1969 NBA playoffs

1969 NBA playoffs
Tournament details
DatesMarch 26–May 5, 1969
Season1968–69
Teams8
Final positions
ChampionsBoston Celtics (11th title)
Runner-upLos Angeles Lakers
Semifinalists
← 1968
1970 →

The 1969 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1968–69 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

Despite finishing in 4th place, the Celtics won their second straight NBA title, marking their 11th overall as their era of 1960s dominance drew to a close. They upset Philadelphia and New York on the way to the Finals. Out west, the San Francisco Warriors stunned the Lakers by winning the first 2 in L.A., and Bay Area fans were thinking of avenging the prior year's sweep by the Lakers with a sweep of their own. But the Celtics won 4 straight to win the series in 6.

This year marked the debut of the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award; it was awarded to Jerry West of the Lakers, which marks the only time so far that the trophy has been given to a player on the losing team.

The Celtics were the first team seeded below third in their conference or division and win the NBA championship. It would not happen again until the 1995 NBA playoffs.[1]

The second-year San Diego Rockets made their first playoff appearance; the next time they appeared was in 1975 as the Houston Rockets.

Bracket

Division Semifinals Division Finals NBA Finals
         
E1 Baltimore* 0
E3 New York 4
E3 New York 2
Eastern Division
E4 Boston 4
E4 Boston 4
E2 Philadelphia 1
E4 Boston 4
W1 Los Angeles 3
W1 Los Angeles* 4
W3 San Francisco 2
W1 Los Angeles* 4
Western Division
W2 Atlanta 1
W4 San Diego 2
W2 Atlanta 4
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

Division Semifinals

Eastern Division Semifinals

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

March 27
New York Knicks 113, Baltimore Bullets 101
Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 32–23, 30–28, 29–29
Pts: Walt Frazier 26
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 21
Asts: Walt Frazier 11		 Pts: Earl Monroe 32
Rebs: Wes Unseld 13
Asts: Monroe, Unseld 3 each
New York leads series, 1–0
March 29
Baltimore Bullets 91, New York Knicks 107
Scoring by quarter: 29–30, 20–23, 28–31, 14–23
Pts: Earl Monroe 29
Rebs: Wes Unseld 27
Asts: Kevin Loughery 4		 Pts: Dick Barnett 27
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 19
Asts: Walt Frazier 12
New York leads series, 2–0
March 30
New York Knicks 119, Baltimore Bullets 116
Scoring by quarter: 38–32, 24–28, 25–31, 32–25
Pts: Willis Reed 35
Rebs: Willis Reed 19
Asts: Walt Frazier 17		 Pts: Kevin Loughery 29
Rebs: Wes Unseld 14
Asts: Kevin Loughery 7
New York leads series, 3–0
April 2
Baltimore Bullets 108, New York Knicks 115
Scoring by quarter: 29–25, 22–25, 29–32, 28–33
Pts: Monroe, Unseld 25 each
Rebs: Wes Unseld 20
Asts: Kevin Loughery 7		 Pts: Willis Reed 43
Rebs: Willis Reed 17
Asts: Walt Frazier 11
New York wins series, 4–0

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

(2) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (4) Boston Celtics

March 26
Boston Celtics 114, Philadelphia 76ers 100
Scoring by quarter: 33–27, 27–22, 26–24, 28–27
Pts: John Havlicek 35
Rebs: Bill Russell 15
Asts: Bill Russell 8		 Pts: Billy Cunningham 29
Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 19
Asts: Billy Cunningham 6
Boston leads series, 1–0
March 28
Philadelphia 76ers 103, Boston Celtics 134
Scoring by quarter: 29–27, 25–28, 25–37, 24–42
Pts: Chet Walker 26
Rebs: Billy Cunningham 11
Asts: Matt Guokas 4		 Pts: Bailey Howell 29
Rebs: Howell, Russell 16 each
Asts: John Havlicek 7
Boston leads series, 2–0
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,751
March 30
Boston Celtics 125, Philadelphia 76ers 118
Scoring by quarter: 31–31, 36–34, 28–28, 30–25
Pts: Sam Jones 28
Rebs: Bill Russell 18
Asts: John Havlicek 10		 Pts: Billy Cunningham 33
Rebs: Imhoff, Cunningham 14 each
Asts: Hal Greer 7
Boston leads series, 3–0
Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 15,244
April 1
Philadelphia 76ers 119, Boston Celtics 116
Scoring by quarter: 25–25, 32–30, 28–28, 34–33
Pts: Hal Greer 24
Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 20
Asts: Hal Greer 7		 Pts: John Havlicek 28
Rebs: Bill Russell 29
Asts: Bill Russell 5
Boston leads series, 3–1
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 14,017
April 4
Boston Celtics 93, Philadelphia 76ers 90
Scoring by quarter: 22–19, 18–21, 27–25, 26–25
Pts: John Havlicek 22
Rebs: Bill Russell 18
Asts: Bill Russell 6		 Pts: Billy Cunningham 23
Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 19
Asts: Archie Clark 7
Boston wins series, 4–1
Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 15,244

