The Hawks had four future Hall of Famers, while the Celtics had eight. Macauley averaged 5.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in the series, which the Hawks won in six games.

Macauley was named player-coach of the Hawks for the 1958-59 season, and he played in 14 regular-season games before retiring as a player. After leading the Hawks to the 1960 NBA Finals (which they lost in seven games to the Celtics), Macauley retired from coaching. In the two years Macauley coached the Hawks, he led them to an 89-48