1971 NBA playoffs

1971 NBA playoffs
Tournament details
DatesMarch 24–April 30, 1971
Season1970–71
Teams8
Final positions
ChampionsMilwaukee Bucks (1st title)
Runner-upBaltimore Bullets
Semifinalists
← 1970
1972 →

The 1971 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1970–71 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks defeating the Eastern Conference champion Baltimore Bullets four games to none in the NBA Finals.

Led by Finals MVP and the previous season's Rookie of the Year Lew Alcindor and Oscar Robertson, the Bucks became the fastest expansion team in NBA history to win the championship (a record that they still hold as of 2021), and did so in dominating fashion, finishing 12–2 in the playoffs with a postseason average point differential of 14.5.[1]

The playoff format kept the amount of teams qualifying the same, albeit with a different format from the two-division format, since there were now four divisions rather than two, with each division qualifying its champion and second-place team (as opposed to having the top four from the Eastern and Western). In the Conference Semifinals, the champion of each division played the second place team in the other, with the divisional champion having home-court advantage. The two winners then played for the conference championship.

This was the first NBA Finals appearance for the Bullets, and their only trip to the championship round in Baltimore; they made three more appearances (winning one title) later in the decade.

The 1971 playoffs was the last for the San Francisco Warriors under that moniker; the following season, symbolizing their already-established home base of Oakland, they changed their name to the Golden State Warriors.

Bracket

[edit]
Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
         
A1 New York* 4
C2 Atlanta 1
A1 New York* 3
Eastern Conference
C1 Baltimore* 4
C1 Baltimore* 4
A2 Philadelphia 3
C1 Baltimore* 0
M1 Milwaukee* 4
M1 Milwaukee* 4
P2 San Francisco 1
M1 Milwaukee* 4
Western Conference
P1 Los Angeles* 1
P1 Los Angeles* 4
M2 Chicago 3
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage

Conference semifinals

[edit]

Eastern Conference semifinals

[edit]
March 25
Atlanta Hawks 101, New York Knicks 112
Scoring by quarter: 22–32, 26–22, 32–21, 21–37
Pts: Pete Maravich 23
Rebs: Bill Bridges 13
Asts: Hazzard, Maravich 5 each
Pts: Bill Bradley 25
Rebs: Willis Reed 22
Asts: Bill Bradley 4
New York leads series, 1–0
March 27
Atlanta Hawks 113, New York Knicks 104
Scoring by quarter: 14–26, 35–30, 33–23, 31–25
Pts: Lou Hudson 35
Rebs: Bill Bridges 36
Asts: Pete Maravich 5
Pts: Walt Frazier 29
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 15
Asts: Bill Bradley 4
Series tied, 1–1
March 28
New York Knicks 110, Atlanta Hawks 95
Scoring by quarter: 24–27, 23–27, 37–23, 26–18
Pts: Willis Reed 26
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 17
Asts: Walt Frazier 9
Pts: Walt Bellamy 29
Rebs: Walt Bellamy 18
Asts: Walt Hazzard 7
New York leads series, 2–1
March 30
New York Knicks 113, Atlanta Hawks 107
Scoring by quarter: 32–28, 31–29, 27–29, 23–21
Pts: Walt Frazier 26
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 13
Asts: Walt Frazier 8
Pts: Walt Bellamy 25
Rebs: Bill Bridges 18
Asts: Walt Hazzard 9
New York leads series, 3–1
April 1
Atlanta Hawks 107, New York Knicks 111
Scoring by quarter: 28–25, 29–25, 28–25, 22–33
Pts: Lou Hudson 29
Rebs: Bellamy, Bridges 20 each
Asts: Walt Bellamy 5
Pts: Dave DeBusschere 29
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 22
Asts: Willis Reed 5
New York wins series, 4–1

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[2]

