1972 NBA playoffs
The 1972 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1971–72 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. Wilt Chamberlain was named NBA Finals MVP.
| Dates | March 28–May 7, 1972 |
|---|---|
| Season | 1971–72 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Champions | Los Angeles Lakers (6th title) |
| Runners-up | New York Knicks (4th finals appearance) |
| Semifinalists | |
The Lakers finished the regular season with the best record in NBA history at 69–13, a mark that was unequalled until the 1996 Bulls finished 72–10. Led by Chamberlain and Jerry West, the Lakers won their first title in Los Angeles; their last title was in 1954 as the Minneapolis Lakers.
The Lakers won their first NBA Finals in their last nine appearances without superstar Elgin Baylor, who had played in each of the preceding eight losses. He retired nine games into the season because of ongoing knee problems.
The Conference Semifinals series between the Bullets and Knicks would be the last NBA playoff series in which the team with the inferior regular season record held home-court advantage based on division champions holding home-court advantage over a division runner-up through the Conference Finals. Although from 1977–2015, division champions were either automatically seeded higher than non-division champions or guaranteed a minimum seed regardless of record. However, home-court advantage would be based on regular season record, with division champion status being used as a possible tiebreaker to determine seeding.
Bracket
| Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||
| A1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||||||
| C2 | Atlanta | 2 | ||||||||||||
| A1 | Boston* | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
| A2 | New York | 4 | ||||||||||||
| C1 | Baltimore* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| A2 | New York | 4 | ||||||||||||
| A2 | New York | 1 | ||||||||||||
| P1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | ||||||||||||
| M1 | Milwaukee* | 4 | ||||||||||||
| P2 | Golden State | 1 | ||||||||||||
| M1 | Milwaukee* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
| P1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | ||||||||||||
| P1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | ||||||||||||
| M2 | Chicago | 0 | ||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage
Conference semifinals
(A1) Boston Celtics vs. (C2) Atlanta Hawks
March 29 |
| Atlanta Hawks 108, Boston Celtics 126 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–28, 23–34, 30–33, 25–31 | ||
| Pts: Lou Hudson 29 Rebs: Don Adams 12 Asts: Herm Gilliam 8 |
Pts: John Havlicek 32 Rebs: Dave Cowens 16 Asts: John Havlicek 10 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 31 |
| Boston Celtics 104, Atlanta Hawks 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–32, 22–27, 28–31, 24–23 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 43 Rebs: Dave Cowens 12 Asts: John Havlicek 4 |
Pts: Lou Hudson 41 Rebs: Walt Bellamy 18 Asts: Herm Gilliam 9 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 2 |
| Atlanta Hawks 113, Boston Celtics 136 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–33, 26–41, 28–22, 32–40 | ||
| Pts: Pete Maravich 37 Rebs: Jim Washington 11 Asts: Pete Maravich 6 |
Pts: John Havlicek 31 Rebs: Cowens, Finkel 11 each Asts: Jo Jo White 11 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 4 |
| Boston Celtics 110, Atlanta Hawks 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–26, 24–26, 26–32, 30–28 | ||
| Pts: Jo Jo White 32 Rebs: Steve Kuberski 13 Asts: John Havlicek 5 |
Pts: Pete Maravich 36 Rebs: Walt Bellamy 15 Asts: Don Adams 4 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 7 |
| Atlanta Hawks 114, Boston Celtics 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–33, 30–25, 31–31, 30–35 | ||
| Pts: three players 21 each Rebs: Walt Bellamy 13 Asts: Pete Maravich 8 |
Pts: John Havlicek 27 Rebs: Dave Cowens 12 Asts: John Havlicek 9 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 9 |
| Boston Celtics 127, Atlanta Hawks 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 41–31, 35–33, 24–24, 27–30 | ||
| Pts: Havlicek, Cowens 26 each Rebs: Dave Cowens 20 Asts: Jo Jo White 9 |
Pts: Pete Maravich 37 Rebs: Walt Bellamy 15 Asts: Pete Maravich 5 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–2 | ||
This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning three of the four meetings while the Hawks were based in St. Louis.
