1954 NBA Finals
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Dates | March 31 – April 12 | |||||||||
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Eastern Finals | Nationals defeated Celtics, 2–0 | |||||||||
Western Finals | Lakers defeated Royals, 2–1 | |||||||||
The 1954 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1954 NBA Playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association 1953–54 season. The Western Division champion Minneapolis Lakers faced the Eastern champion Syracuse Nationals in a best-of-seven series with Minneapolis having home-court advantage.[1] The Lakers won their third consecutive NBA championship and their sixth title in seven years dating from 1948, the club's final season as a member of the National Basketball League.
Minneapolis won game one and the teams thereafter alternated victories, Minneapolis winning the decisive game by a 7-point margin at home. The seven games were played in thirteen days, beginning Wednesday and Saturday, March 31 and April 3, in Minneapolis and concluding there on the following Sunday and Monday, April 11 and 12. Prior to and again following the three middle games in Syracuse, the teams traveled cross-country between Saturday and Sunday games; the visiting team won all four of those weekend games and none other. The entire postseason tournament spanned 28 days in which both Minneapolis and Syracuse played 13 games.[1][2]
Series summary
Game | Date | Home Team | Result | Road Team |
---|---|---|---|---|
Game 1 | March 31 | Minneapolis Lakers | 79–68 (1–0) | Syracuse Nationals |
Game 2 | April 3 | Minneapolis Lakers | 60–62 (1–1) | Syracuse Nationals |
Game 3 | April 4 | Syracuse Nationals | 67–81 (1–2) | Minneapolis Lakers |
Game 4 | April 8 | Syracuse Nationals | 80–69 (2–2) | Minneapolis Lakers |
Game 5 | April 10 | Syracuse Nationals | 73–84 (2–3) | Minneapolis Lakers |
Game 6 | April 11 | Minneapolis Lakers | 63–65 (3–3) | Syracuse Nationals |
Game 7 | April 12 | Minneapolis Lakers | 87–80 (4–3) | Syracuse Nationals |
Lakers win series 4–3
Team rosters
References
- 1 2 "1953–54 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
Select "Previous Season" from the heading for 1952–53, and so on. Select "Finals" from League Playoffs for the daily schedule of the final series, and so on. - ↑ "NBA Division Playoffs Open Tonight". The Washington Post. March 16, 1954.
External links
- 1954 Finals at NBA.com
- 1954 NBA Playoffs at Basketball-Reference.com