Overview
The Boston Celtics defeated the St. Louis Hawks four games to three in the best-of-seven NBA Finals series to conclude the 1959-60 season. The victory gave the Celtics their second consecutive NBA championship and their third in four seasons. This was the third championship in a run of 11 in 13 seasons for the Celtics.
The Hawks were making their third of four appearances in the NBA Finals, all coming against the Celtics. St. Louis defeated Boston in the Finals two years earlier.
The Celtics had home-court advantage for the Finals, which were played under the 2-2-1-1-1 format. The Celtics won six of the nine regular-season meetings between the teams in the 1959-60 season.
The Hawks were making their third of four appearances in the NBA Finals, all coming against the Celtics. St. Louis defeated Boston in the Finals two years earlier.
The Celtics had home-court advantage for the Finals, which were played under the 2-2-1-1-1 format. The Celtics won six of the nine regular-season meetings between the teams in the 1959-60 season.
Road to the Finals
| Team | Hawks | Celtics |
| Regular Season | 46-29, 1st in Western Division | 59-16, 1st in Eastern Division |
| Division Semifinals | Bye | Bye |
| Division Finals | Def. (3) Minneapolis Lakers, 4-3 | Def. (2) Philadelphia Warriors, 4-2 |
Game 1 - Celtics 140, Hawks 122
The Celtics set an NBA finals record by scoring 140 points, later eclipsed in 1965 by the Celtics against the Lakers. Boston dominated the second quarter putting up 46 points to build a 76-51 halftime lead en route to the win.
Tom Heinsohn (24 points, nine rebounds) led four Celtics with 20 or more points. Bill Sharman chipped in with 23 points and Bob Cousy added 20. Bill Russell pulled down 19 boards for the winners.
Cliff Hagan led the Hawks with 25 points. Bob Pettit posted a double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds.
The Celtics fired up an incredible 133 field goal attempts making 61 of them (45.9 percent).
Tom Heinsohn (24 points, nine rebounds) led four Celtics with 20 or more points. Bill Sharman chipped in with 23 points and Bob Cousy added 20. Bill Russell pulled down 19 boards for the winners.
Cliff Hagan led the Hawks with 25 points. Bob Pettit posted a double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds.
The Celtics fired up an incredible 133 field goal attempts making 61 of them (45.9 percent).
Game 2 - Hawks 113, Celtics 103
The Hawks evened the series with a win on the road. St. Louis rallied from a 56-49 halftime deficit as Bob Pettit led his team to the surprising win.
Pettit scored 35 points and grabbed 22 rebounds. Clyde Lovellette added 21 points and 11 rebounds.
While St. Louis got the win, Bill Russell got his spot in the record book; he would have probably preferred the victory. Instead, he pulled down 40 rebounds, a Finals record he later tied in 1962. That mark still stands today.
Bill Sharman led all Boston scorers with 34 points, though he took 30 shots from the field. Bob Cousy had a rough game from the floor, making just three of 17 shots.
Boston had entered the game with a 7-3 record in home Finals games before this loss.
Pettit scored 35 points and grabbed 22 rebounds. Clyde Lovellette added 21 points and 11 rebounds.
While St. Louis got the win, Bill Russell got his spot in the record book; he would have probably preferred the victory. Instead, he pulled down 40 rebounds, a Finals record he later tied in 1962. That mark still stands today.
Bill Sharman led all Boston scorers with 34 points, though he took 30 shots from the field. Bob Cousy had a rough game from the floor, making just three of 17 shots.
Boston had entered the game with a 7-3 record in home Finals games before this loss.
Game 3 - Celtics 102, Hawks 86
Boston moved back ahead in the series by winning in St. Louis.
Trailing 55-54 at halftime, the Celtics took command by holding the Hawks to just 31 points in the second half.
Tom Heinsohn led the winners with 30 big points, and Frank Ramsey added 24 points. Bob Cousy struggled from the floor converting just three of 16 shots.
Coming off his 40-rebound performance, Bill Russell remained a force with 19 boards.
Bob Pettit posted his third double-double of the series with 23 points and 18 rebounds. His teammates struggled from the field going 21 of 68 (30.1 percent).
Trailing 55-54 at halftime, the Celtics took command by holding the Hawks to just 31 points in the second half.
Tom Heinsohn led the winners with 30 big points, and Frank Ramsey added 24 points. Bob Cousy struggled from the floor converting just three of 16 shots.
Coming off his 40-rebound performance, Bill Russell remained a force with 19 boards.
Bob Pettit posted his third double-double of the series with 23 points and 18 rebounds. His teammates struggled from the field going 21 of 68 (30.1 percent).
