2005 NBA Playoffs
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The 2005 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
's 2004–05 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
defeating the Eastern Conference champion
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
4 games to 3 in the
NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
. Tim Duncan was named Finals MVP.


Overview

The Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards ended long playoff droughts in 2005, meeting each other in the first round. For the Washington Wizards, it was their first playoff appearance since
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— even more ironic their opponents for that postseason appearance were the Bulls who swept them on their way to their fifth NBA title. For the Chicago Bulls, it was their first post-
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...
playoff appearance, as their last playoff game was Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. They consistently placed at or near the bottom of the Central Division in between, and their 47–35 season in 2005 was a 24–game improvement from 2004. The Phoenix Suns returned to the NBA playoffs after a one season absence. The Houston Rockets and the Memphis Grizzlies entered their second consecutive postseason. For
the Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Lakers play their hom ...
, it marked the first time in 11 seasons (dating back to 1994) and the fifth time in NBA history that they missed the playoffs. This was thus the last time until
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that the playoffs would be played entirely outside of
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. The Minnesota Timberwolves missed the playoffs for the first time since 1996. This was the last time that the Seattle SuperSonics would be in the playoffs before they relocated to Oklahoma to become the Oklahoma City Thunder. For the third straight year (fifth overall) the Pacers met the Celtics in the first round. Boston won in 2003 4–2, while Indiana swept Boston in 2004. This time, Indiana won 4–3. It would be Boston's last playoff appearance until
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. With their first round series win over the Chicago Bulls, the Washington Wizards won their first playoff series since
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, and first playoff game since 1988. They also won a best of seven series for the first time since 1979. With their first round sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies, the Phoenix Suns won their first playoff series since 2000. With their conference semifinals sweep of the Washington Wizards, the
Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...
became the first team to go 8–0 through the first two rounds after the first round was made into a best-of-7 in the 2003 playoffs. The 2009 Cavaliers, 2010 Magic, 2012 Spurs, 2016 Cavaliers, 2017 Cavaliers and the 2017 Warriors followed suit. No team (until 2016) has made the finals after going 8–0 in the first two rounds, let alone win 12 straight games going to the NBA Finals (until the 2017 Warriors), though the Spurs came close in
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when they won their first 10 playoff games, then lost their next four to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In 2016, the
Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...
became the first team to go 8–0 through the first two rounds and make the NBA Finals. With their conference semifinals victory over the Dallas Mavericks, the Phoenix Suns advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1993, where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in five games. Game 6 of the Spurs–SuperSonics series was the last NBA Playoff game ever played at Key Arena. With their Game 7 win over the Miami Heat, the Detroit Pistons advanced to their second consecutive NBA Finals. The NBA Finals marked the first time since
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that the two previous champions met in the Finals (the Spurs won in 2003, the Pistons in 2004). The NBA Finals went to a Game 7 for the first time since 1994. With their Game 7 win over the Detroit Pistons, the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA Championship. For the Spurs, it was their third title (they also won in the lockout–shortened season of 1998–99).


Format

Beginning with the 2004–05 season, with the addition of the 30th NBA franchise, the Charlotte Bobcats, the NBA realigned its divisions. Each conference now has three divisions of five teams each, and at this point in time, the winner of each division was guaranteed a top three playoff seed, regardless of whether the team had one of the top eight records in its conference. However, the division champion was not guaranteed home court advantage; a division-leading team with a poor record could be ranked number three but face a sixth seed with a better record, which would then have home court advantage. This has since been rectified by the NBA.


Playoff qualifying


Eastern Conference


Best record in conference

The
Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...
clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference, and had home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.


Clinched a playoff berth

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East: #
Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...
(59–23) (clinched Southeast division) #
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
(54–28) (clinched Central division) #
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...
(45–37) (clinched Atlantic division) #
Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...
(47–35) #
Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...
(45–37) #
Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...
(44–38) #
Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...
(43–39) #
New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...
(42–40)


Western Conference


Best record in NBA

The
Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...
clinched the best record in the NBA, and earned home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs. However, when Phoenix lost to the
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
in the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs gained home court advantage for the NBA Finals.


Clinched a playoff berth

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West: #
Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...
(62–20) (clinched Pacific division) #
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
(59–23) (clinched Southwest division) # Seattle SuperSonics (52–30) (clinched Northwest division) #
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...
(58–24) #
Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...
(51–31) #
Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...
(50–32) #
Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...
(49–33) #
Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...
(45–37)


Bracket


First round

:''All times are in
Eastern Daylight Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behin ...
( UTC−4)''


Eastern Conference first round


(1) Miami Heat vs. (8) New Jersey Nets

This was the first playoff meeting between the Nets and the Heat.


(2) Detroit Pistons vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece. The first meeting took place while the Nationals/76ers franchise were in Syracuse and the Pistons franchise were in Fort Wayne.


(3) Boston Celtics vs. (6) Indiana Pacers

This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning three of the first four meetings.


(4) Chicago Bulls vs. (5) Washington Wizards

* Gilbert Arenas hits the game-winning buzzer beater in Game 5. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning the first meeting.


Western Conference first round


(1) Phoenix Suns vs. (8) Memphis Grizzlies

This was the first playoff meeting between the Grizzlies and the Suns.


(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (7) Denver Nuggets

This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning three of the first four meetings.


(3) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (6) Sacramento Kings

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the SuperSonics winning the first meeting.


(4) Dallas Mavericks vs. (5) Houston Rockets

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Mavericks winning the first meeting.


Conference semifinals


Eastern Conference semifinals


(1) Miami Heat vs. (5) Washington Wizards

This was the first playoff meeting between the Heat and the Wizards.


(2) Detroit Pistons vs. (6) Indiana Pacers

*Game 6 is
Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, played his entire 18-year career in the National Basketball Assoc ...
's final NBA game. This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning the first two meetings.


Western Conference semifinals


(1) Phoenix Suns vs. (4) Dallas Mavericks

This was the first playoff meeting between the Mavericks and the Suns.


(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (3) Seattle SuperSonics

*
Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...
made the series-winning shot with 0.5 seconds left in Game 6. This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning the first two meetings.


Conference finals


Eastern Conference finals


(1) Miami Heat vs. (2) Detroit Pistons

The Pistons beat the Heat in seven games in part because of the comeback mounted in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the Eastern Finals by Chauncey Billups.
Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. ( or , born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently the co-owner of the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association. He is also currently the host of the American a ...
also missed Game 6 of the series due to a rib injury. To date, this is the last time the Pistons won the Eastern Conference championship. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Heat winning the first meeting.


Western Conference finals


(1) Phoenix Suns vs. (2) San Antonio Spurs

This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning three series apiece.


NBA Finals: (W2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (E2) Detroit Pistons

:''All times are in
Eastern Daylight Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behin ...
( UTC−4)'' This was the first playoff meeting between the Pistons and the Spurs. * Robert Horry hit the game-winning shot with 5.9 seconds left in Game 5. The Finals were broadcast in the United States on ABC and in Canada on TSN. For a list of international broadcasters se
the NBA international TV site
Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...
's " Get Right" music video became the anthem song for the playoffs and the conclusion song at the end of the regular season.


Statistical leaders


References


External links


NBA.com's section for the 2005 NBA PlayoffsNBA.com's section for the 2005 NBA Finals
{{DEFAULTSORT:2005 Nba Playoffs NBA playoffs
Playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
fi:NBA-kausi 2004–2005#Pudotuspelit