1971–72 New York Knicks season

1971–72 New York Knicks season
Conference champions
Head coachRed Holzman
General managerRed Holzman
ArenaMadison Square Garden
Results
Record48–34 (.585)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Atlantic)
Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(lost to Lakers 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWOR-TV
Manhattan Cable Television[1]
RadioWNBC[2]
< 1970–71 1972–73 >

The 1971–72 New York Knicks season was the 26th season for the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Knicks compiled a 48–34 record in the regular season to finish second in the Atlantic Division and earn a berth in the NBA Playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.[3] New York had acquired Earl Monroe in a trade with the Baltimore Bullets in November 1971.[4]

In the first round of the playoffs, New York faced the Baltimore Bullets,[5] who had defeated the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals the previous year.[6] The Knicks won the series in six games and advanced to the conference finals, where they faced the Boston Celtics. With a 4–1 series victory,[5] New York made the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons.[3] In the Finals, the Knicks were opposed by the Los Angeles Lakers, whom they had beaten in the 1970 NBA Finals.[7] After winning Game 1 of the Finals 114–92 in Los Angeles, the Knicks lost the next four games and the series.[8] Willis Reed only played 11 games in the regular season and missed the entirety of the playoffs with a knee injury.[9][10]

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 16 Dean Meminger G  United States Marquette
2 34 Gregg Northington F  United States Alabama State
3 50 Kenny Mayfield G  United States Tuskegee

[11]

Roster

1971–72 New York Knicks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
SG 12 Barnett, Dick 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1936-10-02 Tennessee State
SF 24 Bradley, Bill 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1943-07-28 Princeton
PF 22 DeBusschere, Dave 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1940-10-16 Detroit Mercy
PG 10 Frazier, Walt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1945-03-29 Southern Illinois
PF 18 Jackson, Phil 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1945-09-17 North Dakota
F/C 32 Lucas, Jerry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1940-03-30 Ohio State
G 7 Meminger, Dean 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1948-05-13 Marquette
G 42 Miles, Eddie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1940-07-05 Seattle
G 15 Monroe, Earl 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1944-11-21 Winston-Salem State
F 16 Paulk, Charlie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 219 lb (99 kg) 1946–06–14 Northeastern State
C 23 Rackley, Luther 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1946-06-11 Xavier
C 19 Reed, Willis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1942-06-25 Grambling State
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
y-Boston Celtics 56 26 .683 – 32–9 21–16 3–1 15–3
x-New York Knicks 48 34 .585 8 27–14 20–19 1–1 11–7
Philadelphia 76ers 30 52 .366 26 14–23 14–26 2–3 6–12
Buffalo Braves 22 60 .268 34 13–27 8–31 1–2 4–14
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT
1 z-Boston Celtics 56 26 .683
2 y-Baltimore Bullets 38 44 .463
3 x-New York Knicks 48 34 .585
4 x-Atlanta Hawks 36 46 .439
5 Philadelphia 76ers 30 52 .366
5 Cincinnati Royals 30 52 .366
7 Cleveland Cavaliers 23 59 .280
8 Buffalo Braves 22 60 .268
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1971–72 NBA records
Team ATL BAL BOS BUF CHI CIN CLE DET GSW HOU LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO POR SEA
Atlanta — 2–4 0–4 4–2 0–5 3–3 4–2 3–2 3–2 1–4 0–5 2–3 3–1 3–3 3–2 4–0 1–4
Baltimore 4–2 — 2–2 3–3 1–4 4–2 1–5 3–2 1–4 3–2 1–4 0–5 2–4 4–0 4–1 3–1 2–3
Boston 4–0 2–2 — 6–0 3–2 4–2 5–1 5–0 2–3 5–0 1–4 2–3 3–3 6–0 2–3 4–0 2–3
Buffalo 2–4 3–3 0–6 — 1–3 3–3 4–2 2–4 1–3 0–4 0–4 0–4 1–5 3–3 0–4 2–4 0–4
Chicago 5–0 4–1 2–3 3–1 — 3–1 4–0 5–1 3–3 5–1 1–3 2–4 3–2 4–1 5–1 6–0 2–3
Cincinnati 3–3 2–4 2–4 3–3 1–3 — 6–2 2–3 2–3 0–4 1–4 0–5 2–2 2–2 2–3 2–2 0–5
Cleveland 2–4 5–1 1–5 2–4 0–4 2–6 — 1–3 0–4 2–2 1–3 0–4 1–5 2–4 0–4 4–2 0–4
Detroit 2–3 2–3 0–5 4–2 1–5 3–2 3–1 — 0–5 3–3 1–4 1–5 1–4 1–4 2–4 2–2 0–4
Golden State 2–3 4–1 3–2 3–1 3–3 3–2 4–0 5–0 — 5–1 1–5 2–2 2–3 4–1 2–3 4–2 4–2
Houston 4–1 2–3 0–5 4–0 1–5 4–0 2–2 3–3 1–5 — 1–5 0–5 0–5 4–1 1–3 4–2 3–3
Los Angeles 5–0 4–1 4–1 4–0 3–1 4–1 3–1 4–1 5–1 5–1 — 4–1 4–1 5–0 4–2 6–0 5–1
Milwaukee 3–2 5–0 3–2 4–0 4–2 5–0 4–0 5–1 2–2 5–0 1–4 — 2–3 4–1 4–2 6–0 6–0
New York 1–3 4–2 3–3 5–1 2–3 2–2 5–1 4–1 3–2 5–0 1–4 3–2 — 3–3 1–4 3–1 3–2
Philadelphia 3–3 0–4 0–6 3–3 1–4 2–2 4–2 4–1 1–4 1–4 0–5 1–4 3–3 — 1–4 2–2 4–1
Phoenix 2–3 1–4 3–2 4–0 1–5 3–2 4–0 4–2 3–2 3–1 2–4 2–4 4–1 4–1 — 6–0 3–2
Portland 0–4 1–3 0–4 4–2 0–6 2–2 2–4 2–2 2–4 2–4 0–6 0–6 1–3 2–2 0–6 — 0–6
Seattle 4–1 3–2 3–2 4–0 3–2 5–0 4–0 4–0 2–4 3–3 1–5 0–6 2–3 1–4 2–3 6–0 —

