You Are Here > Basketball-Reference.com > Playoffs > 1981 NBA

1981 NBA Playoff Summary

Previous Year ▪ Next Year

1981 NBA Playoffs:

Series Results

Click series name to show/hide game results
Finals (4-2): Boston Celtics over Houston Rockets
 
Eastern Conference Finals (4-3): Boston Celtics over Philadelphia 76ers
Western Conference Finals (4-1): Houston Rockets over Kansas City Kings
 
Eastern Conference Semifinals (4-3): Philadelphia 76ers over Milwaukee Bucks
Eastern Conference Semifinals (4-0): Boston Celtics over Chicago Bulls
Western Conference Semifinals (4-3): Houston Rockets over San Antonio Spurs
Western Conference Semifinals (4-3): Kansas City Kings over Phoenix Suns
 
Eastern Conference First Round (2-0): Philadelphia 76ers over Indiana Pacers
Eastern Conference First Round (2-0): Chicago Bulls over New York Knickerbockers
Western Conference First Round (2-1): Kansas City Kings over Portland Trail Blazers
Western Conference First Round (2-1): Houston Rockets over Los Angeles Lakers

Team Statistics

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE
Rk Team G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS PTS/G
1 San Antonio Spurs 7 1680 298 608 .490 2 12 .167 156 209 .746 100 196 296 180 41 47 107 173 754 107.7
2 Milwaukee Bucks 7 1680 292 611 .478 3 11 .273 162 212 .764 124 179 303 189 71 37 119 195 749 107.0
3 Portland Trail Blazers 3 770 134 276 .486 1 4 .250 47 70 .671 42 96 138 65 31 16 53 61 316 105.3
4 Philadelphia 76ers 16 3840 637 1309 .487 1 16 .063 394 510 .773 205 449 654 389 131 137 293 420 1669 104.3
5 Chicago Bulls 6 1465 248 529 .469 3 23 .130 122 160 .763 99 168 267 125 47 30 99 150 621 103.5
6 Boston Celtics 17 4080 700 1457 .480 10 45 .222 347 460 .754 246 509 755 388 127 112 277 420 1757 103.4
7 Los Angeles Lakers 3 720 118 255 .463 0 4 .000 68 99 .687 43 110 153 72 21 17 43 69 304 101.3
8 Houston Rockets 21 5040 819 1796 .456 8 32 .250 413 550 .751 309 547 856 474 174 113 296 466 2059 98.0
9 New York Knickerbockers 2 505 75 171 .439 1 10 .100 43 63 .683 31 52 83 37 20 4 42 57 194 97.0
10 Indiana Pacers 2 480 75 182 .412 2 6 .333 41 57 .719 37 56 93 46 22 5 39 51 193 96.5
11 Kansas City Kings 15 3650 554 1190 .466 13 48 .271 254 354 .718 178 415 593 353 132 64 252 349 1375 91.7
12 Phoenix Suns 7 1680 252 561 .449 6 16 .375 132 192 .688 99 218 317 133 50 26 115 167 642 91.7
League Average 9 2133 350 745 .470 4 19 .220 182 245 .742 126 250 376 204 72 51 145 215 886 100.3

Opponent Statistics

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE
Rk Team G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS PTS/G
1 Phoenix Suns 7 1680 236 554 .426 5 19 .263 146 206 .709 95 192 287 146 62 34 112 172 623 89.0
2 Kansas City Kings 15 3650 580 1226 .473 8 27 .296 255 366 .697 204 453 657 307 133 65 248 326 1423 94.9
3 Boston Celtics 17 4080 645 1471 .438 7 38 .184 357 473 .755 261 457 718 356 122 103 261 412 1654 97.3
4 Houston Rockets 21 5040 835 1743 .479 9 54 .167 389 534 .728 293 616 909 508 148 117 341 490 2068 98.5
5 Los Angeles Lakers 3 720 122 285 .428 1 4 .250 61 77 .792 55 93 148 79 21 19 36 73 306 102.0
6 New York Knickerbockers 2 505 79 166 .476 0 0 47 56 .839 31 66 97 39 19 17 40 52 205 102.5
7 Philadelphia 76ers 16 3840 646 1413 .457 6 31 .194 373 497 .751 265 440 705 388 147 93 263 434 1671 104.4
8 Milwaukee Bucks 7 1680 272 564 .482 0 9 .000 187 239 .782 100 169 269 171 62 62 133 175 731 104.4
9 Portland Trail Blazers 3 770 140 268 .522 4 8 .500 37 51 .725 33 97 130 88 24 9 51 68 321 107.0
10 Chicago Bulls 6 1465 255 496 .514 7 24 .292 126 166 .759 73 172 245 135 53 33 112 150 643 107.2
11 San Antonio Spurs 7 1680 300 586 .512 3 10 .300 165 214 .771 79 171 250 178 54 37 98 174 768 109.7
12 Indiana Pacers 2 480 92 173 .532 0 3 .000 36 57 .632 24 69 93 56 22 19 40 52 220 110.0
League Average 9 2133 350 745 .470 4 19 .220 182 245 .742 126 250 376 204 72 51 145 215 886 100.3

