The 2019 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2018–19 season. The playoffs began on April 13 and ended on June 13 with the Eastern Conference champion Toronto Raptors defeating the two-time defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors in 4 games to 2 to win their first title in franchise history. Kawhi Leonard was named the NBA Finals MVP for the first time since 2014.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 13 – June 13, 2019 |
| Season | 2018–19 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Toronto Raptors (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Golden State Warriors |
| Semifinalists | |
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the last postseason until 2022 to be played in its traditional April through June schedule. This was also the last NBA Finals featuring coaches wearing formal business attire, as the business attire for coaches was completely abandoned following the 2020 pandemic.
Overview
editWestern Conference
edit- The Denver Nuggets made the playoffs for the first time in six years.
- The Golden State Warriors entered the postseason for the seventh straight year, a new franchise record. This was also their final season at Oracle Arena, as they moved to the new Chase Center the following season. They won the championship in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
- The San Antonio Spurs made the playoffs for the 22nd consecutive season; they have not missed the playoffs since drafting Tim Duncan, who retired in 2016. However, as of 2024, this was their most recent postseason appearance.
- The Los Angeles Clippers made the playoffs for the first time since 2017, featuring a roster without Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, or DeAndre Jordan.
- The Los Angeles Lakers missed the playoffs for the sixth year in a row despite the addition of LeBron James. This was also the first NBA Playoffs to not feature James since 2005.
Eastern Conference
edit- The Milwaukee Bucks entered the postseason with a 60–win season, their first since 1980–81, and with the best record in the league, the first time that has occurred since 1973–74.
- The Orlando Magic made the playoffs for the first time since 2012, breaking the longest Eastern Conference playoff appearance drought to date.
- The Brooklyn Nets made the playoffs for the first time in four years.
- The Detroit Pistons made the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers, despite being the four-time defending Eastern Conference Champions, missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014, largely due to the departure of LeBron James to the Los Angeles Lakers.
- The Miami Heat missed the playoffs for the third time in five years.
First round
edit- In Game 2 of their series against the reigning champion Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers completed the largest comeback in NBA playoff history, overcoming a 31–point deficit.
- Game 3 of the Bucks–Pistons series was the first playoff game played in the city of Detroit since Game 6 of the 1985 Eastern Conference semifinals, which took place at Joe Louis Arena. Postseason games featuring the Pistons had previously been held in the Palace of Auburn Hills and the Pontiac Silverdome.
- The Boston Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers in the first round, marking the 43rd straight year a sweep occurred in the NBA playoffs. The last year a sweep did not occur in the playoffs was 1976. It was also the Celtics’ first playoff sweep since 2011.
- With their first round sweep of the Detroit Pistons, the Milwaukee Bucks won their first series since 2001 when they defeated the Charlotte Hornets in the conference semifinals.
- Game 5 of the Trail Blazers–Thunder series was extremely notable thanks to Damian Lillard's 37 foot series winning 3–pointer over Paul George, capping a 118–115 victory for the Portland Trail Blazers. It was the second series winning three pointer made by Damian Lillard (the other being in 2014 against the Houston Rockets). It would also be Paul George's and Russell Westbrook's final game as members of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
- The Nuggets–Spurs series was the first of the 2019 playoffs to have a Game 7, making it the 20th consecutive NBA postseason with a Game 7. The last time a Game 7 did not take place in the playoffs was in 1999.
- All of the top seeds won the first round for the first time since 2008.
Conference semifinals
edit- Game 3 of the Trail Blazers–Nuggets series was the first quadruple overtime game played in the playoffs since 1955 (and second overall), as well as the first quadruple overtime game ever played during the shot clock era.
- With their conference semifinals victory over the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks made the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001. In addition, this was the first time since 1983 that the Bucks defeated the Celtics in a playoff series.
- Kawhi Leonard scored the first Game 7 buzzer-beater in NBA history, helping the Toronto Raptors defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 92–90 in the second round.
- Game 7 of the Nuggets–Blazers series was extremely notable for CJ McCollum's block on Jamal Murray, evoking memories of a similar block in 2016.
- With their Game 7 victory Portland Trail Blazers advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2000. They also won a Game 7 on the road for the first time in franchise history.
- The Warriors–Rockets series is notable for Stephen Curry's 33–point second half. With their series victory, they advanced to the Western Conference finals for the fifth consecutive season.
Conference finals
edit- Stephen Curry (Warriors) and Seth Curry (Portland Trail Blazers) played each other in the Western Conference finals, becoming the first set of brothers to face each other in an NBA playoff series.[1]
- With their Western Conference finals sweep against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Golden State Warriors earned their fifth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals, making them the second franchise in the NBA postseason history to do so after the Boston Celtics did it in ten consecutive years, starting from 1957 to 1966.
- The Portland Trail Blazers earned the dubious distinction of losing three straight games to the Golden State Warriors despite posting double digit leads in Games 2, 3, and 4.
- With their Eastern Conference finals victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Toronto Raptors advanced on to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
- Stephen Curry surpassed Shaquille O'Neal for most points in a sweep with 146 points.
NBA Finals
edit- The Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship for the first time in franchise history, defeating the Golden State Warriors in six games in the 2019 NBA Finals.
- Game 1 was the first ever NBA Finals game played outside the US.
- Kawhi Leonard joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James as the only players to win Finals MVP with more than one team, and became the first Finals MVP winner from both conferences.
- Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals was the last NBA game ever played at Oracle Arena, as well as the final NBA game ever played in Oakland.
- Game 5 of the Warriors–Raptors series was extremely notable as Kevin Durant ruptured his Achilles in an attempt to return to the playoffs, previously injuring it whilst playing the Clippers.
