1952 NBA playoffs

1952 NBA playoffs
Tournament details
DatesMarch 18–April 25, 1952
Season1951–52
Teams8
Final positions
ChampionsMinneapolis Lakers (3rd title)
Runner-upNew York Knicks
Semifinalists
← 1951
1953 →

The 1952 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1951–52 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Minneapolis Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

For the first time in NBA history, all teams that made the playoffs the year before meet again, but this time with different outcomes. This would happen again in 1957, in 1966, and then 1973 before a few more teams add to the playoffs in 1975, 1977 and 1984.

The first NBA dynasty, the Lakers, won their third NBA title in the last 4 years and what would become their first of 3 straight titles.

Bracket

Division Semifinals Division Finals NBA Finals
         
E1 Syracuse* 2
E4 Philadelphia 1
E1 Syracuse* 1
Eastern Division
E3 New York 3
E3 New York 2
E2 Boston 1
E3 New York 3
W2 Minneapolis 4
W1 Rochester* 2
W4 Fort Wayne 0
W1 Rochester* 1
Western Division
W2 Minneapolis 3
W3 Indianapolis 0
W2 Minneapolis 2
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

Division Semifinals

Eastern Division Semifinals

(1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (4) Philadelphia Warriors

March 20
Philadelphia Warriors 83, Syracuse Nationals 102
Scoring by quarter: 19–25, 21–24, 22–28, 21–25
Pts: Paul Arizin 22
Rebs: Paul Arizin 13
Asts: Andy Phillip 6		 Pts: Dolph Schayes 31
Rebs: Dolph Schayes 18
Asts: Seymour, Osterkorn 4 each
Syracuse leads series, 1–0
March 22
Syracuse Nationals 95, Philadelphia Warriors 100
Scoring by quarter: 22–30, 23–28, 21–18, 29–24
Pts: Osterkorn, Seymour 16 each
Rebs: Schayes, Ratkovicz 12 each
Asts: Wally Osterkorn 7		 Pts: Paul Arizin 29
Rebs: Paul Arizin 10
Asts: Andy Phillip 9
Series tied, 1–1
March 23
Philadelphia Warriors 73, Syracuse Nationals 84
Scoring by quarter: 24–22, 20–20, 11–19, 18–23
Pts: Paul Arizin 26
Rebs: Paul Arizin 15
Asts: Andy Phillip 7		 Pts: Red Rocha 20
Rebs: Wally Osterkorn 12
Asts: Paul Seymour 4
Syracuse wins series, 2–1

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers/Nationals winning the first two meetings.

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) New York Knicks

March 19
New York Knicks 94, Boston Celtics 105
Scoring by quarter: 18–21, 21–32, 25–24, 30–28
Pts: Max Zaslofsky 20
Asts: Dick McGuire 7		 Pts: Bob Cousy 31
Asts: Bill Sharman 7
Boston leads series, 1–0
March 23
Boston Celtics 97, New York Knicks 101
Scoring by quarter: 25–22, 22–29, 25–26, 25–24
Pts: Ed Macauley 36
Asts: Bob Donham 9		 Pts: Connie Simmons 22
Asts: Dick McGuire 7
Series tied, 1–1
Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan, New York
Referees: Chuck Solodare, Jocko Collins
March 26
New York Knicks 88, Boston Celtics 87 (2OT)
Scoring by quarter: 13–20, 26–21, 25–17, 15–21, Overtime: 4–4, 5–4
Pts: Max Zaslofsky 21
Asts: Dick McGuire 9		 Pts: Bob Cousy 34
Asts: Bob Cousy 8
New York wins series, 2–1
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Referees: Chuck Solodare, Jocko Collins

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning the first two meetings.

Western Division Semifinals

(1) Rochester Royals vs. (4) Fort Wayne Pistons

March 18
Fort Wayne Pistons 78, Rochester Royals 95
Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 14–17, 18–23, 24–33
Pts: Larry Foust 17 Pts: Bobby Wanzer 26
Rochester leads series, 1–0
March 20
Rochester Royals 92, Fort Wayne Pistons 86
Scoring by quarter: 30–17, 14–26, 23–15, 25–28
Pts: Bob Davies 29 Pts: Jack Kerris 17
Rochester wins series, 2–0

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with both teams splitting the first two meetings.

(2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Indianapolis Olympians

March 23
Indianapolis Olympians 70, Minneapolis Lakers 78
Scoring by quarter: 18–19, 21–18, 14–18, 17–23
Pts: Barnhorst, Graboski 17 each Pts: George Mikan 24
Minneapolis leads series, 1–0
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Referees: Sid Borgia, Arnie Heft
March 25
Minneapolis Lakers 94, Indianapolis Olympians 87
Scoring by quarter: 23–24, 21–25, 25–21, 25–17
Pts: George Mikan 36 Pts: Joe Graboski 29
Minneapolis wins series, 2–0

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting.

