1970 NBA playoffs

1970 NBA playoffs
Tournament details
DatesMarch 25–May 8, 1970
Season1969–70
Teams8
Final positions
ChampionsNew York Knicks (1st title)
Runner-upLos Angeles Lakers
Semifinalists
← 1969
1971 →

The 1970 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1969–70 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion New York Knicks defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Willis Reed was named NBA Finals MVP.

It was the first NBA title for the Knicks in franchise history, and was their first appearance in the finals since losing their third straight finals in 1953 to the Lakers while they were still in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

For the Lakers, it was their third straight Western Division title and second straight year they lost in Game 7 of the NBA finals. The Lakers dropped their eighth straight NBA finals series (the previous 7 to the Boston Celtics) and were denied their first NBA title since 1954.

It was also the playoff debut of both the second-year Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, with the former managing a first-round defeat of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Boston missed the playoffs for the first time since 1951, despite being the defending champions.

Bracket

Division Semifinals Division Finals NBA Finals
         
E1 New York* 4
E3 Baltimore 3
E1 New York* 4
Eastern Division
E2 Milwaukee 1
E4 Philadelphia 1
E2 Milwaukee 4
E1 New York* 4
W2 Los Angeles 3
W1 Atlanta* 4
W3 Chicago 1
W1 Atlanta* 0
Western Division
W2 Los Angeles 4
W4 Phoenix 3
W2 Los Angeles 4
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

Division Semifinals

Eastern Division Semifinals

(1) New York Knicks vs. (3) Baltimore Bullets

March 26
Baltimore Bullets 117, New York Knicks 120 (2OT)
Scoring by quarter: 22–23, 30–23, 23–32, 27–24, Overtime: 8–8, 7–10
Pts: Earl Monroe 39
Rebs: Wes Unseld 31
Asts: Wes Unseld 5		 Pts: Willis Reed 30
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 24
Asts: Walt Frazier 8
New York leads series, 1–0
March 27
New York Knicks 106, Baltimore Bullets 99
Scoring by quarter: 26–26, 22–25, 29–32, 29–16
Pts: Willis Reed 27
Rebs: Willis Reed 17
Asts: Frazier, Barnett 6 each		 Pts: Gus Johnson 28
Rebs: Wes Unseld 21
Asts: Fred Carter 7
New York leads series, 2–0
March 29
Baltimore Bullets 127, New York Knicks 113
Scoring by quarter: 27–30, 36–34, 32–21, 32–28
Pts: Earl Monroe 25
Rebs: Wes Unseld 34
Asts: Earl Monroe 5		 Pts: Walt Frazier 24
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 10
Asts: Walt Frazier 5
New York leads series, 2–1
March 31
New York Knicks 92, Baltimore Bullets 102
Scoring by quarter: 21–26, 25–27, 21–24, 25–25
Pts: Walt Frazier 25
Rebs: Willis Reed 15
Asts: Walt Frazier 7		 Pts: Earl Monroe 34
Rebs: Wes Unseld 24
Asts: Fred Carter 7
Series tied, 2–2
April 2
Baltimore Bullets 80, New York Knicks 101
Scoring by quarter: 27–31, 22–23, 20–22, 11–25
Pts: Jack Marin 19
Rebs: Wes Unseld 15
Asts: Jack Marin 6		 Pts: Willis Reed 36
Rebs: Willis Reed 36
Asts: Walt Frazier 6
New York leads series, 3–2
April 5
New York Knicks 87, Baltimore Bullets 96
Scoring by quarter: 18–15, 25–26, 23–30, 21–25
Pts: Walt Frazier 18
Rebs: Willis Reed 16
Asts: Walt Frazier 5		 Pts: Gus Johnson 31
Rebs: Wes Unseld 24
Asts: Earl Monroe 5
Series tied, 3–3
April 6
Baltimore Bullets 114, New York Knicks 127
Scoring by quarter: 23–28, 24–34, 35–26, 32–39
Pts: Earl Monroe 32
Rebs: Wes Unseld 16
Asts: Earl Monroe 6		 Pts: DeBusschere, Barnett 28 each
Rebs: Willis Reed 14
Asts: Walt Frazier 8
New York wins series, 4–3

