'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs has had several thrilling series. We have seen some lower seeds generate trouble for the top seeded teams. If title contenders find it hard to advance to the second round, it might look as if it takes something away from their candidacy. But that has not been the case all the time throughout NBA history.
Instances when NBA champions were challenged mightily in the first round of the NBA Playoffs
Various NBA championship teams have had tough encounters in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Whether it was in the Division Semifinals, as the first round was known back in 1960s (and it was a best of five) or in the current format of seven-game duels.
Still, struggling to get past a seemingly inferior team is not really a dent into a contending team, it could simply be a case of a tough matchup.
In this article, we will review five instances when the eventual NBA champion ran into a do-or-die game in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Without further ado, let us start.
#5 Boston Celtics - 1966 NBA Playoffs
Back in the 1965-66 NBA season, the league's format (in a nine-team field) had six teams qualifying through the NBA Playoffs. The first seed of each conference had a walkover in the first round, while the number two and three seeds fought each other in a best-of-five series.
In the 1965-66 campaign, Bill Russell's Boston Celtics were looking to win their eighth consecutive NBA championship. But the team was in uncharted territory, as it was not the first seed in the East for the first time during that stretch of titles.
In the Eastern Division Semifinals, Russell and the Celtics had to face Oscar Robertson's Cincinnati Royals, and the series was highly competitive. The Royals took their first game at Boston and then had a 2-1 lead going into the fourth game of the series, which was played at Cincinnati.
On the brink of elimination, the then reigning champions stormed to a 120-103 win on the road in Game 4. They did this thanks to 32 points from Sam Jones, 28 from Tom Sanders and 26 rebounds from Bill Russell.
In the deciding game, the Celtics took a 112-103 win, with Jones again leading the offense with 34 points. Russell added a triple-double with 16 points, 31 rebounds and 11 assists.
The Celtics went on to eliminate the East's first seed, Wilt Chamberlain's Philadelphia 76ers, and won their eighth straight title after beating the LA Lakers in the NBA Finals.
#4 Houston Rockets - 1995 NBA Playoffs
The 1994-95 Houston Rockets had arguably the most impressive run of any NBA champion in history, as the team was the lowest seed to win the title. They entered the NBA Playoffs as the West's sixth seed, but the defending champions knew what they had to do in the NBA Playoffs.
In the first round of the NBA Playoffs, the third-seeded Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets started their run to back-to-back NBA champions with a thrilling best-of-five series. Utah was up in the series 1-0, and then had a 2-1 lead heading into Game 4 at Houston.
However, Houston took a comfortable 123-106 win at home, guided by Clyde Drexler's 41 points. Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets then went into Salt Lake City's Delta Center and took a 95-91 win on the road to advance to the second round. Olajuwon scored 33 points, while Drexler racked up 31 points.
Then, the Rockets won every remaining series without having home-court advantage to win their second consecutive NBA title. Olajuwon was named Finals MVP after the team swept Shaquille O'Neal and the Orlando Magic in the 1995 NBA Finals.
#3 LA Lakers - 2000 NBA Playoffs
Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant had their breakthrough year with the LA Lakers in the 2000 NBA Playoffs. But the path to their first championship together was not easy at all.
However, Phil Jackson's guidance helped the team to have the best record in the entire NBA (67-15). Shaquille O'Neal won the MVP as the Lakers won the NBA Championship.
The first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Sacramento Kings went the full distance, though. The eighth-seeded Kings, with Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic and Jason Williams, took 44 wins in the regular season and gave LA a huge challenge in the NBA Playoffs.
The Lakers jumped to a 2-0 lead at home with O'Neal and Bryant putting up great scoring performances in the first two games. However, the Kings tied the series with consecutive wins at ARCO Arena and Webber's two double-doubles.
In the deciding game, the LA Lakers grabbed a 15-point lead at halftime and ended up winning comfortably behind O'Neal's 32 points and 18 rebounds.
LA then defeated the Phoenix Suns in five games, and the Portland Trail Blazers in a memorable seven-game Western Conference Finals. They won the championship after beating the Indiana Pacers in six games in the NBA Finals. O'Neal won the first of his three Finals MVP trophies in 2000.
#2 Boston Celtics - 2008 NBA Playoffs
The 2007-08 Boston Celtics were stacked after veterans Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined Paul Pierce. Though the three were still great players, they had not shown much in the NBA Playoffs.
The team, coached by Doc Rivers, grabbed the NBA's best regular-season record with 66 wins and only 16 losses. However, throughout the first two rounds of the 2008 NBA Playoffs, they could not win a single game on the road. This meant they had to play a seven-game first-round series against the 37-45 Atlanta Hawks.
The series was not a classic, as the Celtics blew out the Hawks in each game at Boston, but they simply could not win on the road. Another seven-game series was in Boston's way in the second round. They went on to defeat the Detroit Pistons and the LA Lakers in the Eastern Finals and NBA Finals, respectively, in six games.
#1 San Antonio Spurs - 2014 NBA Playoffs
The 2013-14 San Antonio Spurs put up the third-best regular-season record in franchise history with 62 victories. They defeated the Miami Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals in just five games, in what was a rematch of their classic series in 2013.
The Spurs put up great collective basketball in the NBA Finals and simply dominated LeBron James' Heat. However, not many remember the Spurs' struggles in the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs against the eighth-seeded Dallas Mavericks, guided by Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter and Monta Ellis in the backcourt.
The Mavs pushed the Spurs in Game 1, but San Antonio prevailed. In Game 2, Dallas took home-court away from the Spurs, and then Carter's game-winner at the buzzer in Game 3 put Dallas in front. San Antonio tied the series with a four-point victory in Game 4.
With the series tied at two apiece, the Spurs took a 109-103 win at home. But the Mavs stayed alive with a two-point win at home in Game 6, with Ellis scoring 29 points.
Tony Parker scored 32 points in Game 7 to put the top-seeded Spurs in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Eventually the Spurs won the 2014 championship and never needed a Game 7 to decide any series that year.
They defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in five games in the second round, took Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook's OKC Thunder down in a six-game WCF, and won the 2014 NBA Finals in five matches against the Miami Heat.
Dear reader, could you please take a short, 30-second survey to help us improve and give you better NBA/basketball coverage on our site? Here's the link for it.
Guess the Lakers players!
