| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 24–April 30, 1971 |
| Season | 1970–71 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Milwaukee Bucks (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Baltimore 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.
| 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 | ||||||||||||
March 25 |
| Atlanta Hawks 101, New York Knicks 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–32, 26–22, 32–21, 21–37 | ||
| Pts: Pete Maravich23 Rebs: Bill Bridges13 Asts: Hazzard, Maravich 5 each |
Pts: Bill Bradley25 Rebs: Willis Reed22 Asts: Bill Bradley4 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York |
March 27 |
| Atlanta Hawks 113, New York Knicks 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–26, 35–30, 33–23, 31–25 | ||
| Pts: Lou Hudson35 Rebs: Bill Bridges36 Asts: Pete Maravich5 |
Pts: Walt Frazier29 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere15 Asts: Bill Bradley4 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York |
March 28 |
| New York Knicks 110, Atlanta Hawks95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–27, 23–27, 37–23, 26–18 | ||
| Pts: Willis Reed26 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere17 Asts: Walt Frazier9 |
Pts: Walt Bellamy29 Rebs: Walt Bellamy18 Asts: Walt Hazzard7 | |
| New York leads series, 2–1 | ||
Alexander Memorial Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia |
March 30 |
| New York Knicks 113, Atlanta Hawks 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–28, 31–29, 27–29, 23–21 | ||
| Pts: Walt Frazier26 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere13 Asts: Walt Frazier8 |
Pts: Walt Bellamy25 Rebs: Bill Bridges18 Asts: Walt Hazzard9 | |
| New York leads series, 3–1 | ||
Alexander Memorial Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia |
April 1 |
| Atlanta Hawks 107, New York Knicks 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–25, 29–25, 28–25, 22–33 | ||
| Pts: Lou Hudson29 Rebs: Bellamy, Bridges 20 each Asts: Walt Bellamy5 |
Pts: Dave DeBusschere29 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere22 Asts: Willis Reed5 | |
| New York wins series, 4–1 | ||
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York |
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 Greer30 Rebs: Luke Jackson13 Asts: Archie Clark7 |
Pts: Loughery, Gus Johnson19 Rebs: Wes Unseld20 Asts: Kevin Loughery4 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 | ||
Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland |
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 Unseld18 Asts: Earl Monroe6 |
Pts: Archie Clark26 Rebs: Billy Cunningham11 Asts: Archie Clark6 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
March 28 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 103, Baltimore Bullets 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–27, 22–25, 29–28, 27–31 | ||
| Pts: Hal Greer28 Rebs: Billy Cunningham19 Asts: Billy Cunningham10 |
Pts: Earl Monroe29 Rebs: Wes Unseld24 Asts: Kevin Loughery7 | |
| Baltimore leads series, 2–1 | ||
Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland |
March 30 |
| Baltimore Bullets 120, Philadelphia 76ers 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–32, 32–30, 27–19, 31–24 | ||
| Pts: Jack Marin27 Rebs: Gus Johnson14 Asts: Earl Monroe6 |
Pts: Archie Clark24 Rebs: Billy Cunningham17 Asts: Billy Cunningham8 | |
| Baltimore leads series, 3–1 | ||
Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
April 1 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 104, Baltimore Bullets 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–18, 30–24, 26–29, 20–32 | ||
| Pts: Billy Cunningham32 Rebs: Billy Cunningham20 Asts: Hal Greer6 |
Pts: Earl Monroe26 Rebs: Wes Unseld18 Asts: Kevin Loughery5 | |
| Baltimore leads series, 3–2 | ||
Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland |
April 3 |
| Baltimore Bullets 94, Philadelphia 76ers 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–30, 24–25, 34–20, 20–23 | ||
| Pts: Earl Monroe30 Rebs: Wes Unseld18 Asts: Kevin Loughery5 |
Pts: Billy Cunningham33 Rebs: Billy Cunningham16 Asts: Billy Cunningham5 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
April 4 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 120, Baltimore Bullets 128 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–31, 22–43, 27–25, 41–29 | ||
| Pts: Archie Clark37 Rebs: Billy Cunningham19 Asts: Clark, Greer 5 each |
Pts: Jack Marin33 Rebs: Wes Unseld22 Asts: Gus Johnson8 | |
| Baltimore wins series, 4–3 | ||
Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland |
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[3]
March 27 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 107, San Francisco Warriors96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–24, 24–28, 23–24, 26–20 | ||
