The 1953 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1952–53 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Minneapolis Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 17–April 10, 1953 |
| Season | 1952–53 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Minneapolis Lakers (4th title) |
| Runner-up | New York Knicks |
| Semifinalists |
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← 1952
1954 →
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The Lakers won their fourth championship in the last five years, and defeated the Knicks in the Finals for the second straight season to complete their run.
Not only did the four Western Division teams meet for the third straight year, but the Eastern Division teams this year, had a slight change. The Philadelphia Warriors did not make the playoffs, but the Baltimore Bullets did. They would be swept by the Eastern Division champion New York Knicks in 2 games.
The Indianapolis Olympians played their last game, a Game 2 loss to the Lakers in the first round. They folded at the end of the season, and major professional basketball did not return to Indianapolis, Indiana until the Indiana Pacers were founded for the inaugural 1967–68 season of the American Basketball Association.
The Boston Celtics earned their first playoff series victory with a two-game sweep of the Syracuse Nationals.
The 1952–53 Baltimore Bullets hold the distinction of having the worst regular-season record of any playoff qualifier in league history, at 16–54.
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||
| E1 | New York* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Baltimore | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | New York* | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| E3 | Boston | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Boston | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Syracuse | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | New York* | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis* | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Indianapolis | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis* | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| W3 | Fort Wayne | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Fort Wayne | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Rochester | 1 | ||||||||||||
March 17 |
| Baltimore Bullets 62, New York Knicks 80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–12, 19–21, 11–20, 19–27 | ||
| Pts: Jim Baechtold17 | Pts: Connie Simmons25 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 20 |
| New York Knicks 90, Baltimore Bullets81 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–14, 23–24, 21–24, 26–19 | ||
| Pts: Vince Boryla20 | Pts: Baechtold, Miller 21 each | |
| New York wins series, 2–0 | ||
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team splitting the first two meetings.
| Tied 1–1 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||
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March 19 |
| Boston Celtics 87, Syracuse Nationals81 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–19, 19–14, 18–16, 34–32 | ||
| Pts: Bob Cousy20 | Pts: Paul Seymour18 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 21 |
| Syracuse Nationals 105, Boston Celtics 111 (4OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 20–19, 17–22, 18–15, Overtime: 9–9, 4–4, 9–9, 6–12 | ||
| Pts: Red Rocha19 Asts: George King4 |
Pts: Bob Cousy50 Asts: Macauley, Sharman 5 each | |
| Boston wins series, 2–0 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[1] This series featured the last quadruple overtime game until 2019.
March 22 |
| Indianapolis Olympians 69, Minneapolis Lakers 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–21, 17–21, 25–21, 13–22 | ||
| Pts: Joe Graboski22 | Pts: Vern Mikkelsen18 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 23 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 81, Indianapolis Olympians79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–19, 10–13, 25–17, 22–30 | ||
| Pts: Pollard, Mikkelsen 16 each | Pts: Paul Walther17 | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 2–0 | ||
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first two meetings.
| Minneapolis leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||
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March 20 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons 84, Rochester Royals77 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–16, 23–21, 21–20, 26–20 | ||
| Pts: Fred Schaus20 | Pts: Arnie Risen17 | |
| Fort Wayne leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 22 |
| Rochester Royals 83, Fort Wayne Pistons71 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–19, 19–19, 17–13, 26–20 | ||
| Pts: Bobby Wanzer19 | Pts: Larry Foust24 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 24 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons 67, Rochester Royals65 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 13–13, 15–18, 16–16 | ||
| Pts: Larry Foust18 | Pts: Bobby Wanzer17 | |
| Fort Wayne wins series, 2–1 | ||
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Royals winning two of the first three meetings.
| Rochester leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||||||||
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March 25 |
| Boston Celtics 91, New York Knicks 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–26, 15–16, 18–27, 31–26 | ||
| Pts: Bob Cousy28 Asts: Chuck Cooper6 |
Pts: Connie Simmons18 Asts: Dick McGuire8 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 26 |
| New York Knicks 70, Boston Celtics 86 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 10–23, 19–13, 15–21, 26–29 | ||
| Pts: Harry Gallatin17 Asts: Carl Braun7 |
Pts: Macauley, Cousy 21 each Asts: Bob Cousy13 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 28 |
| Boston Celtics 82, New York Knicks 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–20, 15–23, 18–32, 27–26 | ||
| Pts: Bob Cousy18 Asts: Ed Macauley5 |
Pts: Harry Gallatin23 Asts: Dick McGuire11 | |
| New York leads series, 2–1 | ||
Madison Square Garden III, Manhattan, New York |
March 29 |
| New York Knicks 82, Boston Celtics75 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–26, 14–19, 22–11, 29–19 | ||
| Pts: Carl Braun18 Asts: Nat Clifton9 |
Pts: Ed Macauley25 Asts: Bob Cousy8 | |
| New York wins series, 3–1 | ||
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning the first two meetings.
| New York leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||||||||
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March 26 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons 73, Minneapolis Lakers 83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–24, 14–19, 12–13, 31–27 | ||
| Pts: Larry Foust16 | Pts: George Mikan21 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 28 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons 75, Minneapolis Lakers 82 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–16, 17–23, 18–17, 22–26 | ||
| Pts: Larry Foust21 | Pts: George Mikan20 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 2–0 | ||
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
March 30 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 95, Fort Wayne Pistons 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–29, 28–18, 17–24, 34–27 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan23 | Pts: Fred Scolari27 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 1 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 82, Fort Wayne Pistons 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–25, 18–22, 23–11, 21–27 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan25 | Pts: Larry Foust20 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 2 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons 58, Minneapolis Lakers 74 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 9–23, 16–11, 12–19, 21–21 | ||
| Pts: Larry Foust16 | Pts: Mikan, Martin 18 each | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 3–2 | ||
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 | ||||||
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April 4 |
| New York Knicks 96, Minneapolis Lakers88 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–18, 24–29, 23–20, 30–21 | ||
| Pts: Carl Braun21 | Pts: George Mikan25 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
April 5 |
| New York Knicks 71, Minneapolis Lakers 73 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–26, 14–21, 24–11, 17–15 | ||
| Pts: Connie Simmons17 | Pts: George Mikan18 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
April 7 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 90, New York Knicks75 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–14, 18–24, 26–22, 25–15 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan20 | Pts: Connie Simmons18 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 2–1 | ||
69th Regiment Armory, Manhattan, New York |
April 8 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 71, New York Knicks69 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 20–18, 13–16, 17–19 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan27 | Pts: Connie Simmons17 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 3–1 | ||
69th Regiment Armory, Manhattan, New York |
April 10 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 91, New York Knicks84 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–18, 25–17, 25–25, 22–24 | ||
| Pts: Jim Pollard17 Asts: Vern Mikkelsen6 |
Pts: Carl Braun19 Asts: Ernie Vandeweghe4 | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 4–1 | ||
69th Regiment Armory, Manhattan, New York |
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 | ||||||
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