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

(2) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (4) Philadelphia 76ers

March 25
Philadelphia 76ers 118, Milwaukee Bucks 125
Scoring by quarter: 27–28, 30–27, 26–29, 35–41
Pts: Clark, B. Cunningham 21 each
Rebs: Jim Washington 9
Asts: Greer, Jones 7 each		 Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 36
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 20
Asts: Bob Dandridge 6
Milwaukee leads series, 1–0
March 27
Philadelphia 76ers 112, Milwaukee Bucks 105
Scoring by quarter: 32–23, 31–34, 23–20, 26–28
Pts: Billy Cunningham 37
Rebs: B. Cunningham, Washington 10 each
Asts: Billy Cunningham 7		 Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 33
Rebs: Bob Dandridge 12
Asts: Bob Dandridge 7
Series tied, 1–1
March 30
Milwaukee Bucks 156, Philadelphia 76ers 120
Scoring by quarter: 40–14, 37–27, 47–31, 32–48
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 33
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 17
Asts: Flynn Robinson 14		 Pts: Archie Clark 20
Rebs: Jim Washington 11
Asts: Bud Ogden 6
Milwaukee leads series, 2–1
Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 15,244
April 1
Milwaukee Bucks 118, Philadelphia 76ers 111
Scoring by quarter: 35–24, 25–32, 26–27, 32–28
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 33
Rebs: Greg Smith 19
Asts: Bob Dandridge 7		 Pts: Billy Cunningham 50
Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 16
Asts: Wali Jones 7
Milwaukee leads series, 3–1
Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 14,206
April 3
Philadelphia 76ers 106, Milwaukee Bucks 115
Scoring by quarter: 28–28, 33–24, 24–30, 21–33
Pts: Billy Cunningham 28
Rebs: Billy Cunningham 18
Asts: Hal Greer 6		 Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 46
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 25
Asts: Bob Dandridge 8
Milwaukee wins series, 4–1

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[2]

Western Division Semifinals

(1) Atlanta Hawks vs. (3) Chicago Bulls

March 25
Chicago Bulls 111, Atlanta Hawks 129
Scoring by quarter: 27–34, 33–30, 23–33, 28–32
Pts: Chet Walker 17
Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 11
Asts: Haskins, Weiss 6 each		 Pts: Joe Caldwell 39
Rebs: Bill Bridges 15
Asts: Walt Hazzard 10
Atlanta leads series, 1–0
March 28
Chicago Bulls 104, Atlanta Hawks 124
Scoring by quarter: 25–38, 23–23, 25–40, 31–23
Pts: Tom Boerwinkle 23
Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 12
Asts: Boerwinkle, Weiss 4 each		 Pts: Joe Caldwell 23
Rebs: Walt Bellamy 14
Asts: Walt Hazzard 13
Atlanta leads series, 2–0
March 31
Atlanta Hawks 106, Chicago Bulls 101
Scoring by quarter: 29–17, 22–37, 25–24, 30–23
Pts: Lou Hudson 30
Rebs: Walt Bellamy 17
Asts: Walt Hazzard 8		 Pts: Shaler Halimon 22
Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 18
Asts: Shaler Halimon 6
Atlanta leads series, 3–0
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 8,898
April 3
Atlanta Hawks 120, Chicago Bulls 131
Scoring by quarter: 25–32, 28–25, 35–42, 32–32
Pts: Joe Caldwell 38
Rebs: Bill Bridges 25
Asts: Walt Hazzard 9		 Pts: Chet Walker 39
Rebs: Sloan, Boerwinkle 12 each
Asts: Clem Haskins 13
Atlanta leads series, 3–1
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 7,584
April 5
Chicago Bulls 107, Atlanta Hawks 113
Scoring by quarter: 25–20, 26–31, 22–34, 34–28
Pts: Clem Haskins 22
Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 19
Asts: Clem Haskins 6		 Pts: Joe Caldwell 24
Rebs: Walt Bellamy 23
Asts: Bill Bridges 4
Atlanta wins series, 4–1

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning the first meeting while based in St. Louis.