| Pts: Oscar Robertson31 Rebs: Abdul-Jabbar, Smith 10 each Asts: Oscar Robertson9 |
Pts: Jeff Mullins30 Rebs: Nate Thurmond15 Asts: Jeff Mullins7 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 1–0 | ||
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California |
March 29 |
| San Francisco Warriors 90, Milwaukee Bucks 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–25, 24–18, 16–29, 30–32 | ||
| Pts: Nate Thurmond18 Rebs: Clyde Lee13 Asts: Mullins, Williams 4 each |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar26 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar18 Asts: Oscar Robertson7 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 2–0 | ||
University of Wisconsin Field House, Madison, Wisconsin |
March 30 |
| San Francisco Warriors 102, Milwaukee Bucks 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–24, 20–31, 36–31, 24–28 | ||
| Pts: Jerry Lucas25 Rebs: Jerry Lucas20 Asts: Ron Williams8 |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar33 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar12 Asts: Lucius Allen8 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 3–0 | ||
University of Wisconsin Field House, Madison, Wisconsin |
April 1 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 104, San Francisco Warriors 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–19, 20–34, 25–25, 35–28 | ||
| Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar32 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar21 Asts: Lucius Allen6 |
Pts: Jerry Lucas32 Rebs: Jeff Mullins19 Asts: Ron Williams9 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 3–1 | ||
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California |
April 4 |
| San Francisco Warriors 86, Milwaukee Bucks 136 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–38, 17–31, 22–36, 29–31 | ||
| Pts: Ron Williams13 Rebs: Clyde Lee11 Asts: Mullins, Williams 4 each |
Pts: Jon McGlocklin28 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar17 Asts: Lucius Allen7 | |
| Milwaukee wins series, 4–1 | ||
University of Wisconsin Field House, Madison, Wisconsin |
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 Love24 Rebs: Sloan, Boerwinkle 9 each Asts: Tom Boerwinkle8 |
Pts: Jim McMillian26 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain21 Asts: Gail Goodrich11 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 | ||
The Forum, Inglewood, California |
March 26 |
| Chicago Bulls 95, Los Angeles Lakers 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–19, 29–24, 33–29, 19–33 | ||
| Pts: Bob Love34 Rebs: Jim Fox13 Asts: Bob Weiss5 |
Pts: Gail Goodrich29 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain20 Asts: Gail Goodrich7 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–0 | ||
The Forum, Inglewood, California |
March 28 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 98, Chicago Bulls 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–24, 25–27, 26–22, 21–33 | ||
| Pts: Gail Goodrich39 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain18 Asts: Goodrich, Chamberlain 6 each |
Pts: Bob Love27 Rebs: Chet Walker12 Asts: Bob Weiss11 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–1 | ||
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois |
March 30 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 102, Chicago Bulls 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–22, 22–30, 32–26, 19–34 | ||
| Pts: Gail Goodrich32 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain23 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain7 |
Pts: Bob Love36 Rebs: Jerry Sloan12 Asts: Bob Weiss13 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois |
April 1 |
| Chicago Bulls 89, Los Angeles Lakers 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–27, 31–28, 20–31, 15–29 | ||
| Pts: Bob Love21 Rebs: Jim Fox11 Asts: Weiss, King 7 each |
Pts: Gail Goodrich33 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain14 Asts: Gail Goodrich11 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–2 | ||
The Forum, Inglewood, California |
April 4 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 99, Chicago Bulls 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–29, 27–23, 15–28, 27–33 | ||
| Pts: Gail Goodrich25 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain33 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain9 |
Pts: Bob Weiss25 Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle18 Asts: Boerwinkle, Walker 6 each | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois |
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 Fox12 Asts: Bob Weiss8 |
Pts: Gail Goodrich29 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain19 Asts: Goodrich, Chamberlain 9 each | |
| Los Angeles wins series, 4–3 | ||
The Forum, Inglewood, California |
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting.
