1972 NBA Finals
Encyclopedia
The 1972 NBA Finals was played at the conclusion of the 1971–72 NBA season
. The Western Conference
Champion Los Angeles Lakers
defeated the Eastern Conference
Champion New York Knicks
in five games. The Los Angeles Lakers got their first NBA championship since the Lakers moved to Los Angeles
from Minneapolis
.
This season's edition of the Los Angeles Lakers had won a NBA-record 69 regular season games, including 33 wins in a row. They were led by Wilt Chamberlain, the NBA's top rebounder and shot blocker that season. Guards Gail Goodrich and Jerry West were each among the NBA's top ten scorers that season, spearheading the NBA's top offense at 121 points per game. West also led the NBA in assists. The Lakers as a team led all NBA teams in rebounds and assists that season.
Los Angeles had swept a solid 57-win Chicago Bulls team in the playoff's opening round, then defeated the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks who won 63 games in six games to win the Western Conference. That historic series had matched Chamberlain against Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and West against Oscar Robertson. Having defeated tough Milwaukee, 48-win New York figured to be an easy formality for the Lakers.
New York was a top defensive team that allowed just 98.2 points per game and made 47% of their shots as a team. Then had defeated 38-win Baltimore Bullets and then upset the 56-win Boston Celtics to win the Eastern Conference final.
Television: ABC
- Keith Jackson
and Bill Russell
announcing.
because of his knee injury, Jerry Lucas
scored 26 points on 13-21 shooting to lead the win in the series opener. The 6' 9 center was an excellent outside shooter. Chamberlain would not pursue Lucas far from the basket and preferred to position for rebounds instead. The intelligent Lucas exploited this fact.
But Lucas was not the only Knick who was red hot. Bill Bradley
hit 11 of 12 shots from the field as New York shot 53 percent as a team for the game. The team took advantage of a nearly perfect first half to jump to a good lead and won easily, 114-92. New York hit 16 of their first 20 shots and led after each quarter. The win was considered a surprising upset.
Dave DeBusschere added 19 points and 18 rebounds. Walt Frazier triple-doubled with 14 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds.
The high-scoring Lakers backcourt of Jerry West and Gail Goodrich shot a cold 11 of 37, and no Los Angeles players took up their slack.
17,500 fans saw the game, which was held in Los Angeles.
Knicks forward DeBusschere, straining in position battles against the gigantic Chamberlain, hurt his side and did not play after the first half. The loss of DeBusschere, a key New York rebounder and defender, would badly hurt the team's chances from this point forward. He had played 43 minutes in Game 1, and the Knickerbockers relied on him heavily.
Also playing hurt was New York guard Earl Monroe. The Lakers' LaCroix took advantage and netted 31 points. The still cold-shooting West simply passed and had 13 assists.
Chamberlain took advantage of DeBusschere's absence and pulled down 24 rebounds, controlling the middle at both ends of the court.
Lucas had foul trouble and sat much of the third quarter, with New York scoring just 11 points in the period. A New York rally in the fourth quarter could not stop a 105-92 Los Angeles win to even the series.
Both teams used short rotations during the series. Los Angeles played each of its starters 40 minutes or more in Game 2, with Chamberlain playing all 48. New York figured to do the same, but now had to deal with injuriy issues to DeBusschere and Monroe.
DeBusschere gamely attempted to play in the first half, but simply could not overcome his injury. He missed all six of his field-goal attempts. He was hurting and elected not to play in the second half. DeBusschere explained :"I didn't feel I was helping the team,".
Lucas, the star of Game 1, tried to take up DeBusschere's slack. He hit 11 of 21 shots for 23 total points and 14 rebounds in 47 minutes of play. He also added a team-high six assists.
Frazier added 25 points himself. Bradley went a cold 5 of 17.