Format
editWithin each conference, the eight teams with the most wins 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). 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
editOn March 1, 2019, the Milwaukee Bucks became the first team to clinch a playoff spot.[2]
Eastern Conference
edit| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff berth | Division title | Best record in conference |
Best record in NBA | |||
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks | 60–22 | March 1[2] | March 21 | April 4 | April 4 |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 58–24 | March 9[3] | April 1 | — | — |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | 51–31 | March 17 | — | — | — |
| 4 | Boston Celtics | 49–33 | March 26 | — | — | — |
| 5 | Indiana Pacers | 48–34 | March 22[4] | — | — | — |
| 6 | Brooklyn Nets[a] | 42–40 | April 7 | — | — | — |
| 7 | Orlando Magic[a] | 42–40 | April 7 | April 7 | — | — |
| 8 | Detroit Pistons | 41–41 | April 10 | — | — | — |
Western Conference
edit| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff berth | Division title | Best record in conference |
Best record in NBA | |||
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 57–25 | March 16 | March 31 | April 7 | — |
| 2 | Denver Nuggets | 54–28 | March 18 | April 5 | — | — |
| 3 | Portland Trail Blazers[b] | 53–29 | March 25 | — | — | — |
| 4 | Houston Rockets[b] | 53–29 | March 24 | March 31 | — | — |
| 5 | Utah Jazz | 50–32 | March 28 | — | — | — |
| 6 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 49–33 | March 30 | — | — | — |
| 7 | San Antonio Spurs[c] | 48–34 | March 30 | — | — | — |
| 8 | Los Angeles Clippers[c] | 48–34 | March 26 | — | — | — |
- Notes
- ^ a b Brooklyn clinched #6 seed over Orlando based on 2–1 head-to-head record.
- ^ a b Portland clinched #3 seed over Houston based on 2–1 head-to-head record.
- ^ a b San Antonio clinched #7 seed over L.A. Clippers based on 30–22 record against teams in Western Conference (as opposed to L.A. Clippers 28–24 record).
Bracket
editTeams 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 | Second round | Conference finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Milwaukee* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E8 | Detroit | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Milwaukee* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Boston | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E5 | Indiana | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Milwaukee* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Toronto* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E6 | Brooklyn | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Toronto* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Toronto* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E7 | Orlando* | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Toronto* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Golden State* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Golden State* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W8 | LA Clippers | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Golden State* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Houston* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Houston* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W5 | Utah | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Golden State* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Oklahoma City | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Denver* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Denver* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W7 | San Antonio | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage
First round
edit- 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
edit(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (8) Detroit Pistons
editApril 14
7:00pm (6:00 pm CDT) |
| Detroit Pistons 86, Milwaukee Bucks 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–38, 25–32, 18–27, 25–24 | ||
| Pts: Luke Kennard 21 Rebs: Andre Drummond 12 Asts: Ish Smith 6 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 24 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 17 Asts: Sterling Brown 7 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 1–0 | ||
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 17,529 Referees: Tony Brothers, Pat Fraher, Kevin Cutler |
April 17
8:00pm (7:00 pm CDT) |
| Detroit Pistons 99, Milwaukee Bucks 120 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–38, 32–20, 17–35, 23–27 | ||
| Pts: Luke Kennard 19 Rebs: Andre Drummond 16 Asts: Reggie Jackson 8 |
Pts: Eric Bledsoe 27 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 12 Asts: Khris Middleton 8 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 2–0 | ||
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 17,513 Referees: Eric Lewis, Mike Callahan, Rodney Mott |
April 20
8:00pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 119, Detroit Pistons 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–24, 35–30, 33–24, 19–25 | ||
| Pts: Khris Middleton 20 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 10 Asts: Bledsoe, Hill 5 each |
Pts: Blake Griffin 27 Rebs: Andre Drummond 12 Asts: Reggie Jackson 8 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 3–0 | ||
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 20,520 Referees: James Capers, Kane Fitzgerald, Curtis Blair |
April 22
8:00pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 127, Detroit Pistons 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–28, 30–34, 39–23, 32–19 | ||
| Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 41 Rebs: Sterling Brown 13 Asts: Sterling Brown 6 |
Pts: Reggie Jackson 26 Rebs: Andre Drummond 12 Asts: Reggie Jackson 7 | |
| Milwaukee wins series, 4–0 | ||
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 20,332 Referees: Ken Mauer, Tony Brown, Derrick Collins |
| Milwaukee won 4–0 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning all four of the previous meetings.[5]
| Detroit leads 4–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Toronto Raptors vs. (7) Orlando Magic
editApril 13
5:00pm |
| Orlando Magic 104, Toronto Raptors 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–30, 32–19, 18–27, 29–25 | ||
| Pts: D. J. Augustin 25 Rebs: Aaron Gordon 10 Asts: D. J. Augustin 6 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 25 Rebs: Pascal Siakam 8 Asts: Kyle Lowry 8 | |
| Orlando leads series, 1–0 | ||
- In Game 1, D. J. Augustin hit the game-winning three-point shot with 3.4 seconds left.
April 16
8:00pm |
| Orlando Magic 82, Toronto Raptors 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–26, 21–25, 27–39, 16–21 | ||
| Pts: Aaron Gordon 20 Rebs: Michael Carter-Williams 9 Asts: D. J. Augustin 4 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 37 Rebs: Pascal Siakam 10 Asts: Kyle Lowry 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 19
7:00pm |
| Toronto Raptors 98, Orlando Magic 93 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–21, 22–24, 28–20, 22–28 | ||
| Pts: Pascal Siakam 30 Rebs: Pascal Siakam 11 Asts: Kyle Lowry 10 |
Pts: Terrence Ross 24 Rebs: Nikola Vučević 14 Asts: Aaron Gordon 7 | |
| Toronto leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 21
7:00pm |
| Toronto Raptors 107, Orlando Magic 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–26, 30–16, 24–28, 25–15 | ||
| Pts: Kawhi Leonard 34 Rebs: Serge Ibaka 8 Asts: Kyle Lowry 9 |
Pts: Aaron Gordon 25 Rebs: Aaron Gordon 7 Asts: Aaron Gordon 5 | |
| Toronto leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 23
7:00pm |