Miscellaneous Statistics

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE
Offense Four Factors Defense Four Factors
Rk Team G W L W-L% W Pyth L Pyth ORtg DRtg Pace eFG% TOV% ORB% FT/FGA eFG% TOV% DRB% FT/FGA
1 Boston Celtics 17 12 5 .706 11.9 5.1 107.9 101.6 95.8 .484 .143 .350 .238 .441 .135 .661 .243
2 Houston Rockets 21 12 9 .571 10.2 10.8 105.0 105.5 93.4 .458 .127 .334 .230 .482 .147 .651 .223
3 Philadelphia 76ers 16 9 7 .563 7.9 8.1 106.0 106.2 98.4 .487 .160 .318 .301 .459 .139 .629 .264
4 Kansas City Kings 15 7 8 .467 5.7 9.3 98.8 102.2 91.5 .471 .158 .282 .213 .476 .152 .670 .208
5 Phoenix Suns 7 3 4 .429 4.2 2.8 99.9 96.9 91.8 .455 .151 .340 .235 .431 .148 .696 .264
6 Milwaukee Bucks 7 3 4 .429 4.1 2.9 110.9 108.2 96.5 .480 .145 .423 .265 .482 .166 .642 .332
7 San Antonio Spurs 7 3 4 .429 3.1 3.9 111.1 113.1 97.0 .492 .133 .369 .257 .515 .126 .713 .282
8 Chicago Bulls 6 2 4 .333 2.3 3.7 105.4 109.1 96.5 .472 .142 .365 .231 .521 .164 .697 .254
9 Los Angeles Lakers 3 1 2 .333 1.4 1.6 103.9 104.6 97.5 .463 .126 .316 .267 .430 .101 .667 .214
10 Portland Trail Blazers 3 1 2 .333 1.3 1.7 102.7 104.3 95.9 .487 .147 .302 .170 .530 .149 .744 .138
11 New York Knickerbockers 2 0 2 .000 0.6 1.4 97.2 102.8 94.8 .442 .174 .320 .251 .476 .173 .627 .283
12 Indiana Pacers 2 0 2 .000 0.3 1.7 93.3 106.4 103.4 .418 .158 .349 .225 .532 .168 .700 .208
League Average 8.8 4.4 4.4 .500 4.4 4.4 104.8 104.8 95.2 .473 .145 .336 .244 .473 .145 .664 .244

Playoff Leaders

Glossary ▪ Rate statistic requirements

Minutes Played

1. Moses Malone*-HOU 955
2. Robert Reid-HOU 868
3. Larry Bird*-BOS 750
4. Billy Paultz-HOU 720
5. Scott Wedman-KCK 657

Field Goals

1. Moses Malone*-HOU 207
2. Larry Bird*-BOS 147
3. Julius Erving*-PHI 143
4. Calvin Murphy*-HOU 142
5. Robert Reid-HOU 139

Field Goal Attempts

1. Moses Malone*-HOU 432
2. Larry Bird*-BOS 313
3. Robert Reid-HOU 303
4. Julius Erving*-PHI 301
5. Scott Wedman-KCK 297

Field Goal Pct

1. Mychal Thompson-POR .608
2. Bob Lanier*-MIL .588
3. Dave Greenwood-CHI .586
4. Artis Gilmore-CHI .583
5. Cedric Maxwell-BOS .581

