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The '2003 NBA playoffs' was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2002-03 NBA season. This postseason was notable for being the first time all series were conducted in a best-of-7 format. From 1984 to 2002, first-round series were best-of-5 series. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeating the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets four games to two in the Finals.
The Detroit Pistons advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars-led team were swept by the Chicago Bulls in the 1991 series, ending the Pistons' quest for a third consecutive title.
The Dallas Mavericks also ended a long conference finals drought by making it to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 1988.

Contents

Bracket

Playoff qualifying

Western Conference

Best record in NBA

Clinched a playoff berth

Eastern Conference

Best record in conference

Clinched a playoff berth

Western Conference

First Round

Conference Semifinals

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference

First Round

Conference Semifinals

Conference Finals

NBA Finals

External links

Bracket

Playoff qualifying

Western Conference

Best record in NBA

The San Antonio Spurs clinched the best record in the NBA, and earned home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs.

Clinched a playoff berth

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:
# San Antonio Spurs (clinched Midwest division)
# Sacramento Kings (clinched Pacific division)
# Dallas Mavericks
# Minnesota Timberwolves
# Los Angeles Lakers
# Portland Trail Blazers
# Utah Jazz
# Phoenix Suns

Eastern Conference

Best record in conference

The Detroit Pistons 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:
# Detroit Pistons (clinched Central division)
# New Jersey Nets (clinched Atlantic division)
# Indiana Pacers
# Philadelphia 76ers
# New Orleans Hornets
# Boston Celtics
# Milwaukee Bucks
# Orlando Magic

Western Conference

Champion: 'San Antonio Spurs'

First Round

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (8) Phoenix Suns

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(PHO-SAS)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	April 19	'Phoenix'	96	San Antonio	95	1-0	SBC Center, San Antonio	ESPN 5:30 EDT/4:30CT	Recap
2	April 21	Phoenix	76	'San Antonio'	84	1-1	SBC Center, San Antonio	TNT 7:30 EDT/6:30CT	Recap
3	April 25	'San Antonio'	99	Phoenix	86	1-2	America West Arena, Phoenix	NBA TV 10:00 EDT/8:00MT	Recap
4	April 27	San Antonio	84	'Phoenix'	86	2-2	America West Arena, Phoenix	TNT 10:30 EDT/8:30MT	Recap
5	April 29	Phoenix	82	'San Antonio'	94	2-3	SBC Center, San Antonio	NBA TV 8:30 EDT/7:30CT	Recap
6	May 1	'San Antonio'	87	Phoenix	85	2-4	America West Arena, Phoenix	TBS 10:30 EDT/8:30MT	Recap
'San Antonio' wins series 4–2

(2) Sacramento Kings vs. (7) Utah Jazz

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(UTA-SAC)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	April 19	Utah	90	'Sacramento'	96	0-1	ARCO Arena, Sacramento	TNT 10:30 EDT/7:30PT	Recap
2	April 21	Utah	95	'Sacramento'	108	0-2	ARCO Arena, Sacramento	TNT 10:00 EDT/7:00PT	Recap
3	April 26	Sacramento	104	'Utah'	108	1-2	Delta Center, Salt Lake City	ESPN 10:30 EDT/7:30PT	Recap
4	April 28	'Sacramento'	99	Utah	82	1-3	Delta Center, Salt Lake City	TNT 10:30 EDT/7:30PT	Recap
5	April 30	Utah	91	'Sacramento'	111	1-4	ARCO Arena, Sacramento	TNT 10:30 EDT/7:30PT	Recap
'Sacramento' wins series 4–1

