The 1959 NBA Finals, then known as the 1959 NBA World Championship Series, was the championship series of the 1958–59 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the 1959 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Division champion Minneapolis Lakers and the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics. It was Boston's third trip to the NBA Finals and Minneapolis's sixth. This was the first Finals meeting in the history of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry, marking the start of the storied rivalry between the two franchises.
The Celtics swept the Lakers 4–0. This was the start of the streak of the Celtics' eight consecutive championships, from 1959 to 1966. To date, this is the most recent time that an NBA team from Minnesota appeared in an NBA Finals, as well as the second time in three years (1957) a team with a losing record made the NBA Finals. This would be the most recent occurrence of a team with a losing record making the NBA Finals until 1981.
Series summary
| Game | Date | Home team | Result | Road team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | April 4 | Boston Celtics | 118–115 (1–0) | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Game 2 | April 5 | Boston Celtics | 128–108 (2–0) | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Game 3 | April 7 | Minneapolis Lakers | 110–123 (0–3) | Boston Celtics |
| Game 4 | April 9 | Minneapolis Lakers | 113–118 (0–4) | Boston Celtics |
Celtics win series 4–0
Team rosters
Boston Celtics
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Minneapolis Lakers
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Boxscores
April 4
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| Minneapolis Lakers 115, Boston Celtics 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–29, 24–36, 31–19, 31–34 | ||
| Pts: Elgin Baylor 34 Rebs: Larry Foust 19 |
Pts: Frank Ramsey 29 Rebs: Bill Russell 28 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 5
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| Minneapolis Lakers 108, Boston Celtics 128 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–32, 31–40, 37–28, 23–28 | ||
| Pts: Vern Mikkelsen 24 Rebs: Steve Hamilton 13 |
Pts: Bill Sharman 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 30 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 7
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| Boston Celtics 123, Minneapolis Lakers 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–27, 34–26, 32–32, 22–25 | ||
| Pts: Tom Heinsohn 26 Rebs: Bill Russell 30 |
Pts: Larry Foust 26 Rebs: Larry Foust 22 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–0 | ||
April 9
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| Boston Celtics 118, Minneapolis Lakers 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–34, 30–28, 24–25, 30–26 | ||
| Pts: Bill Sharman 29 Rebs: Bill Russell 30 |
Pts: Elgin Baylor 30 Rebs: Elgin Baylor 14 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–0 | ||
- Vern Mikkelsen played his last NBA game as the Celtics completed the sweep.
External links
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