| Orlando Magic 96, Toronto Raptors 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–35, 28–32, 23–32, 26–16 | ||
| Pts: D. J. Augustin 15 Rebs: Khem Birch 11 Asts: Michael Carter-Williams 5 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 27 Rebs: Marc Gasol 9 Asts: Fred VanVleet 10 | |
| Toronto wins series, 4–1 | ||
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 19,800 Referees: Scott Foster, Jason Phillips, Tyler Ford |
| Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Magic winning the first meeting.[6]
| Orlando leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Brooklyn Nets
editApril 13
2:30pm |
| Brooklyn Nets 111, Philadelphia 76ers 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–22, 31–32, 31–28, 18–20 | ||
| Pts: D'Angelo Russell 26 Rebs: Ed Davis 16 Asts: Dudley, Russell 4 each |
Pts: Jimmy Butler 36 Rebs: Joel Embiid 15 Asts: Tobias Harris 6 | |
| Brooklyn leads series, 1–0 | ||
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 20,437 Referees: Scott Foster, Jason Phillips, Tyler Ford |
April 15
8:00pm |
| Brooklyn Nets 123, Philadelphia 76ers 145 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–34, 36–31, 23–51, 36–29 | ||
| Pts: Spencer Dinwiddie 19 Rebs: Jarrett Allen 6 Asts: Jarrett Allen 4 |
Pts: Joel Embiid 23 Rebs: Embiid, Simmons 10 each Asts: Ben Simmons 12 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 20,591 Referees: Mike Callahan, Kevin Scott, Gediminas Petraitis |
April 18
8:00pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 131, Brooklyn Nets 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–24, 33–35, 32–31, 34–25 | ||
| Pts: Ben Simmons 31 Rebs: Tobias Harris 16 Asts: Ben Simmons 9 |
Pts: D'Angelo Russell 26 Rebs: Caris LeVert 7 Asts: Russell, Hollis-Jefferson 4 each | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 | ||
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York City
Attendance: 17,732 Referees: James Capers, Courtney Kirkland, Scott Wall |
April 20
3:00pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 112, Brooklyn Nets 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–33, 33–30, 28–28, 27–17 | ||
| Pts: Joel Embiid 31 Rebs: Joel Embiid 16 Asts: Ben Simmons 8 |
Pts: Caris LeVert 25 Rebs: Jarrett Allen 8 Asts: LeVert, Russell 6 each | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 3–1 | ||
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York City
Attendance: 17,732 Referees: Ed Malloy, David Guthrie, Ben Taylor |
April 23
8:00pm |
| Brooklyn Nets 100, Philadelphia 76ers 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–32, 16–28, 33–35, 36–27 | ||
| Pts: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 21 Rebs: Jarrett Allen 9 Asts: Shabazz Napier 10 |
Pts: Joel Embiid 23 Rebs: Joel Embiid 13 Asts: T. J. McConnell 7 | |
| Philadelphia wins series, 4–1 | ||
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 20,595 Referees: Zach Zarba, Tom Washington, Brian Forte |
| Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, but the first since the New Jersey Nets relocated to Brooklyn and became the Brooklyn Nets in 2012, with each team winning one series.[7]
| Tied 1–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(4) Boston Celtics vs. (5) Indiana Pacers
editApril 14
1:00pm |
| Indiana Pacers 74, Boston Celtics 84 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 25–18, 8–26, 21–20 | ||
| Pts: Cory Joseph 14 Rebs: Domantas Sabonis 9 Asts: Thaddeus Young 6 |
Pts: Irving, Morris 20 each Rebs: Al Horford 11 Asts: Kyrie Irving 7 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 18,624 Referees: James Capers, Kane Fitzgerald, Brian Forte |
April 17
7:00pm |
| Indiana Pacers 91, Boston Celtics 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–29, 17–23, 29–16, 12–31 | ||
| Pts: Bojan Bogdanović 23 Rebs: Bojan Bogdanović 8 Asts: Sabonis, Matthews 5 each |
Pts: Kyrie Irving 37 Rebs: Al Horford 10 Asts: Kyrie Irving 7 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 19
8:30pm |
| Boston Celtics 104, Indiana Pacers 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 41–28, 18–33, 21–12, 24–23 | ||
| Pts: Jaylen Brown 23 Rebs: Al Horford 8 Asts: Kyrie Irving 10 |
Pts: Tyreke Evans 19 Rebs: Thaddeus Young 9 Asts: Domantas Sabonis 6 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–0 | ||
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 17,923 Referees: Zach Zarba, Pat Fraher, Tyler Ford |
April 21
1:00pm |
| Boston Celtics 110, Indiana Pacers 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 26–26, 26–23, 37–34 | ||
| Pts: Gordon Hayward 20 Rebs: Al Horford 12 Asts: Kyrie Irving 7 |
Pts: Bojan Bogdanović 22 Rebs: Thaddeus Young 9 Asts: Darren Collison 5 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–0 | ||
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 17,923 Referees: Marc Davis, John Goble, Courtney Kirkland |
| Boston won 3–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning three of the first five meetings.[8]
| Boston leads 3–2 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Conference first round
edit(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (8) Los Angeles Clippers
editApril 13
8:00 pm (5:00 pm PDT) |
| Los Angeles Clippers 104, Golden State Warriors 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–36, 29–33, 23–29, 25–23 | ||
| Pts: Montrezl Harrell 26 Rebs: Danilo Gallinari 8 Asts: Lou Williams 9 |
Pts: Stephen Curry 38 Rebs: Stephen Curry 15 Asts: Curry, Green 7 each | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Ed Malloy, Courtney Kirkland, Mark Lindsay |
April 15
10:30pm (7:30 pm PDT) |
| Los Angeles Clippers 135, Golden State Warriors 131 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–33, 25–40, 44–35, 41–23 | ||
| Pts: Lou Williams 36 Rebs: Montrezl Harrell 10 Asts: Lou Williams 11 |
Pts: Stephen Curry 29 Rebs: Andrew Bogut 9 Asts: Draymond Green 9 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
The Clippers trailed 94–63 with 7:31 remaining in the third quarter of Game 2. They would go on to outscore Golden State 72–37 en route to overcoming a 31-point deficit, the largest comeback in NBA playoff history.[9]
April 18
10:30pm (7:30 pm PDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 132, Los Angeles Clippers 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 41–24, 32–28, 36–24, 23–29 | ||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 38 Rebs: Andrew Bogut 14 Asts: Draymond Green 10 |
Pts: Ivica Zubac 18 Rebs: Ivica Zubac 15 Asts: Lou Williams 6 | |
| Golden State leads series, 2–1 | ||
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 19,068 Referees: Scott Foster, Jason Phillips, Scott Twardoski |
April 21
3:30pm (12:30 pm PDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 113, Los Angeles Clippers 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–22, 30–32, 25–30, 26–21 | ||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 33 Rebs: Bogut, Curry 10 each Asts: Stephen Curry 7 |
Pts: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 25 Rebs: Patrick Beverley 10 Asts: Patrick Beverley 5 | |
| Golden State leads series, 3–1 | ||
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 19,068 Referees: Tony Brothers, Sean Wright, Brent Barnaky |
April 24
10:30pm (7:30 pm PDT) |
| Los Angeles Clippers 129, Golden State Warriors 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 37–41, 34–22, 33–31, 25–27 | ||
| Pts: Lou Williams 33 Rebs: Patrick Beverley 14 Asts: Lou Williams 10 |
Pts: Kevin Durant 45 Rebs: Green, Looney 7 each Asts: Andre Iguodala 8 | |
| Golden State leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 26