(3) Dallas Mavericks vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(POR-DAL)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	April 19	Portland	86	'Dallas'	96	0-1	American Airlines Center, Dallas	TNT 8:00 EDT/7:00CT	Recap
2	April 23	Portland	99	'Dallas'	103	0-2	American Airlines Center, Dallas	TNT 9:30 EDT/8:30CT	Recap
3	April 25	'Dallas'	115	Portland	103	0-3	Rose Garden Arena, Portland	ESPN 10:30 EDT/7:30PT	Recap
4	April 27	Dallas	79	'Portland'	98	1-3	Rose Garden Arena, Portland	TNT 8:00 EDT/7:00PT	Recap
5	April 30	'Portland'	103	Dallas	99	2-3	American Airlines Center, Dallas	TNT 8:00 EDT/7:00CT	Recap
6	May 2	Dallas	103	'Portland'	125	3-3	Rose Garden Arena, Portland	ESPN 10:30 EDT/7:30PT	Recap
7	May 4	Portland	95	'Dallas'	107	3-4	American Airlines Center, Dallas	ABC 3:30 EDT/2:30CT	Recap
'Dallas' wins series 4–3

(4) Minnesota Timberwolves vs. (5) Los Angeles Lakers

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(LAL-MIN)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	April 20	'L.A. Lakers'	117	Minnesota	98	1-0	Target Center, Minneapolis	ABC 3:30 EDT/2:30CT	Recap
2	April 22	L.A. Lakers	91	'Minnesota'	119	1-1	Target Center, Minneapolis	TNT 9:30 EDT/8:30CT	Recap
3	April 24	'Minnesota'	114	L.A. Lakers	110	1-2	Staples Center, Los Angeles	TNT 11:00 EDT/8:00PT	Recap
4	April 27	Minnesota	97	'L.A. Lakers'	102	2-2	Staples Center, Los Angeles	ABC 3:00 EDT/12:00PT	Recap
5	April 29	'L.A. Lakers'	120	Minnesota	90	3-2	Target Center, Minneapolis	TNT 9:30 EDT/8:30CT	Recap
6	May 1	Minnesota	85	'L.A. Lakers'	101	4-2	Staples Center, Los Angeles	TNT 11:00 EDT/8:00PT	Recap
'L.A. Lakers' wins series 4–2

Conference Semifinals

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (5) Los Angeles Lakers

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(LAL-SAS)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	May 5	L.A. Lakers	82	'San Antonio'	87	0-1	SBC Center, San Antonio	TNT 9:30 EDT/8:30CT	Recap
2	May 7	L.A. Lakers	95	'San Antonio'	114	0-2	SBC Center, San Antonio	TNT 9:30 EDT/8:30CT	Recap
3	May 9	San Antonio	95	'L.A. Lakers'	110	1-2	Staples Center, Los Angeles	TNT 10:30 EDT/7:30PT	Recap
4	May 11	San Antonio	95	'L.A. Lakers'	99	2-2	Staples Center, Los Angeles	ABC 3:30 EDT/12:30PT	Recap
5	May 13	L.A. Lakers	94	'San Antonio'	96	2-3	SBC Center, San Antonio	TNT 9:30 EDT/8:30CT	Recap
6	May 15	'San Antonio'	110	L.A. Lakers	82	2-4	Staples Center, Los Angeles	ABC 8:00 EDT/6:00PT	Recap
'San Antonio' wins series 4–2

(2) Sacramento Kings vs. (3) Dallas Mavericks

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(SAC-DAL)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	May 6	'Sacramento'	124	Dallas	113	1-0	American Airlines Arena, Dallas	ESPN 9:30 EDT/8:30CT	Recap
2	May 8	Sacramento	110	'Dallas'	132	1-1	American Airlines Arena, Dallas	ESPN 9:30 EDT/8:30CT	Recap
3 ★ ★	May 10	'Dallas'	141	Sacramento	137	1-2	ARCO Arena, Sacramento	ESPN 9:30 EDT/6:30PT	Recap
4	May 11	Dallas	83	'Sacramento'	99	2-2	ARCO Arena, Sacramento	TNT 10:30 EDT/7:30PT	Recap
5	May 13	Sacramento	93	'Dallas'	112	2-3	American Airlines Arena, Dallas	TNT 9:30 EDT/8:30CT	Recap
6	May 15	Dallas	105	'Sacramento'	115	3-3	ARCO Arena, Sacramento	TNT 10:30 EDT/7:30PT	Recap
7	May 17	Sacramento	99	'Dallas'	112	3-4	American Airlines Arena, Dallas	TNT 8:30 EDT/7:30CT	Recap
'Dallas' wins series 4–3

★
★ Required double-overtime.

