2000 NBA Playoffs

2000 NBA playoffs
Dates April 22–June 19, 2000
Season 1999–2000
Teams 16
Champions Los Angeles Lakers (12th title)
Runners-up Indiana Pacers (1st finals appearance)
Semifinalists
← 1999 2001 →

The 2000 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1999-2000 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers 4 games to 2. Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Finals MVP.

The San Antonio Spurs were the champions going into the playoffs, but were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the first round, marking the first time since 1987 that a title-winning team did not repeat. They were also the first defending champion to be eliminated in the first round since the Philadelphia 76ers in 1984.

The Lakers' win was the first title for both O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, both considered future first-ballot Hall of Famers, and the first Lakers championship since the 1988. A. C. Green, the only player left from the Lakers' Showtime era, was in the Lakers starting lineup for this series as well.

For the Pacers, it was their first Eastern Conference title after four previous appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals; however, after this season, the team was radically altered with key players Dale Davis, Derrick McKey and Mark Jackson moving to other teams and Rik Smits retiring. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals was the last game Patrick Ewing ever played as a Knick. The 2000 playoffs was the last involving the Ewing-led Knicks, and New York would not win another playoff series until 2013.

The Trail Blazers defeated the Timberwolves and the Jazz in the first two rounds before falling to the Lakers in the conference final. The Trail Blazers would not win another playoff series until 2014.

This season's playoffs also marked the debut of the 5-year-old expansion Toronto Raptors. For the 3rd straight year, New York eliminated Miami; it was their fourth consecutive postseason meeting.

Playoff qualifying

Eastern Conference

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:

  1. Indiana Pacers (56–26, clinched Central division and home court advantage for the Eastern Conference playoffs)
  2. Miami Heat (52–30, clinched Atlantic division)
  3. New York Knicks (50–32)
  4. Charlotte Hornets (49–33)
  5. Philadelphia 76ers (49–33)
  6. Toronto Raptors (45–37)
  7. Detroit Pistons (42–40)
  8. Milwaukee Bucks (42–40)

Western Conference

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:

  1. Los Angeles Lakers (67–15, clinched Pacific division title and home court advantage throughout the playoffs)
  2. Utah Jazz (55–27, clinched Midwest division)
  3. Portland Trail Blazers (59–23)
  4. San Antonio Spurs (53–29)
  5. Phoenix Suns (53–29)
  6. Minnesota Timberwolves (50–32)
  7. Seattle SuperSonics (45–37)
  8. Sacramento Kings (44–38)

Bracket

This was the outlook for the playoffs. Teams in italics have home court advantage. Teams in bold advance to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original playoffs seeding in their respective conferences. Numbers to the right of each team indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions possess an asterisk (*)

  First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
                                     
E1 Indiana* 3  
E8 Milwaukee 2  
  E1 Indiana* 4  
  E5 Philadelphia 2  
E4 Charlotte 1
E5 Philadelphia 3  
  E1 Indiana* 4  
Eastern Conference
  E3 New York 2  
E3 New York 3  
E6 Toronto 0  
  E3 New York 4
  E2 Miami* 3  
E2 Miami* 3
E7 Detroit 0  
  E1 Indiana* 2
  W1 LA Lakers* 4
W1 LA Lakers* 3  
W8 Sacramento 2  
  W1 LA Lakers* 4
  W5 Phoenix 1  
W4 San Antonio 1
W5 Phoenix 3  
  W1 LA Lakers* 4
Western Conference
  W3 Portland 3  
W3 Portland 3  
W6 Minnesota 1  
  W3 Portland 4
  W2 Utah* 1  
W2 Utah* 3
W7 Seattle 2  


* Division winner
Bold Series winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage

Western Conference

First Round

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Sacramento Kings

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(LAL-SAC)

 Venue Recap Television
1 April 23 L.A. Lakers 117 Sacramento 107 1-0 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California 1 NBC
2 April 27 L.A. Lakers 113 Sacramento 89 2-0 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California 2 TNT
3 April 30 Sacramento 99 L.A. Lakers 91 2-1 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California 3 NBC
4 May 2 Sacramento 101 L.A. Lakers 88 2-2 ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California 4 TNT
5 May 5 L.A. Lakers 113 Sacramento 86 3-2 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California 5 TNT
L.A. Lakers wins series 3-2
  • Shaquille O'Neal scores playoff career-high 46 points in Game One.
  • Kobe Bryant scores playoff career-high 32 points in Game Two.
  • Bryant scores a new career-high 35 points in Game Three.

