The 1958 NBA World Championship Series was the

championship series In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

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 Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. The Hawks won the series in six games to win the franchise's first and only NBA title. This was the last Finals until

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that wasn't won by the Celtics, and the last until

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

that was won by the Western Conference.

Recap

After being defeated by the Celtics in Game 7 of the

1957 NBA Finals The 1957 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1956–57 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the 1957 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Division champ ...

, 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. 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 Giannis Sina Ugo Antetokounmpo (born Adetokunbo; December 6, 1994) is a Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Antetokounmpo's country of origin, in addition to his s ...

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Most observers figured that the Celtics probably would have won the 1958 title if Russell hadn't 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."

Series summary

''Hawks win series 4–2''

Team rosters

St. Louis Hawks

Boston Celtics

References

1957-58 NBA Season Summary
''basketball-reference.com''. Retrieved March 29, 2014.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1958 Nba Finals Finals National Basketball Association Finals

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

Sports competitions in Boston Sports competitions in St. Louis NBA Finals, 1958 NBA Finals, 1958

Boston Garden