This was the 13th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning seven of the first 12 meetings.

Western Division Semifinals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) San Francisco Warriors

March 26
San Francisco Warriors 99, Los Angeles Lakers 94
Scoring by quarter: 28–22, 19–25, 25–29, 27–18
Pts: Jeff Mullins 36
Rebs: Nate Thurmond 27
Asts: Al Attles 9		 Pts: Jerry West 36
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 30
Asts: Jerry West 7
San Francisco leads series, 1–0
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 10,697
March 28
San Francisco Warriors 107, Los Angeles Lakers 101
Scoring by quarter: 34–30, 30–23, 22–26, 21–22
Pts: Rudy LaRusso 29
Rebs: Nate Thurmond 28
Asts: Jim King 7		 Pts: Jerry West 36
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 17
Asts: Jerry West 11
San Francisco leads series, 2–0
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 15,119
March 31
Los Angeles Lakers 115, San Francisco Warriors 98
Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 22–22, 41–25, 31–28
Pts: Jerry West 25
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 28
Asts: Jerry West 9		 Pts: Nate Thurmond 22
Rebs: Nate Thurmond 20
Asts: Nate Thurmond 5
San Francisco leads series, 2–1
April 2
Los Angeles Lakers 103, San Francisco Warriors 88
Scoring by quarter: 25–16, 32–19, 26–23, 20–30
Pts: Jerry West 36
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 14
Asts: Jerry West 5		 Pts: Ron Williams 16
Rebs: Nate Thurmond 15
Asts: Nate Thurmond 4
Series tied, 2–2
April 4
San Francisco Warriors 98, Los Angeles Lakers 103
Scoring by quarter: 26–28, 18–32, 30–24, 24–19
Pts: Joe Ellis 23
Rebs: Bill Turner 14
Asts: Nate Thurmond 6		 Pts: Jerry West 29
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 27
Asts: Jerry West 13
Los Angeles leads series, 3–2
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,309
April 5
Los Angeles Lakers 118, San Francisco Warriors 78
Scoring by quarter: 29–20, 32–18, 24–17, 33–23
Pts: Jerry West 29
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 25
Asts: Jerry West 8		 Pts: Jeff Mullins 21
Rebs: Nate Thurmond 14
Asts: Jeff Mullins 5
Los Angeles wins series, 4–2
  • The Lakers become the first team to win a playoff series after losing the first 2 games at home.

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

(4) Atlanta Hawks vs. (2) San Diego Rockets

March 27
San Diego Rockets 98, Atlanta Hawks 107
Scoring by quarter: 26–18, 17–28, 26–36, 29–25
Pts: Elvin Hayes 31
Rebs: Toby Kimball 15
Asts: Art Williams 6		 Pts: Lou Hudson 39
Rebs: Bill Bridges 22
Asts: Ohl, Hazzard 3 each
Atlanta leads series, 1–0
March 29
San Diego Rockets 114, Atlanta Hawks 116
Scoring by quarter: 24–21, 21–30, 25–32, 44–33
Pts: Rick Adelman 26
Rebs: three players 9 each
Asts: Rick Adelman 6		 Pts: Zelmo Beaty 31
Rebs: Bill Bridges 14
Asts: Joe Caldwell 8
Atlanta leads series, 2–0
April 1
Atlanta Hawks 97, San Diego Rockets 104
Scoring by quarter: 30–21, 26–28, 23–27, 18–28
Pts: Zelmo Beaty 31
Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 17
Asts: Joe Caldwell 6		 Pts: Elvin Hayes 26
Rebs: Elvin Hayes 19
Asts: Rick Adelman 8
Atlanta leads series, 2–1
April 4
Atlanta Hawks 112, San Diego Rockets 114
Scoring by quarter: 32–26, 26–33, 19–23, 35–32
Pts: Walt Hazzard 34
Rebs: Beaty, Bridges 11 each
Asts: Walt Hazzard 5		 Pts: Elvin Hayes 30
Rebs: Elvin Hayes 20
Asts: Don Kojis 4
Series tied, 2–2
April 6
San Diego Rockets 101, Atlanta Hawks 112
Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 24–28, 27–31, 24–28
Pts: Elvin Hayes 27
Rebs: Elvin Hayes 9
Asts: Art Williams 8		 Pts: Joe Caldwell 26
Rebs: Bill Bridges 17
Asts: Caldwell, Hazzard 5 each
Atlanta leads series, 3–2
April 7
Atlanta Hawks 108, San Diego Rockets 106
Scoring by quarter: 23–29, 27–33, 27–22, 31–22
Pts: Lou Hudson 27
Rebs: Bill Bridges 17
Asts: Caldwell, Hazzard 4 each		 Pts: Kojis, Hayes 26 each
Rebs: Toby Kimball 15
Asts: Adelman, Williams 6 each
Atlanta wins series, 4–2