March 24
Philadelphia 76ers 126, Baltimore Bullets 112
Scoring by quarter: 28–28, 27–28, 35–21, 36–35
Pts: Hal Greer 30
Rebs: Luke Jackson 13
Asts: Archie Clark 7
Pts: Loughery, Gus Johnson 19
Rebs: Wes Unseld 20
Asts: Kevin Loughery 4
Philadelphia leads series, 1–0
March 26
Baltimore Bullets 119, Philadelphia 76ers 107
Scoring by quarter: 36–29, 32–32, 24–17, 27–29
Pts: Marin, Monroe 24 each
Rebs: Wes Unseld 18
Asts: Earl Monroe 6
Pts: Archie Clark 26
Rebs: Billy Cunningham 11
Asts: Archie Clark 6
Series tied, 1–1
Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 10,369
March 28
Philadelphia 76ers 103, Baltimore Bullets 111
Scoring by quarter: 25–27, 22–25, 29–28, 27–31
Pts: Hal Greer 28
Rebs: Billy Cunningham 19
Asts: Billy Cunningham 10
Pts: Earl Monroe 29
Rebs: Wes Unseld 24
Asts: Kevin Loughery 7
Baltimore leads series, 2–1
March 30
Baltimore Bullets 120, Philadelphia 76ers 105
Scoring by quarter: 30–32, 32–30, 27–19, 31–24
Pts: Jack Marin 27
Rebs: Gus Johnson 14
Asts: Earl Monroe 6
Pts: Archie Clark 24
Rebs: Billy Cunningham 17
Asts: Billy Cunningham 8
Baltimore leads series, 3–1
April 1
Philadelphia 76ers 104, Baltimore Bullets 103
Scoring by quarter: 28–18, 30–24, 26–29, 20–32
Pts: Billy Cunningham 32
Rebs: Billy Cunningham 20
Asts: Hal Greer 6
Pts: Earl Monroe 26
Rebs: Wes Unseld 18
Asts: Kevin Loughery 5
Baltimore leads series, 3–2
April 3
Baltimore Bullets 94, Philadelphia 76ers 98
Scoring by quarter: 16–30, 24–25, 34–20, 20–23
Pts: Earl Monroe 30
Rebs: Wes Unseld 18
Asts: Kevin Loughery 5
Pts: Billy Cunningham 33
Rebs: Billy Cunningham 16
Asts: Billy Cunningham 5
Series tied, 3–3
April 4
Philadelphia 76ers 120, Baltimore Bullets 128
Scoring by quarter: 30–31, 22–43, 27–25, 41–29
Pts: Archie Clark 37
Rebs: Billy Cunningham 19
Asts: Clark, Greer 5 each
Pts: Jack Marin 33
Rebs: Wes Unseld 22
Asts: Gus Johnson 8
Baltimore wins series, 4–3

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[3]

Western Conference semifinals

[edit]
March 27
Milwaukee Bucks 107, San Francisco Warriors 96
Scoring by quarter: 34–24, 24–28, 23–24, 26–20
Pts: Oscar Robertson 31
Rebs: Abdul-Jabbar, Smith 10 each
Asts: Oscar Robertson 9
Pts: Jeff Mullins 30
Rebs: Nate Thurmond 15
Asts: Jeff Mullins 7
Milwaukee leads series, 1–0
March 29
San Francisco Warriors 90, Milwaukee Bucks 104
Scoring by quarter: 20–25, 24–18, 16–29, 30–32
Pts: Nate Thurmond 18
Rebs: Clyde Lee 13
Asts: Mullins, Williams 4 each
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 18
Asts: Oscar Robertson 7
Milwaukee leads series, 2–0
March 30
San Francisco Warriors 102, Milwaukee Bucks 114
Scoring by quarter: 22–24, 20–31, 36–31, 24–28
Pts: Jerry Lucas 25
Rebs: Jerry Lucas 20
Asts: Ron Williams 8
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 33
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 12
Asts: Lucius Allen 8
Milwaukee leads series, 3–0
April 1
Milwaukee Bucks 104, San Francisco Warriors 106
Scoring by quarter: 24–19, 20–34, 25–25, 35–28
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 32
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 21
Asts: Lucius Allen 6
Pts: Jerry Lucas 32
Rebs: Jeff Mullins 19
Asts: Ron Williams 9
Milwaukee leads series, 3–1
April 4
San Francisco Warriors 86, Milwaukee Bucks 136
Scoring by quarter: 18–38, 17–31, 22–36, 29–31
Pts: Ron Williams 13
Rebs: Clyde Lee 11
Asts: Mullins, Williams 4 each
Pts: Jon McGlocklin 28
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 17
Asts: Lucius Allen 7
Milwaukee wins series, 4–1
  • All three Milwaukee home games in the series were not played at Milwaukee Arena due to scheduling conflicts.

