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.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 25–May 8, 1970 |
| Season | 1969–70 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | New York Knicks (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Semifinalists | |
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 edit
| 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 edit
Eastern Division Semifinals edit
(1) New York Knicks vs. (3) Baltimore Bullets edit
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.
| New York leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (4) Philadelphia 76ers edit
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 | ||
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 | ||
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 edit
(1) Atlanta Hawks vs. (3) Chicago Bulls edit
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 | ||
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 | ||
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.
| Atlanta/ St. Louis leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Phoenix Suns edit
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 | ||
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 | ||
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 | ||
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 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 edit
Eastern Division Finals edit
(1) New York Knicks vs. (2) Milwaukee Bucks edit
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 | ||
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 | ||
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 | ||
- Guy Rodgers' final NBA game.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[5]
Western Division Finals edit
(1) Atlanta Hawks vs. (2) Los Angeles Lakers edit
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 | ||
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 | ||
This was the 10th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning five of the first nine meetings.
| Atlanta leads 5–4 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
NBA Finals: (E1) New York Knicks vs. (W2) Los Angeles Lakers edit
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 | ||
- 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 | ||
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 | ||
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.
| Los Angeles/ Minneapolis leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — New York Knicks versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Milwaukee Bucks versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Chicago Bulls (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Phoenix Suns (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Milwaukee Bucks versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.