| Boston leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(C1) Baltimore Bullets vs. (A2) New York Knicks
March 31 |
| New York Knicks 105, Baltimore Bullets 108 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–24, 24–27, 20–23, 29–25, Overtime: 6–9 | ||
| Pts: Walt Frazier 31 Rebs: Jerry Lucas 14 Asts: Walt Frazier 6 |
Pts: Archie Clark 38 Rebs: Wes Unseld 18 Asts: Wes Unseld 6 | |
| Baltimore leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 2 |
| Baltimore Bullets 88, New York Knicks 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–26, 21–30, 28–23, 22–31 | ||
| Pts: Archie Clark 18 Rebs: Unseld, Tresvant 10 each Asts: Archie Clark 7 |
Pts: Walt Frazier 30 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 14 Asts: Walt Frazier 9 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 4 |
| New York Knicks 103, Baltimore Bullets 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–29, 25–18, 26–31, 25–26 | ||
| Pts: Earl Monroe 28 Rebs: Jerry Lucas 12 Asts: Bill Bradley 5 |
Pts: Archie Clark 35 Rebs: Unseld, Tresvant 12 each Asts: Unseld, Clark 9 each | |
| Baltimore leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 6 |
| Baltimore Bullets 98, New York Knicks 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–25, 27–25, 26–32, 25–22 | ||
| Pts: Archie Clark 22 Rebs: Wes Unseld 16 Asts: Archie Clark 6 |
Pts: Bill Bradley 25 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 13 Asts: Walt Frazier 8 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 9 |
| New York Knicks 106, Baltimore Bullets 82 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–23, 22–20, 27–12, 29–27 | ||
| Pts: Lucas, Monroe 20 each Rebs: Jerry Lucas 16 Asts: Jerry Lucas 6 |
Pts: Mike Riordan 16 Rebs: Wes Unseld 13 Asts: Archie Clark 9 | |
| New York leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 11 |
| Baltimore Bullets 101, New York Knicks 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–27, 25–21, 30–27, 27–32 | ||
| Pts: Archie Clark 31 Rebs: John Tresvant 8 Asts: Archie Clark 11 |
Pts: Lucas, Frazier 22 each Rebs: Jerry Lucas 12 Asts: Frazier, Monroe 5 each | |
| New York wins series, 4–2 | ||
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning two of the previous three meetings.
| New York leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(P1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (M2) Chicago Bulls
March 28 |
| Chicago Bulls 80, Los Angeles Lakers 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–17, 23–26, 21–24, 19–28 | ||
| Pts: Jerry Sloan 18 Rebs: Clifford Ray 17 Asts: Norm Van Lier 4 |
Pts: Gail Goodrich 32 Rebs: Chamberlain, Hairston 17 each Asts: Jerry West 10 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 30 |
| Chicago Bulls 124, Los Angeles Lakers 131 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–30, 26–38, 31–26, 32–37 | ||
| Pts: Bob Love 26 Rebs: Clifford Ray 12 Asts: Norm Van Lier 10 |
Pts: Jerry West 37 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 21 Asts: Jerry West 11 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 2 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 108, Chicago Bulls 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–24, 26–25, 25–26, 27–26 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 31 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 14 Asts: Jerry West 9 |
Pts: Norm Van Lier 22 Rebs: Clifford Ray 20 Asts: Norm Van Lier 8 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–0 | ||
April 4 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 108, Chicago Bulls 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–28, 28–22, 31–25, 31–22 | ||
| Pts: Gail Goodrich 27 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 31 Asts: Jerry West 10 |
Pts: Clifford Ray 20 Rebs: Clifford Ray 17 Asts: Norm Van Lier 11 | |
| Los Angeles wins series, 4–0 | ||
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning both prior meetings.
| Los Angeles leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(M1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (P2) Golden State Warriors
March 28 |
| Golden State Warriors 117, Milwaukee Bucks 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–36, 33–25, 31–20, 27–25 | ||
| Pts: Jim Barnett 30 Rebs: Nate Thurmond 20 Asts: Thurmond, Mullins 9 each |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 28 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 15 Asts: Lucius Allen 8 | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 30 |
| Golden State Warriors 93, Milwaukee Bucks 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–33, 22–22, 20–35, 26–28 | ||
| Pts: Nate Thurmond 32 Rebs: Thurmond, Lee 18 each Asts: Mullins, Barnett 5 each |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 25 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 22 Asts: Oscar Robertson 9 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 1 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 122, Golden State Warriors 94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–18, 31–26, 28–25, 36–25 | ||
| Pts: Abdul-Jabbar, Dandridge 23 each | Pts: Nate Thurmond 21 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 4 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 106, Golden State Warriors 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–32, 25–19, 23–24, 25–24 | ||
| Pts: Bob Dandridge 31 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 20 Asts: Oscar Robertson 11 |
Pts: Jim Barnett 29 Rebs: Clyde Lee 16 Asts: Jeff Mullins 6 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 6 |
| Golden State Warriors 100, Milwaukee Bucks 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–34, 26–19, 27–31, 18–24 | ||
| Pts: Nate Thurmond 26 | Pts: Bob Dandridge 29 | |
| Milwaukee wins series, 4–1 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bucks winning the first meeting.
