The 1977 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1976–77 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. It was Portland's first (and so far, only) NBA title. Bill Walton was named NBA Finals MVP.
Portland won the NBA title in its first playoff appearance, something that had not taken place since the early days of the BAA (and has not since, as of 2015). The Trail Blazers went 10-0 at home in the playoffs.
This was the first NBA playoffs after the ABA-NBA merger; two of the former ABA teams (the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets) made their playoff debuts in their first NBA season. The New Jersey Nets made their playoff debut in 1979, and the Indiana Pacers in 1981.
For the first time since 1956, the Eastern Conference division finals had neither the Celtics nor Knicks participating.
The referees went on strike during these playoffs.
1st Round
Champion: Portland Trail Blazers
(1) Los Angeles Lakers & (2) Denver Nuggets have first round byes.
(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) Chicago Bulls: Blazers win series 2–1
Game 1 @ Portland (April 12): Portland 96, Chicago 83
Game 2 @ Chicago (April 15): Chicago 107, Portland 104
Game 3 @ Portland (April 17): Portland 106, Chicago 98
Last playoff meeting: This is the first meeting between the Bulls and the Trail Blazers
(4) Golden State Warriors vs. (5) Detroit Pistons: Warriors win series 2–1
Game 1 @ Golden State (April 12): Detroit 95, Golden State 90
Game 2 @ Detroit (April 14): Golden State 138, Detroit 108
Game 3 @ Golden State (April 17): Golden State 109, Detroit 101
Last playoff meeting: 1976 Western Conference Semifinals (Golden State won 4-2)
Conference Semifinals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Golden State Warriors: Lakers win series 4–3
Game 1 @ Los Angeles (April 20): Los Angeles 115, Golden State 106
Game 2 @ Los Angeles (April 22): Los Angeles 95, Golden State 86
Game 3 @ Golden State (April 24): Golden State 109, Los Angeles 105
Game 4 @ Golden State (April 26): Golden State 114, Los Angeles 103
Game 5 @ Los Angeles (April 29): Los Angeles 112, Golden State 105
Game 6 @ Golden State (May 1): Golden State 115, Los Angeles 106
Game 7 @ Los Angeles (May 4): Los Angeles 97, Golden State 84
Last playoff meeting: 1973 Western Conference Finals (Los Angeles won 4-1)
(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers: Blazers win series 4–2
Game 1 @ Denver (April 20): Portland 101, Denver 100
Game 2 @ Denver (April 22): Denver 121, Portland 110
Game 3 @ Portland (April 24): Portland 110, Denver 106
Game 4 @ Portland (April 26): Portland 105, Denver 96
Game 5 @ Denver (May 1): Denver 114, Portland 105 (OT)
Game 6 @ Portland (May 2): Portland 108, Denver 92
Last playoff meeting: This was the first meeting between the Nuggets and the Trail Blazers
Conference Finals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers: Blazers win series 4–0
Game 1 @ Los Angeles (May 6): Portland 121, Los Angeles 109
Game 2 @ Los Angeles (May 8): Portland 99, Los Angeles 97
Game 3 @ Portland (May 10): Portland 102, Los Angeles 97 (Bill Walton's famous dunk on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)
Game 4 @ Portland (May 13): Portland 105, Los Angeles 101
Last playoff meeting: This is the first meeting between the Lakers and the Trail Blazers
Champion: Philadelphia 76ers
1st Round
(1) Philadelphia 76ers & (2) Houston Rockets have first round byes.
(3) Washington Bullets vs. (6) Cleveland Cavaliers: Bullets win series 2–1
Game 1 @ Washington (April 13): Washington 109, Cleveland 100
Game 2 @ Cleveland (April 15): Cleveland 91, Washington 83
Game 3 @ Washington (April 17): Washington 104, Cleveland 98 (Nate Thurmond’s final NBA game)
(4) Boston Celtics vs. (5) San Antonio Spurs: Celtics win series 2–0
Game 1 @ Boston (April 12): Boston 104, San Antonio 94
Game 2 @ San Antonio (April 15): Boston 113, San Antonio 109
Conference Semifinals
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (4) Boston Celtics: 76ers win series 4–3
Game 1 @ Philadelphia (April 17): Boston 113, Philadelphia 111 (Jo Jo White's buzzer-beater)
Game 2 @ Philadelphia (April 20): Philadelphia 113, Boston 101
Game 3 @ Boston (April 22): Philadelphia 109, Boston 100
Game 4 @ Boston (April 24): Boston 124, Philadelphia 119
Game 5 @ Philadelphia (April 27): Philadelphia 110, Boston 91
Game 6 @ Boston (April 29): Boston 113, Philadelphia 108
Game 7 @ Philadelphia (May 1): Philadelphia 83, Boston 77
(2) Houston Rockets vs. (3) Washington Bullets: Rockets win series 4–2
Game 1 @ Houston (April 19): Washington 111, Houston 101
Game 2 @ Houston (April 21): Houston 124, Washington 118 (OT)
Game 3 @ Washington (April 24): Washington 93, Houston 90
Game 4 @ Washington (April 26): Houston 107, Washington 103
Game 5 @ Houston (April 29): Houston 123, Washington 115
Game 6 @ Washington (May 1): Houston 108, Washington 103
Conference Finals
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (2) Houston Rockets: 76ers win series 4–2
Game 1 @ Philadelphia (May 5): Philadelphia 128, Houston 117
Game 2 @ Philadelphia (May 8): Philadelphia 106, Houston 97
Game 3 @ Houston (May 11): Houston 118, Philadelphia 94
Game 4 @ Houston (May 13): Philadelphia 107, Houston 95
Game 5 @ Philadelphia (May 15): Houston 118, Philadelphia 115
Game 6 @ Houston (May 17): Philadelphia 112, Houston 109 (Controversial charging foul on John Lucas seals it)
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers: Blazers win series 4–2
Game 1 @ Philadelphia (May 22): Philadelphia 107, Portland 101
Game 2 @ Philadelphia (May 26): Philadelphia 107, Portland 89 (Notable for a brawl between the Blazers' Maurice Lucas and the 76ers' Darryl Dawkins)
Game 3 @ Portland (May 29): Portland 129, Philadelphia 107 (Bill Walton's two famous plays of tipping the ball against Darryl Dawkins off an alley-oop from Bob Gross, then dunking the ball off of Dave Twardzik's steal and alley-oop pass)
Game 4 @ Portland (May 31): Portland 130, Philadelphia 98
Game 5 @ Philadelphia (June 3): Portland 110, Philadelphia 104
Game 6 @ Portland (June 5): Portland 109, Philadelphia 107 (Portland becomes the second team in finals history, after the 1969 Celtics, to overcome a 2–0 series deficit)
