1958 NBA Finals - Misplaced Pages

1958 basketball championship series

1958 NBA finals

1958 NBA champions banner at State Farm Arena

Team	Coach	Wins
St. Louis Hawks	Alex Hannum	4
Boston Celtics	Red Auerbach	2

Dates

March 29–April 12

Hall of Famers

Celtics:
Bill Russell (as a player and coach)
Andy Phillip
Arnie Risen
Tom Heinsohn (as a player and coach)
Bob Cousy
Frank Ramsey
Sam Jones
Bill Sharman (as a player and coach)
Hawks:
Slater Martin
Ed Macauley
Cliff Hagan
Bob Pettit
Coaches:
Alex Hannum
Red Auerbach

Eastern finals

Celtics defeated Warriors, 4–1

Western finals

Hawks defeated Pistons, 4–1

← 1957

NBA finals

1959 →

The 1958 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series for the 1957–58 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It pitted the Western Division champion St. Louis Hawks against the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics. The Hawks won the series in six games to win the franchise's first and only NBA title. This was the last Finals until 1967 that was not won by the Celtics, and the last until 1971 that was won by the Western Division or Conference.

Recap

After being defeated by the Celtics in Game 7 of the 1957 NBA Finals, St. Louis survived a sometimes difficult 1957-58 NBA season en route to winning the Western Division crown with a 41–31 record. The Celtics, meanwhile, had dominated the Eastern Division with a 49–23 record. This was the third meeting between teams from Boston and St. Louis for a major professional sports championship.

The Hawks upset the Celtics (with a healthy Russell) in Game 1 at the Boston Garden, 104–102. Boston struck back with a wipeout in Game 2, 136–112. In St. Louis, the Hawks prevailed 111–108 in Game 3 when Russell severely sprained his ankle. Without Russell, the Celtics evened the series with a 109-98 surprise victory in Game 4. St. Louis forced a 102–100 win in Game 5 in Boston to take the series lead.

Back home in Kiel Auditorium on April 12, the Hawks weren't about to miss their opportunity to defeat the defending champions. Pettit turned in a spectacular performance. He scored 31 points in the first three quarters, then zoomed off in the final period, nailing 19 of his team's last 21 points. His last two points, on a tip-in with 15 seconds remaining, put the Hawks ahead 110–107. The Celtics scored one final bucket but could do no more. The Hawks finally had a title, 110–109. Pettit had scored 50 points, including 18 of the Hawks' final 21 points in propelling the Hawks to the championship. Pettit's 50 points set a new Finals record for most scored by a player in a series-clinching game, a record that would finally be tied by Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021

Most observers figured that the Celtics probably would have won the 1958 title if Russell had not suffered his ankle injury in game 3. Auerbach, however, found no comfort in that opinion. "You can always look for excuses," he said. "We just got beat."

Game	Date	Home team	Result	Road team
Game 1	March 29	Boston Celtics	102–104 (0–1)	St. Louis Hawks
Game 2	March 30	Boston Celtics	136–112 (1–1)	St. Louis Hawks
Game 3	April 2	St. Louis Hawks	111–108 (2–1)	Boston Celtics
Game 4	April 5	St. Louis Hawks	98–109 (2–2)	Boston Celtics
Game 5	April 9	Boston Celtics	100–102 (2–3)	St. Louis Hawks
Game 6	April 12	St. Louis Hawks	110–109 (4–2)	Boston Celtics

v t e St. Louis Hawks 1957–58 NBA champions
9 Pettit 11 Coleman 12 Davis 13 Share 15 Wilfong 16 Hagan 17 Park 20 Macauley 21 McMahon 22 Martin
Head coach: Hannum
Regular season Playoffs

St. Louis Hawks 104, Boston Celtics 102 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 17–23, 42–30, 21–30, 24–19
Pts: Cliff Hagan 33 Rebs: Bob Pettit 19 Asts: Jack McMahon 5		Pts: Bob Cousy 27 Rebs: Bill Russell 29 Asts: Bob Cousy 5
St. Louis leads the series, 1–0

