The 1984 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1983–84 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Larry Bird was named NBA Finals MVP.
This was the first postseason allowing 16 teams to qualify, a format still in use. The first round format was also changed from best-of-3 to best-of 5.
It was the first NBA Finals meeting between the Celtics and Lakers since 1969; they met 7 times in the Finals from 1959–69, with Boston coming out on top each year. Going into the 1984 playoffs, the Lakers had already won 2 titles in the 1980s and the Celtics 1, making the revival of the Celtics–Lakers rivalry arguably inevitable and certainly highly anticipated.
Two teams made their playoff debuts and won their first playoff series: the Utah Jazz (who joined the NBA for the 1974–75 season as the New Orleans Jazz) and Dallas Mavericks, a 1980 expansion team. The Jazz did not miss the playoffs again until 2004.
The Detroit Pistons made the playoffs for the first time since 1977, starting a string of nine consecutive appearances that included five straight Conference Finals appearances (1987-1991), three consecutive NBA Finals appearances (1988, 1989, and 1990) and two NBA Championships. They did not miss the playoffs again until 1993.
The New Jersey Nets won a playoff series for the first time in their NBA history, upsetting the defending champion Philadelphia 76ers in 5. This was also the only time the road team won every game in a five-game playoff series. The Nets would not win a playoff series again until 2002.
This was the final postseason appearance for the Kansas City Kings, as the team moved to Sacramento, California two seasons later. Kemper Arena hosted its final NBA playoff game.
The Kingdome also hosted its final NBA playoff game, as the Seattle SuperSonics moved back full-time to the Seattle Center Coliseum two years later. However, the Kingdome continued to host Sonics regular season games on occasion until 1994.
The 1984 playoffs also involved two of the hottest games in NBA history. Game 5 of the First Round between the Knicks and Pistons was played at Joe Louis Arena, as the Pontiac Silverdome was unavailable, with temperatures reaching as high as 120°. Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and Lakers at Boston Garden reached temperatures as high as 100°, as the Garden lacked air-conditioning, coupled with the sweltering outdoors conditions in Boston.
Game 1 @ Boston Garden, Boston (April 17): Boston 91, Washington 83
Game 2 @ Boston Garden, Boston (April 19): Boston 88, Washington 85
Game 3 @ Capital Centre, Landover (April 21): Washington 111, Boston 108 (OT; Robert Parish hits the game-tying jumper with 21 seconds left to force OT)
Game 4 @ Capital Centre, Landover (April 24): Boston 99, Washington 96
Game 5 @ Joe Louis Arena, Detroit (April 27): New York 127, Detroit 123 (OT; Bernard King/Isiah Thomas Duel. King put up 44 points while having the flu and both middle fingers dislocated, while Thomas scored 16 points in the last 93 seconds of regulation to force OT)
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning five of the first six meetings. All previous series took place while the Lakers franchise were in Minneapolis and the Royals/Kings franchise in Rochester.
Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (April 28): Los Angeles 134, Dallas 91
Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 1): Los Angeles 117, Dallas 101
Game 3 @ Reunion Arena, Dallas (May 4): Dallas 125, Los Angeles 115
Game 4 @ Reunion Arena, Dallas (May 6): Los Angeles 122, Dallas 115 (OT; Pat Cummings hits the game-tying layup with 31 seconds left before Derek Harper made a mistake by dribbling out the clock thinking Dallas was ahead by one, when the score was actually tied)
Game 5 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 8): Los Angeles 115, Dallas 99
Game 1 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 27): Los Angeles 115, Boston 109
Game 2 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 31)*: Boston 124, Los Angeles 121 (OT; Gerald Henderson stole a James Worthy pass and made a layup to tie the game with 13 seconds left and eventually force OT; Scott Wedman hits the clutch shot with 14 seconds left in OT)
Game 3 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 3): Los Angeles 137, Boston 104 (Magic Johnson gives out a Finals record 21 assists)
Game 4 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 6): Boston 129, Los Angeles 125 (OT; Kevin McHale clotheslined Kurt Rambis; Larry Bird hits the game-tying free throws with 16 seconds left in regulation to force OT, then hits the clutch jumper over Magic Johnson with 16 seconds left in OT; M. L. Carr steals James Worthy's inbound pass and dunks it with 6 seconds left in OT)
Game 5 @ Boston Garden, Boston (June 8): Boston 121, Los Angeles 103 (The Heat Game)
Game 6 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 10): Los Angeles 119, Boston 108
Game 7 @ Boston Garden, Boston (June 12): Boston 111, Los Angeles 102
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