In Game 4, the Celtics led by as much as 18 in the third quarter. The Pacers started strong, even taking a 19–8 lead in the first quarter.

In Game 2, the Spurs started strong, at one point in the third quarter taking a 22-point lead. Trailing by as many as 27, and down 95–71 with 9:13 left, the Clippers held the Grizzlies to just one field goal the rest of the game and pulled off an improbable 99–98 victory before a stunned, sold-out crowd of 18,119 at FedExForum.This was the first playoff meeting between the Clippers and the Grizzlies.This is the first playoffs that the city of Los Angeles has both teams participating in the Conference Semifinals.

Rondo led the Celtics with a career-high 44 points, along with 8 rebounds and 10 assists.

The Heat had a 10-point lead after 1. Boston answered back, holding a 3-point lead in the final minute before James hit a 3 to tie it with 36 seconds left. The Thunder quickly took control through the first three quarters and stretched their lead to as high as 35. Game 2 was very different, with the Celtics starting very strong. (If two teams with the same record meet in a round, the tiebreakers used are head-to-head and record vs. opposite conference.) Games 2 and 3 were close victories for the Celtics with Game 4 being a blowout victory for them.

The.The tiebreakers that determine seedings are:If there were more than two teams tied, the team that wins the tiebreaker gets the highest seed, while the other teams were "re-broken" from the first step until all ties were resolved. The Heat in,The 6 division winners and 10 other teams with the most wins from each conference qualified for the playoffs. Game 2 was much closer, even without Knicks' starting rookie guard.This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning three of the first four meetings.The Pacers were considered the heavy favorites in the series as the Magic would try to defeat the Pacers without.This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece.The Hawks had homecourt advantage for the series despite being the lower seeded team by having the better season-record of the two; the Celtics took the 4th-seed by winning their division title.

Game 1 would be close, with the Thunder taking a 9-point lead going to the fourth, looking poised to give the Spurs their first loss of the postseason. Before Game 4, the Heat regrouped and refocused on the series. They were able to have a 13-point lead in the fourth. However, the Spurs quickly took control in the 2nd and 3rd quarters as they defeated the Clippers, 108–92, and took a 1–0 series lead.

Midway through the second quarter, a Rondo jumper extended their lead to 15. Without Granger and West, the Pacers were unable to stop the Heat, as the Heat won 115–83 to take a 3–2 series lead, putting them a win away from the Eastern Conference Finals. They faced each other in the Eastern Conference First Round in 2010 (won by the Celtics, 4–1) and in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2011 (won by the Heat, 4–1). Manu Ginobili sealed the deal by hitting a three-pointer that extended the Spurs' lead to 10 with about a minute and a half to go. However, the Spurs took control on both ends in the fourth quarter to stay perfect in the playoffs. The necessity of a game seven is not known until the outcome of game six is determined, assuming that a series reaches that far. The Celtics still held a 2-point lead in the dying seconds, but Wade missed a potential game-winning 3 at the buzzer, giving the Celtics a 93–91 win to tie the series going back to Miami.

However, the Lakers would fail to keep the lead, with the Thunder eventually going on a 9–0 run to take a 2–0 series lead. Game 7s in the Finals are about as common as power dunks by Derek Fisher. The Celtics would still have a 7-point lead at halftime.

LeBron was also hot in the first quarter, scoring 16 points and making 7 of his first 9 shots. Meanwhile, the Clippers were coming off a tough seven-game series against the Memphis Grizzlies and had to play Game 1 just 2 days after the Game 7 ended. The LeBron-led Cavs also faced the Celtics in 2010 only to be defeated 4–2, which led to James' arrival on the Heat.In Game 1, the Celtics started poorly, scoring only 11 points in the first quarter. The last without one was the,The Spurs became the fourth team and first from the West to go 8–0 through the playoffs' first two rounds following the 2003 change in the first round format to 7 games. Home court advantage belongs to the team with the better regular season record, regardless of seed. Following Parker's free-throw that extended the Spurs' lead to 3, the Clippers had one last chance. However, with the Bulls leading by 12 with 1:20 to go in the fourth.This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning the first two meetings.The Heat defeated the Knicks in Game 1 by 33 points. However, the Heat cut it to 7 at halftime. Game 4 was a close one, with the Clippers leading for much of the fourth quarter before the Spurs took the lead on a Duncan hook shot. However, Bass led a run that pushed the Celtics' lead to 11. The last time the Lakers and Clippers were in the Conference Semifinals was.The Spurs won their last 14 games coming into this series. However, Boston held on for a 101–91 victory to make it 2–1. However, the Spurs blew the game open in the second half and won by 12 to take a 3–0 lead in the series. They eventually won Game 1 106–91. However, out of timeouts, the Clippers were forced to take a long inbound pass.This was the first playoff meeting between the Clippers and the Spurs.Much like the Spurs-Clippers series, the series featured a team that swept their first round opponents and another team that were coming off a tough seven-game series. Game 1 was close as the teams were tied coming into the 2nd quarter. James scored 40 in the game, to go along with 18 rebounds and 9 assists.

The Hawks won Game 1 by nine points, but the Celtics took the next three games, pushing the Hawks to the brink of elimination.