1966 NBA playoffs

1966 NBA playoffs
Tournament details
DatesMarch 23–April 28, 1966
Season1965–66
Teams6
Final positions
ChampionsBoston Celtics (9th title)
Runner-upLos Angeles Lakers
Semifinalists
← 1965
1967 →

The 1966 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1965–66 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 eighth consecutive NBA title and ninth overall, defeating the Lakers in the Finals for a fifth straight time.

This was the last NBA playoffs under the "top team in each division gets a first-round bye" format established in 1955, although teams receiving a bye would be reused in 1975, and strictly for division winners from 1977–1983 (albeit in a four-round playoff format). the 1967 NBA playoffs featured an eight-team tournament with no first-round byes.

Bracket

  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

Division Semifinals

Eastern Division Semifinals

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Cincinnati Royals

March 23
Cincinnati Royals 107, Boston Celtics 103
Scoring by quarter: 24–17, 29–31, 26–19, 28–36
Pts: Smith, Robertson 26 each
Rebs: Jerry Lucas 27
Asts: Oscar Robertson 3		 Pts: Bill Russell 22
Rebs: Bill Russell 29
Asts: Russell, Havlicek 4 each
Cincinnati leads series, 1–0
March 26
Boston Celtics 132, Cincinnati Royals 125
Scoring by quarter: 35–42, 33–29, 25–28, 39–26
Pts: Sam Jones 42
Rebs: Bill Russell 16
Asts: K. C. Jones 9		 Pts: Oscar Robertson 35
Rebs: Jerry Lucas 24
Asts: Oscar Robertson 11
Series tied, 1–1
Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 10,027
March 27
Cincinnati Royals 113, Boston Celtics 107
Scoring by quarter: 31–27, 26–29, 25–26, 31–25
Pts: Robertson, Lucas 27 each
Rebs: Jerry Lucas 16
Asts: Adrian Smith 6		 Pts: John Havlicek 36
Rebs: Bill Russell 25
Asts: K. C. Jones 6
Cincinnati leads series, 2–1
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,571
March 30
Boston Celtics 120, Cincinnati Royals 103
Scoring by quarter: 31–27, 27–21, 29–24, 33–31
Pts: Sam Jones 32
Rebs: Bill Russell 26
Asts: John Havlicek 8		 Pts: Oscar Robertson 34
Rebs: Jerry Lucas 17
Asts: Oscar Robertson 11
Series tied, 2–2
Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 12,107
April 1
Cincinnati Royals 103, Boston Celtics 112
Scoring by quarter: 31–26, 25–35, 23–28, 24–23
Pts: Oscar Robertson 37
Rebs: Jerry Lucas 17
Asts: Oscar Robertson 9		 Pts: Sam Jones 34
Rebs: Bill Russell 31
Asts: Bill Russell 11
Boston wins series, 3–2
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,909

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning both prior meetings.

Western Division Semifinals

(2) Baltimore Bullets vs. (3) St. Louis Hawks

March 24
St. Louis Hawks 113, Baltimore Bullets 111
Scoring by quarter: 27–22, 31–31, 23–26, 32–32
Pts: Joe Caldwell 33
Rebs: Bill Bridges 19
Asts: Richie Guerin 12		 Pts: Don Ohl 38
Rebs: Green, Howell 11 each
Asts: Johnny Egan 9
St. Louis leads series, 1–0
March 27
St. Louis Hawks 105, Baltimore Bullets 100
Scoring by quarter: 26–24, 19–32, 30–23, 30–21
Pts: Richie Guerin 25
Rebs: Bill Bridges 19
Asts: Richie Guerin 8		 Pts: Jim Barnes 27
Rebs: Bob Ferry 17
Asts: Johnny Egan 8
St. Louis leads series, 2–0
March 30
Baltimore Bullets 112, St. Louis Hawks 121
Scoring by quarter: 29–28, 31–31, 20–34, 32–28
Pts: Don Ohl 32
Rebs: Bailey Howell 12
Asts: Johnny Egan 6		 Pts: Bill Bridges 32
Rebs: Bill Bridges 20
Asts: Lenny Wilkens 10
St. Louis wins series, 3–0

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bullets winning the first meeting.

Division Finals

Eastern Division Finals

(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (2) Boston Celtics

April 3
Boston Celtics 115, Philadelphia 76ers 96
Scoring by quarter: 27–24, 25–24, 30–22, 33–26
Pts: Sam Jones 29
Rebs: Bill Russell 18
Asts: three players 4 each		 Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 25
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 32
Asts: Chamberlain, W. Jones 5 each
Boston leads series, 1–0
April 6
Philadelphia 76ers 93, Boston Celtics 114
Scoring by quarter: 20–27, 24–31, 26–27, 23–29
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 23
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 25
Asts: Billy Cunningham 4		 Pts: Sam Jones 23
Rebs: Bill Russell 29
Asts: K. C. Jones 11
Boston leads series, 2–0
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,909
April 7
Boston Celtics 105, Philadelphia 76ers 111
Scoring by quarter: 22–31, 26–27, 31–27, 26–26
Pts: John Havlicek 27
Rebs: Bill Russell 23
Asts: Sam Jones 6		 Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 31
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 27
Asts: Hal Greer 9
Boston leads series, 2–1
April 10
Philadelphia 76ers 108, Boston Celtics 114 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 26–28, 28–21, 22–21, 24–30, Overtime: 8–14
Pts: Hal Greer 25
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 33
Asts: Hal Greer 4		 Pts: John Havlicek 27
Rebs: Bill Russell 30
Asts: Russell, Havlicek 7 each
Boston leads series, 3–1
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,909
April 12
Boston Celtics 120, Philadelphia 76ers 112
Scoring by quarter: 32–25, 29–26, 20–21, 39–40
Pts: John Havlicek 32
Rebs: Bill Russell 31
Asts: Bill Russell 6		 Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 46
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 34
Asts: Chet Walker 8
Boston wins series, 4–1

This was the 10th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning five of the first nine meetings.

