1970 NBA Finals

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1970 NBA Finals
TeamCoachWins
New York Knicks Red Holzman 4
Los Angeles Lakers Joe Mullaney 3
DatesApril 24 – May 8
MVPWillis Reed
(New York Knicks)
Hall of FamersKnicks:
Willis Reed (1982)
Bill Bradley (1983)
Dave DeBusschere (1983)
Walt Frazier (1987)
Phil Jackson (2007, coach)
Lakers:
Elgin Baylor (1977)
Wilt Chamberlain (1979)
Jerry West (1980)
Coaches:
Red Holzman (1986)
Officials:
Mendy Rudolph (2007)
Eastern FinalsKnicks defeated Bucks, 4–1
Western FinalsLakers defeated Hawks, 4–0
← 1969 NBA Finals 1971 →

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

The Knicks appeared to have a see-saw Game 3 won when Dave DeBusschere made a shot with three seconds left to give New York a 102–100 edge and the Lakers were stuck with no time outs. L.A. inbounded to Mr. Clutch, Jerry West, who launched and made a miracle shot from beyond midcourt. It counted only for two points, as only the ABA had a three-point shot at the time, so the game went to overtime, and the Knicks were able to win, 111–108.

The final game of the series was named by ESPN in 2010 as the greatest Game 7 in finals history, featuring a return from injury for Willis Reed. Reed's most famous performance took place on May 8, 1970 in Game 7 played at Madison Square Garden. Due to a severe thigh injury suffered in Game 5, a torn muscle that kept him out of Game 6, he was considered unlikely to play in Game 7. Yet Reed surprised the fans by walking onto the court during warmups, prompting widespread applause. Starting the game, he scored the Knicks' first two field goals on his first two shot attempts, his only points of the game. He then played defense on Wilt Chamberlain, limiting him to two shots made in nine attempts. When Reed left for good with 3:05 left in the first half, the Knicks led 61–37. Walt "Clyde" Frazier took it from there, finishing with 36 points and 19 assists as the Knicks won the championship, 113–99. Following the game in the winner's locker room, a moved Howard Cosell told Reed on national television, "You exemplify the very best that the human spirit can offer."

Background

New York Knicks

Los Angeles Lakers

Series summary

Game Date Road team Result Home team
Game 1 April 24 Los Angeles Lakers 112-124 (0-1) New York Knicks
Game 2 April 27 Los Angeles Lakers 105–103 (1–1) New York Knicks
Game 3 April 29 New York Knicks 112–108 (OT) (2-1) Los Angeles Lakers
Game 4 May 1 New York Knicks 115–121 (OT) (2–2) Los Angeles Lakers
Game 5 May 4 Los Angeles Lakers 100–107 (2–3) New York Knicks
Game 6 May 6 New York Knicks 113–135 (3–3) Los Angeles Lakers
Game 7 May 8 Los Angeles Lakers 99–113 (3–4) New York Knicks

Knicks win series 4–3

Source:

Game summaries

Game 1

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

Game 2

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

Game 3

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
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,500
  • Jerry West hit a desperation buzzer-beating 60-foot shot to tie it at 102 and force OT.

Game 4

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
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,509

Game 5

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

Game 6

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
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,509

Game 7

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
External videos
video icon Full game broadcast on YouTube

Television

The 1970 NBA Finals were the first to be nationally televised in full, with ABC providing the coverage. Chris Schenkel was the play-by-play man, with Jack Twyman serving as the color analyst. Howard Cosell provided interviews from the Knicks' locker room following Game 7 and was famously doused with champagne.

However, the Knicks' victory in Game 7 was not seen live on broadcast TV in New York; ABC's coverage was blacked out on WABC-TV, causing a raft of angry fans to deluge the WABC switchboard. Schenkel made an announcement during the broadcast that the game would be aired in New York at 11:30 p.m. that night. The game was shown live on the premium-channel MSG Network in New York City, which was then only available in about 25,000 cable households in Manhattan.

