The 1978 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1977-78 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Washington Bullets defeating the Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Wes Unseld was named NBA Finals MVP. To date, it remains the only NBA title that the Bullets (since renamed the Wizards) have won.
It was the third NBA Finals appearance and first title for the Bullets, founded in 1961. The Sonics made the Finals for the first time in their 11-year existence. This would be the first of two straight meetings in the Finals between the Bullets and Sonics, with Seattle winning the title the next year.
This was the first time since the expansion of the playoff field to 10 teams in 1975 that neither conference champion had the benefit of a first-round bye by being one of the top two teams in the conference during the regular season. The 1979 Finals rematch between the Sonics and Bullets took place with both teams as the #1 seed in their respective conference.
The Denver Nuggets, one of the four former American Basketball Association teams to join the NBA the previous season, became the first of them to win an NBA playoff series, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in a 7-game conference semifinal.
Champion: Seattle SuperSonics
1st Round
(1) Portland Trail Blazers and (2) Denver Nuggets have first-round byes.
(3) Phoenix Suns vs. (6) Milwaukee Bucks: Bucks win series 2-0
Game 1 @ Phoenix (April 11): Milwaukee 111, Phoenix 103
Game 2 @ Milwaukee (April 14): Milwaukee 94, Phoenix 90
(4) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (5) Los Angeles Lakers: Sonics win series 2-1
Game 1 @ Seattle (April 12): Seattle 102, Los Angeles 90
Game 2 @ Los Angeles (April 14): Los Angeles 105, Seattle 99
Game 3 @ Seattle (April 16): Seattle 111, Los Angeles 102
Conference Semifinals
(1) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics: Sonics win series 4-2
Game 1 @ Portland (April 18): Seattle 104, Portland 95
Game 2 @ Portland (April 21): Portland 96, Seattle 93 (Bill Walton's final game in a Portland Trail Blazer uniform)
Game 3 @ Seattle (April 23): Seattle 99, Portland 84
Game 4 @ Seattle (April 26): Seattle 100, Portland 98
Game 5 @ Portland (April 30): Portland 113, Seattle 89
Game 6 @ Seattle (May 1): Seattle 105, Portland 94
(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (6) Milwaukee Bucks: Nuggets win series 4-3
Game 1 @ Denver (April 18): Denver 119, Milwaukee 103
Game 2 @ Denver (April 21): Denver 127, Milwaukee 111
Game 3 @ Milwaukee (April 23): Milwaukee 143, Denver 112
Game 4 @ Milwaukee (April 25): Denver 118, Milwaukee 114
Game 5 @ Denver (April 28): Milwaukee 117, Denver 112
Game 6 @ Milwaukee (April 30): Milwaukee 119, Denver 91
Game 7 @ Denver (May 3): Denver 116, Milwaukee 110
Conference Finals
(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics: Sonics win series 4-2
Game 1 @ Denver (May 5): Denver 116, Seattle 107
Game 2 @ Denver (May 7): Seattle 121, Denver 111
Game 3 @ Seattle (May 10): Seattle 105, Denver 91
Game 4 @ Seattle (May 12): Seattle 100, Denver 94
Game 5 @ Denver (May 14): Denver 123, Seattle 114
Game 6 @ Seattle (May 17): Seattle 123, Denver 108
Champion: Washington Bullets
1st Round
(1) Philadelphia 76ers & (2) San Antonio Spurs have first round byes.
(3) Washington Bullets vs. (6) Atlanta Hawks: Bullets win series 2-0
Game 1 @ Washington (April 12): Washington 103, Atlanta 94
Game 2 @ Atlanta (April 14): Washington 107, Atlanta 103 (OT)
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) New York Knicks: Knicks win series 2-0
Game 1 @ Cleveland (April 12): New York 132, Cleveland 114
Game 2 @ New York (April 14): New York 109, Cleveland 107
Last playoff meeting: This the first meeting between the Knicks and the Cavaliers
Conference Semifinals
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (5) New York Knicks: 76ers win series 4-0
Game 1 @ Philadelphia (April 16): Philadelphia 130, New York 90
Game 2 @ Philadelphia (April 18): Philadelphia 119, New York 100
Game 3 @ New York (April 20): Philadelphia 137, New York 126
Game 4 @ New York (April 23): Philadelphia 112, New York 107
Last playoff meeting: 1968 Eastern division Semifinals (Philadelphia won 4-2)
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (3) Washington Bullets: Bullets win series 4-2
Game 1 @ San Antonio (April 16): San Antonio 114, Washington 103
Game 2 @ San Antonio (April 18): Washington 121, San Antonio 117
Game 3 @ Washington (April 21): Washington 118, San Antonio 105
Game 4 @ Washington (April 23): Washington 98, San Antonio 95
Game 5 @ San Antonio (April 25): San Antonio 116, Washington 105
Game 6 @ Washington (April 28): Washington 103, San Antonio 100
Conference Finals
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (3) Washington Bullets: Bullets win series 4-2
Game 1 @ Philadelphia (April 30): Washington 122, Philadelphia 117 (OT)
Game 2 @ Philadelphia (May 3): Philadelphia 110, Washington 104
Game 3 @ Washington (May 5): Washington 123, Philadelphia 108
Game 4 @ Washington (May 7): Washington 121, Philadelphia 105
Game 5 @ Philadelphia (May 10): Philadelphia 107, Washington 94
Game 6 @ Washington (May 12): Washington 101, Philadelphia 99
(3) Washington Bullets vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics: Bullets win series 4-3
Game 1 @ Seattle (May 21): Seattle 106, Washington 102 ("Downtown" Freddie Brown scores 30 points, 16 in 4th quarter, to lead the Sonics back from a 19-point deficit)
Game 2 @ Washington (May 25): Washington 106, Seattle 98
Game 3 @ Washington (May 28): Seattle 93, Washington 92
Game 4 @ Seattle (May 30): Washington 120, Seattle 116 (OT) (played at the Seattle Kingdome)
Game 5 @ Seattle (June 2): Seattle 98, Washington 94
Game 6 @ Washington (June 4): Washington 117, Seattle 82
Game 7 @ Seattle (June 7): Washington 105, Seattle 99
Note: The 'Game 7' played marked the last time until the 2016 NBA Finals, that a road team defeated the home team.