Game log

1971–72 game log
# Date Opponent Score High points Record
1 October 12 Detroit 91–84 Willis Reed (20) 0–1
2 October 16 Los Angeles 119–104 Bill Bradley (17) 0–2
3 October 17 @ Cleveland 121–120 (OT) Willis Reed (28) 1–2
4 October 19 Golden State 84–93 Bill Bradley (23) 2–2
5 October 22 @ Baltimore 110–87 Dean Meminger (25) 3–2
6 October 23 Atlanta 95–89 Willis Reed (25) 3–3
7 October 26 Boston 101–106 DeBusschere, Frazier (22) 4–3
8 October 27 @ Atlanta 96–110 Walt Frazier (20) 4–4
9 October 28 Houston 94–112 Barnett, DeBusschere (26) 5–4
10 October 30 Philadelphia 108–101 Jerry Lucas (28) 5–5
11 November 3 @ Houston 117–98 Walt Frazier (31) 6–5
12 November 5 @ Seattle 97–101 Walt Frazier (28) 6–6
13 November 7 @ Los Angeles 96–103 Jerry Lucas (20) 6–7
14 November 10 @ Cincinnati 85–99 Barnett, Frazier (15) 6–8
15 November 11 Golden State 112–103 Walt Frazier (30) 6–9
16 November 13 Detroit 105–127 Walt Frazier (24) 7–9
17 November 16 Phoenix 111–112 Walt Frazier (39) 8–9
18 November 20 Baltimore 114–125 Dave DeBusschere (35) 9–9
19 November 23 Cincinnati 110–125 Walt Frazier (23) 10–9
20 November 24 @ Baltimore 114–94 Walt Frazier (28) 11–9
21 November 26 @ Boston 104–89 Walt Frazier (25) 12–9
22 November 27 Chicago 99–100 Walt Frazier (27) 13–9
23 November 30 Seattle 110–109 Dave DeBusschere (29) 13–10
24 December 3 @ Chicago 96–122 Walt Frazier (19) 13–11
25 December 4 Buffalo 90–130 Walt Frazier (25) 14–11
26 December 7 Boston 105–97 Walt Frazier (25) 14–12
27 December 11 Portland 102–134 Walt Frazier (29) 15–12
28 December 12 @ Cleveland 103–92 Walt Frazier (30) 16–12
29 December 14 Phoenix 110–100 Dick Barnett (25) 16–13
30 December 17 @ Buffalo 115–95 Walt Frazier (39) 17–13
31 December 18 Cleveland 84–104 Walt Frazier (25) 18–13
32 December 21 @ Golden State 113–87 Walt Frazier (27) 19–13
33 December 22 @ Seattle 120–104 Walt Frazier (28) 20–13
34 December 23 @ Portland 120–117 Walt Frazier (36) 21–13
35 December 25 Golden State 89–114 Walt Frazier (36) 22–13
36 December 28 @ Detroit 119–100 Walt Frazier (30) 23–13
37 December 30 Baltimore 110–102 Frazier, Monroe (21) 23–14
38 January 1 Cincinnati 94–104 Walt Frazier (41) 24–14
39 January 3 Milwaukee 99–101 Walt Frazier (31) 25–14
40 January 4 @ Milwaukee 100–121 Walt Frazier (21) 25–15
41 January 7 @ Philadelphia 113–117 Walt Frazier (32) 25–16
