The 1951 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association 1950–51 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Rochester Royals defeating the Eastern Division champion New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 20–April 21, 1951 |
| Season | 1950–51 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Rochester Royals (1st title) |
| Runner-up | New York Knicks |
| Semifinalists |
|
← 1950
1952 →
| |
The eight qualified teams began tournament play on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 20 and 21, and the Finals concluded on Saturday, April 21. Rochester and New York played 14 games in a span of 33 days; their seven final games in fifteen days.[1]
The Rochester Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) were "royalty" in their first nine seasons, from 1945–46 to 1953–54 always one of the strong teams in their league. Rochester had played three seasons in the National Basketball League, winning the 1946 NBL championship and losing the Finals in 1947 and 1948. In one BAA and one NBA season, the team had won 75% of its games before losing in the second round, then first round, of the 1949 and 1950 playoffs. The 1950–51 team won more than 60% of its games, as the Royals would do for three more seasons, and participated in the club's only NBA Finals. That remains true more than 60 years later, covering stints in Rochester, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Sacramento.
The New York Knicks were an original Basketball Association of America franchise, now in its sixth season and participating in the BAA or NBA Finals for the first time. It would be the first three consecutive years as losing finalist.
Another six-year-old, original BAA team, the Boston Celtics had qualified only for the 1948 BAA Playoffs. Now the second-place Eastern Division team, Boston had earned home-court advantage for a first-round series with third-place New York. It was the first playoff meeting in the Celtics–Knicks rivalry and it would be the first of 19 consecutive years in the playoffs.
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Philadelphia* | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Syracuse | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Syracuse | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 3 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Rochester | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis* | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Bye | |||||||||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis* | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| W2 | Rochester | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Fort Wayne | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Rochester | 2 | ||||||||||||
March 20 |
| Syracuse Nationals 126, Philadelphia Warriors 8 121 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–27, 29–23, 19–18, 22–21, Overtime: 2–0 | ||
| Pts: [[Allen
Iverson]] 21 Asts: Allen Iverson ,12 |
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 30 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 10 Asts: Steph Curry11 | |
| Syracuse leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 22 |
| Philadelphia Warriors 78, Syracuse Nationals 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–24, 11–20, 23–22, 26–24 | ||
| Pts: Joe Fulks22 Rebs: Arizin, Phillip 8 each Asts: Andy Phillip9 |
Pts: Dolph Schayes24 Rebs: Dolph Schayes16 Asts: Seymour, Hannum 5 each | |
| Syracuse wins series, 2–0 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers/Nationals winning the first meeting.
| Philadelphia 76ers/ Syracuse Nationals leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
March 20 |
| New York Knicks 83, Boston Celtics69 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–14, 9–17, 19–15, 27–23 | ||
| Pts: Vince Boryla20 | Pts: Ed Macauley23 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 22 |
| Boston Celtics 78, New York Knicks 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–20, 15–19, 24–26, 27–27 | ||
| Pts: Ed Macauley21 Asts: Bob Cousy6 |
Pts: Max Zaslofsky27 Asts: Dick McGuire9 | |
| New York wins series, 2–0 | ||
Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan, New York |
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[3]
March 21 |
| Indianapolis Olympians 81, Minneapolis Lakers 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–29, 19–20, 28–19, 20–27 | ||
| Pts: Groza, Beard 19 each | Pts: George Mikan41 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 23 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 88, Indianapolis Olympians 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 7–28, 29–27, 29–30, 23–23 | ||
| Pts: Vern Mikkelsen30 | Pts: Alex Groza40 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 25 |
| Indianapolis Olympians 80, Minneapolis Lakers 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–15, 19–18, 18–29, 21–23 | ||
| Pts: Alex Groza38 | Pts: George Mikan30 | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 2–1 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.
March 20 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons 81, Rochester Royals 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–30, 29–27, 20–25, 18–28 | ||
| Pts: Dick Mehen19 | Pts: Bob Davies21 | |
| Rochester leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 22 |
| Rochester Royals 78, Fort Wayne Pistons 83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–20, 23–24, 18–18, 24–21 | ||
| Pts: Risen, Davies 16 each | Pts: Fred Schaus21 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 24 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons 78, Rochester Royals 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–23, 19–23, 11–27, 26–24 | ||
| Pts: Fred Schaus12 | Pts: Bobby Wanzer20 | |
| Rochester wins series, 2–1 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning the first meeting.
