1964 NBA playoffs
The 1964 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1963–64 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion San Francisco Warriors 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
| Dates | March 21–April 26, 1964 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 1963–64 | ||
| Teams | 6 | ||
| Champions | Boston Celtics (7th title) | ||
| Runners-up | San Francisco Warriors (3rd finals appearance) | ||
| Semifinalists | |||
| |||
Boston earned their 6th straight and 7th overall NBA title, as they continued to dominate the decade; except for 1967, they won every NBA title in the 1960s.
This was the San Francisco Warriors' first trip to the NBA Finals since 1956 when they were based in Philadelphia; they would make a repeat appearance in 1967 and (as the Golden State Warriors) would earn the franchise's third championship in 1975.
The Philadelphia 76ers earned their first playoff appearance in their new city; they had been founded as the independent Syracuse Nationals in 1939 and joined the NBL in 1946.
Bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | San Francisco | 4 | |||||||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||
| 2 | St. Louis | 3 | |||||||||||
| 3 | L.A. Lakers | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2 | St. Louis | 3 | |||||||||||
| W1 | San Francisco | 1 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Cincinnati | 1 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Cincinnati | 3 | |||||||||||
Western Division
Champion: San Francisco Warriors
Division Semifinals
(1) San Francisco Warriors have division semifinals byes.
(2) St. Louis Hawks vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers: Hawks win series 3-2
- Game 1 @ St. Louis (March 21): St. Louis 115, Los Angeles 104
- Game 2 @ St. Louis (March 22): St. Louis 106, Los Angeles 90
- Game 3 @ Los Angeles (March 25): Los Angeles 107, St. Louis 105
- Game 4 @ Los Angeles (March 28): Los Angeles 97, St. Louis 88
- Game 5 @ St. Louis (March 30): St. Louis 121, Los Angeles 108
Division Finals
(1) San Francisco Warriors vs. (2) St. Louis Hawks: Warriors win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ San Francisco (April 1): St. Louis 116, San Francisco 111
- Game 2 @ San Francisco (April 3): San Francisco 120, St. Louis 85
- Game 3 @ St. Louis (April 5): St. Louis 113, San Francisco 109
- Game 4 @ St. Louis (April 8): San Francisco 111, St. Louis 109
- Game 5 @ San Francisco (April 10): San Francisco 121, St. Louis 97
- Game 6 @ St. Louis (April 12): St. Louis 123, San Francisco 95
- Game 7 @ San Francisco (April 16): San Francisco 105, St. Louis 95
Eastern Division
Champion: Boston Celtics
Division Semifinals
(1) Boston Celtics have division semifinals byes.
(2) Cincinnati Royals vs. (3) Philadelphia 76ers: Royals win series 3-2
- Game 1 @ Cincinnati (March 22): Cincinnati 127, Philadelphia 102
- Game 2 @ Philadelphia (March 24): Philadelphia 122, Cincinnati 114
- Game 3 @ Cincinnati (March 25): Cincinnati 101, Philadelphia 89
- Game 4 @ Philadelphia (March 28): Philadelphia 129, Cincinnati 120
- Game 5 @ Cincinnati (March 29): Cincinnati 130, Philadelphia 124
Division Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Cincinnati Royals: Celtics win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ Boston (March 31): Boston 103, Cincinnati 87
- Game 2 @ Boston (April 2): Boston 101, Cincinnati 90
- Game 3 @ Cincinnati (April 5): Boston 102, Cincinnati 92
- Game 4 @ Cincinnati (April 7): Cincinnati 102, Boston 93
- Game 5 @ Boston (April 9): Boston 109, Cincinnati 95
NBA Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (1) San Francisco Warriors: Celtics win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ Boston (April 18): Boston 108, San Francisco 96
- Game 2 @ Boston (April 20): Boston 124, San Francisco 101
- Game 3 @ San Francisco (April 22): San Francisco 115, Boston 91 (Clyde Lovellette's final NBA game)
- Game 4 @ San Francisco (April 24): Boston 98, San Francisco 95
- Game 5 @ Boston (April 26): Boston 105, San Francisco 99 (Frank Ramsey's final NBA game)