1958 NBA playoffs
The 1958 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1957-58 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion St. Louis Hawks defeating the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.
| Dates | March 15–April 12, 1958 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 1957–58 | ||
| Teams | 6 | ||
| Champions | St. Louis Hawks (1st title) | ||
| Runners-up | Boston Celtics (2nd finals appearance) | ||
| Semifinalists | |||
| |||
It was the second straight year the Celtics and Hawks met in the Finals; they met four out of five years, with the Celtics winning three series and the Hawks one.
This was the first (and as of 2020, only) title in Hawks franchise history. St. Louis made it to the NBA Finals four times in five years between 1957–1961, but since moving to Atlanta in 1968, they have had considerably less success in the playoffs.
Bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | St. Louis | 4 | |||||||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Detroit | 1 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Cincinnati | 0 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Detroit | 2 | |||||||||||
| W1 | St. Louis | 4 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston | 2 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Philadelphia | 1 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Syracuse | 1 | |||||||||||
Western Division
Champion: St. Louis Hawks
Division Semifinals
(1) St. Louis Hawks have division semifinals byes.
(2) Detroit Pistons vs. (3) Cincinnati Royals: Pistons win series 2-0
- Game 1 @ Detroit (March 15): Detroit 100, Cincinnati 83
- Game 2 @ Cincinnati (March 16): Detroit 124, Cincinnati 104
Last Playoffs meeting: 1953 Western Division Semifinals (Pistons won 2-1, while still in Fort Wayne; Royals were in Rochester at the time).
Division Finals
(1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Detroit Pistons: Hawks win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ St. Louis (March 19): St. Louis 114, Detroit 111
- Game 2 @ Detroit (March 22): St. Louis 99, Detroit 96
- Game 3 @ St. Louis (March 23): Detroit 109, St. Louis 89
- Game 4 @ Detroit (March 25): St. Louis 145, Detroit 101
- Game 5 @ St. Louis (March 27): St. Louis 120, Detroit 96
Last Playoffs meeting: 1956 Western Division Finals (Pistons won 3-2, while still in Fort Wayne)
Eastern Division
Champion: Boston Celtics
Division Semifinals
(1) Boston Celtics have division semifinals byes.
(2) Syracuse Nationals vs. (3) Philadelphia Warriors: Warriors win series 2-1
- Game 1 @ Syracuse (March 15): Syracuse 86, Philadelphia 82
- Game 2 @ Philadelphia (March 16): Philadelphia 95, Syracuse 93
- Game 3 @ Syracuse (March 18): Philadelphia 101, Syracuse 88
Last Playoffs meeting: 1957 Eastern Division Semifinals (Syracuse won 2-0).
Division Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Philadelphia Warriors: Celtics win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ Boston (March 19): Boston 107, Philadelphia 98
- Game 2 @ Philadelphia (March 22): Boston 109, Philadelphia 87
- Game 3 @ Boston (March 23): Boston 106, Philadelphia 92
- Game 4 @ Philadelphia (March 26): Philadelphia 112, Boston 97
- Game 5 @ Boston (March 27): Boston 93, Philadelphia 88
Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Celtics and Warriors.
NBA Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (1) St. Louis Hawks: Hawks win series 4-2
- Game 1 @ Boston (March 29): St. Louis 104, Boston 102
- Game 2 @ Boston (March 30): Boston 136, St. Louis 112
- Game 3 @ St. Louis (April 2): St. Louis 111, Boston 108
- Game 4 @ St. Louis (April 5): Boston 109, St. Louis 98
- Game 5 @ Boston (April 9): St. Louis 102, Boston 100
- Game 6 @ St. Louis (April 12): St. Louis 110, Boston 109 (Andy Phillip and Arnie Risen’s final NBA game; Bob Pettit scores 50 points, tying the then-NBA playoff record at the time)
Last Playoffs meeting: 1957 NBA Finals (Boston won 4-3).