The 1957 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1956–57 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the 1957 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Division champion St. Louis Hawks and the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics. This was the first trip to the Finals for each team, the first Finals in which both teams competing were making their first appearances since 1951. Red Auerbach became the first head coach to have taken two separate teams to the NBA Finals, having done so with Washington in 1949. The Celtics won the series over the Hawks, 4–3. It remains the only Game 7 in NBA history to be decided in double-overtime.
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| Dates | March 30–April 13 | |||||||||
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| Hall of Famers | Celtics: Bob Cousy (1971) Tom Heinsohn (1986) Andy Phillip (1961) Frank Ramsey (1982) Arnie Risen (1998) Bill Russell (1975) Bill Sharman (1976) Hawks: Bob Pettit (1970) Slater Martin (1982) Ed Macauley (1960) Coaches: Red Auerbach (1969) Alex Hannum (1998) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Celtics defeated Nationals, 3–0 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Hawks defeated Lakers, 3–0 | |||||||||
This was the second meeting between teams from Boston and St. Louis for a major professional sports championship.[1]
Game summaries
edit| Game | Date | Home team | Result | Road team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | March 30 | Boston Celtics | 123–125 (2OT) (0–1) | St. Louis Hawks |
| Game 2 | March 31 | Boston Celtics | 119–99 (1–1) | St. Louis Hawks |
| Game 3 | April 6 | St. Louis Hawks | 100–98 (2–1) | Boston Celtics |
| Game 4 | April 7 | St. Louis Hawks | 118–123 (2–2) | Boston Celtics |
| Game 5 | April 9 | Boston Celtics | 124–109 (3–2) | St. Louis Hawks |
| Game 6 | April 11 | St. Louis Hawks | 96–94 (3–3) | Boston Celtics |
| Game 7 | April 13 | Boston Celtics | 125–123 (2OT) (4–3) | St. Louis Hawks |
Celtics win series 4–3
Team rosters
editBoston Celtics
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St. Louis Hawks
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Box scores
editMarch 30
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| St. Louis Hawks 125, Boston Celtics 123 (2OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–21, 18–26, 22–27, 31–28, Overtime: 11–11, 12–10 | ||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 37 Rebs: Bob Pettit 14 |
Pts: Bill Sharman 36 Rebs: Bill Russell 18 | |
| St. Louis leads series, 1–0 | ||
- Tom Heinsohn hits the game-tying lay-up with 6 seconds left in regulation to force the first OT; Bob Cousy hits the game-tying shot with 15 seconds left in the first OT to force the second OT.
March 31
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| St. Louis Hawks 99, Boston Celtics 119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–31, 22–31, 27–32, 29–25 | ||
| Pts: Ed Macauley 19 Rebs: Bob Pettit 13 Asts: Slick Leonard 4 |
Pts: Cousy, Ramsey 22 each Rebs: Bill Russell 25 Asts: Bob Cousy 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 6
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| Boston Celtics 98, St. Louis Hawks 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–19, 25–21, 28–29, 26–31 | ||
| Pts: Bill Sharman 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 19 Asts: Bob Cousy 8 |
Pts: Bob Pettit 26 Rebs: Bob Pettit 28 Asts: three players 5 each | |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–1 | ||
- Bob Pettit hits the game-winner with 45 seconds left.
April 7
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| Boston Celtics 123, St. Louis Hawks 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–36, 35–17, 30–37, 27–28 | ||
| Pts: Bob Cousy 31 Rebs: Bill Russell 20 Asts: Arnie Risen 9 |
Pts: Bob Pettit 33 Rebs: Bob Pettit 16 Asts: Martin, Hagan 6 each | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 9
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| St. Louis Hawks 109, Boston Celtics 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–21, 30–38, 25–35, 24–30 | ||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 33 Rebs: Bob Pettit 15 Asts: Med Park 6 |
Pts: Bill Sharman 32 Rebs: Bill Russell 23 Asts: Bob Cousy 19 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 11
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| Boston Celtics 94, St. Louis Hawks 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–22, 28–27, 27–28, 16–19 | ||
| Pts: Tom Heinsohn 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 23 |
Pts: Bob Pettit 32 Rebs: Bob Pettit 23 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
- Cliff Hagan hits the game-winning shot at the buzzer, which is believed to be the first buzzer-beater shot to win a playoff game in NBA history.[2]
April 13
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| St. Louis Hawks 123, Boston Celtics 125 (2OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–26, 25–25, 24–32, 26–20, Overtime: 10–10, 10–12 | ||
| Pts: Bob Pettit 39 Rebs: Bob Pettit 19 Asts: Martin, Coleman 7 each |
Pts: Tom Heinsohn 37 Rebs: Bill Russell 32 Asts: Bob Cousy 11 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–3 | ||
- Bob Pettit hits the game-tying free throws with 7 seconds left in regulation to force the first OT; Jack Coleman makers the game-tying basket with 9 seconds left in the first OT to force the second OT. Bob Pettit misses the game-tying shot at the buzzer to force a third OT.
- Only NBA Finals Game 7 to date to go past the first overtime, and as of 2021, the only Game 7 in NBA history to go past the first overtime.
Celtics center Bill Russell set a rookie record for rebounds in a single NBA finals game with 32 in game 7, and averaged an NBA finals rookie record of 22.9 rebounds per game for the entire series.[3]
References
edit- ^ Flores Jr., Johnny (May 21, 2019). "Boston & St. Louis meet for 11th time, only two to meet in NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL finals". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
- ^ https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/buzzer-beaters.html
- ^ The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia. Villard Books. 1994. p. 414. ISBN 0-679-43293-0.