regulation, Jimmy Butler won the game for Miami with a pair of walk-off free throws. This marked the first time a playoff game had ended in such a fashion since Game 1 of the 1979 NBA Finals.[39]
September 4 6:30pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 100, Miami Heat 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–29, 27–21, 30–25, 13–40 | ||
| Pts: Brook Lopez 22 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 16 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 9 |
Pts: Jimmy Butler 30 Rebs: Bam Adebayo 16 Asts: Jimmy Butler 6 | |
| Miami leads series, 3–0 | ||
September 6 3:30pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 118, Miami Heat 115 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–31, 28–17, 35–40, 22–19, Overtime: 11–8 | ||
| Pts: Khris Middleton 36 Rebs: Eric Bledsoe 10 Asts: Khris Middleton 8 |
Pts: Bam Adebayo 26 Rebs: Bam Adebayo 12 Asts: Adebayo, Dragić 8 each | |
| Miami leads series, 3–1 | ||
September 8 6:30pm |
| Miami Heat 103, Milwaukee Bucks 94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–28, 33–18, 21–19, 30–29 | ||
| Pts: Butler, Dragić 17 each Rebs: Jimmy Butler 10 Asts: Butler, Herro 6 each |
Pts: Khris Middleton 23 Rebs: Brook Lopez 14 Asts: Eric Bledsoe 9 | |
| Miami wins series, 4–1 | ||
| Miami won 2–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Heat winning the previous meeting.[40]
| Miami leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Toronto Raptors vs. (3) Boston Celtics
August 30 1:00pm |
| Boston Celtics 112, Toronto Raptors 94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 39–23, 20–19, 29–31, 24–21 | ||
| Pts: Smart, Tatum 21 each Rebs: Daniel Theis 15 Asts: Kemba Walker 10 |
Pts: Kyle Lowry 17 Rebs: Serge Ibaka 9 Asts: Lowry, VanVleet 8 each | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
Both teams discussed a boycott of Game 1, similar to the Milwaukee Bucks, in protest due to the shooting of Jacob Blake. The game was eventually postponed.
September 1 5:30pm |
| Boston Celtics 102, Toronto Raptors 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–28, 22–20, 20–30, 32–21 | ||
| Pts: Jayson Tatum 34 Rebs: Daniel Theis 9 Asts: Jayson Tatum 6 |
Pts: OG Anunoby 20 Rebs: Serge Ibaka 9 Asts: Lowry, VanVleet 7 each | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
September 3 6:30pm |
| Toronto Raptors 104, Boston Celtics 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–33, 19–24, 29–23, 28–23 | ||
| Pts: Kyle Lowry 31 Rebs: OG Anunoby 10 Asts: Kyle Lowry 8 |
Pts: Kemba Walker 29 Rebs: Jaylen Brown 12 Asts: Jayson Tatum 6 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 | ||
With 0.5 seconds on the clock and Toronto trailing by 2, Kyle Lowry threw a cross-court inbounds pass to OG Anunoby, who made a 3-point shot as the buzzer sounded to win the game for Toronto.
September 5 6:30pm |
| Toronto Raptors 100, Boston Celtics 93 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–27, 18–22, 32–24, 19–20 | ||
| Pts: Pascal Siakam 23 Rebs: Lowry, Siakam 11 each Asts: Kyle Lowry 7 |
Pts: Jayson Tatum 24 Rebs: Jayson Tatum 10 Asts: Kemba Walker 8 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
September 7 6:30pm |
| Boston Celtics 111, Toronto Raptors 89 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–11, 37–24, 25–28, 24–26 | ||
| Pts: Jaylen Brown 27 Rebs: Jayson Tatum 10 Asts: Kemba Walker 7 |
Pts: Fred VanVleet 18 Rebs: OG Anunoby 7 Asts: Lowry, VanVleet 5 each | |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 | ||
September 9 6:30pm |
| Toronto Raptors 125, Boston Celtics 122 (2OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–25, 27–27, 33–25, 17–21, Overtime: 8–8, 19–16 | ||
| Pts: Kyle Lowry 33 Rebs: OG Anunoby 13 Asts: Fred VanVleet 7 |
Pts: Jaylen Brown 31 Rebs: Jaylen Brown 16 Asts: Marcus Smart 10 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
September 11 9:00pm |
| Boston Celtics 92, Toronto Raptors 87 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 24–19, 22–25, 20–16 | ||
| Pts: Jayson Tatum 29 Rebs: Jayson Tatum 12 Asts: Jayson Tatum 7 |
Pts: Fred VanVleet 20 Rebs: Pascal Siakam 11 Asts: Fred VanVleet 6 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–3 | ||
| Boston won 3–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Raptors and the Celtics.[41] This was also the first best-of-7 playoff series in NBA history where the road team won every game (and the second overall in North American sports history in addition to the 2019 World Series), although all 7 games were played at a neutral site.