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[4]

March 24
Chicago Bulls 99, Los Angeles Lakers 100
Scoring by quarter: 25–20, 29–19, 20–30, 25–31
Pts: Bob Love 24
Rebs: Sloan, Boerwinkle 9 each
Asts: Tom Boerwinkle 8
Pts: Jim McMillian 26
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 21
Asts: Gail Goodrich 11
Los Angeles leads series, 1–0
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 10,726
March 26
Chicago Bulls 95, Los Angeles Lakers 105
Scoring by quarter: 14–19, 29–24, 33–29, 19–33
Pts: Bob Love 34
Rebs: Jim Fox 13
Asts: Bob Weiss 5
Pts: Gail Goodrich 29
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 20
Asts: Gail Goodrich 7
Los Angeles leads series, 2–0
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 13,469
March 28
Los Angeles Lakers 98, Chicago Bulls 106
Scoring by quarter: 26–24, 25–27, 26–22, 21–33
Pts: Gail Goodrich 39
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 18
Asts: Goodrich, Chamberlain 6 each
Pts: Bob Love 27
Rebs: Chet Walker 12
Asts: Bob Weiss 11
Los Angeles leads series, 2–1
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 10,101
Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Bob Rakel, Allan Brunkhorst
March 30
Los Angeles Lakers 102, Chicago Bulls 112
Scoring by quarter: 29–22, 22–30, 32–26, 19–34
Pts: Gail Goodrich 32
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 23
Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 7
Pts: Bob Love 36
Rebs: Jerry Sloan 12
Asts: Bob Weiss 13
Series tied, 2–2
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 18,650
April 1
Chicago Bulls 89, Los Angeles Lakers 115
Scoring by quarter: 23–27, 31–28, 20–31, 15–29
Pts: Bob Love 21
Rebs: Jim Fox 11
Asts: Weiss, King 7 each
Pts: Gail Goodrich 33
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 14
Asts: Gail Goodrich 11
Los Angeles leads series, 3–2
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 13,935
April 4
Los Angeles Lakers 99, Chicago Bulls 113
Scoring by quarter: 30–29, 27–23, 15–28, 27–33
Pts: Gail Goodrich 25
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 33
Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 9
Pts: Bob Weiss 25
Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 18
Asts: Boerwinkle, Walker 6 each
Series tied, 3–3
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 14,211
April 6
Chicago Bulls 98, Los Angeles Lakers 109
Scoring by quarter: 25–30, 23–22, 26–25, 24–32
Pts: Sloan, Love 24 each
Rebs: Jim Fox 12
Asts: Bob Weiss 8
Pts: Gail Goodrich 29
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 19
Asts: Goodrich, Chamberlain 9 each
Los Angeles wins series, 4–3
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,505

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting.

Conference finals

[edit]

Eastern Conference finals

[edit]
April 6
Baltimore Bullets 111, New York Knicks 112
Scoring by quarter: 28–30, 25–28, 34–28, 24–26
Pts: Earl Monroe 29
Rebs: Wes Unseld 22
Asts: Earl Monroe 4
Pts: Walt Frazier 24
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 17
Asts: Walt Frazier 7
New York leads series, 1–0
April 9
Baltimore Bullets 88, New York Knicks 107
Scoring by quarter: 23–21, 25–27, 15–25, 25–34
Pts: John Tresvant 20
Rebs: Wes Unseld 20
Asts: Kevin Loughery 16
Pts: Dick Barnett 14
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 14
Asts: Walt Frazier 5
New York leads series, 2–0
April 11
New York Knicks 88, Baltimore Bullets 114
Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 19–32, 18–31, 25–26
Pts: Walt Frazier 17
Rebs: Willis Reed 10
Asts: Barnett, Bradley 5 each
Pts: Earl Monroe 31
Rebs: Wes Unseld 26
Asts: Wes Unseld 9
New York leads series, 2–1
April 14
New York Knicks 80, Baltimore Bullets 101
Scoring by quarter: 19–22, 24–29, 22–25, 15–25
Pts: Walt Frazier 16
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 9
Asts: Walt Frazier 5
Pts: Jack Marin 27
Rebs: John Tresvant 17
Asts: Wes Unseld 6
Series tied, 2–2
April 16
Baltimore Bullets 84, New York Knicks 89
Scoring by quarter: 16–24, 24–20, 22–26, 22–19
Pts: Jack Marin 25
Rebs: John Tresvant 17
Asts: Wes Unseld 3
Pts: Walt Frazier 28
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 17
Asts: Bill Bradley 4
New York leads series, 3–2
April 18
New York Knicks 96, Baltimore Bullets 113
Scoring by quarter: 18–27, 25–29, 28–34, 25–23
Pts: Dave DeBusschere 24
Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 10
Asts: Dick Barnett 5
Pts: Earl Monroe 27
Rebs: Wes Unseld 15
Asts: Earl Monroe 7
Series tied, 3–3
April 19
Baltimore Bullets 93, New York Knicks 91
Scoring by quarter: 19–21, 24–26, 30–21, 20–23
Pts: Earl Monroe 26
Rebs: Wes Unseld 20
Asts: Earl Monroe 6
Pts: Dick Barnett 26
Rebs: Willis Reed 12
Asts: Walt Frazier 4
Baltimore wins series, 4–3
  • The Bullets become the second team after the Boston Celtics in the 1969 Finals to win Game 7 on the road after the home team won each of the first six games.