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

Division Finals

Eastern Division Finals

(3) New York Knicks vs. (4) Boston Celtics

April 6
Boston Celtics 108, New York Knicks 100
Scoring by quarter: 23–26, 33–23, 22–24, 30–27
Pts: John Havlicek 25
Rebs: Bill Russell 16
Asts: Em Bryant 8		 Pts: Walt Frazier 34
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 14
Asts: Walt Frazier 8
Boston leads series, 1–0
April 9
New York Knicks 97, Boston Celtics 112
Scoring by quarter: 14–26, 19–29, 30–32, 34–25
Pts: Willis Reed 28
Rebs: Willis Reed 13
Asts: Walt Frazier 4		 Pts: Bailey Howell 27
Rebs: Bill Russell 29
Asts: John Havlicek 12
Boston leads series, 2–0
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 14,933
April 10
Boston Celtics 91, New York Knicks 101
Scoring by quarter: 19–28, 22–23, 29–24, 21–26
Pts: Russell, Bryant 16 each
Rebs: Bill Russell 20
Asts: Russell, Havlicek 8 each		 Pts: Walt Frazier 26
Rebs: Willis Reed 14
Asts: Walt Frazier 12
Boston leads series, 2–1
April 13
New York Knicks 96, Boston Celtics 97
Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 24–26, 23–24, 23–22
Pts: Willis Reed 22
Rebs: Willis Reed 19
Asts: Walt Frazier 6		 Pts: Bill Russell 21
Rebs: Bill Russell 23
Asts: John Havlicek 4
Boston leads series, 3–1
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 13,506
April 14
Boston Celtics 104, New York Knicks 112
Scoring by quarter: 24–30, 22–30, 21–25, 37–27
Pts: John Havlicek 29
Rebs: Bill Russell 16
Asts: John Havlicek 7		 Pts: Willis Reed 24
Rebs: Walt Frazier 12
Asts: Walt Frazier 9
Boston leads series, 3–2
April 18
New York Knicks 105, Boston Celtics 106
Scoring by quarter: 21–24, 31–33, 24–25, 29–24
Pts: Willis Reed 32
Rebs: Willis Reed 11
Asts: Bill Bradley 7		 Pts: Sam Jones 29
Rebs: Bill Russell 21
Asts: Russell, Havlicek 5 each
Boston wins series, 4–2
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 14,933