3-Pt Field Goals

1. Scott Wedman-KCK 9
2. Chris Ford-BOS 7
3. Mike Dunleavy-HOU 6
4. Kyle Macy-PHO 4
5. Larry Bird*-BOS 3

3-Pt Field Goal Attempts

1. Scott Wedman-KCK 32
2. Chris Ford-BOS 25
3. Mike Dunleavy-HOU 15
4. Reggie Theus-CHI 9
  Andrew Toney-PHI 9

3-Pt Field Goal Pct

1. Mike Dunleavy-HOU .400
2. Scott Wedman-KCK .281
3. Chris Ford-BOS .280

Free Throws

1. Moses Malone*-HOU 148
2. Julius Erving*-PHI 81
3. Larry Bird*-BOS 76
  Tiny Archibald*-BOS 76
5. Reggie King-KCK 75

Free Throw Attempts

1. Moses Malone*-HOU 208
2. Julius Erving*-PHI 107
3. Reggie King-KCK 102
4. Tiny Archibald*-BOS 94
5. Robert Reid-HOU 92

Free Throw Pct

1. Dwight Jones-CHI 1.000
2. Calvin Murphy*-HOU .967
3. Campy Russell-NYK .941
4. Johnny Davis-IND .923
  Steve Mix-PHI .923

Offensive Rebounds

1. Moses Malone*-HOU 125
2. Cedric Maxwell-BOS 61
3. Reggie King-KCK 56
  Robert Reid-HOU 56
5. Billy Paultz-HOU 53

Defensive Rebounds

1. Larry Bird*-BOS 189
2. Moses Malone*-HOU 180
3. Caldwell Jones-PHI 118
4. Robert Parish*-BOS 96
5. Billy Paultz-HOU 94

Total Rebounds

1. Moses Malone*-HOU 305
2. Larry Bird*-BOS 238
3. Caldwell Jones-PHI 155
4. Reggie King-KCK 149
5. Billy Paultz-HOU 147

Assists

1. Maurice Cheeks-PHI 116
2. Tiny Archibald*-BOS 107
3. Tom Henderson-HOU 104
4. Larry Bird*-BOS 103
5. Robert Reid-HOU 98

Steals

1. Robert Reid-HOU 50
2. Maurice Cheeks-PHI 40
3. Larry Bird*-BOS 39
4. Ernie Grunfeld-KCK 30
5. Sam Lacey-KCK 28

Blocks

1. Julius Erving*-PHI 41
2. Robert Parish*-BOS 39
3. Moses Malone*-HOU 34
4. Caldwell Jones-PHI 31
5. Billy Paultz-HOU 27

Turnovers

1. Larry Bird*-BOS 62
2. Moses Malone*-HOU 59
3. Julius Erving*-PHI 55
4. Andrew Toney-PHI 54
5. Tiny Archibald*-BOS 50

Personal Fouls

1. Robert Reid-HOU 80
2. Robert Parish*-BOS 74
3. Darryl Dawkins-PHI 71
4. Calvin Murphy*-HOU 69
  Billy Paultz-HOU 69

Points

1. Moses Malone*-HOU 562
2. Larry Bird*-BOS 373
3. Julius Erving*-PHI 367
4. Calvin Murphy*-HOU 344
5. Robert Reid-HOU 339

Minutes Per Game

1. Moses Malone*-HOU 45.5
2. Larry Bird*-BOS 44.1
3. Scott Wedman-KCK 43.8
4. Ernie Grunfeld-KCK 42.2
5. Reggie King-KCK 41.3
  Robert Reid-HOU 41.3

Points Per Game

1. George Gervin*-SAS 27.1
2. Moses Malone*-HOU 26.8
3. Marques Johnson-MIL 24.7
4. Julius Erving*-PHI 22.9
5. Larry Bird*-BOS 21.9

Rebounds Per Game

1. Kermit Washington-POR 17.3
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-LAL 16.7
3. Moses Malone*-HOU 14.5
4. Larry Bird*-BOS 14.0
5. Artis Gilmore-CHI 11.2

Assists Per Game

1. Norm Nixon-LAL 8.7
2. Kelvin Ransey-POR 8.3
3. Maurice Cheeks-PHI 7.2
4. Reggie Theus-CHI 6.3
5. Tiny Archibald*-BOS 6.3