The Lakers led 52-47 at the half, and with DeBusschere out, took the game over again in the third quarter. Chamberlain and Laker forward Happy Hairston each collected 20 rebounds a piece, with the Laker giant also adding 26 points on 9 of 10 shooting. West and Goodrich combined for 46 points, and Los Angeles danced out to a 22-point lead and took a 2-1 lead in the series with a 107-96 win.
19,500 New York fans watch the contest.
DeBusschere vowed to play, and the tough New York forward impressed by playing 48 total minutes and pulling down a team-high 13 rebounds.
New York led 56-53 at the half. The third quarter was a 25-25 tie, but the Lakers rallied in the fourth quarter. The Knicks gamely hung on, and the game went to overtime when West missed at the regulation buzzer.
The overtime was closely contested and came down to a couple of New York misses in the period, which L.A. won 15-11 to take a commanding 3-1 series advantage. 116-111 was the final score.
All five Los Angeles starters played at least 45 minutes in Game 4, with Lakers coach Bill Sharman using just seven players total. Chamberlain played all 53 minutes and had 24 rebounds. The Laker starting guards combined for 56 points to again key the team.
New York had two 50-minutes players in the game. Lucas played all 53 minutes, and had 25 points on 11-22 shooting, with 11 assists and eight rebounds. Frazier had 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in 50 minutes.
Game was tied 53- 53 at halftime, Los Angeles pulled away from the tired Knicks in the second half.
Chamberlain dominated the middle with 24 points in 47 minutes, and a whopping 29 rebounds. He also had 8 assists and 8 blocked shots. (While blocked shots were not an official NBA stat at that time, announcer Keith Jackson counted up the block shots during the broadcast). West and Goodrich combined for 48 points.
Only Frazier battled for New York in this contest. He had 27 points, seven rebounds and ten assists in 47 minutes for the Knicks.
The Lakers won their first NBA Championship in L.A. with a 114-100 victory. The series they had expected to win easily had instead included a spirited New York effort hurt greatly by the injury to DeBusschere. Still, the series win concluded one of the greatest seasons any NBA team ever had.
For the five-game series, Chamberlain had averaged 19.4 points, 23.2 rebounds and several blocks. He was named Championship Series Most Valuable Player.
West had averaged 19.8 points and 8.8 assists, and Goodrich averaged 25.2 points for the series as well.
New York was led by the stellar efforts of Frazier and Lucas. Though Lucas had played well all season, many would speculate that the loss of Willis Reed to early-season injury had hurt New York most. They would look to his likely return for the NBA season to come.
, as the Knicks would get their revenge. In a reversal of the 1972 series, the Knicks would win four in a row after losing the opener to win their second NBA title in four years.
Lakers win series 4-1
1971–72 NBA season
The 1971–72 NBA season was the 26th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals....
. The Western Conference
Western Conference (NBA)
Below is a list of current Western Conference NBA team rosters.-Western Conference:There are a total of 15 teams in the Western Conference. The current leading team of the Western conference are the Dallas Mavericks....
Champion Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
defeated the Eastern Conference
Eastern Conference (NBA)
The Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association is made up of fifteen teams, organized in three divisions of five teams each.The three division winners and the non-division winner with the best record are seeded 1 through 4 for the playoffs in order of their records, with all...
Champion New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
in five games. The Los Angeles Lakers got their first NBA championship since the Lakers moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
from Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
.
This season's edition of the Los Angeles Lakers had won a NBA-record 69 regular season games, including 33 wins in a row. They were led by Wilt Chamberlain, the NBA's top rebounder and shot blocker that season. Guards Gail Goodrich and Jerry West were each among the NBA's top ten scorers that season, spearheading the NBA's top offense at 121 points per game. West also led the NBA in assists. The Lakers as a team led all NBA teams in rebounds and assists that season.
Los Angeles had swept a solid 57-win Chicago Bulls team in the playoff's opening round, then defeated the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks who won 63 games in six games to win the Western Conference. That historic series had matched Chamberlain against Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and West against Oscar Robertson. Having defeated tough Milwaukee, 48-win New York figured to be an easy formality for the Lakers.
