1956 NBA playoffs

1956 NBA playoffs
Tournament details
DatesMarch 15–April 7, 1956
Season1955–56
Teams6
Final positions
ChampionsPhiladelphia Warriors (2nd title)
Runner-upFort Wayne Pistons
Semifinalists
← 1955
1957 →

The 1956 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1955-56 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Warriors defeating the Western Conference champion Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.

It was the Warriors' second NBA title; their first was in 1947 back when the NBA was known as the BAA. They would have to wait until 1975 to taste championship gold again; by that time they had moved to the Bay Area and become the Golden State Warriors. Philadelphia's later team, the Philadelphia 76ers, would win the title in 1967.

This was the Pistons' second straight trip to the NBA Finals, but they would not make another appearance until 1988 as the Detroit Pistons. No team from Indiana would return to the NBA Finals until the Indiana Pacers did so in 2000.

The play-in game between the Syracuse Nationals and the New York Knicks was the last play-in game to determine a playoff spot until 2020.[1]

Bracket

Division SemifinalsDivision FinalsNBA Finals
Eastern Division
E1Philadelphia*3
E3Syracuse2E3Syracuse2
E2Boston1E1Philadelphia*4
Western Division
W1Fort Wayne*1
W1Fort Wayne*3
W3St. Louis2W3St. Louis2
W2Minneapolis1
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

Division Tiebreakers

Eastern Division Tiebreaker

New York Knicks @ Syracuse Nationals

March 15
New York Knicks 77, Syracuse Nationals 82
Scoring by quarter: 19–17, 21–27, 21–20, 16–18
Pts: Harry Gallatin 19
Rebs: Ray Felix 13
Asts: Dick McGuire 9		 Pts: Dolph Schayes 14
Rebs: Dolph Schayes 14
Asts: Seymour, King 6 each
Syracuse finishes as the East's #3 seed, New York fails to qualify
Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
Referees: Sid Borgia, Mendy Rudolph

Western Division Tiebreaker

Minneapolis Lakers @ St. Louis Hawks

March 16
Minneapolis Lakers 103, St. Louis Hawks 97
Scoring by quarter: 27–33, 25–19, 29–17, 22–28
Pts: Slater Martin 28 Pts: Bob Pettit 22
Minneapolis finishes as the West's #2 seed, St. Louis as the West's #3 seed
Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Arnie Heft

Division Semifinals

Eastern Division Semifinals

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals

March 17
Syracuse Nationals 93, Boston Celtics 110
Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 19–26, 31–29, 21–30
Pts: Ed Conlin 21
Asts: Dolph Schayes 6		 Pts: Bob Cousy 29
Asts: Bob Cousy 9
Boston leads series, 1–0
March 19
Boston Celtics 98, Syracuse Nationals 101
Scoring by quarter: 21–21, 29–32, 20–28, 28–20
Pts: Bob Cousy 28
Rebs: Arnie Risen 17
Asts: Bob Cousy 10		 Pts: Red Kerr 23
Rebs: Red Kerr 14
Asts: Seymour, Schayes 5 each
Series tied, 1–1
March 21
Syracuse Nationals 102, Boston Celtics 97
Scoring by quarter: 21–22, 36–23, 21–31, 24–21
Pts: Dolph Schayes 27
Rebs: Dolph Schayes 17
Asts: Dolph Schayes 5		 Pts: Bill Sharman 24
Rebs: Arnie Risen 15
Asts: Bob Cousy 7
Syracuse wins series, 2–1

This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nationals winning three of the first four meetings.

Western Division Semifinals

(2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) St. Louis Hawks

March 17
Minneapolis Lakers 115, St. Louis Hawks 116
Scoring by quarter: 31–25, 29–20, 31–39, 24–32
Pts: Mikkelsen, Martin 19 each Pts: Bob Pettit 25
St. Louis leads series, 1–0
March 19
St. Louis Hawks 75, Minneapolis Lakers 133
Scoring by quarter: 15–25, 15–36, 24–36, 21–36
Pts: Bob Pettit 14 Pts: Slater Martin 19
Series tied, 1–1
March 21
St. Louis Hawks 116, Minneapolis Lakers 115
Scoring by quarter: 20–27, 32–29, 33–28, 31–31
Pts: Bob Pettit 41 Pts: Clyde Lovellette 31
St. Louis wins series, 2–1

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[3]