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Phoenix Suns

March 25
Phoenix Suns 112, Los Angeles Lakers 128
Scoring by quarter: 33–25, 24–36, 25–33, 30–34
Pts: Paul Silas 26
Rebs: Paul Silas 18
Asts: Connie Hawkins 6		 Pts: Elgin Baylor 32
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 19
Asts: Elgin Baylor 10
Los Angeles leads series, 1–0
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 15,046
March 29
Phoenix Suns 114, Los Angeles Lakers 101
Scoring by quarter: 22–26, 25–21, 34–32, 33–22
Pts: Connie Hawkins 34
Rebs: Connie Hawkins 20
Asts: Hawkins, Van Arsdale 7 each		 Pts: Jerry West 33
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 25
Asts: Jerry West 11
Series tied, 1–1
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,501
April 2
Los Angeles Lakers 98, Phoenix Suns 112
Scoring by quarter: 27–21, 19–23, 25–33, 27–35
Pts: Jerry West 31
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 12
Asts: Chamberlain, West 7 each		 Pts: Gail Goodrich 29
Rebs: Paul Silas 16
Asts: Connie Hawkins 9
Phoenix leads series, 2–1
April 4
Los Angeles Lakers 102, Phoenix Suns 112
Scoring by quarter: 24–33, 29–23, 21–26, 28–30
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 29
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 19
Asts: Keith Erickson 6		 Pts: Gail Goodrich 34
Rebs: Paul Silas 16
Asts: Gail Goodrich 11
Phoenix leads series, 3–1
April 5
Phoenix Suns 121, Los Angeles Lakers 138
Scoring by quarter: 30–31, 32–41, 31–27, 28–29
Pts: Connie Hawkins 28
Rebs: Connie Hawkins 19
Asts: three players 5 each		 Pts: Chamberlain, West 36 each
Rebs: Mel Counts 17
Asts: Jerry West 18
Phoenix leads series, 3–2
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,475
April 7
Los Angeles Lakers 104, Phoenix Suns 93
Scoring by quarter: 22–26, 24–17, 27–30, 31–20
Pts: Jerry West 35
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 26
Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 11		 Pts: Connie Hawkins 24
Rebs: Paul Silas 21
Asts: Van Arsdale, Goodrich 4 each
Series tied, 3–3
April 9
Phoenix Suns 94, Los Angeles Lakers 129
Scoring by quarter: 21–33, 19–30, 24–26, 30–40
Pts: Connie Hawkins 25
Rebs: Connie Hawkins 15
Asts: Hawkins, Silas 4 each		 Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 30
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 27
Asts: Jerry West 15
Los Angeles wins series, 4–3
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,519
  • The Lakers become the second team to come back from a 3–1 series deficit.

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[4]

Division Finals

Eastern Division Finals

(1) New York Knicks vs. (2) Milwaukee Bucks

April 11
Milwaukee Bucks 102, New York Knicks 110
Scoring by quarter: 19–24, 25–30, 24–28, 34–28
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 35
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 15
Asts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 5		 Pts: Willis Reed 24
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 16
Asts: Bill Bradley 6
New York leads series, 1–0
April 13
Milwaukee Bucks 111, New York Knicks 112
Scoring by quarter: 33–35, 33–28, 24–23, 21–26
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23
Asts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 11		 Pts: Willis Reed 36
Rebs: Willis Reed 19
Asts: Walt Frazier 14
New York leads series, 2–0
April 17
New York Knicks 96, Milwaukee Bucks 101
Scoring by quarter: 16–29, 31–29, 21–23, 28–20
Pts: Willis Reed 21
Rebs: Reed, DeBusschere 10 each
Asts: Walt Frazier 7		 Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 33
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 31
Asts: Bob Dandridge 8
New York leads series, 2–1
Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 10,746
Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Manny Sokolofosky
April 19
New York Knicks 117, Milwaukee Bucks 105
Scoring by quarter: 29–23, 36–22, 17–34, 35–26
Pts: Willis Reed 26
Rebs: Walt Frazier 11
Asts: Dick Barnett 8		 Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38
Rebs: Abdul-Jabbar, Smith 9 each
Asts: Flynn Robinson 7
New York leads series, 3–1
Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 10,746
Referees: Eddie Rush, Richie Powers
April 20
Milwaukee Bucks 96, New York Knicks 132
Scoring by quarter: 19–35, 26–34, 27–32, 24–31
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27
Rebs: Zaid Abdul-Aziz 12
Asts: Guy Rodgers 6		 Pts: Willis Reed 32
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 11
Asts: Walt Frazier 6
New York wins series, 4–1

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[5]

