1970 NBA Finals

1970 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins New York Knicks Red Holzman 4 Los Angeles Lakers Joe Mullaney 3
Dates	April 24 – May 8
MVP	Willis Reed[1] (New York Knicks)
Television	ABC (U.S.)
Hall of Famers	Knicks: Bill Bradley (1983) Dave DeBusschere (1983) Willis Reed (1982) Phil Jackson (2007, coach) Walt Frazier (1987) Lakers: Elgin Baylor (1977) Wilt Chamberlain (1979) Jerry West (1980) Coaches: Red Holzman (1986) Bill Sharman (1976, player/2004, coach)
Eastern Finals	Knicks defeat Bucks, 4–1
Western Finals	Lakers defeat Hawks, 4–0

The 1970 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1970 NBA Playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association 1969–70 season. The Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks faced the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers in a best-of-seven series that the Knicks won 4 games to 3 for their first NBA title.

The final game of the series was named by ESPN in 2010 as the greatest-ever Game 7 in finals history, featuring a return from injury for Willis Reed.^[2]

Background

Road to the Finals

Los Angeles Lakers (Western Division Champion)		New York Knicks (Eastern Division Champion)
Western Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div x-Atlanta Hawks 48 34 .585 – 25–13 18–16 5–5 24–16 x-Los Angeles Lakers 46 36 .561 2 27–14 17–21 2–1 24–16 x-Chicago Bulls 39 43 .476 9 23–10 9–25 7–8 22–18 x-Phoenix Suns 39 43 .476 9 22–15 12–25 5–3 24–16 Seattle SuperSonics 36 46 .439 12 22–14 10–26 4–6 14–26 San Francisco Warriors 30 52 .366 18 16–20 14–26 0–6 15–25 San Diego Rockets 27 55 .329 21 21–17 4–33 2–5 17–23 2nd seed in the West, 5th best league record	Regular season		Eastern Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div x-New York Knicks 60 22 .732 – 30–11 27–10 3–1 28–12 x-Milwaukee Bucks 56 26 .683 4 27–11 24–14 5–1 27–13 x-Baltimore Bullets 50 32 .610 10 25–12 19–18 6–2 21–19 x-Philadelphia 76ers 42 40 .512 18 22–16 16–22 4–2 20–20 Cincinnati Royals 36 46 .439 24 19–13 14–25 3–8 18–22 Boston Celtics 34 48 .415 26 16–21 13–27 5–0 16–24 Detroit Pistons 31 51 .378 29 18–20 10–25 3–6 10-30 1st seed in the East, best league record
Defeated the (4) Phoenix Suns, 4–3	Division Semifinals		Defeated the (3) Baltimore Bullets, 4–3
Defeated the (1) Atlanta Hawks, 4–0	Division Finals		Defeated the (2) Milwaukee Bucks, 4–1

Series summary

Game	Home Team	Score	Road Team
Game 1	New York Knicks	124–112 (1–0)	Los Angeles Lakers
Game 2	New York Knicks	103–105 (1–1)	Los Angeles Lakers
Game 3	Los Angeles Lakers	108–111 OT (1–2)	New York Knicks
Game 4	Los Angeles Lakers	121–115 OT (2–2)	New York Knicks
Game 5	New York Knicks	107–100 (3–2)	Los Angeles Lakers
Game 6	Los Angeles Lakers	135–113 (3–3)	New York Knicks
Game 7	New York Knicks	113–99 (4–3)	Los Angeles Lakers

Knicks win series 4–3

Source:^[3]

Team rosters

References

1. "1970 NBA Finals: New York 4 L.A. Lakers 3". Encyclopedia Playoff Edition. NBA. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
2. "Reed's game vs. Lakers tops list". ESPN. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
3. "1970 NBA Finals: Lakers vs. Knicks". Basketball-Reference.com. SportsDirect. Retrieved 27 February 2016.

External links

• New York Times (April 25, 1970) Game 1: "Knicks Conquer Lakers, 124‐112, in First Game of N.B.A. Final at Garden"
• New York Times (April 29, 1970 Game 3: "HOME‐COURT EDGE TO LAKERS TONIGHT"
• New York Times (May 2, 1970) Game 4: "Lakers Overcome Knicks, 121‐115, in Overtime and Tie Final Series at 2‐2"
• New York Times (May 5, 1970) Game 5: "Their Big Man Out Early With an Injury, the Knicks Fight Back to Overcome Big Deficit"
• New York Times (May 7, 1970) Game 6: "Lakers Overwhelm Knicks, 135‐113, to Square Title Playoff Series at 3‐3"
• New York Times (May 9, 1970) Game 7: "Knicks Take First Title, Beating Lakers, 113 to 99"