1952 NBA Finals

1952 NBA Finals
TeamCoachWins
Minneapolis Lakers John Kundla 4
New York Knicks Joe Lapchick 3
DatesApril 12–25
Hall of FamersLakers:
George Mikan (1959)
Jim Pollard (1978)
Slater Martin (1982)
Vern Mikkelsen (1995)
Knicks:
Harry Gallatin (1991)
Al McGuire (1992, coach)
Dick McGuire (1993)
Nat Clifton (2014)
Coaches:
Joe Lapchick (1966, player)
John Kundla (1995)
Eastern finalsKnicks defeated Nationals, 3–1
Western finalsLakers defeated Royals, 3–1
← 1951 NBA finals 1953 →

The 1952 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1952 NBA Playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1951–52 season. The Western Division champion Minneapolis Lakers faced the Eastern Division champion New York Knicks in a best-of-seven series with Minneapolis having home-court advantage.

Minneapolis won game one and the teams thereafter alternated victories, Minneapolis winning the decisive game by a 17-point margin at home on Friday, April 25.

All but Game 7 were played in the teams' secondary arenas: the Lakers played at the Saint Paul Auditorium, while the Barnum circus bumped the Knicks from Madison Square Garden to the 69th Regiment Armory.

The seven games were played in fourteen days, beginning Saturday and Sunday, April 12 and 13, in Minneapolis/St. Paul and returning to Minneapolis/St. Paul for games five and seven on the following Saturday and Friday. Meanwhile, three Wednesday or Friday games were played in New York City. The entire postseason tournament spanned 39 days in which Minneapolis played 13 games and New York 14.[1]

Series summary

Game Date Home team Result Road team
Game 1 April 12 Minneapolis Lakers 83–79 (OT) (1–0) New York Knicks
Game 2 April 13 Minneapolis Lakers 72–80 (1–1) New York Knicks
Game 3 April 16 New York Knicks 77–82 (1–2) Minneapolis Lakers
Game 4 April 18 New York Knicks 90–89 (OT) (2–2) Minneapolis Lakers
Game 5 April 20 Minneapolis Lakers 102–89 (3–2) New York Knicks
Game 6 April 23 New York Knicks 76–68 (3–3) Minneapolis Lakers
Game 7 April 25 Minneapolis Lakers 82–65 (4–3) New York Knicks

Lakers win series 4–3

Team rosters

Minneapolis Lakers

New York Knicks

Game summaries

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.[2]

References

  1. ^ "1951–52 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
      Select "Previous Season" from the heading for 1950–51, and so on. Select "Finals" from League Playoffs for the daily schedule of the final series, and so on.
  2. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.