That ended on April 30 with the Raptors, Spurs, and Houston Rockets all winning at home against the Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks, and Portland Trail Blazers, respectively.
With a Game 5 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, the San Antonio Spurs advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the third consecutive postseason.
With a Game 6 win over the Washington Wizards, the Indiana Pacers made the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive postseason.
With their Game 6 overtime win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs made the NBA Finals for the second straight season.
Paul George and David West hit crucial threes in the final quarter to give the Pacers a 91–88 win and tie the series at 2 all.
In Game 1, the Bobcats started strong, leading by as much as 9, but were dealt a big blow when their franchise player, Al Jefferson, suffered a left plantar fascia strain following a misstep in the first quarter.
The Heat then rallied after receiving a big boost from seldom-used James Jones, who scored 12 points, allowing them to eventually pull away in the fourth quarter for a 99–88 win in the series opener.
The Bobcats had a chance to force overtime, but Dwyane Wade came up with a key steal and a free throw to ice the game and give the Heat a 2–0 lead.
With a chance to force overtime, Raptors forward Patrick Patterson missed two crucial free throws as the Nets held on for a 102–98 win and a 2–1 lead.
With a chance to force overtime, Andray Blatche threw an errant pass that resulted in a backcourt violation, giving the Raptors the win and the crucial 3–2 series lead, but not before the play was reviewed because it was thought that the ball might have been tipped back before Deron Williams fired a half-court shot that was goaltended by Jonas Valančiūnas.
The Bulls tried to make it through the playoffs for a third straight year without their main superstar, Derrick Rose, who suffered an early season-ending injury.
Led by Nenê's 24 points, the Wizards used a big fourth quarter to rally back for a 102–93 win and to steal home-court advantage away from the Bulls.
In Game 5, the Wizards closed out their upset of the Bulls, 75–69, in a low-scoring affair as they won the series 4–1 to advance to the second round for the first time since 2005.
With the Mavs down by 2 once again, Monta Ellis missed a potential game-tying layup as the Spurs tied the series at 2 and regained the home-court advantage.
In Game 4, with Durant and Westbrook struggling offensively, Reggie Jackson scored a career-high 32 points that helped the Thunder take a 14-point lead before the Grizzlies stormed back.
Though putting up a valiant effort without their leading scorer, the Grizzlies ultimately succumbed to the Thunder who managed to avenge their loss from the year before.
In Game 1, with the Warriors up by 3 in the final seconds, the Clippers had a chance to force overtime but Darren Collison stepped out of bounds after running down the loose ball.
Down by 2, the Warriors had a chance to win but Stephen Curry's three missed as the Clippers took back home court advantage and a 2–1 lead in the series.
As a result, the Clippers silently protested in Game 4 by shedding their warm-up jerseys and going through the pregame routine with their red shirts on inside out.
It again appeared the Rockets had too large of a lead to overcome when they led by 6 in overtime but LaMarcus Aldridge hit a desperation three to spark an 8–0 run.
In Game 4, the two teams went to overtime again after Dwight Howard hit a dunk with 3 seconds remaining in regulation before Mo Williams missed a 3 at the buzzer.
Facing elimination in Game 5, the Rockets held Aldridge to 8 points as they lived to fight another day with a 108–98 win to trim the Blazers' series lead to 3–2.
Going to the Conference Semifinals, the Pacers came off a tough seven-game series against the Hawks while the Wizards were able to dispatch the Bulls in five games, giving them plenty of time to rest and prepare for the second round.
In Game 3, the Pacers' early season form returned, holding the Wizards to only 63 points and 33 percent shooting as they blew them out to take a 2–1 series lead.
Trailing by 3 with 6 seconds remaining, the Wizards had a chance to force overtime but Ariza threw an errant pass, sealing the win and the 3–1 series lead for the Pacers.
However, they went scoreless for the next 4+1⁄2 minutes, allowing the Heat to make a 12–0 run capped by a three-pointer and two free throws by Allen to take the lead for good.
The referees ruled that the ball went off the Clippers' Matt Barnes, giving the Thunder possession with 11.3 seconds to play and setting up Westbrook's game-winning free throws.
The Heat eventually pulled away in the fourth quarter with the help of Ray Allen's 16 points including four key three-pointers in the final period.
However, James received his fourth and fifth fouls early in the third quarter, putting him on the bench and giving the Pacers momentum to come back and take Game 5, 93–90, to stave off elimination.
In overtime, it was Tim Duncan who helped the Spurs pull away as they won the series, 4–2, to advance to the NBA Finals for a second straight year.