42 January 8 Chicago 113–108 Walt Frazier (30) 25–17
43 January 11 @ Chicago 91–116 Walt Frazier (24) 25–18
44 January 14 N Golden State 111–115 Dick Barnett (26) 25–19
45 January 16 @ Houston 109–108 Walt Frazier (31) 26–19
46 January 20 @ Phoenix 109–130 Walt Frazier (21) 26–20
47 January 21 @ Los Angeles 104–101 Jerry Lucas (26) 27–20
48 January 23 @ Seattle 101–99 Earl Monroe (27) 28–20
49 January 25 Boston 106–109 Walt Frazier (35) 29–20
50 January 28 @ Boston 116–122 (OT) Lucas, Monroe (20) 29–21
51 January 29 Seattle 106–110 Walt Frazier (27) 30–21
52 February 1 Detroit 106–115 Bill Bradley (29) 31–21
53 February 2 @ Cincinnati 105–116 Bill Bradley (27) 31–22
54 February 4 @ Buffalo 103–84 Earl Monroe (21) 32–22
55 February 5 Philadelphia 104–112 Bill Bradley (30) 33–22
56 February 6 @ Philadelphia 109–107 Bill Bradley (28) 34–22
57 February 8 Los Angeles 107–102 Bill Bradley (26) 34–23
58 February 9 @ Detroit 126–102 Walt Frazier (31) 35–23
59 February 11 @ Milwaukee 113–107 Jerry Lucas (29) 36–23
60 February 12 Cleveland 91–106 Bill Bradley (23) 37–23
61 February 16 Houston 100–110 Walt Frazier (28) 38–23
62 February 17 @ Chicago 102–99 (OT) Walt Frazier (22) 39–23
63 February 19 Buffalo 95–100 Jerry Lucas (22) 40–23
64 February 20 @ Cleveland 109–111 Dave DeBusschere (28) 40–24
65 February 22 Portland 105–122 Walt Frazier (29) 41–24
66 February 26 Baltimore 104–97 Walt Frazier (22) 41–25
67 February 27 N Baltimore 97–95 (OT) Earl Monroe (21) 42–25
68 February 29 Los Angeles 114–111 Jerry Lucas (32) 42–26
69 March 3 @ Buffalo 97–105 Frazier, Lucas (19) 42–27
70 March 4 Philadelphia 115–118 (OT) Jerry Lucas (28) 43–27
71 March 5 @ Philadelphia 98–100 Dave DeBusschere (24) 43–28
72 March 7 Milwaukee 101–110 Jerry Lucas (30) 44–28
73 March 11 Phoenix 110–106 Bill Bradley (30) 44–29
74 March 12 @ Boston 109–112 Phil Jackson (28) 44–30
75 March 14 Atlanta 107–115 Barnett, Frazier (22) 45–30
76 March 16 @ Houston 103–102 Bradley, Monroe (20) 46–30
77 March 17 @ Phoenix 106–111 Walt Frazier (25) 46–31
78 March 18 @ Portland 86–133 Frazier, Rackley (15) 46–32
79 March 22 Buffalo 99–123 Bill Bradley (33) 47–32
80 March 24 @ Milwaukee 88–131 Jackson, Monroe (12) 47–33
81 March 25 Cleveland 83–98 Walt Frazier (23) 48–33
82 March 26 @ Atlanta 106–120 Walt Frazier (27) 48–34