St. Louis Hawks 112, Boston Celtics 136
Scoring by quarter: 25–33, 35–35, 28–38, 24–30
Pts: Cliff Hagan 37 Rebs: Cliff Hagan 12 Asts: Hagan, Pettit, McMahon 3		Pts: Bob Cousy 25 Rebs: Bill Russell 27 Asts: Bob Cousy 10
Series tied, 1–1

Boston Celtics 108, St. Louis Hawks 111
Scoring by quarter: 25–23, 24–26, 26–34, 33–28
Pts: Frank Ramsey 29 Rebs: Bill Russell 13 Asts: Bob Cousy 7		Pts: Bob Pettit 32 Rebs: Bob Pettit 19 Asts: Jack McMahon 7
St. Louis leads the series, 2–1

Boston Celtics 109, St. Louis Hawks 98
Scoring by quarter: 25–16, 32–35, 27–20, 25–27
Pts: Bob Cousy 24 Rebs: Cousy, Ramsey, Heinsohn 13 each Asts: Bob Cousy 10		Pts: Cliff Hagan 27 Rebs: Bob Pettit 17 Asts: Wilfong Share 9 each
Series tied, 2–2

St. Louis Hawks 102, Boston Celtics 100
Scoring by quarter: 26–18, 32–25, 26–27, 18–30
Pts: Bob Pettit 33 Rebs: Bob Pettit 21 Asts: Slater Martin 5		Pts: Frank Ramsey 30 Rebs: Frank Ramsey 20 Asts: Bob Cousy 5
St. Louis leads the series, 3–2

Boston Celtics 108, St. Louis Hawks 111
Scoring by quarter: 18–22, 34–35, 25–21, 32–32
Pts: Bill Sharman 26 Rebs: Arnie Risen 13 Asts: Bob Cousy 9		Pts: Bob Pettit 50 Rebs: Bob Pettit 19
St. Louis wins the NBA Finals, 4–2

v t e Atlanta Hawks
Founded in 1946 Formerly the Buffalo Bisons (1946) and the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1946–1951); played in Milwaukee (1951–1955) and St. Louis (1955–1968) Based in Atlanta, Georgia
Franchise	All-time roster Draft history Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Wharton Field House Milwaukee Arena Kiel Auditorium St. Louis Arena Alexander Memorial Coliseum Omni Coliseum Lakefront Arena Georgia Dome State Farm Arena
Personnel	Owner(s) Tony Ressler Jami Gertz Grant Hill Sara Blakely Jesse Itzler Steven Price Rick Schnall General manager Landry Fields Head coach Quin Snyder
G League affiliate	College Park Skyhawks
Retired numbers	9 21 23 44 55 59
NBA championships	1958
Culture and lore	The Human Highlight Film Pistol Pete Phantom Buzzer Game Life as We Know It
Category

v t e Boston Celtics
Founded in 1946 Based in Boston, Massachusetts
Franchise	History All-time roster Draft history Accomplishments and records Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	Boston Arena Boston Garden Hartford Civic Center TD Garden
Personnel	Owner(s) Boston Basketball Partners President Rich Gotham General manager Brad Stevens Head coach Joe Mazzulla
G League affiliate	Maine Celtics
Retired numbers	00 1 2 3 5 6 10 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 31 32 33 34 35 LOSCY MIC
NBA championships	1957 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1968 1969 1974 1976 1981 1984 1986 2008 2024
Rivalries	Detroit Pistons Los Angeles Lakers Miami Heat New York Knicks Philadelphia 76ers
Culture and lore	Broadcasters Radio network Celtic Pride Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs Mike Gorman Johnny Most "Havlicek stole the ball" 1961 Boston Celtics boycott Auerbach Center North Station The Sports Museum of New England Reebok Pro Summer League Newhart Uncut Gems Extended Family Starting 5 Jaylen Brown & Jayson Tatum
Category Commons

v t e 1957–58 NBA season
Draft All-Star Game Playoffs Finals Transactions
Eastern	Boston New York Philadelphia Syracuse
Western	Cincinnati Detroit Minneapolis St. Louis

Recap

Series summary

Team rosters

St. Louis Hawks

Boston Celtics

Game summaries

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Game 5

Game 6

See also

References

External links