2002 NBA Playoffs

The 2002 NBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2001–02 season. This would be the final postseason that held best-of-5 first-round series; next year's postseason would see those series expanded to a best-of-7 format. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers winning their third consecutive championship by sweeping the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets four games to none.

This tournament marked the return of playoff success for the Boston Celtics, who had last made the playoffs in 1995, and had made their last Eastern Conference finals appearance in 1987. The total number of playoff games for the NBA was 70 games including the NBA Finals.

Bracket

16TeamBracket

RD1=First Round
RD2=Conference Semifinals
RD3=Conference Finals
RD4=NBA Finals
group1=Western Conference
group2=Eastern Conference

RD1-seed01=1
RD1-team01=Sacramento
RD1-score01=3
RD1-seed02=8
RD1-team02=Utah
RD1-score02=1

RD1-seed03=4
RD1-team03=Dallas
RD1-score03=3
RD1-seed04=5
RD1-team04=Minnesota
RD1-score04=0

RD1-seed05=3
RD1-team05=L.A. Lakers
RD1-score05=3
RD1-seed06=6
RD1-team06=Portland
RD1-score06=0

RD1-seed07=2
RD1-team07=San Antonio
RD1-score07=3
RD1-seed08=7
RD1-team08=Seattle
RD1-score08=2

RD1-seed09=1
RD1-team09=New Jersey
RD1-score09=3
RD1-seed10=8
RD1-team10=Indiana
RD1-score10=2

RD1-seed11=4
RD1-team11=Charlotte
RD1-score11=3
RD1-seed12=5
RD1-team12=Orlando
RD1-score12=1

RD1-seed13=3
RD1-team13=Boston
RD1-score13=3
RD1-seed14=6
RD1-team14=Philadelphia
RD1-score14=2

RD1-seed15=2
RD1-team15=Detroit
RD1-score15=3
RD1-seed16=7
RD1-team16=Toronto
RD1-score16=2

RD2-seed01=1
RD2-team01=Sacramento
RD2-score01=4
RD2-seed02=4
RD2-team02=Dallas
RD2-score02=1

RD2-seed03=3
RD2-team03=L.A. Lakers
RD2-score03=4
RD2-seed04=2
RD2-team04=San Antonio
RD2-score04=1

RD2-seed05=1
RD2-team05=New Jersey
RD2-score05=4
RD2-seed06=4
RD2-team06=Charlotte
RD2-score06=1

RD2-seed07=3
RD2-team07=Boston
RD2-score07=4
RD2-seed08=2
RD2-team08=Detroit
RD2-score08=1

RD3-seed01=1
RD3-team01=Sacramento
RD3-score01=3
RD3-seed02=3
RD3-team02=L.A. Lakers
RD3-score02=4

RD3-seed03=1
RD3-team03=New Jersey
RD3-score03=4
RD3-seed04=3
RD3-team04=Boston
RD3-score04=2

RD4-seed01=W3
RD4-team01=L.A. Lakers
RD4-score01=4
RD4-seed02=E1
RD4-team02=New Jersey
RD4-score02=0

Playoff qualifying

Western Conference

Best record in NBA

The Sacramento Kings clinched the best record in the NBA, and earned home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs. However, when Sacramento lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers gained home court advantage for the NBA Finals.

Clinched a playoff berth

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:

# Sacramento Kings (clinched Pacific division)
# San Antonio Spurs (clinched Midwest division)
# Los Angeles Lakers
# Dallas Mavericks
# Minnesota Timberwolves
# Portland Trail Blazers
# Seattle SuperSonics
# Utah Jazz

Eastern Conference

Best record in conference

The New Jersey Nets clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference, and had home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Clinched a playoff berth

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:

# New Jersey Nets (clinched Atlantic division)
# Detroit Pistons (clinched Central division)
# Boston Celtics
# Charlotte Hornets
# Orlando Magic
# Philadelphia 76ers
# Toronto Raptors
# Indiana Pacers

Western Conference

Champion: Los Angeles Lakers

First Round

(1) Sacramento Kings vs. (8) Utah Jazz

(4) Dallas Mavericks vs. (5) Minnesota Timberwolves

Conference Finals

(1) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers and Kings split the first two games in Sacramento. The Kings went to Los Angeles and won game three to take a 2-1 series lead. In game four, the Kings built a 24-point lead in the second quarter, but the Lakers came back to be down by 12 at halftime and by six after three quarters. The two teams continued to fight it out. A missed free throw by Vlade Divac gave the Lakers a chance to win the game, down 99-97. Kobe Bryant drove the ball to the hoop and missed a running jumper. Shaquille O'Neal got the rebound and missed a layup and Divac intended to knock the ball to a teammate, but instead it wound up going to a wide open Robert Horry who drilled a three-pointer as time ran out and gave the Lakers an improbable game four win, which tied the series 2-2. In game five, Sacramento trailed almost the entire fourth quarter and was down 91-90 late in the 4th quarter, but a jump shot by Mike Bibby off a screen with 8.2 seconds left gave the team the lead and was the eventual game winner in a 92-91 win. In Game 6, O'Neal scored 41 points and had 17 rebounds in the Lakers' narrow victory, setting the stage for game seven in Sacramento, with the winner advancing to the NBA Finals. There are allegations that this sixth game was affected by the referees in relationship to the Tim Donaghy scandal. [cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3436401|title=2002 Lakers-Kings Game 6 at heart of Donaghy allegations|author=Sheridan, Chris|publisher=ESPN.com|date=2008-06-11|accessdate=2008-06-10] The Lakers had 27 free throws in the fourth quarter.

The seventh game had been close throughout, but two free throws made by Bibby tied the score 100-100 and forced the game into overtime. The Kings could not hold on, and eventually lost the game and the series to the Lakers.

(2) Detroit Pistons vs. (7) Toronto Raptors

(2) Detroit Pistons vs. (3) Boston Celtics

References

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/playoffs2002/ NBA.com's 2002 Playoffs coverage]