Conference Finals

(1) 'San Antonio Spurs' vs. (3) Dallas Mavericks

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(DAL-SAS)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	May 19	'Dallas'	113	San Antonio	110	1-0	SBC Center, San Antonio	TNT 9:00 EDT/8:00CT	Recap
2	May 21	Dallas	106	'San Antonio'	119	1-1	SBC Center, San Antonio	TNT 8:30 EDT/7:30CT	Recap
3	May 23	'San Antonio'	96	Dallas	83	1-2	American Airlines Arena, Dallas	TNT 9:00 EDT/8:00CT	Recap
4	May 25	'San Antonio'	102	Dallas	95	1-3	American Airlines Arena, Dallas	TNT 9:00 EDT/8:00CT	Recap
5	May 27	'Dallas'	103	San Antonio	91	2-3	SBC Center, San Antonio	TNT 9:00 EDT/8:00CT	Recap
6	May 29	'San Antonio'	90	Dallas	78	2-4	American Airlines Arena, Dallas	TNT 9:00 EDT/8:00CT	Recap
'San Antonio' wins Western Conference Championship series 4–2

Eastern Conference

Champion: 'New Jersey Nets'

First Round

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Orlando Magic

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(ORL-DET)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	April 20	'Orlando'	89	Detroit	84	1-0	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 12:30et	Recap
2	April 23	Orlando	77	'Detroit'	89	1-1	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	NBA TV 8:00et	Recap
3	April 25	Detroit	80	'Orlando'	89	2-1	TD Waterhouse Centre, Orlando	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
4	April 27	Detroit	92	'Orlando'	100	3-1	TD Waterhouse Centre, Orlando	ESPN 5:30et	Recap
5	April 30	Orlando	67	'Detroit'	98	3-2	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	NBA TV 7:30et	Recap
6	May 2	'Detroit'	103	Orlando	88	3-3	TD Waterhouse Centre, Orlando	NBA TV 7:30et	Recap
7	May 4	Orlando	93	'Detroit'	108	3-4	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 12:30et	Recap
'Detroit' wins series 4–3

(2) 'New Jersey Nets' vs. (7) Milwaukee Bucks

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(MIL-NJN)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	April 19	Milwaukee	96	'New Jersey'	109	0-1	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	ESPN 12:30et	Recap
2	April 22	'Milwaukee'	88	New Jersey	85	1-1	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	TNT 7:00et	Recap
3	April 24	'New Jersey'	103	Milwaukee	101	1-2	Bradley Center, Milwaukee	TNT 8:30et/7:30ct	Recap
4 ★	April 26	New Jersey	114	'Milwaukee'	119	2-2	Bradley Center, Milwaukee	TNT 5:00et/4:00ct	Recap
5	April 29	Milwaukee	82	'New Jersey'	89	2-3	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	TNT 7:00et	Recap
6	May 1	'New Jersey'	113	Milwaukee	101	2-4	Bradley Center, Milwaukee	TNT 6:00et/5:00ct	Recap
'New Jersey' wins series 4–2

★ Required overtime.

(3) Indiana Pacers vs. (6) Boston Celtics

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(BOS-IND)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	April 19	'Boston'	103	Indiana	100	1-0	Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis	ESPN 3:00et/2:00ct	Recap
2	April 21	Boston	77	'Indiana'	89	1-1	Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis	NBATV 8:30et/7:30ct	Recap
3	April 24	Indiana	83	'Boston'	101	2-1	FleetCenter, Boston	TNT 6:00et	Recap
4	April 27	Indiana	92	'Boston'	102	3-1	FleetCenter, Boston	ESPN2 12:00et	Recap
5 ★	April 29	Boston	88	'Indiana'	93	3-2	Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis	NBATV 8:00et/7:00ct	Recap
6	May 1	Indiana	90	'Boston'	110	4-2	FleetCenter, Boston	TBS 8:00et	Recap
'Boston' wins series 4–2

★ Required overtime.

