The 1955 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association 's 1954-55 season . The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Syracuse Nationals defeating the Western Conference champion Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals .
This was the only title for the Nationals under that moniker; the franchise won its next title in 1967 as the Philadelphia 76ers .
For the Pistons, this was their first trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history; they returned the next year, but didn't win their first title until 1989 as the Detroit Pistons.
After experimenting with a round robin playoff format in 1954 , the NBA moved to a system in which the top team in each conference earned a first-round bye, giving them the right to start out in the division finals. It remained in place until 1967, when it changed to an eight-team format in which all teams played the first round.
Bracket [ ]
* Division winner
Bold Series winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals
Division Semifinals [ ]
Eastern Division Semifinals [ ]
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning three of the first four meetings.
Previous playoff series[1]
New York leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series
1951 Eastern Division Semifinals
1952 Eastern Division Semifinals
1953 Eastern Division Finals
1954 Eastern Division Round Robin Semifinals
Western Division Semifinals [ ]
(2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Rochester Royals [ ]
Rochester Royals 78, Minneapolis Lakers 82
Scoring by quarter: 18 –13, 17–25 , 21 –19, 22–25
Pts : Bobby Wanzer 30
Pts: Clyde Lovellette 26 Minneapolis leads series, 1–0
Minneapolis Lakers 92, Rochester Royals 94
Scoring by quarter: 27 –24, 23–25 , 20–22 , 22–23
Pts : Clyde Lovellette 19
Pts: Arnie Risen 19 Series tied, 1–1
Rochester Royals 110, Minneapolis Lakers 119
Scoring by quarter: 29 –28, 30–32 , 18–35 , 33 –24
Pts : Arnie Risen 24
Pts: Jim Pollard 26 Minneapolis wins series, 2–1
This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning four of the first five meetings.
Previous playoff series[2]
Minneapolis leads 4–1 in all-time playoff series
Minneapolis Lakers 2, Rochester Royals 0
1949 Western Division Finals
Minneapolis Lakers 1, Rochester Royals 3
1951 Western Division Finals
Minneapolis Lakers 3, Rochester Royals 1
1952 Western Division Finals
Minneapolis Lakers 1, Rochester Royals 0
1954 Western Division Round Robin Semifinals
Minneapolis Lakers 2, Rochester Royals 1
1954 Western Division Finals
Division Finals [ ]
Eastern Division Finals [ ]
(1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (3) Boston Celtics [ ]
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nationals winning two of the first three meetings.
Previous playoff series[3]
Syracuse leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series
1953 Eastern Division Semifinals
1954 Eastern Division Round Robin Semifinals
1954 Eastern Division Finals
Western Division Finals [ ]
(1) Fort Wayne Pistons vs. (2) Minneapolis Lakers [ ]
Minneapolis Lakers 79, Fort Wayne Pistons 96
Scoring by quarter: 14–19 , 18–30 , 21–27 , 26 –20
Pts : Clyde Lovellette 18
Pts: Larry Foust 15 Fort Wayne leads series, 1–0
Minneapolis Lakers 97, Fort Wayne Pistons 98 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 22–27 , 28 –24, 21–25 , 26 –21, Overtime : 0–1
Pts : Whitey Skoog 24
Pts: Mel Hutchins 20 Fort Wayne leads series, 2–0
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first three meetings.
Previous playoff series[4]
Minneapolis leads 3–0 in all-time playoff series
Fort Wayne Pistons 0, Minneapolis Lakers 2
1950 Central Division Finals
Fort Wayne Pistons 2, Minneapolis Lakers 3
1953 Western Division Finals
Fort Wayne Pistons 0, Minneapolis Lakers 2
1954 Western Division Round Robin Semifinals
NBA Finals: (E1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (W1) Fort Wayne Pistons [ ]
Fort Wayne Pistons 82, Syracuse Nationals 86
Scoring by quarter: 19–26 , 25 –22, 20 –18, 18–20
Pts : Larry Foust 26
Pts: Red Rocha 19 Syracuse leads series, 1–0
Fort Wayne Pistons 84, Syracuse Nationals 87
Scoring by quarter: 13–30 , 25–29 , 27 –14, 19–24
Pts : George Yardley 21
Pts: Dolph Schayes 24 Syracuse leads series, 2–0
Syracuse Nationals 89, Fort Wayne Pistons 96
Scoring by quarter: 22–23 , 21 –20, 14–26 , 32 –27
Pts : Rocha , Schayes 21 each
Pts: Mel Hutchins 23 Syracuse leads series, 2–1
Syracuse Nationals 102, Fort Wayne Pistons 109
Scoring by quarter: 24–27 , 24–26 , 22–29 , 32 –27
Pts : Dolph Schayes 28
Pts: Frankie Brian 18 Series tied, 2–2
Syracuse Nationals 71, Fort Wayne Pistons 74
Scoring by quarter: 18–22 , 13–16 , 14–20 , 26 –16
Pts : Bill Kenville 15
Pts: George Yardley 16 Fort Wayne leads series, 3–2
Fort Wayne Pistons 104, Syracuse Nationals 109
Scoring by quarter: 27 –19, 28–34 , 19–25 , 30–31
Pts : George Yardley 31
Pts: Dolph Schayes 28 Series tied, 3–3
George King hit a free throw with 12 seconds left, then stole the ball from Andy Phillip with 3 seconds left to seal it.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[5]
References [ ]
External links [ ]
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