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2000 NBA Playoffs

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Season
  
1999–2000

Teams
  
16

Champions
  
Los Angeles Lakers (12th title)

Runner-up
  
Indiana Pacers (1st finals appearance)

Semifinalists
  
New York Knicks Portland Trail Blazers

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 4 games to 2. Shaquille O'Neal was named NBA Finals MVP.

Contents

The San Antonio Spurs were the champions going into the playoffs, but were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the first round, marking the first time since 1987 that a title-winning team did not repeat. They were also the first defending champion to be eliminated in the first round since the Philadelphia 76ers in 1984.

The Lakers' win was the first title for Shaq and Kobe Bryant, both considered future first-ballot Hall of Famers, and first in the post-Magic Johnson–Kareem Abdul-Jabbar–James Worthy era. A. C. Green, the only player left from the Lakers' Showtime era, was in the starting lineup for this team as well.

For the Pacers, it was 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 Antonio 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 2000 playoffs was the last involving the Ewing-led Knicks, and New York would not win another playoff series until 2013.

The Trail Blazers defeated the Timberwolves and the Jazz in the first two rounds before falling to the Lakers in the conference final. The Trail Blazers would not win another playoff series until 2014.

This season's playoffs also marked the debut of the 5-year-old expansion Toronto Raptors. For the 3rd straight year, New York eliminated Miami; it was their fourth consecutive postseason meeting.

Eastern Conference

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:

  1. Indiana Pacers (56–26, clinched Central division and home court advantage for the Eastern Conference playoffs)
  2. Miami Heat (52–30, clinched Atlantic division)
  3. New York Knicks (50–32)
  4. Charlotte Hornets (49–33)
  5. Philadelphia 76ers (49–33)
  6. Toronto Raptors (45–37)
  7. Detroit Pistons (42–40)
  8. Milwaukee Bucks (42–40)

Western Conference

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:

  1. Los Angeles Lakers (67–15, clinched Pacific division title and home court advantage throughout the playoffs)
  2. Utah Jazz (55–27, clinched Midwest division)
  3. Portland Trail Blazers (59–23)
  4. San Antonio Spurs (53–29)
  5. Phoenix Suns (53–29)
  6. Minnesota Timberwolves (50–32)
  7. Seattle SuperSonics (45–37)
  8. 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 (*)

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Sacramento Kings

  • Shaquille O'Neal scores playoff career-high 46 points in Game One.
  • Kobe Bryant scores playoff career-high 32 points in Game Two.
  • Bryant scores a new career-high 35 points in Game Three.

    • This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning six of the first seven meetings.

    (3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves

    This was the first playoff meeting between the Timberwolves and the Trail Blazers.

    (2) Utah Jazz vs. (7) Seattle SuperSonics

    This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the SuperSonics winning two of the first three meetings.

    (4) San Antonio Spurs vs. (5) Phoenix Suns

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

    (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Phoenix Suns

  • Kobe Bryant hits the game-winner with 2.6 seconds left in Game 2.

    • This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning six of the first eight meetings.

    (2) Utah Jazz vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers

  • In Game 5, Scottie Pippen hits the series-winning 3 with 7.3 seconds left.

    • This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Trail Blazers winning three of the first five meetings.

    (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers

  • In Game 3, Arvydas Sabonis' potential game-tying shot was blocked by Kobe Bryant.
  • In Game 7, the Lakers overcame a 16-point deficit (71-55) and sealed the victory with Kobe Bryant delivering an alley-oop to Shaquille O'Neal.

    • This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning six of the first eight meetings.

    (1) Indiana Pacers vs. (8) Milwaukee Bucks

  • 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.

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

    (4) Charlotte Hornets vs. (5) Philadelphia 76ers

    *Requires Overtime

    This was the first playoff meeting between the 76ers and the Charlotte Hornets/Bobcats franchise.

    (3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Toronto Raptors

  • In Game 2, Latrell Sprewell hits the game-winner with 7.9 left.
  • In Game 3, Larry Johnson hits the game-winner with 24.2 left.

    • This was the first playoff meeting between the Knicks and the Raptors.

    (2) Miami Heat vs. (7) Detroit Pistons

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

    (1) Indiana Pacers vs. (5) Philadelphia 76ers

    Jalen Rose and Reggie Miller both scored 40 points to lead the Pacers to the series-opening victory.

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

    (2) Miami Heat vs. (3) New York Knicks

  • Allan Houston makes game winning free throws with 17.6 seconds left in Game Six.
  • Patrick Ewing makes game winning dunk over Alonzo Mourning with 1 minute left in Game Seven.

    • This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning two of the first three meetings.

    (1) Indiana Pacers vs. (3) New York Knicks

  • In Game 6, Reggie Miller scores 17 points in the 4th quarter to help the Pacers reach the NBA Finals.

    • This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning three of the first five meetings.

    NBA Finals

  • In Game 4, Kobe Bryant came back from his injury from Game 2 and after his teammate, Shaquille O'Neal fouled out of the game in OT, he took over the game. He followed in a missed shot by Brian Shaw with 5.9 seconds left to give the Lakers a 3-point lead, and after a game-winning three by Reggie Miller bounced off the rim, the Lakers took a 3-1 series lead.
  • In Game 5, the Lakers had a chance to win the title in Indiana, but instead, they suffered a 33-point loss; one of the worst NBA Finals losses in franchise history.

    • This was the first playoff meeting between the Pacers and the Lakers.

    References

    2000 NBA Playoffs Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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