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In the National Basketball Association (NBA), a game seven is the final game of a best-of-seven series in the NBA playoffs. Based on the playoffs format arrangement, it is played in the venue of the team holding home-court advantage for the series. The necessity of a game seven cannot be known until the outcome of game six is determined, assuming that a series reaches the sixth contest. In other words, game seven is the only one in a series that cannot be guaranteed more than one game in advance. Due to the decisive nature of game sevens, they are often "played more conservatively" and receive more media and fan attention.
The NBA Finals has always employed a best-of-seven series format. The Conference (or Division) Finals have used this format since 1958; the Conference (or Division) Semifinals since 1968; and the First Round since 2003. During the 1947 and 1948 playoffs, in which teams from different divisions met each other in the opening rounds, the first-place teams from each division played a best-of-seven series against each other before one advanced to the league finals. The other teams in the playoffs competed against each other in three best-of-three series to determine the other spot in the finals.
Since the inception of the NBA, 126 game sevens have been played. Of those, six went into overtime, and one into double overtime. 25 game sevens have been won by the road team. There have been 12 playoff seasons in which no game sevens were played: 1947, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1967, 1972, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1991, and 1999. As of 2016, every active NBA franchise has played in at least one game seven. The 1994, the 2014 and the 2016 postseasons held the record for most game sevens played, with five. In 1979, 1981, 1988, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2012 four game sevens were played. Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks both hold the record for most game sevens played in a single season, having played three game sevens in 1988 and 1994 respectively, the maximum possible at that time.