Player statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
New York Knicks
New York Knicks statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Willis Reed 6 37.7 .484 .588 10.5 2.8 23.0
Dave DeBusschere 7 38.1 .455 .722 12.6 2.6 19.0
Dick Barnett 7 40.6 .448 .897 2.3 4.3 18.6
Walt Frazier 7 43.1 .541 .775 7.7 10.4 17.6
Bill Bradley 7 35.6 .388 .750 4.0 2.7 12.1
Cazzie Russell 7 18.6 .492 1.000 3.6 1.4 9.3
Dave Stallworth 7 14.0 .447 1.000 4.7 1.6 7.0
Mike Riordan 7 13.0 .387 .857 1.9 1.4 4.3
Nate Bowman 7 9.7 .481 .600 3.0 0.3 4.1
Bill Hosket 2 4.5 .250 0.5 0.5 1.0
John Warren 4 1.5 1.000 0.0 0.3 0.5
Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Jerry West 7 47.9 .450 .833 3.4 7.7 31.3
Wilt Chamberlain 7 47.6 .625 .343 24.1 4.0 23.3
Elgin Baylor 7 40.0 .486 .778 11.3 4.7 17.9
Dick Garrett 7 36.7 .474 .944 3.0 2.1 13.0
Keith Erickson 7 38.7 .479 .722 4.4 4.7 11.6
Happy Hairston 6 17.5 .471 .636 4.3 1.5 6.5
Johnny Egan 7 10.3 .526 1.000 0.1 0.9 3.6
John Tresvant 4 9.3 .333 .800 2.8 1.3 4.5
Mel Counts 3 9.0 .357 .667 2.7 0.3 4.0
Rick Roberson 3 3.3 .500 .500 1.3 0.0 2.3
Mike Lynn 1 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Willie McCarter 1 2.0 .000 1.0 1.0 0.0

Source:

Team rosters

New York Knicks

1969–70 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
C 17 Bowman, Nate 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1945–03–19 Wichita 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 20 Hosket, Bill Jr. 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1946–12–20 Ohio State
PF 18 Jackson, Phil Injured (IN) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1945-09-17 North Dakota
SF 5 May, Don 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1946–01–03 Dayton
C 19 Reed, Willis (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1942–06–25 Grambling State
SG 6 Riordan, Mike 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1945–07–09 Providence
SF 33 Russell, Cazzie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1944–06–07 Michigan
SF 9 Stallworth, Dave 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1941–12–20 Wichita State
SG 16 Warren, John 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1947–07–07 St. John's
Head coach

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Los Angeles Lakers

1969–70 Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
SF 22 Baylor, Elgin (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1934-09-16 Seattle
C 13 Chamberlain, Wilt (C) 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1936-08-21 Kansas
C 31 Counts, Mel 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1941-10-16 Oregon State
PG 21 Egan, Johnny 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1939-01-31 Providence
SF 24 Erickson, Keith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1944-04-19 UCLA
SG 20 Garrett, Dick 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1947-01-31 Southern Illinois
PF 52 Hairston, Happy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1942-05-31 NYU
PF 30 Hewitt, Bill 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1944-08-08 USC
SF 33 Lynn, Mike 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1945-11-25 UCLA
SG 15 McCarter, Willie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1946-07-26 Drake
C 35 Roberson, Rick 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 231 lb (105 kg) 1947-07-07 Cincinnati
PF 14 Tresvant, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1939-11-06 Seattle
PG 44 West, Jerry (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1938-05-28 West Virginia
Head coach

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

References

  1. ^ "1970 NBA Finals: New York 4 L.A. Lakers 3". Encyclopedia Playoff Edition. NBA. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "Greatest Finals Moments". NBA.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2008.
  3. ^ "Reed's game vs. Lakers tops list". ESPN. May 7, 2010. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  4. ^ "In for Two Plus the Title". si.com/vault. May 18, 1970.
  5. ^ a b "1970 NBA Finals: Lakers vs. Knicks". Basketball-Reference.com. SportsDirect. Retrieved February 27, 2016.

External links