1962 NBA playoffs

The 1962 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1961-62 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

The Celtics won their 4th straight title to become the first (and as of 2012, only) NBA team to do so. Boston's Game 7 victory occurred in OT, with Bill Russell tying his own Finals record with 40 rebounds.

This was the second NBA Finals played between the Celtics and Lakers, but it was the first one the Lakers played in since they moved to Los Angeles.

Though the NBA has existed since 1947, this is the earliest NBA Finals played between two teams that still reside in their present (2015) locations.

	Division Semifinals					Division Finals					NBA Finals
						1	L.A. Lakers	4
	Western Division
						3	Detroit	2
	3	Detroit	3
	2	Cincinnati	1
											W1	L.A. Lakers	3
											E1	Boston	4
						1	Boston	4
	Eastern Division
						2	Philadelphia	3
	3	Syracuse	2
	2	Philadelphia	3

Western Division

Champion: Los Angeles Lakers

Division Semifinals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers have division semifinals byes.

(2) Cincinnati Royals vs. (3) Detroit Pistons: Pistons win series 3-1

• Game 1 @ Detroit: Detroit 123, Cincinnati 122
• Game 2 @ Cincinnati: Cincinnati 129, Detroit 107
• Game 3 @ Detroit: Detroit 118, Cincinnati 107
• Game 4 @ Cincinnati: Detroit 112, Cincinnati 111

Last Playoffs meeting: 1958 Eastern Division Semifinals (Detroit won 2-0).

Division Finals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Detroit Pistons: Lakers win series 4-2

• Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 132, Detroit 108
• Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 127, Detroit 112
• Game 3 @ Detroit: Los Angeles 111, Detroit 106
• Game 4 @ Detroit: Detroit 118, Los Angeles 117
• Game 5 @ Los Angeles: Detroit 132, Los Angeles 125
• Game 6 @ Detroit: Los Angeles 123, Detroit 117

Last Playoffs meeting: 1961 Western Division Semifinals (Los Angeles won 3-2).

Eastern Division

Champion: Boston Celtics

Division Semifinals

(1) Boston Celtics have division semifinals byes.

(2) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals: Warriors win series 3-2

• Game 1 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 111, Syracuse 103
• Game 2 @ Syracuse: Philadelphia 97, Syracuse 82
• Game 3 @ Philadelphia: Syracuse 101, Philadelphia 100
• Game 4 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 106, Philadelphia 99
• Game 5 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 121, Syracuse 104

Last Playoffs meeting: 1961 Eastern Division Semifinals (Syracuse won 3-0).

Division Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Philadelphia Warriors: Celtics win series 4-3

• Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 117, Philadelphia 89
• Game 2 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 113, Boston 106
• Game 3 @ Boston: Boston 129, Philadelphia 114
• Game 4 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 110, Boston 106
• Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 119, Philadelphia 104
• Game 6 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 109, Boston 99
• Game 7 @ Boston: Boston 109, Philadelphia 107 (Paul Arizin's final NBA game; Sam Jones hits the series-winning shot with 2 seconds left)

Last Playoffs meeting: 1960 Eastern Division Finals (Boston won 4-2).

NBA Finals

Main article: 1962 NBA Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (1) Los Angeles Lakers:Celtics win series 4-3

• Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 122, Los Angeles 108
• Game 2 @ Boston: Los Angeles 105, Boston 103
• Game 3 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 117, Boston 115 (Jerry West steals Sam Jones' inbound pass and hit the game winning buzzer-beater)
• Game 4 @ Los Angeles: Boston 115, Los Angeles 103
• Game 5 @ Boston: Los Angeles 126, Boston 121 (Elgin Baylor scores a Finals record 61 points)
• Game 6 @ Los Angeles: Boston 119, Los Angeles 105
• Game 7 @ Boston: Boston 110, Los Angeles 107 (OT)(Frank Selvy misses the championship-winning shot in regulation; Bill Russell ties his own Finals record with 40 rebounds)

Last Playoffs meeting: 1959 NBA Finals (Boston won 4-0; Lakers were in Minneapolis at the time).

External links

• Basketball-Reference.com's 1962 NBA Playoffs page