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| Dates | March 30–April 13 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 defeatedNationals, 3–0 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Hawks defeatedLakers, 3–0 | |||||||||
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The1957 NBA World Championship Series was thechampionship series of the1956–57 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the1957 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between theWestern Division championSt. Louis Hawks and theEastern Division championBoston 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 since1951. Red Auerbach became the first head coach to have taken two separate teams to the NBA Finals, having done so with Washington in1949. 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.
This was the second meeting between teams fromBoston andSt. Louis for amajor professional sports championship.[1]
| 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
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| Head coach Legend
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| Head coach Legend
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March 30 |
| St. Louis Hawks125,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 | ||
March 31 |
| St. Louis Hawks 99,Boston Celtics119 | ||
| 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 |
| Boston Celtics 98,St. Louis Hawks100 | ||
| 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 | ||
April 7 |
| Boston Celtics123,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 |
| St. Louis Hawks 109,Boston Celtics124 | ||
| 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 |
| Boston Celtics 94,St. Louis Hawks96 | ||
| 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 | ||
April 13 |
| St. Louis Hawks 123,Boston Celtics125 (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 | ||
Celtics centerBill 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]
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