Division Finals

Eastern Division Finals

(1) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals

March 23
Syracuse Nationals 87, Philadelphia Warriors 109
Scoring by quarter: 17–28, 27–23, 25–24, 18–34
Pts: Dolph Schayes 19
Rebs: Kerr, Schayes 14 each
Asts: George King 8		 Pts: Paul Arizin 29
Rebs: Neil Johnston 24
Asts: Gola, Beck 5 each
Philadelphia leads series, 1–0
March 25
Philadelphia Warriors 118, Syracuse Nationals 122
Scoring by quarter: 38–35, 19–27, 33–36, 28–24
Pts: Neil Johnston 43
Rebs: Neil Johnston 16
Asts: Neil Johnston 7		 Pts: Dolph Schayes 33
Rebs: Dolph Schayes 16
Asts: George King 10
Series tied, 1–1
March 27
Syracuse Nationals 96, Philadelphia Warriors 119
Scoring by quarter: 23–32, 24–30, 25–25, 24–32
Pts: Ed Conlin 19
Rebs: Dolph Schayes 21
Asts: George King 6		 Pts: Joe Graboski 20
Rebs: Neil Johnston 18
Asts: Tom Gola 10
Philadelphia leads series, 2–1
March 28
Philadelphia Warriors 104, Syracuse Nationals 108
Scoring by quarter: 31–26, 25–26, 18–30, 30–26
Pts: Neil Johnston 35
Rebs: Neil Johnston 12
Asts: Neil Johnston 7		 Pts: George King 25
Rebs: Red Kerr 9
Asts: George King 15
Series tied, 2–2
March 29
Syracuse Nationals 104, Philadelphia Warriors 109
Scoring by quarter: 28–32, 20–24, 25–22, 31–31
Pts: Dolph Schayes 28
Rebs: Dolph Schayes 16
Asts: George King 13		 Pts: Paul Arizin 35
Rebs: Neil Johnston 18
Asts: Neil Johnston 8
Philadelphia wins series, 3–2

This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers/Nationals winning the first three meetings.

Western Division Finals

(1) Fort Wayne Pistons vs. (3) St. Louis Hawks

March 22
St. Louis Hawks 86, Fort Wayne Pistons 85
Scoring by quarter: 27–25, 23–20, 19–23, 17–17
Pts: Al Ferrari 17 Pts: George Yardley 23
St. Louis leads series, 1–0
March 24
Fort Wayne Pistons 74, St. Louis Hawks 84
Scoring by quarter: 12–30, 23–17, 18–19, 21–18
Pts: Larry Foust 16 Pts: Al Ferrari 21
St. Louis leads series, 2–0
Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
Referees: Stan Stutz, Sid Borgia
March 25
St. Louis Hawks 84, Fort Wayne Pistons 107
Scoring by quarter: 19–29, 24–26, 16–22, 25–30
Pts: Alex Hannum 18 Pts: Houbregs, Yardley 19 each
St. Louis leads series, 2–1
March 27
Fort Wayne Pistons 93, St. Louis Hawks 84
Scoring by quarter: 24–21, 28–27, 18–18, 23–18
Pts: George Yardley 30 Pts: Jack Coleman 19
Series tied, 2–2
March 29
St. Louis Hawks 97, Fort Wayne Pistons 102
Scoring by quarter: 19–24, 18–22, 31–21, 29–35
Pts: Jack Coleman 20 Pts: Foust, Yardley 20 each
Fort Wayne wins series, 3–2
  • Pistons become first team to come back after from a 2–0 deficit in NBA playoffs.

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[5]

NBA Finals: (E1) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (W1) Fort Wayne Pistons

Main article: 1956 NBA Finals
March 31
Fort Wayne Pistons 94, Philadelphia Warriors 98
Scoring by quarter: 25–20, 24–20, 15–33, 30–25
Pts: George Yardley 27
Rebs: George Yardley 15
Asts: Hutchins, Phillip 6 each		 Pts: Paul Arizin 28
Rebs: Neil Johnston 14
Asts: Tom Gola 10
Philadelphia leads series, 1–0
April 1
Philadelphia Warriors 83, Fort Wayne Pistons 84
Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 26–22, 19–23, 18–19
Pts: Paul Arizin 27
Rebs: Arizin, Johnston 9 each
Asts: Ernie Beck 6		 Pts: George Yardley 30
Rebs: George Yardley 19
Asts: Andy Phillip 5
Series tied, 1–1
April 3
Fort Wayne Pistons 96, Philadelphia Warriors 100
Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 25–23, 14–25, 31–27
Pts: Larry Foust 19
Rebs: Larry Foust 14
Asts: Chuck Noble 4		 Pts: Paul Arizin 27
Rebs: Neil Johnston 17
Asts: Tom Gola 8
Philadelphia leads series, 2–1
April 5
Philadelphia Warriors 107, Fort Wayne Pistons 105
Scoring by quarter: 24–24, 26–32, 30–26, 27–23
Pts: Paul Arizin 30
Rebs: Tom Gola 9
Asts: Joe Graboski 7		 Pts: George Yardley 21
Rebs: Larry Foust 14
Asts: Andy Phillip 6
Philadelphia leads series, 3–1
April 7
Fort Wayne Pistons 88, Philadelphia Warriors 99
Scoring by quarter: 24–22, 19–22, 20–28, 25–27
Pts: George Yardley 30
Rebs: George Yardley 20
Asts: Corky Devlin 6		 Pts: Joe Graboski 29
Rebs: Joe Graboski 16
Asts: Jack George 10
Philadelphia wins series, 4–1

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "How the Blazers, Grizzlies, Spurs and Suns make the West play-in". ESPN.com. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  2. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  4. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Detroit Pistons (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  6. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Golden State Warriors (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.