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning the first two meetings.

Western Conference finals

[edit]
April 9
Los Angeles Lakers 85, Milwaukee Bucks 106
Scoring by quarter: 21–26, 23–17, 22–29, 19–34
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 22
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 20
Asts: Gail Goodrich 7
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 32
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 22
Asts: Oscar Robertson 10
Milwaukee leads series, 1–0
Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 10,746
April 11
Los Angeles Lakers 73, Milwaukee Bucks 91
Scoring by quarter: 15–24, 22–20, 20–24, 16–23
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 26
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 22
Asts: Gail Goodrich 4
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 22
Rebs: Bob Dandridge 11
Asts: Oscar Robertson 7
Milwaukee leads series, 2–0
Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 10,746
April 14
Milwaukee Bucks 107, Los Angeles Lakers 118
Scoring by quarter: 27–28, 28–28, 22–34, 30–28
Pts: Bob Dandridge 25
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 19
Asts: Oscar Robertson 9
Pts: four players 24 each
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 24
Asts: Gail Goodrich 8
Milwaukee leads series, 2–1
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,334
April 16
Milwaukee Bucks 117, Los Angeles Lakers 94
Scoring by quarter: 30–22, 32–29, 30–23, 25–20
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 31
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 20
Asts: Oscar Robertson 6
Pts: Gail Goodrich 26
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 16
Asts: Gail Goodrich 11
Milwaukee leads series, 3–1
The Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 17,505
April 18
Los Angeles Lakers 98, Milwaukee Bucks 116
Scoring by quarter: 29–30, 20–25, 17–26, 32–35
Pts: Happy Hairston 27
Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 12
Asts: Gail Goodrich 9
Pts: Greg Smith 22
Rebs: Abdul-Jabbar, Dandridge 15 each
Asts: Oscar Robertson 12
Milwaukee wins series, 4–1
Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 10,746

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[7]

NBA Finals: (M1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (C1) Baltimore Bullets

[edit]
April 21
Baltimore Bullets 88, Milwaukee Bucks 98
Scoring by quarter: 22–28, 20–22, 26–29, 20–19
Pts: Earl Monroe 26
Rebs: John Tresvant 14
Asts: Fred Carter 4
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 31
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 17
Asts: Oscar Robertson 7
Milwaukee leads series, 1–0
Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 10,746
April 25
Milwaukee Bucks 102, Baltimore Bullets 83
Scoring by quarter: 26–26, 23–19, 30–16, 23–22
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24
Asts: Oscar Robertson 10
Pts: Jack Marin 22
Rebs: Wes Unseld 20
Asts: Earl Monroe 6
Milwaukee leads series, 2–0
April 28
Baltimore Bullets 99, Milwaukee Bucks 107
Scoring by quarter: 22–30, 24–24, 23–25, 30–28
Pts: Jack Marin 21
Rebs: Wes Unseld 23
Asts: Wes Unseld 6
Pts: Bob Dandridge 29
Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 21
Asts: Oscar Robertson 12
Milwaukee leads series, 3–0
Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 10,746
April 30
Milwaukee Bucks 118, Baltimore Bullets 106
Scoring by quarter: 31–22, 29–25, 29–30, 29–29
Pts: Oscar Robertson 30
Rebs: Abdul-Jabbar, Dandridge 12 each
Asts: Oscar Robertson 9
Pts: Fred Carter 28
Rebs: Wes Unseld 23
Asts: Wes Unseld 10
Milwaukee wins series, 4–0
  • The Bucks win their first championship in only their third year of existence. This is also the last NBA Finals to date in which the series alternates in between the venues of the competing teams after every game as opposed to the customary 2–2–1–1–1 and 2–3–2 formats that have been used ever since (with the exception of 1975 and 1978 due to scheduling conflicts, which resulted in the use of a 1–2–2–1–1 format).

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[8]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ 1970–71 Milwaukee Bucks Games – Basketball-Reference.com Archived 2011-08-04 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Philadelphia 76ers versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  4. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Milwaukee Bucks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  6. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — New York Knicks versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  7. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Milwaukee Bucks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  8. ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Milwaukee Bucks versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
[edit]