Game 4 - Hawks 106, Celtics 96
St. Louis evened the series at 2-2 taking charge from the start. The Hawks built up a 10-point lead after the first quarter (28-18), and led by 18 after three quarters.
Bob Pettit and Cliff Hagan were a dominant duo for the Hawks combining for 57 points and 27 rebounds.
Bill Sharman scored 20 points to lead the Celtics. Bob Cousy continued to struggle with his shot, and made just one of 13 field goal attempts.
Bill Russell remained a force on the glass with 19 rebounds (97 in the first four games of the series).
Bob Pettit and Cliff Hagan were a dominant duo for the Hawks combining for 57 points and 27 rebounds.
Bill Sharman scored 20 points to lead the Celtics. Bob Cousy continued to struggle with his shot, and made just one of 13 field goal attempts.
Bill Russell remained a force on the glass with 19 rebounds (97 in the first four games of the series).
Game 5- Celtics 127, Hawks 102
Boston took a 3-2 series lead by scoring 30+ points in all four quarters.
Tom Heinsohn had his most productive game of the series so far scoring 34 points and hitting 56 percent from the floor (14 of 25). Bill Russell enjoyed another big rebounding game pulling down 26 boards.
Bob Cousy, who shot seven of 46 from the field in the prior three games, came through with a 10 for 25 performance.
Cliff Hagan scored 28 points to lead the Hawks.
St. Louis lost reserve Larry Foust in the third quarter because of a broken hand. He was sidelined for the remainder of the series.
Tom Heinsohn had his most productive game of the series so far scoring 34 points and hitting 56 percent from the floor (14 of 25). Bill Russell enjoyed another big rebounding game pulling down 26 boards.
Bob Cousy, who shot seven of 46 from the field in the prior three games, came through with a 10 for 25 performance.
Cliff Hagan scored 28 points to lead the Hawks.
St. Louis lost reserve Larry Foust in the third quarter because of a broken hand. He was sidelined for the remainder of the series.
Game 6 - Hawks 105, Celtics 102
This was the first game of the series decided by less than 10 points. St. Louis got another dominating performance from its frontline. Cliff Hagan hit 13 of 24 shots from the floor finishing with 36 points and 13 rebounds. It was his highest point total in the series. Bob Pettit added 25 points and 14 boards, hitting 11 of12 from the foul line.
Free throws were a factor in the nail biter as the Hawks converted 31 of 39 and the Celtics made 30 of 43.
Bill Russell led seven Celtics in double figures with 17 points (he also grabbed 16 rebounds). Tom Heinsohn had his worst shooting performance of the series making just six of 23 shots from the floor.
St. Louis had a 54-52 lead at halftime, and broke the contest open by outscoring Boston 36-12 in the third quarter. The Celtics made things interesting by outscoring the Hawks 38-15 in the final period, but it was not enough. The St. Louis victory set up a deciding game seven in Boston.
Free throws were a factor in the nail biter as the Hawks converted 31 of 39 and the Celtics made 30 of 43.
Bill Russell led seven Celtics in double figures with 17 points (he also grabbed 16 rebounds). Tom Heinsohn had his worst shooting performance of the series making just six of 23 shots from the floor.
St. Louis had a 54-52 lead at halftime, and broke the contest open by outscoring Boston 36-12 in the third quarter. The Celtics made things interesting by outscoring the Hawks 38-15 in the final period, but it was not enough. The St. Louis victory set up a deciding game seven in Boston.
Game 7 - Celtics 122, Hawks 103
After trailing 30-29 after one quarter on a Cliff Hagan 40-foot shot at the buzzer, the Celtics took charge. Boston had a 41-23 margin in the second quarter.
The Celtics eventually built their lead to over 20 points in the second half. The Hawks cut the margin to 108-94 with 6:00 left in the game, but the run stopped there.
Frank Ramsey tied his series high with 24 points. Bill Russell dominated on the glass once again by pulling down 35 rebounds to go with his 22 points. Boston had an 83-47 rebounding edge in the win.
Tom Heinsohn also chipped in with 22 points.
Cliff Hagan was held to 19 points, his lowest point total since game three.
The Celtics eventually built their lead to over 20 points in the second half. The Hawks cut the margin to 108-94 with 6:00 left in the game, but the run stopped there.
Frank Ramsey tied his series high with 24 points. Bill Russell dominated on the glass once again by pulling down 35 rebounds to go with his 22 points. Boston had an 83-47 rebounding edge in the win.
Tom Heinsohn also chipped in with 22 points.
Cliff Hagan was held to 19 points, his lowest point total since game three.