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

(2) Utah Jazz vs. (7) Seattle SuperSonics

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(UTA-SEA)

 Venue Recap Television
1 April 22 Utah 104 Seattle 93 1-0 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 1 NBC
2 April 24 Utah 101 Seattle 87 2-0 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 2 TBS
3 April 29 Seattle 89 Utah 78 2-1 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 3 NBC
4 May 2 Seattle 104 Utah 93 2-2 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 4 TNT
5 May 5 Utah 96 Seattle 93 3-2 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 5 TNT
Utah wins series 3-2

This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the SuperSonics winning two of the first three meetings.

(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(POR-MIN)

 Venue Recap Television
1 April 23 Portland 91 Minnesota 88 1-0 Rose Garden Arena, Portland, Oregon 1 NBC
2 April 26 Portland 86 Minnesota 82 2-0 Rose Garden Arena, Portland, Oregon 2 TNT
3 April 30 Minnesota 94 Portland 87 2-1 Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 3 NBC
4 May 2 Minnesota 77 Portland 85 3-1 Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 4 NBC
Portland wins series 3–1

This was the first playoff meeting between the Timberwolves and the Trail Blazers.[3]

(4) San Antonio Spurs vs. (5) Phoenix Suns

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(SA-PHO)

 Venue Recap Television
1 April 22 San Antonio 70 Phoenix 72 0-1 Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas 1 NBC
2 April 25 San Antonio 85 Phoenix 70 1-1 Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas 2 TNT
3 April 29 Phoenix 101 San Antonio 94 1-2 America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona 3 NBC
4 May 2 Phoenix 89 San Antonio 78 1-3 America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona 4 TBS
Phoenix wins series 3–1

This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning two series apiece.

Conference Semifinals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Phoenix Suns

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(LAL-PHO)

 Venue Recap Television
1 May 7 L.A. Lakers 105 Phoenix 77 1-0 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California 1 NBC
2 May 10 L.A. Lakers 97 Phoenix 96 2-0 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California 2 TNT
3 May 12 Phoenix 99 L.A. Lakers 105 3-0 America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona 3 TNT
4 May 14 Phoenix 117 L.A. Lakers 98 3-1 America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona 4 NBC
5 May 16 L.A. Lakers 87 Phoenix 65 4-1 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California 5 TNT
L.A. Lakers win series 4-1
  • Kobe Bryant hits the game-winner with 2.6 seconds left in Game 2.

This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning six of the first eight meetings.

(2) Utah Jazz vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(UTA-POR)

 Venue Recap Television
1 May 7 Portland 94 Utah 75 0-1 Rose Garden Arena, Portland, Oregon 1 NBC
2 May 9 Portland 103 Utah 85 0-2 Rose Garden Arena, Portland, Oregon 2 TNT
3 May 11 Utah 84 Portland 103 0-3 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 3 TNT
4 May 14 Utah 88 Portland 85 1-3 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 4 NBC
5 May 16 Portland 81 Utah 79 1-4 Rose Garden Arena, Portland, Oregon 5 TNT
Portland wins series 4-1
  • In Game 5, Scottie Pippen hits the series-winning 3 with 7.3 seconds left. Game 5 is Jeff Hornacek's final NBA game.

This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Trail Blazers winning three of the first five meetings.

Conference Finals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(LAL-POR)

 Venue Recap Television
1 May 20 L.A. Lakers 109 Portland 94 1-0 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California 1 NBC
2 May 22 L.A. Lakers 77 Portland 106 1-1 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California 2 TNT
3 May 26 Portland 91 L.A. Lakers 93 2-1 Rose Garden Arena, Portland, Oregon 3 NBC
4 May 28 Portland 91 L.A. Lakers 103 3-1 Rose Garden Arena, Portland, Oregon 4 NBC
5 May 30 L.A. Lakers 88 Portland 96 3-2 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California 5 NBC
6 June 2 Portland 103 L.A. Lakers 93 3-3 Rose Garden Arena, Portland, Oregon 6 NBC
7 June 4 L.A. Lakers 89 Portland 84 4-3 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California 7 NBC
L.A. Lakers win series 4–3
  • In Game 3, Arvydas Sabonis' potential game-tying shot was blocked by Kobe Bryant.
  • In Game 7, the Lakers overcame a 16-point deficit (71-55) and sealed the victory with Kobe Bryant delivering an alley-oop to Shaquille O'Neal.

This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning six of the first eight meetings.

Eastern Conference

First Round

(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (8) Milwaukee Bucks

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(IND-MIL)

 Venue Recap Television
1 April 23 Indiana 88 Milwaukee 85 1-0 Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana 1 TNT
2 April 27 Indiana 91 Milwaukee 104 1-1 Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana 2 TNT
3 April 29 Milwaukee 96 Indiana 109 2-1 Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 3 TNT
4 May 1 Milwaukee 100 Indiana 87 2-2 Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 4 TBS
5 May 4 Indiana 96 Milwaukee 95 3-2 Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana 5 TNT
Indiana wins series 3-2
  • In Game 5, Travis Best hits the eventual series-winning 3 with 16.5 left. Also Reggie Miller scores 18 points in the 4th quarter of game 5.