| Fort Wayne leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
March 28 |
| Syracuse Nationals 92, New York Knicks 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–23, 17–25, 19–24, 34–31 | ||
| Pts: George Ratkovicz22 Asts: Alex Hannum7 |
Pts: Vince Boryla30 Asts: Dick McGuire13 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan, New York |
March 29 |
| New York Knicks 80, Syracuse Nationals 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–22, 17–21, 17–27, 27–32 | ||
| Pts: Ray Lumpp16 Asts: Vandeweghe, McGuire 5 each |
Pts: Dolph Schayes21 Asts: Al Cervi9 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
State Fair Coliseum, Geddes, New York |
March 31 |
| Syracuse Nationals 75, New York Knicks 77 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–16, 16–12, 15–22, 19–20, Overtime: 5–7 | ||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes17 | Pts: Harry Gallatin18 | |
| New York leads series, 2–1 | ||
Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan, New York |
April 1 |
| New York Knicks 83, Syracuse Nationals 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–25, 22–21, 26–19, 23–25 | ||
| Pts: Max Zaslofsky20 Asts: Dick McGuire9 |
Pts: Dolph Schayes34 Asts: Al Cervi8 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 4 |
| Syracuse Nationals 81, New York Knicks 83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–25, 22–17, 22–15, 17–26 | ||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes14 Asts: four players 3 each |
Pts: Vince Boryla23 Asts: Ernie Vandeweghe5 | |
| New York wins series, 3–2 | ||
Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan, New York |
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nationals winning the first meeting.
| Syracuse leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
March 29 |
| Rochester Royals 73, Minneapolis Lakers 76 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 18–18, 10–16, 25–22 | ||
| Pts: Arnie Risen24 | Pts: Vern Mikkelsen23 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 31 |
| Rochester Royals 70, Minneapolis Lakers66 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–16, 20–14, 16–19, 17–17 | ||
| Pts: Red Holzman23 | Pts: Jim Pollard20 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 1 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 70, Rochester Royals 83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–31, 17–17, 20–20, 11–15 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan23 | Pts: Johnson, Wanzer 20 each | |
| Rochester leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 3 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 75, Rochester Royals 80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 14–16, 16–18, 19–21 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan32 | Pts: Arnie Risen26 | |
| Rochester wins series, 3–1 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting.
| Minneapolis leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
April 7 |
| New York Knicks 65, Rochester Royals 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–24, 16–27, 16–21, 15–20 | ||
| Pts: Vince Boryla13 Rebs: Simmons, Clifton 10 each Asts: Ernie Vandeweghe4 |
Pts: Arnie Risen24 Rebs: Arnie Risen15 Asts: Bobby Wanzer9 | |
| Rochester leads series, 1–0 | ||
Edgerton Park Arena, Rochester, New York |
April 8 |
| New York Knicks 84, Rochester Royals 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–26, 21–21, 28–26, 18–26 | ||
| Pts: Max Zaslofsky28 Rebs: Harry Gallatin17 Asts: Vince Boryla7 |
Pts: Bob Davies24 Rebs: Jack Coleman28 Asts: Jack Coleman8 | |
| Rochester leads series, 2–0 | ||
Edgerton Park Arena, Rochester, New York |
April 11 |
| Rochester Royals 78, New York Knicks71 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–17, 20–16, 16–15, 27–23 | ||
| Pts: Arnie Risen27 Rebs: Arnie Risen18 Asts: Bob Davies8 |
Pts: Vince Boryla20 Rebs: Nat Clifton11 Asts: Dick McGuire7 | |
| Rochester leads series, 3–0 | ||
69th Regiment Armory, Manhattan, New York |
April 13 |
| Rochester Royals 73, New York Knicks 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 10–21, 18–19, 28–17, 17–22 | ||
| Pts: Arnie Risen26 Rebs: Arnie Risen20 Asts: Jack Coleman9 |
Pts: Harry Gallatin22 Rebs: Nat Clifton17 Asts: Zaslofsky, Clifton 6 each | |
| Rochester leads series, 3–1 | ||
69th Regiment Armory, Manhattan, New York |
April 15 |
| New York Knicks 92, Rochester Royals89 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 19–21, 29–21, 19–19 | ||
| Pts: Connie Simmons26 Rebs: Nat Clifton10 Asts: Nat Clifton7 |
Pts: Bobby Wanzer21 Rebs: Arnie Risen14 Asts: Bob Davies10 | |
| Rochester leads series, 3–2 | ||
Edgerton Park Arena, Rochester, New York |
April 18 |
| Rochester Royals 73, New York Knicks 80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–19, 17–19, 12–15, 23–27 | ||
| Pts: Arnie Johnson27 Rebs: Arnie Johnson15 Asts: Jack Coleman8 |
Pts: Max Zaslofsky23 Rebs: Ernie Vandeweghe8 Asts: Dick McGuire6 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
69th Regiment Armory, Manhattan, New York |
April 21 |
| New York Knicks 75, Rochester Royals 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–22, 18–18, 26–22, 15–17 | ||
| Pts: Zaslofsky, Boryla 16 each Rebs: Harry Gallatin10 Asts: Ernie Vandeweghe5 |
Pts: Arnie Risen24 Rebs: Arnie Risen13 Asts: Jack Coleman9 | |
| Rochester wins series, 4–3 | ||
Edgerton Park Arena, Rochester, New York |
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[7]