10:00pm (7:00 pm PDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 129, Los Angeles Clippers 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–31, 37–22, 30–25, 27–32 | ||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 50 Rebs: Draymond Green 14 Asts: Draymond Green 10 |
Pts: Danilo Gallinari 29 Rebs: Patrick Beverley 14 Asts: Beverley, Williams 7 each | |
| Golden State wins series, 4–2 | ||
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 19,068 Referees: Mike Callahan, David Guthrie, Kevin Scott |
| Golden State won 3–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Clippers winning the first meeting.[10]
| L.A. Clippers leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs
editApril 13
10:30pm (8:30 pm MDT) |
| San Antonio Spurs 101, Denver Nuggets 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–20, 34–31, 13–17, 29–28 | ||
| Pts: DeMar DeRozan 18 Rebs: DeMar DeRozan 12 Asts: DeMar DeRozan 6 |
Pts: Gary Harris 20 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 14 Asts: Nikola Jokić 14 | |
| San Antonio leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 16
9:00pm (7:00 pm MDT) |
| San Antonio Spurs 105, Denver Nuggets 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–21, 33–28, 23–26, 23–39 | ||
| Pts: DeMar DeRozan 31 Rebs: Rudy Gay 9 Asts: Patty Mills 5 |
Pts: Jamal Murray 24 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 13 Asts: Nikola Jokić 8 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Attendance: 19,520 Referees: James Capers, Kane Fitzgerald, Derrick Collins |
April 18
9:00pm (8:00 pm CDT) |
| Denver Nuggets 108, San Antonio Spurs 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–31, 36–30, 26–27, 24–30 | ||
| Pts: Nikola Jokić 22 Rebs: Malik Beasley 9 Asts: three players 7 each |
Pts: Derrick White 36 Rebs: Aldridge, Gay 11 each Asts: three players 5 each | |
| San Antonio leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 20
5:30pm (4:30 pm CDT) |
| Denver Nuggets 117, San Antonio Spurs 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–34, 32–20, 37–25, 26–24 | ||
| Pts: Nikola Jokić 29 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 12 Asts: Nikola Jokić 8 |
Pts: LaMarcus Aldridge 24 Rebs: Aldridge, Pöltl 9 each Asts: DeRozan, White 5 each | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 23
9:30pm (7:30 pm MDT) |
| San Antonio Spurs 90, Denver Nuggets 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–26, 23–27, 21–32, 27–23 | ||
| Pts: Aldridge, DeRozan 17 each Rebs: LaMarcus Aldridge 10 Asts: Jakob Pöltl 4 |
Pts: Jamal Murray 23 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 11 Asts: Nikola Jokić 8 | |
| Denver leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 25
8:00pm (7:00 pm CDT) |
| Denver Nuggets 103, San Antonio Spurs 120 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–34, 36–30, 25–26, 18–30 | ||
| Pts: Nikola Jokić 43 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 12 Asts: Nikola Jokić 9 |
Pts: LaMarcus Aldridge 26 Rebs: LaMarcus Aldridge 10 Asts: DeMar DeRozan 7 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 27
10:00pm (8:00 pm MDT) |
| San Antonio Spurs 86, Denver Nuggets 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–23, 21–24, 27–25, 25–18 | ||
| Pts: Rudy Gay 21 Rebs: LaMarcus Aldridge 11 Asts: DeMar DeRozan 6 |
Pts: Jamal Murray 23 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 15 Asts: Nikola Jokić 10 | |
| Denver wins series, 4–3 | ||
| Series tied 2–2 in the regular-season |
|---|
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning five of the first six meetings.[11]
| San Antonio leads 5–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) Oklahoma City Thunder
editApril 14
3:30pm (12:30 pm PDT) |
| Oklahoma City Thunder 99, Portland Trail Blazers 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–39, 23–15, 21–22, 30–28 | ||
| Pts: Paul George 26 Rebs: Westbrook, George 10 each Asts: Russell Westbrook 10 |
Pts: Damian Lillard 30 Rebs: Enes Kanter 18 Asts: Damian Lillard 4 | |
| Portland leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 16
10:30pm (7:30 pm PDT) |
| Oklahoma City Thunder 94, Portland Trail Blazers 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–26, 23–28, 21–37, 19–23 | ||
| Pts: Paul George 27 Rebs: Adams, Westbrook 9 each Asts: Russell Westbrook 11 |
Pts: CJ McCollum 33 Rebs: Maurice Harkless 9 Asts: Damian Lillard 6 | |
| Portland leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 19
9:30pm (8:30 pm CDT) |
| Portland Trail Blazers 108, Oklahoma City Thunder 120 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 17–28, 43–37, 26–34 | ||
| Pts: Damian Lillard 32 Rebs: Al-Farouq Aminu 9 Asts: CJ McCollum 7 |
Pts: Russell Westbrook 33 Rebs: Steven Adams 7 Asts: Russell Westbrook 11 | |
| Portland leads series, 2–1 | ||
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Attendance: 18,203 Referees: Marc Davis, Tony Brown, Nick Buchert |
April 21
9:30pm (8:30 pm CDT) |
| Portland Trail Blazers 111, Oklahoma City Thunder 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–24, 24–22, 29–22, 32–30 | ||
| Pts: CJ McCollum 27 Rebs: Harkless, Kanter 10 each Asts: Damian Lillard 8 |
Pts: Paul George 32 Rebs: Paul George 10 Asts: Russell Westbrook 7 | |
| Portland leads series, 3–1 | ||
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Attendance: 18,203 Referees: Mike Callahan, Eric Lewis, Mark Lindsay |
April 23
10:30pm (7:30 pm PDT) |
| Oklahoma City Thunder 115, Portland Trail Blazers 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 37–29, 23–32, 30–27, 25–30 | ||
| Pts: Paul George 36 Rebs: Russell Westbrook 11 Asts: Russell Westbrook 14 |
Pts: Damian Lillard 50 Rebs: Enes Kanter 13 Asts: Damian Lillard 6 | |
| Portland wins series, 4–1 | ||
Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Attendance: 20,241 Referees: James Capers, Kane Fitzgerald, Courtney Kirkland |
Damian Lillard scored 50 points in Game 5 and finished off the series by hitting a 37-foot three at the buzzer to break a 115–115 tie, sending the Blazers through to the conference semifinals. This was Lillard's second series-winning 3-pointer; his first came against Houston in 2014. He is the only player besides Michael Jordan to hit two series-winning field goals. This was also the last Thunder game to feature both Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
| Oklahoma City won 4–0 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||
This was the fifth playoff meeting between the SuperSonics/Thunder and the Blazers, 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.[12]
| Series tied 2–2 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(4) Houston Rockets vs. (5) Utah Jazz
editApril 14
9:30pm (8:30 pm CDT) |
| Utah Jazz 90, Houston Rockets 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–31, 20–28, 27–24, 19–39 | ||
| Pts: Rudy Gobert 22 Rebs: Rudy Gobert 12 Asts: Ricky Rubio 6 |
Pts: James Harden 29 Rebs: Clint Capela 12 Asts: James Harden 10 | |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 17
9:30pm (8:30 pm CDT) |
| Utah Jazz 98, Houston Rockets 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–39, 25–31, 23–25, 31–23 | ||
| Pts: Rubio, O'Neale 17 each Rebs: Gobert, Favors 12 each Asts: Ricky Rubio 9 |
Pts: James Harden 32 Rebs: James Harden 13 Asts: James Harden 10 | |
| Houston leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 20
10:30pm (8:30 pm MDT) |
| Houston Rockets 104, Utah Jazz 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–30, 22–25, 24–21, 30–25 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 22 Rebs: Clint Capela 14 Asts: James Harden 10 |
Pts: Donovan Mitchell 34 Rebs: Gobert, Ingles 8 each Asts: Ricky Rubio 6 | |
| Houston leads series, 3–0 | ||
Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Attendance: 18,306 Referees: Ken Mauer, Josh Tiven, Kevin Scott |
April 22
10:30pm (8:30 pm MDT) |
| Houston Rockets 91, Utah Jazz 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–32, 23–21, 32–23, 12–31 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 30 Rebs: Chris Paul 8 Asts: Chris Paul 7 |
Pts: Donovan Mitchell 31 Rebs: Favors, O'Neale 11 each Asts: Ricky Rubio 11 | |
| Houston leads series, 3–1 | ||
Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Attendance: 18,306 Referees: Tony Brothers, David Guthrie, Pat Fraher |
April 24
8:00pm (7:00 pm CDT) |
| Utah Jazz 93, Houston Rockets 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 22–26, 27–29, 24–25 | ||
| Pts: Royce O'Neale 18 Rebs: Crowder, Gobert 10 each Asts: Ricky Rubio 11 |
Pts: James Harden 26 Rebs: Clint Capela 10 Asts: James Harden 6 | |
| Houston wins series, 4–1 | ||
| Series tied 2–2 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning five of the first eight meetings.[13]
| Utah leads 5–3 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Conference semifinals
edit- 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
edit(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (4) Boston Celtics
editApril 28
1:00pm (12:00 pm CDT) |
| Boston Celtics 112, Milwaukee Bucks 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–17, 26–33, 36–21, 24–19 | ||
| Pts: Kyrie Irving 26 Rebs: Al Horford 11 Asts: Kyrie Irving 11 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 22 Rebs: Khris Middleton 10 Asts: Khris Middleton 6 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 30
8:00pm (7:00 pm CDT) |
| Boston Celtics 102, Milwaukee Bucks 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–25, 25–34, 18–39, 29–25 | ||
| Pts: Marcus Morris 17 Rebs: Horford, Rozier 8 each Asts: Kyrie Irving 4 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 29 Rebs: Pat Connaughton 11 Asts: Eric Bledsoe 5 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 17,536 Referees: Marc Davis, Tony Brothers, Tom Washington |
May 3
8:00pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 123, Boston Celtics 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–30, 30–26, 40–31, 28–29 | ||
| Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 32 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 13 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 8 |
Pts: Kyrie Irving 29 Rebs: Jayson Tatum 11 Asts: Kyrie Irving 6 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 2–1 | ||
May 6
7:00pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 113, Boston Celtics 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–30, 25–19, 33–23, 33–29 | ||
| Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 39 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 16 Asts: Khris Middleton 7 |
Pts: Kyrie Irving 23 Rebs: Marcus Morris 14 Asts: Kyrie Irving 10 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 3–1 | ||
May 8
8:00pm (7:00 pm CDT) |
| Boston Celtics 91, Milwaukee Bucks 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–22, 20–30, 23–28, 29–36 | ||
| Pts: Kyrie Irving 15 Rebs: Marcus Morris 11 Asts: Al Horford 6 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 20 Rebs: Mirotić, Connaughton 11 each Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 8 | |
| Milwaukee wins series, 4–1 | ||
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 17,701 Referees: Mike Callahan, David Guthrie, Rodney Mott |
| Milwaukee won 2–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning five of the first six meetings.[14]
| Boston leads 5–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Toronto Raptors vs. (3) Philadelphia 76ers
editApril 27
7:30pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 95, Toronto Raptors 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–39, 21–22, 29–31, 14–16 | ||
| Pts: JJ Redick 17 Rebs: Tobias Harris 15 Asts: Tobias Harris 6 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 45 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 11 Asts: Kyle Lowry 8 | |
| Toronto leads series, 1–0 | ||
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 19,800 Referees: Ken Mauer, Kane Fitzgerald, Nick Buchert |
April 29
8:00pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 94, Toronto Raptors 89 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–17, 25–21, 18–25, 25–26 | ||
| Pts: Jimmy Butler 30 Rebs: Butler, Harris 11 each Asts: three players 5 each |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 35 Rebs: three players 7 each Asts: Kawhi Leonard 6 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 19,800 Referees: Mike Callahan, David Guthrie, Scott Wall |
May 2
8:00pm |
| Toronto Raptors 95, Philadelphia 76ers 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–32, 24–32, 28–25, 14–27 | ||
| Pts: Kawhi Leonard 33 Rebs: Gasol, Green 6 each Asts: Kyle Lowry 5 |
Pts: Joel Embiid 33 Rebs: Joel Embiid 10 Asts: Jimmy Butler 9 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 | ||
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 20,658 Referees: Scott Foster, Jason Phillips, Tre Maddox |
May 5
3:30pm |
| Toronto Raptors 101, Philadelphia 76ers 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–21, 23–24, 28–30, 26–21 | ||
| Pts: Kawhi Leonard 39 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 14 Asts: Kyle Lowry 7 |
Pts: Jimmy Butler 29 Rebs: Jimmy Butler 11 Asts: Joel Embiid 7 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 20,639 Referees: Marc Davis, Tony Brothers, Josh Tiven |
May 7
8:00pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 89, Toronto Raptors 125 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 17–37, 27–28, 19–33 | ||
| Pts: Jimmy Butler 22 Rebs: Ben Simmons 7 Asts: Jimmy Butler 7 |
Pts: Pascal Siakam 25 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 13 Asts: Kyle Lowry 5 | |
| Toronto leads series, 3–2 | ||
May 9
8:00pm |
| Toronto Raptors 101, Philadelphia 76ers 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–29, 22–29, 24–29, 34–25 | ||
| Pts: Kawhi Leonard 29 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 12 Asts: Kyle Lowry 6 |
Pts: Jimmy Butler 25 Rebs: Joel Embiid 12 Asts: Jimmy Butler 8 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 20,525 Referees: Zach Zarba, John Goble, Tom Washington |
May 12
7:00pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 90, Toronto Raptors 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–18, 27–26, 24–23, 26–25 | ||
| Pts: Joel Embiid 21 Rebs: Joel Embiid 11 Asts: Ben Simmons 5 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 41 Rebs: Siakam, Gasol 11 each Asts: Kyle Lowry 6 | |
| Toronto wins series, 4–3 | ||
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 20,917 Referees: Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, Jason Phillips |
As Game 7 came down to the final seconds, Joel Embiid cut a three-point Raptors lead to one with two free throws, then after Kawhi Leonard split his free throws, Jimmy Butler led the fast break and made a layup with 4.2 seconds left to tie the game. After a Toronto timeout, Leonard was given the ball, dribbled around the perimeter and shot it from the baseline, just inside the three-point arc. The shot bounced four times on the rim before going in to give the Raptors the series win. It was the first buzzer-beater to win a Game 7 in NBA history, and only the second such shot in a winner-take-all playoff game, after Michael Jordan's shot to win the Chicago Bulls' 1989 first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. (In 1989, first-round playoff series were best-of-5 instead of the current best-of-7.)