Western Division Finals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) St. Louis Hawks

April 1
St. Louis Hawks 106, Los Angeles Lakers 129
Scoring by quarter: 31–37, 30–31, 30–26, 15–35
Pts: Beaty, Guerin 22 each
Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 14
Asts: Richie Guerin 8		 Pts: Jerry West 28
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 15
Asts: Jerry West 12
Los Angeles leads series, 1–0
April 3
St. Louis Hawks 116, Los Angeles Lakers 125
Scoring by quarter: 27–30, 24–31, 29–30, 36–34
Pts: Zelmo Beaty 36
Rebs: Bill Bridges 16
Asts: Lenny Wilkens 9		 Pts: Elgin Baylor 42
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 14
Asts: Elgin Baylor 9
Los Angeles leads series, 2–0
April 6
Los Angeles Lakers 113, St. Louis Hawks 120
Scoring by quarter: 27–31, 29–31, 32–34, 25–24
Pts: Jerry West 32
Rebs: Jerry West 11
Asts: Jerry West 8		 Pts: Bill Bridges 27
Rebs: Bill Bridges 17
Asts: Richie Guerin 8
Los Angeles leads series, 2–1
April 9
Los Angeles Lakers 107, St. Louis Hawks 95
Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 24–28, 30–18, 30–26
Pts: Jerry West 42
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 13
Asts: three players 4 each		 Pts: Zelmo Beaty 22
Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 19
Asts: Richie Guerin 7
Los Angeles leads series, 3–1
April 10
St. Louis Hawks 112, Los Angeles Lakers 100
Scoring by quarter: 32–30, 27–25, 27–19, 26–26
Pts: Lenny Wilkens 29
Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 19
Asts: Lenny Wilkens 12		 Pts: Jerry West 31
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 17
Asts: Elgin Baylor 4
Los Angeles leads series, 3–2
April 13
Los Angeles Lakers 127, St. Louis Hawks 131
Scoring by quarter: 36–36, 32–33, 36–36, 23–26
Pts: Jerry West 38
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 13
Asts: West, Hazzard 5 each		 Pts: Bill Bridges 29
Rebs: Bridges, Beaty 11 each
Asts: Richie Guerin 11
Series tied, 3–3
April 15
St. Louis Hawks 121, Los Angeles Lakers 130
Scoring by quarter: 28–27, 30–30, 33–34, 30–39
Pts: Cliff Hagan 29
Rebs: Bill Bridges 13
Asts: Richie Guerin 5		 Pts: Jerry West 35
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 11
Asts: Baylor, LaRusso 7 each
Los Angeles wins series, 4–3

This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning five of the first seven meetings.

NBA Finals: (E2) Boston Celtics vs. (W1) Los Angeles Lakers

Main article: 1966 NBA Finals
April 17
Los Angeles Lakers 133, Boston Celtics 129 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 20–34, 41–28, 34–37, 26–22, Overtime: 12–8
Pts: Jerry West 41
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 20
Asts: Gail Goodrich 5		 Pts: Bill Russell 28
Rebs: Bill Russell 26
Asts: Sam Jones 9
Los Angeles leads series, 1–0
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,909
April 19
Los Angeles Lakers 109, Boston Celtics 129
Scoring by quarter: 25–35, 22–36, 35–30, 27–28
Pts: Jerry West 18
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 14
Asts: Walt Hazzard 5		 Pts: Havlicek, S. Jones 21 each
Rebs: Bill Russell 24
Asts: John Havlicek 7
Series tied, 1–1
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,909
April 20
Boston Celtics 120, Los Angeles Lakers 106
Scoring by quarter: 25–29, 32–27, 35–19, 28–31
Pts: Sam Jones 36
Rebs: Bill Russell 19
Asts: Sanders, K. C. Jones 5 each		 Pts: Jerry West 34
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 15
Asts: Jim King 6
Boston leads series, 2–1
April 22
Boston Celtics 122, Los Angeles Lakers 117
Scoring by quarter: 31–27, 35–29, 34–33, 22–28
Pts: John Havlicek 32
Rebs: Bill Russell 18
Asts: Larry Siegfried 7		 Pts: Jerry West 45
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 12
Asts: Jerry West 10
Boston leads series, 3–1
April 24
Los Angeles Lakers 121, Boston Celtics 117
Scoring by quarter: 37–23, 27–35, 26–31, 31–28
Pts: Elgin Baylor 41
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 16
Asts: Jerry West 5		 Pts: Bill Russell 32
Rebs: Bill Russell 28
Asts: Siegfried, K. C. Jones 6 each
Boston leads series, 3–2
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,909
April 26
Boston Celtics 115, Los Angeles Lakers 123
Scoring by quarter: 29–32, 29–36, 32–21, 25–34
Pts: John Havlicek 27
Rebs: Bill Russell 23
Asts: K. C. Jones 6		 Pts: Jerry West 32
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 14
Asts: Jerry West 7
Series tied, 3–3
April 28
Los Angeles Lakers 93, Boston Celtics 95
Scoring by quarter: 20–27, 18–26, 22–23, 33–19
Pts: Jerry West 36
Rebs: Elgin Baylor 14
Asts: West, Hazzard 3 each		 Pts: Bill Russell 25
Rebs: Bill Russell 32
Asts: Sanders, K. C. Jones 3 each
Boston wins series, 4–3
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,909

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

See also

References

  1. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Sacramento Kings (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  2. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  4. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.