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

Western Division Finals

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

April 11
Atlanta Hawks 93, Los Angeles Lakers 95
Scoring by quarter: 17–25, 23–28, 29–23, 24–19
Pts: Zelmo Beaty 29
Rebs: Bill Bridges 20
Asts: Walt Hazzard 6		 Pts: Jerry West 25
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 29
Asts: Baylor, Egan 6 each
Los Angeles leads series, 1–0
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 16,190
April 13
Atlanta Hawks 102, Los Angeles Lakers 104
Scoring by quarter: 21–27, 31–25, 30–29, 20–23
Pts: Joe Caldwell 34
Rebs: Caldwell, Bridges 10 each
Asts: Bill Bridges 5		 Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 23
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 29
Asts: Johnny Egan 11
Los Angeles leads series, 2–0
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 15,136
April 15
Los Angeles Lakers 86, Atlanta Hawks 99
Scoring by quarter: 18–18, 20–28, 23–23, 25–30
Pts: Johnny Egan 19
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 22
Asts: West, Baylor 4 each		 Pts: Zelmo Beaty 22
Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 15
Asts: Lou Hudson 5
Los Angeles leads series, 2–1
April 17
Los Angeles Lakers 100, Atlanta Hawks 85
Scoring by quarter: 20–15, 21–28, 26–20, 33–22
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 25
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 19
Asts: Jerry West 5		 Pts: Lou Hudson 35
Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 20
Asts: Bill Bridges 5
Los Angeles leads series, 3–1
April 20
Atlanta Hawks 96, Los Angeles Lakers 104
Scoring by quarter: 16–22, 26–32, 29–22, 25–23
Pts: Zelmo Beaty 30
Rebs: Bill Bridges 22
Asts: Lou Hudson 7		 Pts: Elgin Baylor 29
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 29
Asts: Elgin Baylor 12
Los Angeles wins series, 4–1
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 16,273

This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning five of the first eight meetings while in St. Louis.

NBA Finals: (W1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E4) Boston Celtics

Main article: 1969 NBA Finals
April 23
Boston Celtics 118, Los Angeles Lakers 120
Scoring by quarter: 32–33, 26–23, 26–26, 34–38
Pts: John Havlicek 37
Rebs: Bill Russell 27
Asts: Sam Jones 6		 Pts: Jerry West 53
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 23
Asts: Jerry West 10
Los Angeles leads series, 1–0
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,554
April 25
Boston Celtics 112, Los Angeles Lakers 118
Scoring by quarter: 25–24, 30–29, 30–35, 27–30
Pts: John Havlicek 43
Rebs: Bill Russell 21
Asts: Bill Russell 13		 Pts: Jerry West 41
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 19
Asts: Egan, West 8 each
Los Angeles leads series, 2–0
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,559
April 27
Los Angeles Lakers 105, Boston Celtics 111
Scoring by quarter: 16–25, 24–32, 38–21, 27–33
Pts: Jerry West 24
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 26
Asts: Jerry West 6		 Pts: John Havlicek 34
Rebs: Bill Russell 18
Asts: John Havlicek 7
Los Angeles leads series, 2–1
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 14,037
April 29
Los Angeles Lakers 88, Boston Celtics 89
Scoring by quarter: 15–16, 26–33, 29–18, 18–22
Pts: Jerry West 40
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 31
Asts: West, Baylor 4 each		 Pts: John Havlicek 21
Rebs: Bill Russell 29
Asts: five players 2 each
Series tied, 2–2
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 15,128
  • Sam Jones hits the game-winner at the buzzer.
May 1
Boston Celtics 104, Los Angeles Lakers 117
Scoring by quarter: 24–23, 21–26, 24–30, 35–38
Pts: Sam Jones 25
Rebs: John Havlicek 14
Asts: Russell, Havlicek 5 each		 Pts: Jerry West 39
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 31
Asts: Jerry West 9
Los Angeles leads series, 3–2
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,553
May 3
Los Angeles Lakers 90, Boston Celtics 99
Scoring by quarter: 22–32, 17–23, 26–27, 25–17
Pts: West, Baylor 26 each
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 18
Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 4		 Pts: Don Nelson 25
Rebs: Bill Russell 19
Asts: Em Bryant 5
Series tied, 3–3
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 15,128
May 5
Boston Celtics 108, Los Angeles Lakers 106
Scoring by quarter: 28–25, 31–31, 32–20, 17–30
Pts: John Havlicek 26
Rebs: Bill Russell 21
Asts: Bill Russell 6		 Pts: Jerry West 42
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 27
Asts: Jerry West 12
Boston wins series, 4–3
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,568
  • Don Nelson hit a foul-line jumper which dropped through the basket after hitting the back rim and bouncing several feet straight up. The shot gave the Celtics a 105–102 lead after the Lakers cut their lead to 103–102.
  • Bill Russell and Sam Jones’ final NBA game; Celtics become the first team to come back from a 2–0 series deficit in the NBA Finals.

This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first six meetings.

See also

References

  1. ^ Exner, Rich. "What history says about a No. 4 seed like the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals". cleveland.com. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  2. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — New York Knicks versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  4. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Houston Rockets (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  6. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  7. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  8. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.