| Los Angeles leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
April 6 |
| Baltimore Bullets 111, New York Knicks 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–30, 25–28, 34–28, 24–26 | ||
| Pts: Earl Monroe29 Rebs: Wes Unseld22 Asts: Earl Monroe4 |
Pts: Walt Frazier24 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere17 Asts: Walt Frazier7 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York |
April 9 |
| Baltimore Bullets 88, New York Knicks 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–21, 25–27, 15–25, 25–34 | ||
| Pts: John Tresvant20 Rebs: Wes Unseld20 Asts: Kevin Loughery16 |
Pts: Dick Barnett14 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere14 Asts: Walt Frazier5 | |
| New York leads series, 2–0 | ||
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York |
April 11 |
| New York Knicks 88, Baltimore Bullets 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 19–32, 18–31, 25–26 | ||
| Pts: Walt Frazier17 Rebs: Willis Reed10 Asts: Barnett, Bradley 5 each |
Pts: Earl Monroe31 Rebs: Wes Unseld26 Asts: Wes Unseld9 | |
| New York leads series, 2–1 | ||
Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland |
April 14 |
| New York Knicks 80, Baltimore Bullets 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–22, 24–29, 22–25, 15–25 | ||
| Pts: Walt Frazier16 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere9 Asts: Walt Frazier5 |
Pts: Jack Marin27 Rebs: John Tresvant17 Asts: Wes Unseld6 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland |
April 16 |
| Baltimore Bullets 84, New York Knicks 89 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–24, 24–20, 22–26, 22–19 | ||
| Pts: Jack Marin25 Rebs: John Tresvant17 Asts: Wes Unseld3 |
Pts: Walt Frazier28 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere17 Asts: Bill Bradley4 | |
| New York leads series, 3–2 | ||
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York |
April 18 |
| New York Knicks 96, Baltimore Bullets 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–27, 25–29, 28–34, 25–23 | ||
| Pts: Dave DeBusschere24 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere10 Asts: Dick Barnett5 |
Pts: Earl Monroe27 Rebs: Wes Unseld15 Asts: Earl Monroe7 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland |
April 19 |
| Baltimore Bullets 93, New York Knicks91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–21, 24–26, 30–21, 20–23 | ||
| Pts: Earl Monroe26 Rebs: Wes Unseld20 Asts: Earl Monroe6 |
Pts: Dick Barnett26 Rebs: Willis Reed12 Asts: Walt Frazier4 | |
| Baltimore wins series, 4–3 | ||
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York |
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 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
April 9 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 85, Milwaukee Bucks 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–26, 23–17, 22–29, 19–34 | ||
| Pts: Wilt Chamberlain22 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain20 Asts: Gail Goodrich7 |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar32 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar22 Asts: Oscar Robertson10 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 1–0 | ||
Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
April 11 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 73, Milwaukee Bucks 91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–24, 22–20, 20–24, 16–23 | ||
| Pts: Wilt Chamberlain26 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain22 Asts: Gail Goodrich4 |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar22 Rebs: Bob Dandridge11 Asts: Oscar Robertson7 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 2–0 | ||
Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
April 14 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 107, Los Angeles Lakers 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–28, 28–28, 22–34, 30–28 | ||
| Pts: Bob Dandridge25 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar19 Asts: Oscar Robertson9 |
Pts: four players 24 each Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain24 Asts: Gail Goodrich8 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 2–1 | ||
The Forum, Inglewood, California |
April 16 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 117, Los Angeles Lakers94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–22, 32–29, 30–23, 25–20 | ||
| Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar31 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar20 Asts: Oscar Robertson6 |
Pts: Gail Goodrich26 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain16 Asts: Gail Goodrich11 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 3–1 | ||
The Forum, Inglewood, California |
April 18 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 98, Milwaukee Bucks 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–30, 20–25, 17–26, 32–35 | ||
| Pts: Happy Hairston27 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain12 Asts: Gail Goodrich9 |
Pts: Greg Smith22 Rebs: Abdul-Jabbar, Dandridge 15 each Asts: Oscar Robertson12 | |
| Milwaukee wins series, 4–1 | ||
Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[7]
April 21 |
| Baltimore Bullets 88, Milwaukee Bucks 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–28, 20–22, 26–29, 20–19 | ||
| Pts: Earl Monroe26 Rebs: John Tresvant14 Asts: Fred Carter4 |
Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar31 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar17 Asts: Oscar Robertson7 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 1–0 | ||
Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
April 25 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 102, Baltimore Bullets83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–26, 23–19, 30–16, 23–22 | ||
| Pts: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar27 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar24 Asts: Oscar Robertson10 |
Pts: Jack Marin22 Rebs: Wes Unseld20 Asts: Earl Monroe6 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 2–0 | ||
Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland |
April 28 |
| Baltimore Bullets 99, Milwaukee Bucks 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–30, 24–24, 23–25, 30–28 | ||
| Pts: Jack Marin21 Rebs: Wes Unseld23 Asts: Wes Unseld6 |
Pts: Bob Dandridge29 Rebs: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar21 Asts: Oscar Robertson12 | |
| Milwaukee leads series, 3–0 | ||
Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
April 30 |
| Milwaukee Bucks 118, Baltimore Bullets 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–22, 29–25, 29–30, 29–29 | ||
| Pts: Oscar Robertson30 Rebs: Abdul-Jabbar, Dandridge 12 each Asts: Oscar Robertson9 |
Pts: Fred Carter28 Rebs: Wes Unseld23 Asts: Wes Unseld10 | |
| Milwaukee wins series, 4–0 | ||
Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland |
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[8]
