2020 NBA playoffs

The 2020 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2019–20 season. The playoffs were originally scheduled to begin on April 18. However, the league suspended the season on March 11, 2020, hours after the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus.
On June 4, the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan to restart the season on July 31 in the NBA Bubble. This proposal was then approved by members of the National Basketball Players Association on June 5. Under this plan, the 22 top teams in the league at the time of the suspension (all the teams who had a mathematical chance at making the playoffs under the 82-game season) played eight additional regular season games to determine playoff seeding, with 16 of those teams playing in a conventional postseason tournament. If the ninth seed within a conference would have finished the regular season within four games of the eighth seed, they would have then competed in a play-in series. The last time a play-in game was played to determine a playoff spot was in 1956.
As part of the bubble, all playoff games were held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex inside Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida.
All three games that were scheduled to take place on August 26 were postponed by a wildcat strike, in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with the Milwaukee Bucks being the first team not to take the court prior to their game five matchup against the Orlando Magic. The games on August 27 and 28 were also postponed, with games resuming on August 29.
The Toronto Raptors were defending champions, but lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals round to the Boston Celtics. None of the teams that made it to the Conference Finals in the 2019 NBA playoffs made the Conference Finals in 2020. These were the first playoffs since 1997 without the San Antonio Spurs, as they were eliminated from playoff contention on August 14, 2020, ending what was then the longest active playoff streak in the NBA and in the four major sports leagues in North America.
Format.
After the NBA suspended its season on March 11, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league started to explore implementing a special postseason format just for this year.
On June 4, the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan to restart the season on July 31 in the NBA Bubble, with 22 of the 30 teams in the league, all clubs within six games of a playoff spot. Under this plan, the 22 teams played eight regular-season "seeding" games. A possible best-of-three play-in series for the final seed in each conference would then be held if the ninth seed finished the regular season within four games of the eighth seed. The eighth seed would start with a "de facto" 1–0 lead, meaning that it would need just one win to advance, while the ninth seed must win two in a row. The NBA's regular playoff format proceeded as normal. All games were played behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World.
Under the NBA's regular playoff format, the eight teams with the most wins in each conference qualified for the playoffs. The seedings were based on each team's record. Each conference's bracket was fixed; there was no reseeding. All rounds were best-of-seven series; the series ended when one team won four games, and that team advanced to the next round. All rounds, including the NBA Finals, were in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. In the conference playoffs, home court advantage went to the higher-seeded team (number one being the highest), although since all games were played in the same location, this was merely a designated home court. Seeding was based on each team's regular season record within a conference; if two teams had the same record, standard tiebreaker rules were used. Conference seedings were ignored for the NBA Finals: Home court advantage went to the team with the better regular season record, and, if needed, ties were broken based on head-to-head record, followed by intra-conference record.
Playoff qualifying.
On February 23, 2020, the Milwaukee Bucks became the first team to clinch a playoff spot. The Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Boston Celtics subsequently clinched playoff berths before the season was suspended on March 11.
Bracket.
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. 
First Round.
Eastern Conference First Round.
(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (8) Orlando Magic.
Milwaukee was the first team in the league to refuse to play a game for social justice following the shooting of Jacob Blake.
This was the second playoff meeting between the two teams, with the Bucks winning the first meeting.
(2) Toronto Raptors vs. (7) Brooklyn Nets.
Toronto set an NBA playoff record in Game 4 with 100 bench points in a single game.
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nets winning the two previous meetings.
(3) Boston Celtics vs. (6) Philadelphia 76ers.
This was the 22nd playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning 13 of the first 21 meetings.
(4) Indiana Pacers vs. (5) Miami Heat.
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Heat winning three of the first four meetings.
Western Conference First Round.
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Portland Trail Blazers.
Despite a losing effort, LeBron James had the first 20-point, 15 rebound, 15 assist performance in NBA playoff history.
This was the Lakers first playoff series win since 2012.
Game 5 was postponed by the league after the Lakers and Trail Blazers refused to play.
This was the 12th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning nine of the first eleven meetings.
(2) Los Angeles Clippers vs. (7) Dallas Mavericks.
Dončić's 42 points are the most points in a playoff debut. Following the game, many people, including LeBron James and current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, criticized the officials for controversially ejecting Porziņģis during the 3rd quarter after he received two technical fouls that the critics considered "bogus".