New York was a top defensive team that allowed just 98.2 points per game and made 47% of their shots as a team. Then had defeated 38-win Baltimore Bullets and then upset the 56-win Boston Celtics to win the Eastern Conference final.
Television: ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
- Keith Jackson
Keith Jackson
Keith Jackson is an American sportscaster, known for his long career with ABC Sports , his coverage of college football , his style of folksy, down-to-earth commentary, and his distinctive voice, with its deep cadence, and operatic tone considered "like Edward R...
and Bill Russell
Bill Russell
William Felton "Bill" Russell is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association...
announcing.
Game 1
Although without Willis ReedWillis Reed
Willis Reed, Jr. is a retired American basketball player, coach and manager of basketball teams. He spent his entire professional playing career with the New York Knicks. In 1982, his outstanding record and achievements were recognized by his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall...
because of his knee injury, Jerry Lucas
Jerry Lucas
Jerry Ray Lucas was a basketball player from the 1950s to the 1970s, and is now a memory education expert. In 1996, the NBA's 50th anniversary, he was named one of the 50 greatest players in National Basketball Association history...
scored 26 points on 13-21 shooting to lead the win in the series opener. The 6' 9 center was an excellent outside shooter. Chamberlain would not pursue Lucas far from the basket and preferred to position for rebounds instead. The intelligent Lucas exploited this fact.
But Lucas was not the only Knick who was red hot. Bill Bradley
Bill Bradley
William Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....
hit 11 of 12 shots from the field as New York shot 53 percent as a team for the game. The team took advantage of a nearly perfect first half to jump to a good lead and won easily, 114-92. New York hit 16 of their first 20 shots and led after each quarter. The win was considered a surprising upset.
Dave DeBusschere added 19 points and 18 rebounds. Walt Frazier triple-doubled with 14 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds.
The high-scoring Lakers backcourt of Jerry West and Gail Goodrich shot a cold 11 of 37, and no Los Angeles players took up their slack.
17,500 fans saw the game, which was held in Los Angeles.
Game 2
Heavily criticized for their Game 1 loss in the home opener, the Lakers looked to avenge themselves on their home court again. But at halftime, the score was just 51-50, Los Angeles.Knicks forward DeBusschere, straining in position battles against the gigantic Chamberlain, hurt his side and did not play after the first half. The loss of DeBusschere, a key New York rebounder and defender, would badly hurt the team's chances from this point forward. He had played 43 minutes in Game 1, and the Knickerbockers relied on him heavily.
Also playing hurt was New York guard Earl Monroe. The Lakers' LaCroix took advantage and netted 31 points. The still cold-shooting West simply passed and had 13 assists.
Chamberlain took advantage of DeBusschere's absence and pulled down 24 rebounds, controlling the middle at both ends of the court.
Lucas had foul trouble and sat much of the third quarter, with New York scoring just 11 points in the period. A New York rally in the fourth quarter could not stop a 105-92 Los Angeles win to even the series.
Both teams used short rotations during the series. Los Angeles played each of its starters 40 minutes or more in Game 2, with Chamberlain playing all 48. New York figured to do the same, but now had to deal with injuriy issues to DeBusschere and Monroe.
Game 3
Despite injury issues, New York fans were optimistic as the series now headed to Madison Square Garden. The Knicks had gotten their ' split ' in two games in Los Angeles, and now had a chance to take control of the series.DeBusschere gamely attempted to play in the first half, but simply could not overcome his injury. He missed all six of his field-goal attempts. He was hurting and elected not to play in the second half. DeBusschere explained :"I didn't feel I was helping the team,".
Lucas, the star of Game 1, tried to take up DeBusschere's slack. He hit 11 of 21 shots for 23 total points and 14 rebounds in 47 minutes of play. He also added a team-high six assists.
Frazier added 25 points himself. Bradley went a cold 5 of 17.