Western Conference semifinals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Houston Rockets
September 4 9:00pm |
| Houston Rockets 112, Los Angeles Lakers 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–28, 34–27, 22–24, 27–18 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 36 Rebs: Tucker, Westbrook 9 each Asts: Russell Westbrook 6 |
Pts: Anthony Davis 25 Rebs: Anthony Davis 14 Asts: LeBron James 7 | |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 | ||
September 6 8:30pm |
| Houston Rockets 109, Los Angeles Lakers 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–36, 31–31, 41–23, 17–27 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 27 Rebs: Russell Westbrook 13 Asts: James Harden 7 |
Pts: Anthony Davis 34 Rebs: LeBron James 11 Asts: James, Rondo 9 each | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
September 8 9:00pm |
| Los Angeles Lakers 112, Houston Rockets 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–33, 29–31, 21–18, 30–20 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 36 Rebs: Anthony Davis 15 Asts: Rajon Rondo 9 |
Pts: James Harden 33 Rebs: James Harden 9 Asts: James Harden 9 | |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–1 | ||
September 10 7:00pm |
| Los Angeles Lakers 110, Houston Rockets 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–22, 31–19, 29–29, 24–30 | ||
| Pts: Anthony Davis 29 Rebs: LeBron James 15 Asts: LeBron James 9 |
Pts: Russell Westbrook 26 Rebs: Jeff Green 7 Asts: James Harden 10 | |
| LA Lakers lead series, 3–1 | ||
September 12 8:00pm |
| Houston Rockets 96, Los Angeles Lakers 119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–35, 31–27, 18–33, 27–24 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 30 Rebs: James Harden 6 Asts: Russell Westbrook 6 |
Pts: LeBron James 29 Rebs: Davis, James 11 each Asts: LeBron James 7 | |
| LA Lakers win series, 4–1 | ||
| Houston won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning five of the first eight meetings.[42]
| LA Lakers leads 5–3 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Los Angeles Clippers vs. (3) Denver Nuggets
September 3 9:00pm |
| Denver Nuggets 97, Los Angeles Clippers 120 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–31, 20–38, 16–22, 30–29 | ||
| Pts: Nikola Jokić 15 Rebs: Paul Millsap 9 Asts: Jamal Murray 6 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 29 Rebs: three players 7 each Asts: George, Williams 4 each | |
| LA Clippers lead series, 1–0 | ||
September 5 9:00pm |
| Denver Nuggets 110, Los Angeles Clippers 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 44–25, 28–31, 17–21, 21–24 | ||
| Pts: Jamal Murray 27 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 18 Asts: Jamal Murray 6 |
Pts: Paul George 22 Rebs: JaMychal Green 11 Asts: Kawhi Leonard 8 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
September 7 9:00pm |
| Los Angeles Clippers 113, Denver Nuggets 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–32, 24–27, 27–29, 29–19 | ||
| Pts: Paul George 32 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 14 Asts: Kawhi Leonard 6 |
Pts: Nikola Jokić 32 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 12 Asts: Jamal Murray 9 | |
| LA Clippers lead series, 2–1 | ||
September 9 9:00pm |
