A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 31–May 14, 1981 |
| Season | 1980–81 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Boston Celtics (14th title) |
| Runner-up | Houston Rockets |
| Semifinalists | |
The 1981 NBA playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1980–81 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. Cedric Maxwell was named NBA Finals MVP.
The playoffs are notable for being the third and final time to date that a team with a losing record advanced to the NBA Finals (the St. Louis Hawks did it first in 1957 with a 34–38 record, the Minneapolis Lakers did it in 1959 with a 33–39 record), as the Rockets won their first Western Conference title despite having a 40–42 record.
This was the only time in NBA history in which two teams with a losing record played each other in a Conference Finals, though the 1957 Western Division Finals did feature two teams with losing records. The Rockets and the Kansas City Kings, both with a 40–42 record, played in the Western Conference Finals which saw the Rockets prevail 4–1.
The Kings' playoff series victories over the Blazers and Suns were their last in Kansas City. Their last playoff series in Kansas City was a 3-game sweep in the first round in 1984 by the Lakers. They moved to Sacramento after the 1984–85 season and didn't win a playoff series representing northern California until 2001.
The Pacers became the last former ABA team to make their playoff debut, but were quickly swept by the 76ers 2–0.
This is the last year to date that an NBA playoff game was played in March.
The Celtics replicated their 1968 comeback by beating the Sixers in 7 after trailing 3–1. This is the only time a team came back from a 3–1 series deficit to win against the same team twice.
This was the last time the Los Angeles Lakers were not the number one seed in the Western Conference until 1991. It was also the only year in which the Lakers failed to win a playoff series with both Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the team.
Bracket
| First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | New York | 0 | E5 | Chicago | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| E5 | Chicago | 2 | Eastern Conference | E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 2 | E2 | Milwaukee* | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| E6 | Indiana | 0 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| W6 | Houston | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Phoenix* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Portland | 1 | W5 | Kansas City | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| W5 | Kansas City | 2 | Western Conference | W5 | Kansas City | 1 | |||||||||||||
| W6 | Houston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Houston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Los Angeles | 1 | W2 | San Antonio* | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| W6 | Houston | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage
First round
Eastern Conference first round
(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Indiana Pacers
March 31
|
| Indiana Pacers 108, Philadelphia 76ers 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–38, 16–29, 30–24, 29–33 | ||
| Pts: Billy Knight 25 Rebs: Knight, C. Johnson 7 each Asts: Johnny Davis 8 |
Pts: Julius Erving 32 Rebs: Caldwell Jones 12 Asts: Andrew Toney 11 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 2
|
| Philadelphia 76ers 96, Indiana Pacers 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–23, 25–18, 18–24, 26–20 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 23 Rebs: Caldwell Jones 11 Asts: Maurice Cheeks 6 |
Pts: Johnny Davis 21 Rebs: Clemon Johnson 13 Asts: Billy Knight 4 | |
| Philadelphia wins series, 2–0 | ||
| Philadelphia won 6–0 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Pacers and the 76ers.[1]
(4) New York Knicks vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
March 31
|
| Chicago Bulls 90, New York Knicks 80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–24, 23–16, 25–18, 30–22 | ||
| Pts: Ricky Sobers 18 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 16 Asts: Ricky Sobers 6 |
Pts: Ray Williams 19 Rebs: Micheal Ray Richardson 13 Asts: Micheal Ray Richardson 6 | |
| Chicago leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 3
|
| New York Knicks 114, Chicago Bulls 115 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 36–32, 26–20, 25–28, 19–26, Overtime: 8–9 | ||
| Pts: Campy Russell 29 Rebs: three players 6 each Asts: three players 5 each |
Pts: Reggie Theus 37 Rebs: Dwight Jones 14 Asts: Reggie Theus 11 | |
| Chicago wins series, 2–0 | ||
| Tied 3–3 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Bulls and the Knicks.[2]
Western Conference first round
(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Houston Rockets
April 1
|
| Houston Rockets 111, Los Angeles Lakers 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–26, 28–24, 29–31, 22–26 | ||
| Pts: Moses Malone 38 Rebs: Moses Malone 23 Asts: Allen Leavell 8 |
Pts: Magic Johnson 26 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 15 Asts: Norm Nixon 10 | |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 3
|
| Los Angeles Lakers 111, Houston Rockets 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–18, 27–29, 30–23, 27–36 | ||
| Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27 Rebs: Magic Johnson 18 Asts: Norm Nixon 11 |
Pts: Moses Malone 33 Rebs: Moses Malone 15 Asts: Calvin Murphy 8 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 5
|
| Houston Rockets 89, Los Angeles Lakers 86 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–29, 22–18, 22–20, 18–19 | ||
| Pts: Moses Malone 23 Rebs: Moses Malone 15 Asts: Tom Henderson 7 |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 32 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 18 Asts: Magic Johnson 9 | |
| Houston wins series, 2–1 | ||
| Los Angeles won 3–2 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Rockets and the Lakers.[3]
(4) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (5) Kansas City Kings
April 1
|
| Kansas City Kings 98, Portland Trail Blazers 97 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 26–30, 18–29, 23–13, Overtime: 8–7 | ||
| Pts: Otis Birdsong 29 Rebs: King, Lacey 12 each Asts: Sam Lacey 10 |
Pts: Billy Ray Bates 25 Rebs: Kermit Washington 17 Asts: Kelvin Ransey 10 | |
| Kansas City leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 3
|
| Portland Trail Blazers 124, Kansas City Kings 119 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 33–31, 39–34, 18–26, Overtime: 12–7 | ||
| Pts: Mychal Thompson 40 Rebs: Kermit Washington 18 Asts: Kelvin Ransey 7 |
Pts: Scott Wedman 31 Rebs: Sam Lacey 9 Asts: Sam Lacey 8 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 5
|