A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Tournament details | |
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Dates | April 22 – June 19, 2000 |
Season | 1999–2000 |
Teams | 16 |
Final positions | |
Champions | Los Angeles Lakers (12th title) |
Runner-up | Indiana Pacers |
Semifinalists | |
The 2000 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1999–2000 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers four games to two. Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Finals MVP.
This was also the first NBA postseason to not have any back-to-backs at all. (After 1988, they were still used in the conference semifinals.)
Overview
The San Antonio Spurs were the champions going into the playoffs, but following a season–ending injury to third–year star Tim Duncan, were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the first round, marking the first time since 1987 that a new champion would follow a team enjoying a single season championship tenure. They were also the first defending champion to be eliminated in the first round since the Philadelphia 76ers in 1984.
The Houston Rockets missed the playoffs for the first time since 1992, while the Seattle SuperSonics returned after a one-season absence.
The Toronto Raptors made their NBA playoff debut, becoming the first Canadian team to do so. As such, Game 3 of their first round series against the New York Knicks was the first NBA Playoff game ever played outside the United States.
For the first time in franchise history, the Miami Heat swept a playoff opponent by beating the Detroit Pistons 3–0. It was also their first playoff series victory since 1997, when they made the Conference Finals.
Game 4 of the Trail Blazers-Timberwolves series was Malik Sealy's final NBA Game. He would lose his life in on May 20, when he was driving home after attending Kevin Garnett's birthday party and a drunk driver made a wrong-way turn and crashed into Sealy's car, killing him immediately.
In the conference semifinals, the Miami Heat and New York Knicks met for the fourth consecutive postseason. They would not meet again in the playoffs until 2012.
With their conference semifinals victory over the Utah Jazz, The Portland Trail Blazers advanced to their second consecutive Western Conference Finals. The Trail Blazers would not win another playoff series until 2014.
With a Game 7 win in the conference semifinals, the New York Knicks eliminated the Miami Heat for the third consecutive postseason. The Knicks would not win another playoff series until 2013.
In the Western Conference Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers took a 3–1 series lead, only for the Portland Trail Blazers to force a Game 7. By doing so, the Trail Blazers became the first team since 1981 to force a Game 7 in the Conference Finals despite trailing 3–1.
With their Eastern Conference Finals victory over the New York Knicks, the Indiana Pacers won their first Eastern Conference title after four previous appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals; however, after this season, the team was radically altered with key players Dale Davis, Derrick McKey and Mark Jackson moving to other teams and Rik Smits retiring. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals was the last game Patrick Ewing ever played as a Knick. The Pacers would not win another playoff series until 2004.
In Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers used an 15–0 fourth quarter run to overcome a fifteen-point deficit to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers and make their first NBA Finals since 1991. With the win, the Lakers also avoided the dubious distinction of becoming the seventh team in NBA History to lose a playoff series despite leading 3–1.
The Lakers' NBA Finals win over the Indiana Pacers was the first title for both Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, and the first Lakers championship since the 1988 NBA Finals. A.C. Green, the only player left from the Lakers' Showtime era, was in the Lakers starting lineup for this series as well.
Playoff qualifying
Eastern Conference
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:
- Indiana Pacers – Central Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions (56–26)
- Miami Heat – Atlantic Division champions (52–30)
- New York Knicks (50–32)
- Charlotte Hornets (49–33, 3–1 head-to-head vs. PHI)
- Philadelphia 76ers (49–33, 1–3 head-to-head vs. CHA)
- Toronto Raptors (45–37)
- Detroit Pistons (42–40, 3–1 head-to-head vs. MIL)
- Milwaukee Bucks (42–40, 1–3 head-to-head vs. DET)
Western Conference
The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:
- Los Angeles Lakers – Pacific Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions, NBA regular season champions (67–15)
- Utah Jazz – Midwest Division champions (55–27)
- Portland Trail Blazers (59–23)
- San Antonio Spurs (53–29)
- Phoenix Suns (53–29)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (50–32)
- Seattle SuperSonics (45–37)
- Sacramento Kings (44–38)
Bracket
This was the outlook for the playoffs. Teams in italics have home court advantage. Teams in bold advance to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original playoffs seeding in their respective conferences. Numbers to the right of each team indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions possess an asterisk (*)
