<P> The Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers met in the second - to - last game of the regular season, after the top four seeds had been clinched . The two teams were already determined to be the fifth and sixth seeds, and had only to determine which rank higher . The fifth seed would likely need to defeat the best two teams in the conference without home - court advantage to advance to the conference finals, as it would face fourth - seeded Dallas in the first round and likely face first - seeded San Antonio if it managed to defeat Dallas . The sixth seed would play third - seeded Denver in the first round, but would have home - court advantage (since the Grizzlies had the fourth - best record in the conference and the Clippers had the fifth - best), and would not have to face either San Antonio or Dallas until the conference finals at the earliest . </P> <P> This led to speculation about whether the Grizzlies or the Clippers would have much commitment to winning their match - up in the second - to - last game of the season, since it was clearly most advantageous to lose the game in order to obtain the 6th seed . The Clippers eventually lost to Memphis without much evidence to support the speculation that the Clippers had lost intentionally . In the first round of the playoffs, the Clippers defeated the Nuggets in five games, while Memphis was swept by Dallas . Ultimately, Dallas and San Antonio did meet in the second round, with Dallas winning in seven games and advancing all the way to the NBA finals . </P> <Ul> <Li> 1947: The playoffs were instituted with a three - stage tournament, similar to the Stanley Cup playoffs of the 1930s; the two first - place teams qualified directly to one semifinal where they played each other in a best - of - 7 series . Teams finishing second & third qualified for the best - of - 3 quarterfinals, where the two second - placed teams were paired in one quarterfinal, as were the two third - placed teams, and the two quarterfinal winners played each other in a best - of - three semifinal . The two semifinal winners played each other in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) best - of - 7 final series . </Li> </Ul> <Li> 1947: The playoffs were instituted with a three - stage tournament, similar to the Stanley Cup playoffs of the 1930s; the two first - place teams qualified directly to one semifinal where they played each other in a best - of - 7 series . Teams finishing second & third qualified for the best - of - 3 quarterfinals, where the two second - placed teams were paired in one quarterfinal, as were the two third - placed teams, and the two quarterfinal winners played each other in a best - of - three semifinal . The two semifinal winners played each other in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) best - of - 7 final series . </Li>

When did nba playoffs change to 7 game series