| Toronto won 3–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with Philadelphia winning the first meeting in the 2001 Eastern Conference semifinals.[15]
| Philadelphia leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Conference semifinals
edit(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (4) Houston Rockets
editApril 28
3:30pm (12:30 pm PDT) |
| Houston Rockets 100, Golden State Warriors 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–28, 34–25, 23–30, 24–21 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 35 Rebs: Clint Capela 6 Asts: James Harden 6 |
Pts: Kevin Durant 35 Rebs: Draymond Green 9 Asts: Draymond Green 9 | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Zach Zarba, Josh Tiven, Courtney Kirkland |
April 30
10:30pm (7:30 pm PDT) |
| Houston Rockets 109, Golden State Warriors 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–29, 29–29, 26–24, 34–33 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 29 Rebs: Tucker, Capela 10 each Asts: Chris Paul 6 |
Pts: Kevin Durant 29 Rebs: Draymond Green 12 Asts: Draymond Green 7 | |
| Golden State leads series, 2–0 | ||
May 4
8:30pm (7:30 pm CDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 121, Houston Rockets 126 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 23–33, 35–33, 28–21, Overtime: 9–14 | ||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 46 Rebs: Draymond Green 11 Asts: Draymond Green 10 |
Pts: James Harden 41 Rebs: P. J. Tucker 12 Asts: Chris Paul 7 | |
| Golden State leads series, 2–1 | ||
May 6
9:30pm (8:30 pm CDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 108, Houston Rockets 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–25, 26–36, 30–32, 24–19 | ||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 34 Rebs: Draymond Green 10 Asts: Stephen Curry 8 |
Pts: James Harden 38 Rebs: Harden, Tucker 10 each Asts: Chris Paul 5 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
May 8
10:30pm (7:30 pm PDT) |
| Houston Rockets 99, Golden State Warriors 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–31, 26–26, 29–15, 27–32 | ||
| Pts: James Harden 31 Rebs: Clint Capela 14 Asts: James Harden 8 |
Pts: Klay Thompson 27 Rebs: Draymond Green 12 Asts: Draymond Green 11 | |
| Golden State leads series, 3–2 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Ken Mauer, Jason Phillips, Kane Fitzgerald |
May 10
9:00pm (8:00 pm CDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 118, Houston Rockets 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–28, 30–29, 25–30, 36–26 | ||
| Pts: Stephen Curry 33 Rebs: Draymond Green 10 Asts: Draymond Green 7 |
Pts: James Harden 35 Rebs: Chris Paul 11 Asts: Chris Paul 6 | |
| Golden State wins series, 4–2 | ||
All 6 games in the series finished with a differential of less than or exactly 6 points, making it the first playoff series in NBA history to accomplish this feat.
| Houston won 3–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with Golden State winning the previous three meetings.[16]
| Golden State leads 3–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers
editApril 29
10:30pm (8:30pm MDT) |
| Portland Trail Blazers 113, Denver Nuggets 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–32, 23–26, 29–35, 29–28 | ||
| Pts: Damian Lillard 39 Rebs: Aminu, Turner 8 each Asts: Damian Lillard 6 |
Pts: Nikola Jokić 37 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 9 Asts: Jamal Murray 8 | |
| Denver leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 1
9:00pm (7:00pm MDT) |
| Portland Trail Blazers 97, Denver Nuggets 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–23, 22–12, 28–29, 19–26 | ||
| Pts: CJ McCollum 20 Rebs: Al-Farouq Aminu 10 Asts: CJ McCollum 6 |
Pts: Nikola Jokić 16 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 14 Asts: Nikola Jokić 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
May 3
10:30pm (7:30pm PDT) |
| Denver Nuggets 137, Portland Trail Blazers 140 (4OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–23, 30–25, 29–33, 26–21, Overtime: 7–7, 9–9, 11–11, 8–11 | ||
| Pts: Jamal Murray 34 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 18 Asts: Nikola Jokić 14 |
Pts: CJ McCollum 41 Rebs: Enes Kanter 15 Asts: Damian Lillard 8 | |
| Portland leads series, 2–1 | ||
May 5
7:00pm (4:00pm PDT) |
| Denver Nuggets 116, Portland Trail Blazers 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–33, 28–30, 27–14, 32–35 | ||
| Pts: Jamal Murray 34 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 12 Asts: Nikola Jokić 11 |
Pts: CJ McCollum 29 Rebs: Enes Kanter 10 Asts: Damian Lillard 7 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Attendance: 20,146 Referees: Scott Foster, Jason Phillips, Derrick Collins |
May 7
10:30pm (8:30pm MDT) |
| Portland Trail Blazers 98, Denver Nuggets 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–31, 22–34, 18–28, 33–31 | ||
| Pts: Damian Lillard 22 Rebs: Enes Kanter 8 Asts: Damian Lillard 4 |
Pts: Nikola Jokić 25 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 19 Asts: Jamal Murray 9 | |
| Denver leads series, 3–2 | ||
May 9
10:30pm (7:30pm PDT) |
| Denver Nuggets 108, Portland Trail Blazers 119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–26, 20–32, 26–29, 28–32 | ||
| Pts: Nikola Jokić 29 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 12 Asts: Nikola Jokić 8 |
Pts: Damian Lillard 32 Rebs: Enes Kanter 14 Asts: Evan Turner 7 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
May 12
3:30pm (1:30pm MDT) |
| Portland Trail Blazers 100, Denver Nuggets 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–29, 22–19, 32–24, 29–24 | ||
| Pts: CJ McCollum 37 Rebs: Enes Kanter 13 Asts: Damian Lillard 8 |
Pts: Nikola Jokić 29 Rebs: Nikola Jokić 13 Asts: Jamal Murray 5 | |
| Portland wins series, 4–3 | ||
Game three became the second playoff game in NBA history to go into quadruple-overtime, joining a 1953 game between the Boston Celtics and Syracuse Nationals.[17]
| Denver won 3–1 in the regular-season series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series.[18]
| Series tied 1–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Conference finals
edit- 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
edit(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (2) Toronto Raptors
editMay 15
8:30pm (7:30 pm CDT) |
| Toronto Raptors 100, Milwaukee Bucks 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–23, 25–28, 24–25, 17–32 | ||