Playoffs

1972 playoff game log
Conference semifinals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 March 31 @ Baltimore L 105–108 (OT) Walt Frazier (31) Jerry Lucas (14) Walt Frazier (6) Baltimore Civic Center
12,289 		0–1
2 April 2 Baltimore W 110–88 Walt Frazier (30) Dave DeBusschere (14) Walt Frazier (9) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		1–1
3 April 4 @ Baltimore L 103–104 Earl Monroe (28) Jerry Lucas (12) Bill Bradley (5) Baltimore Civic Center
12,289 		1–2
4 April 6 Baltimore W 104–98 Bill Bradley (25) Dave DeBusschere (13) Walt Frazier (8) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		2–2
5 April 9 @ Baltimore W 106–82 Lucas, Monroe (20) Jerry Lucas (16) Jerry Lucas (6) Baltimore Civic Center
10,244 		3–2
6 April 11 Baltimore W 107–101 Lucas, Frazier (22) Jerry Lucas (12) Frazier, Monroe (5) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		4–2
Conference finals: 4–1 (home: 2–0; road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 13 @ Boston W 116–94 Walt Frazier (36) Jerry Lucas (11) Jerry Lucas (8) Boston Garden
14,292 		1–0
2 April 16 Boston W 106–105 Dave DeBusschere (24) Dave DeBusschere (17) three players tied (4) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		2–0
3 April 19 @ Boston L 109–115 Bill Bradley (29) Dave DeBusschere (12) Dave DeBusschere (6) Boston Garden
15,315 		2–1
4 April 21 Boston W 116–98 Earl Monroe (26) Dave DeBusschere (16) Jerry Lucas (7) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		3–1
5 April 23 @ Boston W 111–103 Dave DeBusschere (24) Frazier, DeBusschere (11) Walt Frazier (7) Boston Garden
15,315 		4–1
NBA Finals: 1–4 (home: 0–2; road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 26 @ Los Angeles W 114–92 Bill Bradley (29) Dave DeBusschere (18) Walt Frazier (11) The Forum
17,505 		1–0
2 April 30 @ Los Angeles L 92–106 Walt Frazier (21) Lucas, Jackson (11) Walt Frazier (7) The Forum
17,505 		1–1
3 May 3 Los Angeles L 96–107 Walt Frazier (25) Jerry Lucas (14) Jerry Lucas (6) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		1–2
4 May 5 Los Angeles L 111–116 (OT) Bill Bradley (26) Dave DeBusschere (13) Jerry Lucas (11) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		1–3
5 May 7 @ Los Angeles L 100–114 Walt Frazier (31) Dave DeBusschere (14) Walt Frazier (10) The Forum
17,505 		1–4
1972 schedule

Awards and records

References

  1. ^ The Fourth Estate (PDF). New York Knicks. 2003. p. 331. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  2. ^ The Fourth Estate (PDF). New York Knicks. 2003. p. 330. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "New York Knickerbockers Franchise Index". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on April 27, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  4. ^ Araton, p. 211.
  5. ^ a b "1971–72 New York Knickerbockers Roster and Statistics". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  6. ^ "1971 NBA Playoff Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  7. ^ "Lakers, Knicks Gain Hoop Final". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. April 24, 1972. p. 15. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  8. ^ Araton, pp. 251–252.
  9. ^ Nelson, John (March 26, 1974). "Road to Recovery Is Familiar to Willis Reed". Schenectady Gazette. Associated Press. p. 24. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  10. ^ Carry, Peter (May 21, 1973). "Where There's A Willis". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  11. ^ "1971 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  12. ^ "1971–72 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  13. ^ a b "NBA & ABA All-Defensive Teams". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved August 17, 2013.

Bibliography