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

(4) Charlotte Hornets vs. (5) Philadelphia 76ers

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(CHA-PHI)

 Venue Recap Television
1 April 22 Charlotte 92 Philadelphia 82 1-0 Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina 1 TNT
2* April 24 Charlotte 98 Philadelphia 108 1-1 Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina 2 TBS
3 April 28 Philadelphia 81 Charlotte 76 1-2 First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 3 TNT
4 May 1 Philadelphia 105 Charlotte 99 1-3 First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 4 TNT
Philadelphia wins series 3–1

*Requires Overtime

This was the first playoff meeting between the 76ers and the Charlotte Hornets/Bobcats franchise.[9]

(3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Toronto Raptors

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(NYK-TOR)

 Venue Recap Television
1 April 23 New York 92 Toronto 88 1-0 Madison Square Garden, New York City 1 NBC
2 April 26 New York 84 Toronto 83 2-0 Madison Square Garden, New York City 2 TNT
3 April 30 Toronto 80 New York 87 3-0 Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario 3 NBC
New York wins series 3–0

This was the first playoff meeting between the Knicks and the Raptors.[10]

(2) Miami Heat vs. (7) Detroit Pistons

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(MIA-DET)

 Venue Recap Television
1 April 22 Miami 95 Detroit 85 1-0 American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida 1 NBC
2 April 25 Miami 84 Detroit 82 2-0 American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida 2 TNT
3 April 29 Detroit 72 Miami 91 3-0 The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan 3 NBC
Miami wins series 3–0

This was the first playoff meeting between the Pistons and the Heat.[11]

Conference Semifinals

(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (5) Philadelphia 76ers

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(IND-PHI)

 Venue Recap Television
1 May 6 Indiana 108 Philadelphia 91 1-0 Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana 1 NBC
2 May 8 Indiana 103 Philadelphia 97 2-0 Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana 2 TBS
3 May 10 Philadelphia 89 Indiana 97 3-0 First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 3 TNT
4 May 13 Philadelphia 92 Indiana 90 3-1 First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 4 NBC
5 May 15 Indiana 86 Philadelphia 107 3-2 Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana 5 TBS
6 May 19 Philadelphia 90 Indiana 106 4-2 First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 6 TNT
Indiana wins series 4–2

Jalen Rose and Reggie Miller both scored 40 points to lead the Pacers to the series-opening victory.

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece.

(2) Miami Heat vs. (3) New York Knicks

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(MIA-NYK)

 Venue Recap Television
1 May 7 Miami 87 New York 83 1-0 American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida 1 NBC
2 May 9 Miami 76 New York 82 1-1 American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida 2 TNT
3 May 12 New York 76 Miami 77 2-1 Madison Square Garden, New York City 3 TNT
4 May 14 New York 91 Miami 83 2-2 Madison Square Garden, New York City 4 NBC
5 May 17 Miami 87 New York 81 3-2 American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida 5 TNT
6 May 19 New York 72 Miami 70 3-3 Madison Square Garden, New York City 6 TNT
7 May 21 Miami 82 New York 83 3-4 American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida 7 NBC
New York wins series 4–3

This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning two of the first three meetings.

Conference Finals

(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (3) New York Knicks

NBC
June 2
Indiana Pacers 93, New York Knicks 80
Indiana wins series, 4-2
  • In Game 6, Reggie Miller scores 17 points in the 4th quarter to help the Pacers reach the NBA Finals.

This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning three of the first five meetings.

NBA Finals

  • In Game 4, Kobe Bryant came back from his injury from Game 2 and after his teammate, Shaquille O'Neal fouled out of the game in OT, he took over the game. He followed in a missed shot by Brian Shaw with 5.9 seconds left to give the Lakers a 3-point lead, and after a game-winning three by Reggie Miller bounced off the rim, the Lakers took a 3-1 series lead.

This was the first playoff meeting between the Pacers and the Lakers.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Sacramento Kings (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Oklahoma City Thunder versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Minnesota Timberwolves versus Portland Trail Blazers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Phoenix Suns versus San Antonio Spurs (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Phoenix Suns (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Portland Trail Blazers versus Utah Jazz (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Portland Trail Blazers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Indiana Pacers versus Milwaukee Bucks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Charlotte Hornets versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — New York Knicks versus Toronto Raptors (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Miami Heat (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Indiana Pacers versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Miami Heat versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Indiana Pacers versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Indiana Pacers versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
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