| Pts: Kawhi Leonard 31 Rebs: Marc Gasol 12 Asts: Marc Gasol 5 |
Pts: Brook Lopez 29 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 14 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 6 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 17
8:30pm (7:30 pm CDT) |
| Toronto Raptors 103, Milwaukee Bucks 125 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–35, 18–29, 39–31, 25–30 | ||
| Pts: Kawhi Leonard 31 Rebs: Serge Ibaka 10 Asts: Kyle Lowry 4 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 30 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 17 Asts: Eric Bledsoe 7 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 2–0 | ||
Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 17,570 Referees: Mike Callahan, Eric Lewis, Rodney Mott |
May 19
7:00pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 112, Toronto Raptors 118 (2OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–30, 30–28, 24–19, 21–19, Overtime: 7–7, 9–15 | ||
| Pts: George Hill 24 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 23 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 7 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 36 Rebs: Marc Gasol 12 Asts: Marc Gasol 7 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 2–1 | ||
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 19,923 Referees: Scott Foster, Ed Malloy, Tom Washington |
May 21
8:30pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 102, Toronto Raptors 120 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–32, 24–33, 26–29, 21–26 | ||
| Pts: Khris Middleton 30 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 10 Asts: Khris Middleton 7 |
Pts: Kyle Lowry 25 Rebs: Serge Ibaka 13 Asts: Marc Gasol 7 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 20,237 Referees: James Capers, Ken Mauer, Kane Fitzgerald |
May 23
8:30pm (7:30 pm CDT) |
| Toronto Raptors 105, Milwaukee Bucks 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–32, 24–17, 26–26, 33–24 | ||
| Pts: Kawhi Leonard 35 Rebs: Pascal Siakam 13 Asts: Kawhi Leonard 9 |
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 24 Rebs: Malcolm Brogdon 11 Asts: Khris Middleton 10 | |
| Toronto leads series, 3–2 | ||
May 25
8:30pm |
| Milwaukee Bucks 94, Toronto Raptors 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–18, 19–25, 26–28, 18–29 | ||
| Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 21 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 11 Asts: Eric Bledsoe 7 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 27 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 17 Asts: Kyle Lowry 8 | |
| Toronto wins series, 4–2 | ||
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 20,478 Referees: Mike Callahan, David Guthrie, Eric Lewis |
| Milwaukee won 3–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Raptors winning the first meeting in 2017.[19]
| Toronto leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Conference finals
edit(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers
editMay 14
9:00pm (6:00 pm PDT) |
| Portland Trail Blazers 94, Golden State Warriors 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–27, 22–27, 26–23, 23–39 | ||
| Pts: Damian Lillard 19 Rebs: Enes Kanter 16 Asts: Damian Lillard 6 |
Pts: Stephen Curry 36 Rebs: Draymond Green 10 Asts: Stephen Curry 7 | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 16
9:00pm (6:00 pm PDT) |
| Portland Trail Blazers 111, Golden State Warriors 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–29, 34–21, 24–39, 22–25 | ||
| Pts: Damian Lillard 23 Rebs: Aminu, Leonard 6 each Asts: Damian Lillard 10 |
Pts: Stephen Curry 37 Rebs: Draymond Green 10 Asts: Stephen Curry 8 | |
| Golden State leads series, 2–0 | ||
May 18
9:00pm (6:00 pm PDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 110, Portland Trail Blazers 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–29, 26–37, 29–13, 28–20 | ||
| Pts: Stephen Curry 36 Rebs: Draymond Green 13 Asts: Draymond Green 12 |
Pts: CJ McCollum 23 Rebs: Zach Collins 8 Asts: Damian Lillard 6 | |
| Golden State leads series, 3–0 | ||
May 20
9:00pm (6:00 pm PDT) |
| Golden State Warriors 119, Portland Trail Blazers 117 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 36–35, 29–34, 22–26, 24–16, Overtime: 8–6 | ||
| Pts: Stephen Curry 37 Rebs: Green, Looney 14 each Asts: Curry, Green 11 each |
Pts: Meyers Leonard 30 Rebs: Meyers Leonard 12 Asts: Damian Lillard 12 | |
| Golden State wins series, 4–0 | ||
| Series tied 2–2 in the regular-season series | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with Golden State winning the first two meetings.[20]
| Golden State leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
NBA Finals: (E2) Toronto Raptors vs. (W1) Golden State Warriors
edit- 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 30
9:00pm |
| Golden State Warriors 109, Toronto Raptors 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–25, 28–34, 32–29, 28–30 | ||
| Pts: Stephen Curry 34 Rebs: Draymond Green 10 Asts: Draymond Green 10 |
Pts: Pascal Siakam 32 Rebs: Leonard, Siakam 8 each Asts: Kyle Lowry 9 | |
| Toronto leads series, 1–0 | ||
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 19,983 Referees: James Capers, Jason Phillips, John Goble, (Alternate) Josh Tiven |
June 2
8:00pm |
| Golden State Warriors 109, Toronto Raptors 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 28–32, 34–21, 21–24 | ||
| Pts: Klay Thompson 25 Rebs: Cousins, Green 10 each Asts: Draymond Green 9 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 34 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 14 Asts: Pascal Siakam 4 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 20,014 Referees: Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, Ed Malloy, (Alternate) Josh Tiven |
June 5
9:00pm (6:00 pm PDT) |
| Toronto Raptors 123, Golden State Warriors 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 36–29, 24–23, 36–31, 27–26 | ||
| Pts: Kawhi Leonard 30 Rebs: Pascal Siakam 9 Asts: Kyle Lowry 9 |
Pts: Stephen Curry 47 Rebs: Stephen Curry 8 Asts: Stephen Curry 7 | |
| Toronto leads series, 2–1 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Marc Davis, David Guthrie, Kane Fitzgerald, (Alternate) Sean Wright |
June 7
9:00pm (6:00 pm PDT) |
| Toronto Raptors 105, Golden State Warriors 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–23, 25–23, 37–21, 26–25 | ||
