1973 NBA playoffs

1973 NBA playoffs
Dates	March 30–May 10, 1973
Season	1972–73
Teams	8
Champions	New York Knicks (2nd title)
Runners-up	Los Angeles Lakers (14th finals appearance)
Semifinalists	Golden State Warriors; Boston Celtics;
← 1972	1974 →

The 1973 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1972–73 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. The Knicks won their second (and most recent) NBA title. Willis Reed became the first player to be named NBA Finals MVP twice.

The playoff format was modified, as only the divisional champions qualified automatically; two wild-cards were also added from each conference. Once qualification was determined, the four qualifiers were seeded 1–4 based on record; divisional position no longer mattered. The #1 seed then played #4, and #2 played #3. Because of this new format, New York, the Atlantic Division runner-up, had home-court advantage versus the Baltimore Bullets, the Central Division champion, since the Knicks had the better regular-season record. The Bullets had home-court advantage in the 1972 playoffs versus the Knicks and in the 1971 playoffs versus Philadelphia, even though their record was worse than New York's and Philadelphia's were those seasons, because they had won their division, while the Knicks and Sixers were runners-up.

This was the second straight time (and third in the last 4 years) that the Lakers and Knicks met in the Finals; the Lakers–Knicks rivalry ended with two titles won by the Knicks and one by the Lakers.

This was the Lakers' last appearance in the Finals until 1980; It was New York's last appearance until 1994.

Bracket

Conference Semifinals			Conference Finals			NBA Finals

1	Milwaukee	2
4	Golden State	4
			4	Golden State	1
Western Conference
			2	L.A. Lakers	4
3	Chicago	3

2	L.A. Lakers	4
						W2	L.A. Lakers	1
						E2	New York	4
1	Boston	4
4	Atlanta	2
			1	Boston	3
Eastern Conference
			2	New York	4
3	Baltimore	1

2	New York	4

Western Conference

Champion: Los Angeles Lakers

Conference Semifinals

(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (4) Golden State Warriors: Warriors win series 4-2

Game 1 @ Milwaukee (March 30): Milwaukee 110, Golden State 90
Game 2 @ Milwaukee (April 1): Golden State 95, Milwaukee 92
Game 3 @ Oakland (April 5): Milwaukee 113, Golden State 93
Game 4 @ Oakland (April 7): Golden State 102, Milwaukee 97
Game 5 @ Milwaukee (April 10): Golden State 100, Milwaukee 97
Game 6 @ Oakland (April 13): Golden State 100, Milwaukee 86

Last playoff meeting: 1972 Western Conference Semifinals (Milwaukee won 4-1)

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Chicago Bulls: Lakers win series 4-3

Game 1 @ Los Angeles (March 30): Los Angeles 107, Chicago 104 (OT)
Game 2 @ Los Angeles (April 1): Los Angeles 108, Chicago 93
Game 3 @ Chicago (April 6): Chicago 96, Los Angeles 86
Game 4 @ Chicago (April 8): Chicago 98, Los Angeles 94
Game 5 @ Los Angeles (April 10): Los Angeles 123, Chicago 102
Game 6 @ Chicago (April 13): Chicago 101, Los Angeles 93
Game 7 @ Los Angeles (April 15): Los Angeles 95, Chicago 92

Last playoff meeting: 1972 Western Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4-0)

Conference Finals

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Golden State Warriors: Lakers win series 4-1

Game 1 @ Los Angeles (April 17): Los Angeles 101, Golden State 99
Game 2 @ Los Angeles (April 19): Los Angeles 104, Golden State 93
Game 3 @ Golden State (April 21): Los Angeles 126, Golden State 70
Game 4 @ Golden State (April 23): Golden State 117, Los Angeles 109
Game 5 @ Los Angeles (April 25): Los Angeles 128, Golden State 118

Last playoff meeting: 1969 Western Division Semifinals (Los Angeles won 4-2)

Eastern Conference

Champion: New York Knicks

Conference Semifinals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Atlanta Hawks: Celtics win series 4-2

Game 1 @ Boston (April 1): Boston 134, Atlanta 109
Game 2 @ Atlanta (April 4): Boston 126, Atlanta 113
Game 3 @ Boston (April 6): Atlanta 118, Boston 105
Game 4 @ Atlanta (April 8): Atlanta 97, Boston 94
Game 5 @ Boston (April 11): Boston 108, Atlanta 101
Game 6 @ Atlanta (April 13): Boston 121, Atlanta 103

Last playoff meeting: 1972 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Boston won 4-2)

(2) New York Knicks vs. (3) Baltimore Bullets: Knicks win series 4-1

Game 1 @ New York (March 30): New York 95, Baltimore 83
Game 2 @ New York (April 1): New York 123, Baltimore 103
Game 3 @ Baltimore (April 4): New York 103, Baltimore 96
Game 4 @ Baltimore (April 6): Baltimore 97, New York 89
Game 5 @ New York (April 8): New York 109, Baltimore 99

Last playoff meeting: 1972 Eastern Conference Semifinals (New York won 4-2)

Conference Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) New York Knicks: Knicks win series 4-3

Game 1 @ Boston (April 15): Boston 134, New York 108
Game 2 @ New York (April 18): New York 129, Boston 96
Game 3 @ Boston (April 20): New York 98, Boston 91
Game 4 @ New York (April 22): New York 117, Boston 110 (2OT)
Game 5 @ Boston (April 25): Boston 98, New York 97
Game 6 @ New York (April 27): Boston 110, New York 100
Game 7 @ Boston (April 29): New York 94, Boston 78 (The Knicks became the 1st NBA road team to win Game 7 after leading series 3–1, also this is the first time the Celtics lost a Game 7)

Last playoff meeting: 1972 Eastern Conference Finals (New York won 4-1)

NBA Finals

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (2) New York Knicks: Knicks win series 4-1

Game 1 @ Los Angeles (May 1): Los Angeles 115, New York 112
Game 2 @ Los Angeles (May 3): New York 99, Los Angeles 95
Game 3 @ New York (May 6): New York 87, Los Angeles 83
Game 4 @ New York (May 8): New York 103, Los Angeles 98
Game 5 @ Los Angeles (May 10): New York 102, Los Angeles 93 (Wilt Chamberlain's final NBA game)

Last playoff meeting: 1972 NBA Finals (Los Angeles won 4-1)

References

External links

Basketball-Reference.com's 1973 NBA Playoffs page

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