| Milwaukee leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Conference finals
(A1) Boston Celtics vs. (A2) New York Knicks
April 13 |
| New York Knicks 116, Boston Celtics 94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–17, 27–19, 32–31, 31–27 | ||
| Pts: Walt Frazier 36 Rebs: Jerry Lucas 11 Asts: Jerry Lucas 8 |
Pts: Jo Jo White 19 Rebs: Dave Cowens 15 Asts: Jo Jo White 5 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 16 |
| Boston Celtics 105, New York Knicks 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–31, 22–24, 24–29, 29–22 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 29 Rebs: Dave Cowens 18 Asts: John Havlicek 6 |
Pts: Dave DeBusschere 24 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 17 Asts: three players 4 each | |
| New York leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 19 |
| New York Knicks 109, Boston Celtics 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 25–34, 36–25, 26–35 | ||
| Pts: Bill Bradley 29 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 12 Asts: Dave DeBusschere 6 |
Pts: Jo Jo White 29 Rebs: Dave Cowens 16 Asts: John Havlicek 11 | |
| New York leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 21 |
| Boston Celtics 98, New York Knicks 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–30, 24–27, 21–29, 25–30 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 27 Rebs: Havlicek, Nelson 9 each Asts: John Havlicek 6 |
Pts: Earl Monroe 26 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 16 Asts: Jerry Lucas 7 | |
| New York leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 23 |
| New York Knicks 111, Boston Celtics 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–27, 27–28, 33–24, 28–24 | ||
| Pts: Dave DeBusschere 24 Rebs: Frazier, DeBusschere 11 each Asts: Walt Frazier 7 |
Pts: John Havlicek 32 Rebs: Dave Cowens 15 Asts: Jo Jo White 9 | |
| New York wins series, 4–1 | ||
This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning four of the first seven meetings.
| Boston leads 4–3 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(P1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (M1) Milwaukee Bucks
April 9 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 93, Los Angeles Lakers 72 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19-19, 18–15, 31–8, 25–30 | ||
| Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 33 Rebs: Curtis Perry 23 Asts: Oscar Robertson 10 |
Pts: Happy Hairston 16 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 24 Asts: Jerry West 6 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 1–0 | ||
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's famous dunk on Wilt Chamberlain.
April 12 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 134, Los Angeles Lakers 135 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 38–37, 28–35, 30–34, 38–29 | ||
| Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 40 Rebs: Curtis Perry 12 Asts: Abdul-Jabbar, Robertson 7 each |
Pts: Jim McMillian 42 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 17 Asts: Jerry West 13 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
- Happy Hairston hits the game-winning basket with 6 seconds left.
April 14 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 108, Milwaukee Bucks 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–28, 30–22, 26–31, 26–24 | ||
| Pts: Gail Goodrich 30 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 14 Asts: Jerry West 8 |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 33 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 21 Asts: Abdul-Jabbar, Allen 6 each | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 16 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 88, Milwaukee Bucks 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–32, 24-24, 20–21, 23–37 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 24 Rebs: Chamberlain, Hairston 11 each Asts: Chamberlain, West 4 each |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 31 Rebs: Curtis Perry 19 Asts: Oscar Robertson 10 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 18 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 90, Los Angeles Lakers 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24-24, 22–31, 23–35, 21–25 | ||
| Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 28 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 16 Asts: Bob Dandridge 4 |
Pts: Jim McMillian 25 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 26 Asts: Jerry West 10 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 22 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 104, Milwaukee Bucks 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25-25, 26–27, 21–25, 32–23 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 25 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 24 Asts: Jerry West 9 |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 37 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 25 Asts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 8 | |
| Los Angeles wins series, 4–2 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bucks winning the first meeting.
| Milwaukee leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
NBA Finals: (P1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (A2) New York Knicks
April 26 |
| New York Knicks 114, Los Angeles Lakers 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–28, 34–21, 19–19, 28–24 | ||
| Pts: Bill Bradley 29 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 18 Asts: Walt Frazier 11 |
Pts: Gail Goodrich 20 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 19 Asts: Jerry West 7 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 30 |
| New York Knicks 92, Los Angeles Lakers 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–30, 24–21, 11–28, 31–27 | ||
| Pts: Walt Frazier 21 Rebs: Lucas, Jackson 11 each Asts: Walt Frazier 7 |
Pts: Gail Goodrich 31 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 24 Asts: Jerry West 13 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
May 3 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 107, New York Knicks 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–28, 29–19, 28–18, 27–31 | ||
| Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 26 Rebs: Chamberlain, Hairston 20 each Asts: Jerry West 8 |
Pts: Walt Frazier 25 Rebs: Jerry Lucas 14 Asts: Jerry Lucas 6 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–1 | ||
May 5 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 116, New York Knicks 111 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–28, 27–28, 25–25, 23–20, Overtime: 15–10 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 28 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 24 Asts: Jerry West 7 |
Pts: Bill Bradley 26 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 13 Asts: Jerry Lucas 11 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–1 | ||
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 19,588 Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Jake O'Donnell |
- Walt Frazier tips in a Dave DeBusschere miss over Wilt Chamberlain with 3 seconds left in regulation to force OT.
May 7 |
| New York Knicks 100, Los Angeles Lakers 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–26, 29–27, 25–30, 22–31 | ||
| Pts: Walt Frazier 31 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 14 Asts: Walt Frazier 10 |
Pts: Gail Goodrich 25 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 29 Asts: Jerry West 9 | |
| Los Angeles wins series, 4–1 | ||
- The Lakers win their first title after moving to Los Angeles.
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning two of the first three meetings.
| Los Angeles leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
References
- "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Boston Celtics (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- "Team Rivalry Finder — New York Knicks versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- "Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Milwaukee Bucks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Milwaukee Bucks (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.
External links
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