| Pts: Kawhi Leonard 36 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 12 Asts: Kyle Lowry 7 |
Pts: Klay Thompson 28 Rebs: Draymond Green 9 Asts: Draymond Green 12 | |
| Toronto leads series, 3–1 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Mike Callahan, Zach Zarba, Eric Lewis, (Alternate) Sean Wright |
June 10
9:00pm |
| Golden State Warriors 106, Toronto Raptors 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–28, 28–28, 22–22, 22–27 | ||
| Pts: Stephen Curry 31 Rebs: Draymond Green 10 Asts: Draymond Green 8 |
Pts: Kawhi Leonard 26 Rebs: Kawhi Leonard 12 Asts: Leonard, Lowry 6 each | |
| Toronto leads series, 3–2 | ||
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 20,144 Referees: James Capers, Jason Phillips, Ed Malloy, (Alternate) Kane Fitzgerald |
June 13
9:00pm (6:00 pm PDT) |
| Toronto Raptors 114, Golden State Warriors 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–32, 27–25, 26–31, 28–22 | ||
| Pts: Lowry, Siakam 26 each Rebs: Pascal Siakam 10 Asts: Kyle Lowry 10 |
Pts: Klay Thompson 30 Rebs: Draymond Green 19 Asts: Draymond Green 13 | |
| Toronto wins series, 4–2 | ||
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Marc Davis, David Guthrie, John Goble, (Alternate) Eric Lewis |
| Toronto won 2–0 in the regular-season series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
This was the first meeting in the NBA Finals between these two teams.[21]
Statistical leaders
edit| Category | Game High | Average | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | High | Player | Team | Avg. | GP | |
| Points | Damian Lillard Kevin Durant |
Portland Trail Blazers Golden State Warriors |
50 | Kevin Durant | Golden State Warriors | 32.3 | 12 |
| Rebounds | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks | 23 | Nikola Jokić Andre Drummond |
Denver Nuggets Detroit Pistons |
13.0 | 14 4 |
| Assists | Nikola Jokić Russell Westbrook |
Denver Nuggets Oklahoma City Thunder |
14 | Russell Westbrook | Oklahoma City Thunder | 10.6 | 5 |
| Steals | James Harden | Houston Rockets | 6 | Thaddeus Young | Indiana Pacers | 2.8 | 4 |
| Blocks | Rudy Gobert | Utah Jazz | 7 | Rudy Gobert | Utah Jazz | 2.6 | 5 |
Media coverage
editTelevision
editESPN, TNT, ABC, 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. TNT primarily aired games on Saturday through Wednesday, while ESPN on Friday and Saturday. For Thursday games, TNT had them in the first round and ESPN in the second round. ABC then aired selected first and second-round games on Friday through Sunday. NBA TV also televised selected games in the first round on Tuesday through Thursday. Also in the first round, regional sports networks affiliated with the teams could also broadcast the games, except for weekend games televised on ABC.[nb 1] The Western Conference finals were televised on ESPN, while TNT televised the Eastern Conference finals. ABC had exclusive television rights to the 2019 NBA Finals, which was the 17th consecutive year for the network.[22]
In Canada, the home market of the Toronto Raptors, national broadcast rights were split approximately equally between the Sportsnet and TSN groups of channels, with some conflicting non-Raptors games airing on NBA TV Canada. Separate Canadian broadcasts were produced for all games involving the Raptors regardless of round or U.S. broadcaster. One TSN telecast of a conference semifinal game involving the Raptors was simulcast over the co-owned CTV broadcast network.[23] For the NBA Finals, in addition to the Canadian cable telecasts, most games also aired on either Citytv, CTV, or CTV 2 (broadcast networks co-owned with Sportsnet and TSN respectively), using the ABC feed for simultaneous substitution purposes.
- Notes
- ^ Game 3 of the Celtics–Pacers first round series aired nationally on ABC and co-existed with the teams' respective regional sports networks.
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ McEvoy, Colin (February 9, 2023). "The Ultimate Sibling Rivalry: 8 Sets of Brothers Who Faced Off in Sports Championships". Biography. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
- ^ a b Andrews, Malika (March 1, 2019). "Bucks' Eric Bledsoe, fresh off contract extension, scores 31 to help Bucks to playoff-clinching win". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ^ "Raptors clinch playoff berth for 6th straight season". CBC.ca. March 9, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- ^ "NBA India Games: Indiana Pacers clinch 2019 playoff berth". in.nba.com. March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Milwaukee Bucks versus Detroit Pistons (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Toronto Raptors versus Orlando Magic (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Philadelphia 76ers versus Brooklyn Nets (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Indiana Pacers versus Boston Celtics (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
- ^ "Clippers vs. Warriors - Game Recap - April 15, 2019 - ESPN".
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Los Angeles Clippers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Denver Nuggets versus San Antonio Spurs (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Portland Trail Blazers versus Oklahoma City Thunder (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Houston Rockets versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Milwaukee Bucks versus Boston Celtics (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Toronto Raptors versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Houston Rockets (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ "Instant Classic: Blazers Top Nuggets in 4 OT". NBA.com. May 4, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Denver Nuggets versus Portland Trail Blazers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Miluwaukee Bucks versus Toronto Raptors (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Portland Trail Blazers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Toronto Raptors versus Golden State Warriors (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ "2019 NBA Playoffs Schedule". Sportsmediawatch.com. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
- ^ Bell Media Public Relations (April 25, 2019). "TSN Announces Broadcast Schedule for Eastern Conference semifinals: Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers (press release)". The Lede. Retrieved April 30, 2019.