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
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 23–June 14, 1987 |
| Season | 1986–87 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Los Angeles Lakers (10th title) |
| Runner-up | Boston Celtics |
| Semifinalists | |
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The 1987 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1986–87 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. The Lakers earned their 10th NBA championship, and Magic Johnson was named NBA Finals MVP for a then-record third time.
This was the last time the Celtics would appear in the NBA Finals until 2008. Boston only advanced as far as the Conference Finals twice in that stretch: losing the following year to the Detroit Pistons in six games and in 2002 to the New Jersey Nets, also in 6 games.
The Pistons appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals was the franchise's first (and their first Division/Conference Final appearance since 1962). It would be the first of five straight Conference Finals appearances for Detroit. They would make their first NBA Finals appearance since 1956 the following season, the first of 3 straight trips to the Finals (winning the last 2).
The Warriors & Pacers made their first playoff appearances since 1977 and 1981 respectively. The Pacers also won their first NBA playoff game, in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Hawks.
Game 5 of the Philadelphia/Milwaukee series would the final game in the amazing career of Julius Erving.
By beating Dallas 3–1, the SuperSonics became the first #7 seed to defeat a #2 seed since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1984. They reached the Western Conference Finals, where they were swept by the Lakers. As of 2024, they are the most recent team with a sub-.500 record (39-43) to win a playoff series. The 1989 & 1991 Warriors, 1998 Knicks, 2010 Spurs and 2023 Lakers were the other 7th seeds to beat the 2nd seed.
One of the most memorable moments of the playoffs occurred in the final moments of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals when, with Boston down 107–106, Isiah Thomas had his inbounds pass stolen by Larry Bird, who passed to Dennis Johnson for the game-winning layup.
The only dent in the Lakers' run to the Finals came in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Warriors, when Sleepy Floyd scored a playoff record 39 points in the second half, with a record 29 coming in the fourth quarter, to seal a 129–121 win. Both records still stand.
This was last time a 7 seed went to the Western Conference Finals until 2023 when the Los Angeles Lakers were swept by the Denver Nuggets in 4 games.
Bracket
| First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E8 | Chicago | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Milwaukee | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Milwaukee | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E5 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Detroit | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Detroit | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E6 | Washington | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Atlanta* | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Atlanta* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E7 | Indiana | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | LA Lakers* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W8 | Denver | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W5 | Golden State | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Utah | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W5 | Golden State | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | LA Lakers* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| W7 | Seattle | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Portland | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Houston | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Houston | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W7 | Seattle | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Dallas* | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| W7 | Seattle | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage
First round
Eastern Conference first round
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Chicago Bulls
April 23
|
| Chicago Bulls 104, Boston Celtics 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–34, 23–32, 26–20, 31–22 | ||
| Pts: Michael Jordan 35 Rebs: Charles Oakley 12 Asts: Michael Jordan 7 |
Pts: Kevin McHale 21 Rebs: Robert Parish 11 Asts: Larry Bird 13 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 14,890 Referees: Jack Madden, Tommy Nunez Sr., Mike Lauerman |
April 26
|
| Chicago Bulls 96, Boston Celtics 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–30, 18–26, 29–26, 19–23 | ||
| Pts: Michael Jordan 42 Rebs: Charles Oakley 15 Asts: Jordan, Threatt 4 each |
Pts: Larry Bird 29 Rebs: McHale, Parish 10 each Asts: Larry Bird 8 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 28
|
| Boston Celtics 105, Chicago Bulls 94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–28, 23–24, 17–21, 37–21 | ||
| Pts: Larry Bird 32 Rebs: Larry Bird 14 Asts: Dennis Johnson 10 |
Pts: Michael Jordan 30 Rebs: Charles Oakley 19 Asts: Michael Jordan 7 | |
| Boston wins series, 3–0 | ||
| Boston won 6–0 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first two meetings.
| Boston leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Atlanta Hawks vs. (7) Indiana Pacers
April 24
|
| Indiana Pacers 94, Atlanta Hawks 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–24, 26–30, 16–21, 27–35 | ||
| Pts: Steve Stipanovich 22 Rebs: Steve Stipanovich 13 Asts: Vern Fleming 6 |
Pts: Dominique Wilkins 35 Rebs: Tree Rollins 11 Asts: Spud Webb 9 | |
| Atlanta leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 26
|
| Indiana Pacers 93, Atlanta Hawks 94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–23, 23–27, 21–21, 23–23 | ||
| Pts: Chuck Person 24 Rebs: Herb Williams 8 Asts: Williams, Fleming 4 each |
Pts: Dominique Wilkins 43 Rebs: Kevin Willis 10 Asts: Spud Webb 14 | |
| Atlanta leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 29
|
| Atlanta Hawks 87, Indiana Pacers 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–27, 21–19, 25–23, 25–27 | ||
| Pts: Dominique Wilkins 22 Rebs: Kevin Willis 7 Asts: Doc Rivers 10 |
Pts: Chuck Person 23 Rebs: Chuck Person 17 Asts: Chuck Person 7 | |
| Atlanta leads series, 2–1 | ||
May 1
|
| Atlanta Hawks 101, Indiana Pacers 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–20, 27–21, 29–32, 29–24 | ||
| Pts: Dominique Wilkins 30 Rebs: Dominique Wilkins 9 Asts: Doc Rivers 15 |
Pts: Chuck Person 40 Rebs: Vern Fleming 11 Asts: Vern Fleming 8 | |
| Atlanta wins series, 3–1 | ||
Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 14,039 Referees: Jess Kersey, Joe Crawford, Lee Jones |
| Tied 3–3 in the regular-season series |
|---|
This was the first playoff meeting between the Hawks and the Pacers.[2]
(3) Detroit Pistons vs. (6) Washington Bullets
April 24
|