First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
E1 | Indiana* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
E8 | Milwaukee | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
E1 | Indiana* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E5 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
E4 | Charlotte | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
E5 | Philadelphia | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
E1 | Indiana* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
E3 | New York | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
E3 | New York | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
E6 | Toronto | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
E3 | New York | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
E2 | Miami* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
E2 | Miami* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
E7 | Detroit | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
E1 | Indiana* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W1 | LA Lakers* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
W8 | Sacramento | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W5 | Phoenix | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
W4 | San Antonio | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
W5 | Phoenix | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
W3 | Portland | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
W3 | Portland | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
W6 | Minnesota | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
W3 | Portland | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
W2 | Utah* | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
W2 | Utah* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
W7 | Seattle | 2 |
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage
First round
Eastern Conference first round
(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (8) Milwaukee Bucks
April 23
8:30 PM |
Milwaukee Bucks 85, Indiana Pacers 88 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 18–28, 16–17, 28–17, 23–26 | ||
Pts: Ray Allen 26 Rebs: Ham, Johnson 8 each Asts: Sam Cassell 6 |
Pts: Jalen Rose 26 Rebs: Dale Davis 17 Asts: Mark Jackson 11 | |
Indiana leads series, 1–0 |
Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 18,345 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Jack Nies, Don Vaden |
April 27
8:00 PM |
Milwaukee Bucks 104, Indiana Pacers 91 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 35–19, 26–19, 27–26, 16–27 | ||
Pts: Allen, Cassell 20 each Rebs: Ervin Johnson 12 Asts: Sam Cassell 8 |
Pts: Austin Croshere 16 Rebs: Dale Davis 12 Asts: Mark Jackson 5 | |
Series tied, 1–1 |
Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 18,345 Referees: Ronnie Nunn, Bennett Salvatore, Derrick Stafford |
April 29
8:30 PM |
Indiana Pacers 109, Milwaukee Bucks 96 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 23–26, 28–32, 30–20, 28–18 | ||
Pts: Reggie Miller 34 Rebs: Austin Croshere 11 Asts: Miller, Rose 5 each |
Pts: Allen, Robinson 26 each Rebs: Ervin Johnson 13 Asts: Sam Cassell 12 | |
Indiana leads series, 2–1 |
Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 18,717 Referees: Hugh Evans, Ken Mauer, Mark Wunderlich |
May 1
9:30 PM |
Indiana Pacers 87, Milwaukee Bucks 100 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 21–33, 16–31, 25–24, 25–12 | ||
Pts: Jalen Rose 17 Rebs: Dale Davis 10 Asts: Mark Jackson 6 |
Pts: Allen, Williams 20 each Rebs: Ervin Johnson 9 Asts: Sam Cassell 13 | |
Series tied, 2–2 |
Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 18,072 Referees: Mike Callahan, Jim Clark, Dan Crawford |
May 4
8:00 PM |
Milwaukee Bucks 95, Indiana Pacers 96 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 30–25, 17–21, 23–25, 25–25 | ||
Pts: Sam Cassell 22 Rebs: Tim Thomas 9 Asts: Sam Cassell 6 |
Pts: Reggie Miller 41 Rebs: Dale Davis 12 Asts: Mark Jackson 8 | |
Indiana wins series, 3–2 |
Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 18,345 Referees: Joe Crawford, Steve Javie, Eddie F. Rush |
- In Game 5, Travis Best hits the eventual series-winning 3 with 16.5 left. Also Reggie Miller scores 18 points in the 4th quarter of game 5.
Tied 2–2 in the regular-season series |
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This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pacers winning the first meeting.
Indiana leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
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(2) Miami Heat vs. (7) Detroit Pistons
April 22
12:30 PM |
Detroit Pistons 85, Miami Heat 95 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 18–24, 22–20, 18–24, 27–27 | ||
Pts: Jerry Stackhouse 23 Rebs: Hill, Williams 9 each Asts: Grant Hill 5 |
Pts: Jamal Mashburn 29 Rebs: Dan Majerle 10 Asts: Anthony Carter 7 | |
Miami leads series, 1–0 |
American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Attendance: 16,500 Referees: Terry Durham, Ron Garretson, Tom Washington |
April 25
7:00 PM |
Detroit Pistons 82, Miami Heat 84 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 19–24, 26–20, 23–21, 14–19 | ||
Pts: Jerry Stackhouse 26 Rebs: Stackhouse, Williams 7 each Asts: Grant Hill 4 |
Pts: Jamal Mashburn 24 Rebs: Alonzo Mourning 8 Asts: Anthony Carter 13 | |
Miami leads series, 2–0 |