| Los Angeles Clippers 96, Denver Nuggets 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–12, 22–28, 25–23, 23–22 | ||
| Pts: Kawhi Leonard 30 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 11 Asts: Kawhi Leonard 9 |
Pts: Nikola Jokić 26 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 11 Asts: Jamal Murray 7 | |
| LA Clippers lead series, 3–1 | ||
September 11 6:30pm |
| Denver Nuggets 111, Los Angeles Clippers 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–28, 21–28, 29–24, 38–25 | ||
| Pts: Jamal Murray 26 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 14 Asts: Jamal Murray 7 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 36 Rebs: Leonard, Zubac 9 each Asts: Paul George 6 | |
| LA Clippers lead series, 3–2 | ||
September 13 1:00pm |
| Los Angeles Clippers 98, Denver Nuggets 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–26, 29–21, 16–30, 19–34 | ||
| Pts: Paul George 33 Rebs: Ivica Zubac 12 Asts: Kawhi Leonard 5 |
Pts: Nikola Jokić 34 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 14 Asts: Nikola Jokić 7 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
September 15 9:00pm |
| Denver Nuggets 104, Los Angeles Clippers 89 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–24, 30–32, 28–18, 22–15 | ||
| Pts: Jamal Murray 40 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 22 Asts: Nikola Jokić 13 |
Pts: Montrezl Harrell 20 Rebs: Leonard, Morris, Green 6 each Asts: Leonard, Beverley, Williams 6 each | |
| Denver wins series, 4–3 | ||
This was the first time that an NBA team overcame a 3–1 deficit twice in the same playoffs, and the first time an NBA franchise did so twice in the same decade.
| LA Clippers won 2–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Clippers winning the previous meeting.[43]
| LA Clippers lead 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Conference finals
- Note: All times are EDT (UTC−4) as listed by the NBA. All games were played behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World.
Eastern Conference finals
(3) Boston Celtics vs. (5) Miami Heat
September 15 6:30pm |
| Miami Heat 117, Boston Celtics 114 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–26, 37–29, 16–28, 35–23, Overtime: 11–8 | ||
| Pts: Goran Dragić 29 Rebs: Tyler Herro 11 Asts: Adebayo, Herro 9 each |
Pts: Jayson Tatum 30 Rebs: Jayson Tatum 14 Asts: Walker, Wanamaker 6 each | |
| Miami leads series, 1–0 | ||
September 17 7:00pm |
| Miami Heat 106, Boston Celtics 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–31, 19–29, 37–17, 22–24 | ||
| Pts: Goran Dragić 25 Rebs: Bam Adebayo 10 Asts: Dragić, Herro 5 each |
Pts: Kemba Walker 23 Rebs: Daniel Theis 8 Asts: Smart, Tatum 4 each | |
| Miami leads series, 2–0 | ||
September 19 8:30pm |
| Boston Celtics 117, Miami Heat 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–22, 32–28, 26–24, 28–32 | ||
| Pts: Jaylen Brown 26 Rebs: Jayson Tatum 14 Asts: Jayson Tatum 8 |
Pts: Bam Adebayo 27 Rebs: Bam Adebayo 16 Asts: Crowder, Dragić 5 each | |
| Miami leads series, 2–1 | ||
September 23 8:30pm |
| Boston Celtics 109, Miami Heat 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–24, 21–26, 32–27, 33–35 | ||
| Pts: Jayson Tatum 28 Rebs: Brown, Tatum, Theis 9 each Asts: Marcus Smart 11 |
Pts: Tyler Herro 37 Rebs: Bam Adebayo 12 Asts: Bam Adebayo 4 | |
