#Eastern conference championship series#

The Cavaliers would not return to the Conference Finals until 2015. With their conference finals victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Orlando Magic made the NBA Finals for the first time since 1995.

#Eastern conference championship series#

It also marked the first time the Boston Celtics lost a playoff series despite leading 3–2. With their Game 7 road win over the Boston Celtics, the Orlando Magic made the Conference Finals for the first time since 1996. However, they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, and would not return to the conference finals until 2020. With their conference semifinals victory over the Dallas Mavericks, the Denver Nuggets made the conference finals for the first time since 1985. This was also LeBron James’ last conference finals appearance as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers until 2015. The Pistons would not return to the playoffs until 2016, while the Spurs would exact revenge against the Mavericks in next year’s playoffs.īy sweeping the Atlanta Hawks in the Conference Semifinals, the Cleveland Cavaliers became only the second team in NBA History (after the Miami Heat) to go 8–0 through the first two rounds by sweeping the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks (they would duplicate this feat in 2016, against the same two teams). The Pistons were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Spurs lost to the Dallas Mavericks in a five game upset. With their first round win over the New Orleans Hornets, the Denver Nuggets won a playoff series for the first time since 1994, when they became the first eighth seed to win a playoff series.Īs for the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs, they failed to advance past the first round for the first time since 2000. However, they were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference semifinals. With their first round win over the Miami Heat, the Atlanta Hawks won a playoff series for the first time since 1999. The Rockets would not return to the playoffs until 2013. They pushed the eventual champion Lakers to seven games before losing. With their first round win over the Portland Trail Blazers, the Houston Rockets won a first round series for the first time since 1997, when they last made the conference finals.

However, the Boston Celtics prevailed in seven games.

The first round series between the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls set an NBA Playoff record for the most overtime games (4) and periods (7) played. They pushed their first round opponents, the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics (respectively) to seven games before losing. The Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls returned to the playoffs after a one-year absence. The Portland Trail Blazers made the playoffs for the first time since 2003 and earned home court advantage in a playoff series for the first time since 2000. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. The 2009 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2008–09 season.