Down by 1, Luka Dončić hit the game-winning 3 point buzzer-beater at the end of overtime. He becomes the youngest player to hit a buzzer-beater in the playoffs. His winning shot capped an incredible triple-double performance with 43 points, 17 rebounds, and 13 assists.
The Clippers set 5 franchise records in this game, including: most points scored in a playoff game, as well as most 3-pointers made in a playoff game, as they shot 22-of-35 from long range.
Kawhi Leonard became the first player since 2000 to have 30+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 5+ steals in a playoff game.
This was the first playoff meeting between the Clippers and the Mavericks.
(3) Denver Nuggets vs. (6) Utah Jazz.
Mitchell's 57 points became the third most points scored in a single playoff game.
This was the first playoff game in NBA history in which two players scored 50 points.
Denver became the 12th team in NBA history to come back from a 3–1 deficit. Nikola Jokić scored the go-ahead hook shot with 27.8 seconds remaining in regulation. Mike Conley Jr.'s potential series-winning three-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out.
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Jazz winning three of the first four meetings.
(4) Houston Rockets vs. (5) Oklahoma City Thunder.
Game 5 was postponed by the league following a boycott by the Rockets and Thunder.
This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Thunder/SuperSonics winning six of the first eight meetings.
Conference Semifinals.
Eastern Conference Semifinals.
(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (5) Miami Heat.
After being fouled by Giannis Antetokounmpo on a game-winning shot attempt as time expired in regulation, Jimmy Butler won the game for Miami with a pair of walk-off free throws. This marked the first time a playoff game had ended in such a fashion since Game 1 of the 1979 NBA Finals.
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Heat winning the previous meeting.
(2) Toronto Raptors vs. (3) Boston Celtics.
Both teams discussed a boycott of Game 1, similar to the Milwaukee Bucks, in protest due to the shooting of Jacob Blake. The game was eventually postponed.
With 0.5 seconds on the clock and Toronto trailing by 2, Kyle Lowry threw a cross-court inbounds pass to OG Anunoby, who made a 3-point shot as the buzzer sounded to win the game for Toronto.
This was the first playoff meeting between the Raptors and the Celtics. This was also the first best-of-7 playoff series in NBA history where the road team won every game (and the second overall in North American sports history in addition to the 2019 World Series).
Western Conference Semifinals.
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Houston Rockets.
This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning five of the first eight meetings.
(2) Los Angeles Clippers vs. (3) Denver Nuggets.
This was the first time that an NBA team overcame a 3–1 deficit twice in the same playoffs, and the first time an NBA franchise did so twice in the same decade.
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Clippers winning the previous meeting.
Conference Finals.
Eastern Conference Finals.
(3) Boston Celtics vs. (5) Miami Heat.
This was the fourth playoff meeting between the two teams, with the Heat winning two of the first three meetings.
Western Conference Finals.
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Denver Nuggets.
Anthony Davis scored 31 points, including a 3-point shot over Nikola Jokić at the buzzer, to give the Lakers a 2–0 lead in the Western Conference Finals.
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first six meetings.
NBA Finals: (W1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E5) Miami Heat.
This was the first playoff meeting between the Lakers and the Heat.
Media coverage.
Television.
ESPN, ABC, TNT, and NBA TV broadcast the playoffs nationally in the United States. During the first two rounds, games were split between TNT, ESPN, and ABC regardless of conference. With the start of the playoffs delayed to August, some games played during the weekday afternoon, and games postponed by the wildcat strike, the TV schedule for the first two rounds differed from previous seasons due to scheduling conflicts. For instance, TNT aired some Friday games instead of its usual Sunday through Thursday schedule. Likewise ESPN broadcast games on some of those days when TNT would normally air them. And ABC aired a rare Tuesday night first-round game on September 1. NBA TV also televised selected games in the first round. Regional sports networks affiliated with the teams also broadcast the games, except for games televised on ABC.
The NBA Western Conference Finals aired exclusively on TNT, while ESPN televised the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. ABC owned the exclusive television rights to the 2020 NBA Finals, which was the 18th consecutive year for the network.
In Canada, the home market of the Toronto Raptors, national broadcast rights were split approximately equally between the Sportsnet and TSN groups of channels. Separate Canadian broadcasts were produced for all games involving the Raptors regardless of round or U.S. broadcaster.