1977 NBA playoffs
The 1977 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1976–77 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. It was Portland's first (and so far[update], only) NBA title. Bill Walton was named NBA Finals MVP.
Portland won the NBA title in its first playoff appearance, something that had not taken place since the early days of the BAA (and has not since, as of 2015[update]). The Trail Blazers went 10-0 at home in the playoffs.
This was the first NBA playoffs after the ABA-NBA merger; two of the former ABA teams (the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets) made their playoff debuts in their first NBA season. The New Jersey Nets made their playoff debut in 1979, and the Indiana Pacers in 1981.
For the first time since 1956, the Eastern Conference division finals had neither the Celtics nor Knicks participating.
Bracket
| 1st round | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Los Angeles | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Golden State | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Golden State | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Detroit | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Los Angeles | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Portland | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Portland | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Chicago | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Portland | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Denver | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Philadelphia | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Boston | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Boston | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | San Antonio | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Houston | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Washington | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Cleveland | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Washington | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Houston | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
Western Conference
- 1st round
Champion: Portland Trail Blazers
(1) Los Angeles Lakers & (2) Denver Nuggets have first round byes.
(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) Chicago Bulls: Blazers win series 2–1
- Game 1 @ Portland: Portland 96, Chicago 83
- Game 2 @ Chicago: Chicago 107, Portland 104
- Game 3 @ Portland: Portland 106, Chicago 98
Last playoff meeting: This is the first meeting between the Bulls and the Trail Blazers
(4) Golden State Warriors vs. (5) Detroit Pistons: Warriors win series 2–1
- Game 1 @ Golden State: Detroit 95, Golden State 90
- Game 2 @ Detroit: Golden State 138, Detroit 108
- Game 3 @ Golden State: Golden State 109, Detroit 101
Last playoff meeting: 1976 Western Conference Semifinals (Golden State won 4-2)
- Conference semifinals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Golden State Warriors: Lakers win series 4–3
- Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 115, Golden State 106
- Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 95, Golden State 86
- Game 3 @ Golden State: Golden State 109, Los Angeles 105
- Game 4 @ Golden State: Golden State 114, Los Angeles 103
- Game 5 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 112, Golden State 105
- Game 6 @ Golden State: Golden State 115, Los Angeles 106
- Game 7 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 97, Golden State 84
Last playoff meeting: 1973 Western Conference Finals (Los Angeles won 4-1)
(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers: Blazers win series 4–2
- Game 1 @ Denver: Portland 101, Denver 100
- Game 2 @ Denver: Denver 121, Portland 110
- Game 3 @ Portland: Portland 110, Denver 106
- Game 4 @ Portland: Portland 105, Denver 96
- Game 5 @ Denver: Denver 114, Portland 105 (OT)
- Game 6 @ Portland: Portland 108, Denver 92
Last playoff meeting: This the first meeting between the Nuggets and the Trail Blazers
- Conference finals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers: Blazers win series 4–0
- Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Portland 121, Los Angeles 109
- Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Portland 99, Los Angeles 97
- Game 3 @ Portland: Portland 102, Los Angeles 97
- Game 4 @ Portland: Portland 105, Los Angeles 101
Last playoff meeting: This is the first meeting between the Lakers and the Trail Blazers
Eastern Conference
Champion: Philadelphia 76ers
- 1st round
(1) Philadelphia 76ers & (2) Houston Rockets have first round byes.
(3) Washington Bullets vs. (6) Cleveland Cavaliers: Bullets win series 2–1
- Game 1 @ Washington: Washington 109, Cleveland 100
- Game 2 @ Cleveland: Cleveland 91, Washington 83
- Game 3 @ Washington: Washington 104, Cleveland 98 (Nate Thurmond’s final NBA game)
(4) Boston Celtics vs. (5) San Antonio Spurs: Celtics win series 2–0
- Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 104, San Antonio 94
- Game 2 @ San Antonio: Boston 113, San Antonio 109
- Conference semifinals
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (4) Boston Celtics: 76ers win series 4–3
- Game 1 @ Philadelphia: Boston 113, Philadelphia 111 (Jo Jo White's buzzer-beater)
- Game 2 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 113, Boston 101
- Game 3 @ Boston: Philadelphia 109, Boston 100
- Game 4 @ Boston: Boston 124, Philadelphia 119
- Game 5 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 110, Boston 91
- Game 6 @ Boston: Boston 113, Philadelphia 108
- Game 7 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 83, Boston 77
(2) Houston Rockets vs. (3) Washington Bullets: Rockets win series 4–2
- Game 1 @ Houston: Washington 111, Houston 101
- Game 2 @ Houston: Houston 124, Washington 118 (OT)
- Game 3 @ Washington: Washington 93, Houston 90
- Game 4 @ Washington: Houston 107, Washington 103
- Game 5 @ Houston: Houston 123, Washington 115
- Game 6 @ Washington: Houston 108, Washington 103
- Conference finals
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (2) Houston Rockets: 76ers win series 4–2
- Game 1 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 128, Houston 117
- Game 2 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 106, Houston 97
- Game 3 @ Houston: Houston 118, Philadelphia 94
- Game 4 @ Houston: Philadelphia 107, Houston 95
- Game 5 @ Philadelphia: Houston 118, Philadelphia 115
- Game 6 @ Houston: Philadelphia 112, Houston 109 (Controversial charging foul on John Lucas seals it)
NBA finals
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(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers: Blazers win series 4–2
- Game 1 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 107, Portland 101
- Game 2 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 107, Portland 89 (Notable for a brawl between the Blazers' Maurice Lucas and the 76ers' Darryl Dawkins)
- Game 3 @ Portland: Portland 129, Philadelphia 107
- Game 4 @ Portland: Portland 130, Philadelphia 98
- Game 5 @ Philadelphia: Portland 110, Philadelphia 104
- Game 6 @ Portland: Portland 109, Philadelphia 107 (Portland becomes the second team in finals history, after the 1969 Celtics, to overcome a 2–0 series deficit)