Western Division Finals

(1) Atlanta Hawks vs. (2) Los Angeles Lakers

April 12
Los Angeles Lakers 119, Atlanta Hawks 115
Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 27–39, 36–26, 31–22
Pts: Jerry West 38
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 17
Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 8		 Pts: Walt Hazzard 29
Rebs: Walt Bellamy 21
Asts: Lou Hudson 8
Los Angeles leads series, 1–0
April 14
Los Angeles Lakers 105, Atlanta Hawks 94
Scoring by quarter: 25–26, 21–22, 32–18, 27–28
Pts: Chamberlain, West 24 each
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 24
Asts: Keith Erickson 7		 Pts: Walt Bellamy 20
Rebs: Bill Bridges 19
Asts: Joe Caldwell 7
Los Angeles leads series, 2–0
April 17
Atlanta Hawks 114, Los Angeles Lakers 115 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 23–25, 32–25, 23–30, 27–25, Overtime: 9–10
Pts: Hudson, Beard 22 each
Rebs: Bill Bridges 19
Asts: Lou Hudson 6		 Pts: Jerry West 35
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 26
Asts: Jerry West 13
Los Angeles leads series, 3–0
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,183
April 19
Atlanta Hawks 114, Los Angeles Lakers 133
Scoring by quarter: 30–24, 26–32, 33–32, 25–45
Pts: Richie Guerin 31
Rebs: Bill Bridges 18
Asts: Caldwell, Hudson 5 each		 Pts: Jerry West 39
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 21
Asts: Jerry West 12
Los Angeles wins series, 4–0
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,410

This was the 10th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning five of the first nine meetings.

NBA Finals: (E1) New York Knicks vs. (W2) Los Angeles Lakers

Main article: 1970 NBA Finals
April 24
Los Angeles Lakers 112, New York Knicks 124
Scoring by quarter: 25–35, 29–30, 38–24, 20–35
Pts: Jerry West 33
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 24
Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 5		 Pts: Willis Reed 37
Rebs: Reed, DeBusschere 16 each
Asts: Dick Barnett 9
New York leads series, 1–0
April 27
Los Angeles Lakers 105, New York Knicks 103
Scoring by quarter: 28–24, 24–28, 29–29, 24–22
Pts: Jerry West 34
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 24
Asts: Garrett, Erickson 6 each		 Pts: Willis Reed 29
Rebs: Willis Reed 15
Asts: Walt Frazier 11
Series tied, 1–1
April 29
New York Knicks 111, Los Angeles Lakers 108 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 20–26, 22–30, 26–17, 34–29, Overtime: 9–6
Pts: Willis Reed 38
Rebs: Willis Reed 17
Asts: Walt Frazier 7		 Pts: Jerry West 34
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 26
Asts: Elgin Baylor 11
New York leads series, 2–1
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,500
  • Jerry West hit a desperation buzzer-beating 60-foot shot to tie it at 102 and force OT.
May 1
New York Knicks 115, Los Angeles Lakers 121 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 27–24, 20–30, 20–17, 32–28, Overtime: 16–22
Pts: Dick Barnett 29
Rebs: Dave Stallworth 13
Asts: Walt Frazier 11		 Pts: Jerry West 37
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 25
Asts: Jerry West 18
Series tied, 2–2
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,509
May 4
Los Angeles Lakers 100, New York Knicks 107
Scoring by quarter: 30–20, 23–20, 29–35, 18–32
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 22
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 19
Asts: Keith Erickson 6		 Pts: Walt Frazier 21
Rebs: Cazzie Russell 8
Asts: Walt Frazier 12
New York leads series, 3–2
May 6
New York Knicks 113, Los Angeles Lakers 135
Scoring by quarter: 16–36, 35–35, 29–28, 33–36
Pts: Dave DeBusschere 25
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 9
Asts: Dick Barnett 8		 Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 45
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 27
Asts: Jerry West 13
Series tied, 3–3
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,509
May 8
Los Angeles Lakers 99, New York Knicks 113
Scoring by quarter: 24–38, 18–31, 27–25, 30–19
Pts: Jerry West 28
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 24
Asts: Keith Erickson 6		 Pts: Walt Frazier 36
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 17
Asts: Walt Frazier 19
New York wins series, 4–3
  • Willis Reed surprised the fans by walking onto the court during warmups, prompting widespread applause and inspiring the Knicks to win the title.

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first two meetings while based in Minneapolis.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — New York Knicks versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  2. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Milwaukee Bucks versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Chicago Bulls (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  4. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Phoenix Suns (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Milwaukee Bucks versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  6. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  7. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.