Division Finals

Eastern Division Finals

(1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (3) New York Knicks

April 2
New York Knicks 87, Syracuse Nationals 85
Scoring by quarter: 13–23, 23–22, 28–13, 23–27
Pts: Max Zaslofsky 26 Pts: Dolph Schayes 25
New York leads series, 1–0
April 3
New York Knicks 92, Syracuse Nationals 102
Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 27–27, 17–27, 26–27
Pts: Harry Gallatin 16 Pts: Paul Seymour 21
Series tied, 1–1
Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
Referees: Sid Borgia, Julie Meyer
April 5
Syracuse Nationals 92, New York Knicks 99
Scoring by quarter: 19–24, 23–29, 22–14, 28–32
Pts: Red Rocha 22 Pts: Max Zaslofsky 20
New York leads series, 2–1
Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan, New York
Referees: Julie Meyer, Phil Fox
April 8
Syracuse Nationals 93, New York Knicks 100
Scoring by quarter: 16–20, 22–20, 17–28, 38–32
Pts: Dolph Schayes 22 Pts: Max Zaslofsky 20
New York wins series, 3–1

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with both teams splitting the first two meetings.

Western Division Finals

(1) Rochester Royals vs. (2) Minneapolis Lakers

March 29
Minneapolis Lakers 78, Rochester Royals 88
Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 17–19, 23–23, 13–18
Pts: George Mikan 47 Pts: Bob Davies 26
Rochester leads series, 1–0
March 30
Minneapolis Lakers 83, Rochester Royals 78 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 27–17, 15–17, 17–20, 14–19, Overtime: 10–5
Pts: Vern Mikkelsen 19 Pts: Arnie Risen 24
Series tied, 1–1
April 5
Rochester Royals 67, Minneapolis Lakers 77
Scoring by quarter: 14–14, 15–22, 19–18, 19–23
Pts: Arnie Johnson 16 Pts: Jim Pollard 22
Minneapolis leads series, 2–1
April 6
Rochester Royals 80, Minneapolis Lakers 82
Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 26–23, 19–22, 15–17
Pts: Bob Davies 21 Pts: Saul, Mikkelsen 18 each
Minneapolis wins series, 3–1
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Referees: Sid Borgia, Stan Stutz

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with both teams splitting the first two meetings.

NBA Finals: (W2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (E3) New York Knicks

Main article: 1952 NBA Finals
April 12
New York Knicks 79, Minneapolis Lakers 83 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 18–21, 14–19, 27–20, 12–11, Overtime: 8–12
Pts: Simmons, McGuire 15 each
Rebs: Nat Clifton 12
Asts: Dick McGuire 5		 Pts: Jim Pollard 34
Rebs: George Mikan 16
Asts: Pollard, Mikan 4 each
Minneapolis leads series, 1–0
St. Paul Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 8,722
Referees: Sid Borgia, Stan Stutz
April 13
New York Knicks 80, Minneapolis Lakers 72
Scoring by quarter: 11–17, 30–14, 20–20, 19–21
Pts: Harry Gallatin 18
Rebs: Harry Gallatin 11
Asts: Dick McGuire 5		 Pts: George Mikan 18
Rebs: George Mikan 21
Asts: Slater Martin 4
Series tied, 1–1
St. Paul Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Sid Borgia, Stan Stutz
April 16
Minneapolis Lakers 82, New York Knicks 77
Scoring by quarter: 19–20, 22–26, 19–16, 22–15
Pts: George Mikan 26
Rebs: George Mikan 17
Asts: Pep Saul 8		 Pts: Max Zaslofsky 17
Rebs: Nat Clifton 10
Asts: Dick McGuire 10
Minneapolis leads series, 2–1
April 18
Minneapolis Lakers 89, New York Knicks 90 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 21–18, 20–16, 15–20, Overtime: 12–13
Pts: Slater Martin 32
Rebs: George Mikan 17
Asts: Pep Saul 5		 Pts: Connie Simmons 30
Rebs: Nat Clifton 12
Asts: Dick McGuire 6
Series tied, 2–2
69th Regiment Armory, Manhattan, New York
Attendance: 5,200
Referees: Sid Borgia, Stan Stutz
April 20
New York Knicks 89, Minneapolis Lakers 102
Scoring by quarter: 26–33, 22–16, 17–28, 24–25
Pts: Nat Clifton 17
Rebs: Clifton, Gallatin 8 each
Asts: six players 1 each		 Pts: Mikkelsen, Mikan 32 each
Rebs: George Mikan 17
Asts: Pep Saul 5
Minneapolis leads series, 3–2
St. Paul Auditorium, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 7,244
Referees: Sid Borgia, Stan Stutz
April 23
Minneapolis Lakers 68, New York Knicks 76
Scoring by quarter: 20–24, 13–11, 19–17, 16–24
Pts: George Mikan 28
Rebs: George Mikan 15
Asts: Slater Martin 9		 Pts: Max Zaslofsky 23
Rebs: Harry Gallatin 13
Asts: Ernie Vandeweghe 7
Series tied, 3–3
April 25
New York Knicks 65, Minneapolis Lakers 82
Scoring by quarter: 12–18, 17–18, 8–13, 28–33
Pts: Max Zaslofsky 21
Rebs: Nat Clifton 10
Asts: Nat Clifton 3		 Pts: George Mikan 22
Rebs: George Mikan 19
Asts: Slater Martin 6
Minneapolis wins series, 4–3
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 8,612
Referees: Sid Borgia, Stan Stutz

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  2. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Sacramento Kings (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  4. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — New York Knicks versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Sacramento Kings (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  6. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.