(4) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (5) New Orleans Hornets

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(NOH-PHI)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	April 20	New Orleans	90	'Philadelphia'	98	0-1	First Union Center, Philadelphia	TNT 8:00et	Recap
2	April 23	New Orleans	85	'Philadelphia'	90	0-2	First Union Center, Philadelphia	TNT 7:00et	Recap
3	April 26	Philadelphia	85	'New Orleans'	99	1-2	New Orleans Arena, New Orleans	TNT 7:30et/6:30ct	Recap
4	April 28	'Philadelphia'	96	New Orleans	87	1-3	New Orleans Arena, New Orleans	TNT 7:30et/6:30ct	Recap
5	April 30	'New Orleans'	93	Philadelphia	91	2-3	First Union Center, Philadelphia	TNT 6:00et	Recap
6	May 2	'Philadelphia'	107	New Orleans	103	2-4	New Orleans Arena, New Orleans	ESPN 8:30et/7:30ct	Recap
'Philadelphia' wins series 4–2

Conference Semifinals

(1) 'Detroit Pistons' vs. (4) Philadelphia 76ers

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(PHI-DET)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	May 6	Philadelphia	87	'Detroit'	98	0-1	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 7:30et	Recap
2 ★	May 8	Philadelphia	97	'Detroit'	104	0-2	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 7:00et	Recap
3	May 10	Detroit	83	'Philadelphia'	93	1-2	First Union Center, Philadelphia	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
4	May 11	Detroit	82	'Philadelphia'	95	2-2	First Union Center, Philadelphia	ESPN 7:30et	Recap
5	May 14	Philadelphia	77	'Detroit'	78	2-3	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
6	May 16	'Detroit'	93	Philadelphia	89	2-4	First Union Center, Philadelphia	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
'Detroit' wins series 4–2

★ Required overtime.

(2) 'New Jersey Nets' vs. (6) Boston Celtics

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(BOS-NJN)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	May 5	Boston	93	'New Jersey'	97	0-1	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	TNT 7:00et	Recap
2	May 7	Boston	95	'New Jersey'	104	0-2	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	TNT 7:00et	Recap
3	May 9	'New Jersey'	94	Boston	76	0-3	FleetCenter, Boston	TNT 8:00et	Recap
4	May 12	'New Jersey'	110	Boston	101	0-4	FleetCenter, Boston	TNT 8:00et	Recap
'New Jersey' wins series 4–0

Conference Finals

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) 'New Jersey Nets'

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(NJN-DET)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	May 18	'New Jersey'	76	Detroit	74	1-0	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ABC 1:00et	Recap
2	May 20	'New Jersey'	88	Detroit	86	2-0	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
3	May 22	Detroit	85	'New Jersey'	97	3-0	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	ABC 8:00et	Recap
4	May 24	Detroit	82	'New Jersey'	102	4-0	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
'New Jersey' wins Eastern Conference Championship series 4–0

NBA Finals

Main articles: 2003 NBA Finals

San Antonio Spurs vs. New Jersey Nets

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record(NJN-SAS)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	June 4	New Jersey	89	'San Antonio'	101	0-1	SBC Center, San Antonio	ABC 8:00et/7:00ct	Recap
2	June 6	'New Jersey'	87	San Antonio	85	1-1	SBC Center, San Antonio	ABC 8:00et/7:00ct	Recap
3	June 8	'San Antonio'	84	New Jersey	79	1-2	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	ABC 8:00et	Recap
4	June 11	San Antonio	76	'New Jersey'	77	2-2	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	ABC 8:00et	Recap
5	June 13	'San Antonio'	93	New Jersey	83	2-3	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	ABC 8:00et	Recap
6	June 15	New Jersey	77	'San Antonio'	88	2-4	SBC Center, San Antonio	ABC 8:00et/7:00ct	Recap
'San Antonio' wins NBA Championship series 4–2

External links

★ NBA.com's section for the 2003 NBA Playoffs