| Miami leads series, 3–1 | ||
September 25 8:30pm |
| Miami Heat 108, Boston Celtics 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–18, 32–33, 25–41, 25–29 | ||
| Pts: Goran Dragić 23 Rebs: Adebayo, Butler 8 each Asts: Adebayo, Butler 8 each |
Pts: Jayson Tatum 31 Rebs: Daniel Theis 13 Asts: Marcus Smart 8 | |
| Miami leads series, 3–2 | ||
September 27 7:30pm |
| Boston Celtics 113, Miami Heat 125 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–33, 33–29, 26–26, 27–37 | ||
| Pts: Jaylen Brown 26 Rebs: Brown, Smart 8 each Asts: Jayson Tatum 11 |
Pts: Bam Adebayo 32 Rebs: Bam Adebayo 14 Asts: Jimmy Butler 8 | |
| Miami wins series, 4–2 | ||
| Boston won 2–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the fourth playoff meeting between the two teams, with the Heat winning two of the first three meetings.[44]
| Miami leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Conference finals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Denver Nuggets
September 18 9:00 PM |
| Denver Nuggets 114, Los Angeles Lakers 126 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 38–36, 21–34, 20–33, 33–23 | ||
| Pts: Jokić, Murray 21 each Rebs: Michael Porter Jr. 10 Asts: Jamal Murray 5 |
Pts: Anthony Davis 37 Rebs: Anthony Davis 10 Asts: LeBron James 12 | |
| LA Lakers lead series, 1–0 | ||
September 20 7:30 PM |
| Denver Nuggets 103, Los Angeles Lakers 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–29, 29–31, 28–22, 25–23 | ||
| Pts: Nikola Jokić 30 Rebs: Paul Millsap 8 Asts: Nikola Jokić 9 |
Pts: Anthony Davis 31 Rebs: LeBron James 11 Asts: Rajon Rondo 9 | |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–0 | ||
Anthony Davis scored 31 points, including a 3-point shot over Nikola Jokić at the buzzer, to give the Lakers a 2–0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
September 22 9:00 PM |
| Los Angeles Lakers 106, Denver Nuggets 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–29, 26–34, 22–30, 31–21 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 30 Rebs: LeBron James 10 Asts: LeBron James 11 |
Pts: Jamal Murray 28 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 10 Asts: Jamal Murray 12 | |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–1 | ||
September 24 9:00 PM |
| Los Angeles Lakers 114, Denver Nuggets 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 37–30, 23–25, 27–29, 27–24 | ||
| Pts: Anthony Davis 34 Rebs: Dwight Howard 11 Asts: LeBron James 8 |
Pts: Jamal Murray 32 Rebs: Michael Porter Jr. 8 Asts: Jamal Murray 8 | |
| LA Lakers lead series, 3–1 | ||
September 26 9:00 PM |
| Denver Nuggets 107, Los Angeles Lakers 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–33, 21–28, 33–26, 23–30 | ||
| Pts: Grant, Jokić 20 each Rebs: Jerami Grant 9 Asts: Jamal Murray 8 |
Pts: LeBron James 38 Rebs: LeBron James 16 Asts: LeBron James 10 | |
| LA Lakers win series, 4–1 | ||
| LA Lakers won 3–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first six meetings.[45]
| LA Lakers lead 6–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
NBA Finals: (W1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E5) Miami Heat
- Note: All times are EDT (UTC−4) as listed by the NBA. All games were played behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World.
