2004 NBA Playoffs
| 2004 NBA playoffs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 2003–04 | ||||
| Teams | 16 | ||||
| Champions | Detroit Pistons (3rd title) | ||||
| Runner-up | Los Angeles Lakers (28th finals appearance) | ||||
| Semifinalists | |||||
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The 2004 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2003–04 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. Chauncey Billups was named NBA Finals MVP.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, after missing the playoffs their first seven seasons and losing in the first round the next seven, won their first two playoff series in 2004 before losing to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. As of the end of 2016 season, the Timberwolves hold the longest active streak without a playoff berth, having missed the playoffs twelve straight years since.
The Indiana Pacers made the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since their NBA Finals run in 2000, after which they significantly changed the makeup of their team (yet still made the playoffs every year). Game 2 of the series with the Pistons was pivotal, as Tayshaun Prince blocked a lay-up by Reggie Miller late in the game to preserve the victory; the Pistons won 4–2.
The 2004 playoffs was the first appearance for the Memphis Grizzlies in their 9-year history which began in Vancouver. However, they failed to win a single game in their first 3 playoff appearances (2004, 2005, 2006), before earning their first playoff game and series victories in 2011.
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