Steals Per Game

1. Maurice Cheeks-PHI 2.5
2. Robert Reid-HOU 2.4
3. Larry Bird*-BOS 2.3
4. Ernie Grunfeld-KCK 2.0
5. Sam Lacey-KCK 1.9

Blocks Per Game

1. Artis Gilmore-CHI 2.8
2. Julius Erving*-PHI 2.6
3. Robert Parish*-BOS 2.3
4. George Johnson-SAS 2.3
5. Caldwell Jones-PHI 1.9

Player Efficiency Rating

1. Marques Johnson-MIL 27.7
2. Bob Lanier*-MIL 22.5
3. Moses Malone*-HOU 22.4
4. Larry Bird*-BOS 21.8
5. Artis Gilmore-CHI 20.7

True Shooting Pct

1. Cedric Maxwell-BOS .644
2. Artis Gilmore-CHI .641
3. Mychal Thompson-POR .636
4. Bob Lanier*-MIL .621
5. Caldwell Jones-PHI .612

Effective Field Goal Pct

1. Mychal Thompson-POR .608
2. Bob Lanier*-MIL .588
3. Dave Greenwood-CHI .586
4. Artis Gilmore-CHI .583
5. Cedric Maxwell-BOS .580

Offensive Rebound Pct

1. George Johnson-SAS 18.0
2. Marques Johnson-MIL 17.7
3. Mickey Johnson-MIL 16.2
4. Larry Kenon-CHI 16.1
5. Moses Malone*-HOU 14.3

Defensive Rebound Pct

1. Kermit Washington-POR 35.4
2. George Johnson-SAS 28.9
3. Dave Corzine-SAS 27.3
4. Larry Bird*-BOS 26.7
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-LAL 24.1

Total Rebound Pct

1. George Johnson-SAS 23.5
2. Kermit Washington-POR 23.3
3. Moses Malone*-HOU 18.2
4. Truck Robinson-PHO 17.9
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-LAL 17.9

Assist Pct

1. Maurice Cheeks-PHI 32.4
2. Norm Nixon-LAL 31.0
3. Allen Leavell-HOU 30.1
4. Johnny Moore-SAS 29.4
5. Phil Ford-KCK 27.6

Steal Pct

1. Allen Leavell-HOU 4.3
2. Johnny Moore-SAS 4.0
3. Maurice Cheeks-PHI 3.8
4. Quinn Buckner-MIL 3.0
5. Robert Reid-HOU 3.0

Block Pct

1. Harvey Catchings-MIL 6.1
2. George Johnson-SAS 5.7
3. Kevin McHale*-BOS 4.8
4. Robert Parish*-BOS 4.5
5. Artis Gilmore-CHI 4.3

Turnover Pct

1. M.L. Carr-BOS 6.7
2. Marques Johnson-MIL 8.0
3. Dave Greenwood-CHI 8.9
4. Billy Paultz-HOU 9.2
5. John Lambert-KCK 9.6

Usage Pct

1. Andrew Toney-PHI 31.8
2. George Gervin*-SAS 29.5
3. Walter Davis-PHO 29.0
4. Julius Erving*-PHI 28.6
5. Calvin Murphy*-HOU 28.4

Offensive Rating

1. Marques Johnson-MIL 128.6
2. Bob Lanier*-MIL 123.2
3. Cedric Maxwell-BOS 122.3
4. Artis Gilmore-CHI 120.7
5. Mychal Thompson-POR 120.7

Defensive Rating

1. Rich Kelley-PHO 91.3
2. Truck Robinson-PHO 94.5
3. Larry Bird*-BOS 94.9
4. Robert Parish*-BOS 95.7
5. Magic Johnson*-LAL 96.6

Offensive Win Shares

1. Moses Malone*-HOU 2.4
2. Cedric Maxwell-BOS 1.8
3. Larry Bird*-BOS 1.4
4. Marques Johnson-MIL 1.3
5. Bobby Jones-PHI 1.2

Defensive Win Shares

1. Larry Bird*-BOS 1.7
2. Robert Parish*-BOS 1.1
3. Sam Lacey-KCK 1.0
4. Robert Reid-HOU 1.0
5. Moses Malone*-HOU 1.0

Win Shares

1. Moses Malone*-HOU 3.5
2. Larry Bird*-BOS 3.1
3. Cedric Maxwell-BOS 2.5
4. Robert Reid-HOU 2.1
5. Reggie King-KCK 2.0