September 30 9:00pm |
| Miami Heat 98, Los Angeles Lakers 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–31, 20–34, 19–28, 31–23 | ||
| Pts: Jimmy Butler 23 Rebs: Iguodala, Nunn, Olynyk 5 each Asts: Andre Iguodala 6 |
Pts: Anthony Davis 34 Rebs: LeBron James 13 Asts: LeBron James 9 | |
| LA Lakers lead series, 1–0 | ||
October 2 9:00pm |
| Miami Heat 114, Los Angeles Lakers 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–29, 31–39, 39–35, 21–21 | ||
| Pts: Jimmy Butler 25 Rebs: Kelly Olynyk 9 Asts: Jimmy Butler 13 |
Pts: LeBron James 33 Rebs: Anthony Davis 14 Asts: Rajon Rondo 10 | |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–0 | ||
October 4 7:30pm |
| Los Angeles Lakers 104, Miami Heat 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–26, 31–32, 26–27, 24–30 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 25 Rebs: LeBron James 10 Asts: LeBron James 8 |
Pts: Jimmy Butler 40 Rebs: Jimmy Butler 11 Asts: Jimmy Butler 13 | |
| LA Lakers lead series, 2–1 | ||
October 6 9:00pm |
| Los Angeles Lakers 102, Miami Heat 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–22, 22–25, 26–23, 27–26 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 28 Rebs: LeBron James 12 Asts: LeBron James 8 |
Pts: Jimmy Butler 22 Rebs: Jimmy Butler 10 Asts: Jimmy Butler 9 | |
| LA Lakers lead series, 3–1 | ||
October 9 9:00pm |
| Miami Heat 111, Los Angeles Lakers 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–24, 35–32, 28–26, 23–26 | ||
| Pts: Jimmy Butler 35 Rebs: Jimmy Butler 12 Asts: Jimmy Butler 11 |
Pts: LeBron James 40 Rebs: LeBron James 13 Asts: LeBron James 7 | |
| LA Lakers lead series, 3–2 | ||
October 11 7:30pm |
| Los Angeles Lakers 106, Miami Heat 93 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–20, 36–16, 23–22, 19–35 | ||
| Pts: LeBron James 28 Rebs: Anthony Davis 15 Asts: LeBron James 10 |
Pts: Bam Adebayo 25 Rebs: Bam Adebayo 10 Asts: Jimmy Butler 8 | |
| LA Lakers win series, 4–2 | ||
| LA Lakers won 2–0 in the regular-season series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
This was the first playoff meeting between the Lakers and the Heat.[46]
Statistical leaders
| Category | Game High | Average | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | High | Player | Team | Avg. | GP | |
| Points | Donovan Mitchell | Utah Jazz | 57 | Donovan Mitchell | Utah Jazz | 36.3 | 7 |
| Rebounds | Nikola Jokić | Denver Nuggets | 22 | Jarrett Allen | Brooklyn Nets | 14.8 | 4 |
| Assists | LeBron James | Los Angeles Lakers | 16 | Malcolm Brogdon | Indiana Pacers | 10.0 | 4 |
| Steals | Fred VanVleet | Toronto Raptors | 6 | Robert Covington | Houston Rockets | 2.5 | 12 |
| Blocks | Hassan Whiteside Myles Turner | Portland Trail Blazers Indiana Pacers | 5 | Myles Turner | Indiana Pacers | 4.0 | 4 |
Media coverage
Television
ESPN, ABC, TNT, and NBA TV broadcast the playoffs nationally in the United States. During the first two rounds, games were split between TNT, ESPN, and ABC regardless of conference. With the start of the playoffs delayed to August, some games played during the weekday afternoon, and games postponed by the wildcat strike, the TV schedule for the first two rounds differed from previous seasons due to scheduling conflicts. For instance, TNT aired some Friday games instead of its usual Sunday through Thursday schedule. Likewise ESPN broadcast games on some of those days when TNT would normally air them. Also, ABC aired a rare Tuesday night first-round game on September 1. NBA TV also televised selected games in the first round. Regional sports networks affiliated with the teams also broadcast the games, except for games televised on ABC.
TNT exclusively aired the NBA Western Conference finals while ESPN televised the NBA Eastern Conference finals. ABC had exclusive television rights to the 2020 NBA Finals, which was the 18th consecutive year for the network.[47]
In Canada, the home market of the Toronto Raptors, national broadcast rights were split approximately equally between the Sportsnet and TSN groups of channels. Separate Canadian broadcasts were produced for all games involving the Raptors regardless of round or U.S. broadcaster.
See also
References
- ↑ "NBA to suspend season following tonight's games" (Press release). National Basketball Association. March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "NBA approves 22-team format to finish season". ESPN. June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ↑ "NBPA reps vote to approve 22-team format to finish season". Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ↑ "How the Blazers, Grizzlies, Spurs and Suns make the West play-in". ESPN. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
- ↑ NBA season is suddenly on the brink NBC Sports
- ↑ NBA Teams Are On Strike Over Police Brutality New York (magazine)
- ↑ Bontemps, Tim (August 28, 2020). "NBA, NBPA announce playoffs to resume Saturday, new initiatives". ESPN.
