1971–72 Indiana Pacers season

1971–72 Indiana Pacers season
Head coachBobby Leonard
ArenaIndiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum
Results
Record47–37 (.560)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishABA Champions
(Defeated Nets 4–2)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
< 1970–71 1972–73 >

The 1971–72 Indiana Pacers season was the fifth season of the Pacers in the American Basketball Association. The Pacers finished second in the Western Division and won their second ABA title. In the division semifinals, the Pacers required seven games to eliminate the Denver Rockets. In the division finals, the Utah Stars were eliminated in seven games. The New York Nets appeared in the ABA Championships for the first time and were defeated by the Pacers in six games.

Offseason

ABA Draft

Main article: 1971 ABA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team

Regular season

Schedule

Game Date Opponent Result Pacers points Opponents Record
1
2

[1]

Roster

Number Name Position Height Experience College
15 John Barnhill Guard 6–1 9 yrs. Tennessee State
35 Roger Brown Guard-Forward 6–5 4 yrs. Dayton
33 Larry Cannon Guard 6–4 2 yrs. Lasalle
22 Wayne Chapman Guard-Forward 6–6 3 yrs. Western Kentucky
34 Mel Daniels Center 6–9 4 yrs. New Mexico
20 Darnell Hillman Forward-Center 6–9 1 yr. San Jose State
11 Bill Keller Guard 5–10 3 yrs. Purdue
15 Arvesta Kelly Guard 6–2 4 yrs. Lincoln University
14 Freddie Lewis Guard 6–0 6 yrs. Arizona State
30 George McGinnis Forward-Center 6–8 1 yr. Indiana
10 Rick Mount Guard 6–3 1 yr. Purdue
24 Bob Netolicky Center-Forward 6–9 4 yrs. Drake
15 Mike Price Guard 6–3 1 yr. Illinois
33 Donald Sidle Center-Forward 6–8 3 yrs. Oklahoma
12 Marv Winkler Guard 6–1 1 yr. Louisiana at Lafayette

[2]

Season standings

1971–72 ABA Western Standings
Western Division W L PCT. GB
Utah Stars 60 24 .714 –
Indiana Pacers 47 37 .560 13
Dallas Chaparrals 42 42 .500 18
Denver Rockets 34 50 .405 26
Memphis Pros 26 58 .310 34

[3]

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player GP MIN REB AST PTS AVG
Mel Daniels 79 2971 1297 176 1513
Roger Brown 78 2987 502 306 1444
Bob Netolicky 83 2905 764 83 1250
George McGinnis 73 2179 711 137 1234
Freddie Lewis 77 2714 327 362 1182
Rick Mount 78 2126 155 230 1113
Bill Keller 76 1729 164 264 737
Darnell Hillman 73 1386 478 49 515
Larry Cannon 28 478 33 72 186
Donald Sidle 27 394 95 10 175
John Barnhill 19 194 19 16 68

[2]

Transactions

Playoffs

Western Division Semifinals vs. Denver Rockets[4]

Game Date Location Result Record Attendance
1 March 31 Indiana 102–95 1–0 6,103
2 April 1 Indiana 105–106 1–1 6,521
3 April 4 Denver 122–120 2–1 5,304
4 April 6 Denver 96–112 2–2 6,109
5 April 8 Indiana 91–79 3–2 9,428
6 April 9 Denver 99–106 3–3 5,815
7 April 13 Indiana 91–89 4–3 8,643

Pacers won series, 4–3

Western Division Finals vs. Utah Stars

Game Date Location Result Record Attendance
1 April 15 Utah 100–108 0–1 9,854
2 April 17 Utah 109–117 0–2 11,780
3 April 19 Indiana 116–111 1–2 7,489
4 April 22 Indiana 118–108 2–2 13,007
5 April 24 Utah 130–139 2–3 12,526
6 April 26 Indiana 105–99 3–3 8,103
7 May 1 Utah 117–113 4–3 12,724

Pacers won series, 4–3

ABA Finals vs. New York Nets

Game Date Location Result Record Attendance
1 May 6 Indiana 124–103 1–0 7,483
2 May 9 Indiana 115–117 1–1 10,079
3 May 12 New York 114–108 2–1 15,241
4 May 15 New York 105–110 2–2 15,890
5 May 18 Indiana 100–99 3–2 10,079
6 May 20 New York 108–105 4–2 10,434

Pacers won series, 4–2

Awards, records, and honors

References

  1. ^ 1971–72 Indiana Pacers Games – Basketball-Reference.com
  2. ^ a b "1971-72 Indiana Pacers Roster and Stats".
  3. ^ "1971-72 ABA Season Summary".
  4. ^ "Remember the ABA: 1971-72 Regular Season Standings and Playoff Results". Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2016.