The Lakers led 52-47 at the half, and with DeBusschere out, took the game over again in the third quarter. Chamberlain and Laker forward Happy Hairston each collected 20 rebounds a piece, with the Laker giant also adding 26 points on 9 of 10 shooting. West and Goodrich combined for 46 points, and Los Angeles danced out to a 22-point lead and took a 2-1 lead in the series with a 107-96 win.
19,500 New York fans watch the contest.
Game 4
New York's team now felt that Game 4 was a must-win game. It proved to be the pivotal match of the series.DeBusschere vowed to play, and the tough New York forward impressed by playing 48 total minutes and pulling down a team-high 13 rebounds.
New York led 56-53 at the half. The third quarter was a 25-25 tie, but the Lakers rallied in the fourth quarter. The Knicks gamely hung on, and the game went to overtime when West missed at the regulation buzzer.
The overtime was closely contested and came down to a couple of New York misses in the period, which L.A. won 15-11 to take a commanding 3-1 series advantage. 116-111 was the final score.
All five Los Angeles starters played at least 45 minutes in Game 4, with Lakers coach Bill Sharman using just seven players total. Chamberlain played all 53 minutes and had 24 rebounds. The Laker starting guards combined for 56 points to again key the team.
New York had two 50-minutes players in the game. Lucas played all 53 minutes, and had 25 points on 11-22 shooting, with 11 assists and eight rebounds. Frazier had 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in 50 minutes.
Game 5
Game 5 back in Los Angeles figured to simply be the conclusion, and it was. New York had spent everything it had in their Game 4 effort.Game was tied 53- 53 at halftime, Los Angeles pulled away from the tired Knicks in the second half.
Chamberlain dominated the middle with 24 points in 47 minutes, and a whopping 29 rebounds. He also had 8 assists and 8 blocked shots. (While blocked shots were not an official NBA stat at that time, announcer Keith Jackson counted up the block shots during the broadcast). West and Goodrich combined for 48 points.
Only Frazier battled for New York in this contest. He had 27 points, seven rebounds and ten assists in 47 minutes for the Knicks.
The Lakers won their first NBA Championship in L.A. with a 114-100 victory. The series they had expected to win easily had instead included a spirited New York effort hurt greatly by the injury to DeBusschere. Still, the series win concluded one of the greatest seasons any NBA team ever had.
For the five-game series, Chamberlain had averaged 19.4 points, 23.2 rebounds and several blocks. He was named Championship Series Most Valuable Player.
West had averaged 19.8 points and 8.8 assists, and Goodrich averaged 25.2 points for the series as well.
New York was led by the stellar efforts of Frazier and Lucas. Though Lucas had played well all season, many would speculate that the loss of Willis Reed to early-season injury had hurt New York most. They would look to his likely return for the NBA season to come.
Aftermath
The teams would meet again in the finals the following year1973 NBA Finals
For the third time in four seasons, the New York Knicks of the Eastern Conference met the Los Angeles Lakers of the Western Conference for the NBA World Championship in the 1973 NBA Finals...
, as the Knicks would get their revenge. In a reversal of the 1972 series, the Knicks would win four in a row after losing the opener to win their second NBA title in four years.
Series summary
| Game | Date | Home Team | Score | Road Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | April 26 (Wed.) | Los Angeles Lakers | 92-114 (0-1) | New York Knicks |
| Game 2 | April 30 (Sun.) | Los Angeles Lakers | 106-92 (1-1) | New York Knicks |
| Game 3 | May 3 (Wed.) | New York Knicks | 96-107 (1-2) | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Game 4 | May 5 (Fri.) | New York Knicks | 111-116 (1-3) | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Game 5 | May 7 (Sun.) | Los Angeles Lakers | 114-100 (4-1) | New York Knicks |
Lakers win series 4-1
Team rosters
External links
- NBA History
- http://webuns.chez-alice.fr/finals/1972.htm