- ↑ Taylor, Derrick Bryson (August 27, 2020). "N.B.A. 'Boycott' or Strike: What's the Difference?". The New York Times. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ↑ Helin, Kurt (August 26, 2020). "Milwaukee Bucks players make statement on boycott". Yahoo.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ↑ "Tyler Herro set the NBA rookie scoring record for a conference finals". Rookie Wire. September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ↑ "NBA Playoffs 2020: Miami Heat rookie Tyler Herro put himself in the record books with historic Game 4 performance". Sporting News.com. September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ↑ "Tyler Herro becomes Youngest Player to Start in NBA Finals". Slam Online. October 3, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
- ↑ "Jimmy Butler logs 3rd 40-point triple-double in NBA Finals history". NBA.com. October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
- 1 2 Zillgitt, Jeff (March 12, 2020). "What's next for NBA, teams, players during coronavirus hiatus?". USA Today. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
- ↑ Adams, Jonathan (August 13, 2020). "NBA Play-in Game Rules: How Does Playoff Tournament Work in Bubble?". Heavy.com. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
- ↑ Adams, Jonathan (August 15, 2020). "NBA Play-in Game: What Happens if Blazers-Grizzlies Win or Lose?". Heavy.com. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
- 1 2 "Bucks earliest to clinch playoff berth in 15 years". ESPN. February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- 1 2 "Raptors clinch playoff spot with win over Warriors". TSN.ca. March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
- 1 2 "Lakers Clinch 1st Playoff Berth Since 2013 with Win over Giannis, Bucks". Bleacher Report. March 7, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
- 1 2 "Celtics Clinch Playoff Spot With Win Over Pacers". Sports Illustrated. March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
- ↑ "Giannis Antetokounmpo says Bucks' biggest obstacle after clinching 1-seed 'is ourselves'". ESPN. August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ↑ "Nets 'took care of business' in clinching playoff spot, Jacque Vaughn says". ESPN. August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ↑ "Holiday scores 28; Pelicans top Wizards without Williamson". ESPN. August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- 1 2 "Lakers beat Jazz 116–108 to clinch top seed in West". ESPN. August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ↑ "Mavericks clinch playoff spot with Grizzlies' loss; drought to end at 3 years". ESPN. August 2, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ↑ "NBA games postponed as players demand change". NBA.com. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Milwaukee Bucks versus Orlando Magic (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
- ↑ Irving, Kyle (August 24, 2020). "Toronto Raptors rewrite the record books in Game 4 win over Brooklyn Nets". NBA.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Brooklyn Nets versus Toronto Raptors (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Indiana Pacers versus Miami Heat (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
- ↑ Joseph, Andrew (August 26, 2020). "LeBron James reminds everyone the NBA games are being boycotted, not 'postponed'". ftw.usatoday.com. USA Today. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Portland Trail Blazers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- ↑ "LeBron, Dirk, Patrick Mahomes and NBA fans Slam Refs for Weak Kristaps Porzingis Ejection". August 18, 2020.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Clippers versus Dallas Mavericks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Denver Nuggets versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
- ↑ "Thunder, Rockets boycotting Game 5 in response to Jacob Blake shooting". KOCO-TV. Hearst Television. August 26, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Houston Rockets versus Oklahoma City Thunder (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
- ↑ Woodyard, Eric (September 2, 2020). "Butler's walk-off FTs cap wild finish against Bucks". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Miami Heat versus Milwaukee Bucks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Toronto Raptors versus Boston Celtics (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Houston Rockets (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Clippers versus Denver Nuggets (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Miami Heat (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. September 11, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Denver Nuggets versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Miami Heat (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
- ↑ "2020 NBA Playoffs Schedule". Sportsmediawatch.com. April 2, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
External links
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