1970 NBA playoffs

Postseason tournament August 2023 NBA playoffs 1970 1969–70 March 25–May 8, 1970 8 New York Knicks 1 Los Angeles Lakers Atlanta Hawks Milwaukee Bucks Scoring leader(s) Jerry West (Lakers) 31.2 PPG MVP Willis Reed (Knicks) 1969 1971 The 1970 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1969–70 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion New York Knicks defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Willis Reed was named NBA Finals MVP. It was the first NBA title for the Knicks in franchise history, and was their first appearance in the finals since losing their third straight finals in 1953 to the Lakers while they were still in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For the Lakers, it was their third straight Western Division title and second straight year they lost in Game 7 of the NBA finals. The Lakers dropped their eighth straight NBA finals series (the previous 7 to the Boston Celtics) and were denied their first NBA title since 1954. It was also the playoff debut of both the second-year Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, with the former managing a first-round defeat of the Philadelphia 76ers. Boston missed the playoffs for the first time since 1951, despite being the defending champions. Bracket Division Semifinals Division Finals NBA Finals Eastern Division Western Division E1 New York* 4 E3 Baltimore 3 E4 Philadelphia 1 E2 Milwaukee 4 W1 Atlanta* 4 W3 Chicago 1 W4 Phoenix 3 W2 Los Angeles 4 E1 New York* 4 E2 Milwaukee 1 W1 Atlanta* 0 W2 Los Angeles 4 E1 New York* 4 W2 Los Angeles 3* Division winner Bold Series winner Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals Division Semifinals Eastern Division Semifinals (1) New York Knicks vs. (3) Baltimore Bullets #eee March 26 Boxscore Baltimore Bullets 117 New York Knicks 120 2OT 22–23 30–23 23–32 27–24 8–8, 7–10 Earl Monroe 39 Wes Unseld 31 Wes Unseld 5 Willis Reed 30 Dave DeBusschere 24 Walt Frazier 8 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,500 New York leads series, 1–0 March 27 Boxscore New York Knicks 106 Baltimore Bullets 99 26–26 22–25 29–32 29–16 Willis Reed 27 Willis Reed 17 Frazier, Barnett 6 each Gus Johnson 28 Wes Unseld 21 Fred Carter 7 Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland 12,289 New York leads series, 2–0 #eee March 29 Boxscore Baltimore Bullets 127 New York Knicks 113 27–30 36–34 32–21 32–28 Earl Monroe 25 Wes Unseld 34 Earl Monroe 5 Walt Frazier 24 Dave DeBusschere 10 Walt Frazier 5 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,500 New York leads series, 2–1 March 31 Boxscore New York Knicks 92 Baltimore Bullets 102 21–26 25–27 21–24 25–25 Walt Frazier 25 Willis Reed 15 Walt Frazier 7 Earl Monroe 34 Wes Unseld 24 Fred Carter 7 Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland 12,289 Series tied, 2–2 #eee April 2 Boxscore Baltimore Bullets 80 New York Knicks 101 27–31 22–23 20–22 11–25 Jack Marin 19 Wes Unseld 15 Jack Marin 6 Willis Reed 36 Willis Reed 36 Walt Frazier 6 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,500 New York leads series, 3–2 April 5 Boxscore New York Knicks 87 Baltimore Bullets 96 18–15 25–26 23–30 21–25 Walt Frazier 18 Willis Reed 16 Walt Frazier 5 Gus Johnson 31 Wes Unseld 24 Earl Monroe 5 Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland 12,289 Series tied, 3–3 #eee April 6 Boxscore Baltimore Bullets 114 New York Knicks 127 23–28 24–34 35–26 32–39 Earl Monroe 32 Wes Unseld 16 Earl Monroe 6 DeBusschere, Barnett 28 each Willis Reed 14 Walt Frazier 8 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,500 New York wins series, 4–3 This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning the first meeting. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=NYK&opp_id=WAS&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — New York Knicks versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021New York leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1969 Baltimore Bullets 0 New York Knicks 4 1969 Eastern Division Semifinals (2) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (4) Philadelphia 76ers #eee March 25 Boxscore Philadelphia 76ers 118 Milwaukee Bucks 125 27–28 30–27 26–29 35–41 Clark, B. Cunningham 21 each Jim Washington 9 Greer, Jones 7 each Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 36 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 20 Bob Dandridge 6 University of Wisconsin Field House, Madison, Wisconsin 9,686 Milwaukee leads series, 1–0 March 27 Boxscore Philadelphia 76ers 112 Milwaukee Bucks 105 32–23 31–34 23–20 26–28 Billy Cunningham 37 B. Cunningham, Washington 10 each Billy Cunningham 7 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 33 Bob Dandridge 12 Bob Dandridge 7 University of Wisconsin Field House, Madison, Wisconsin 9,686 Series tied, 1–1 #eee March 30 Boxscore Milwaukee Bucks 156 Philadelphia 76ers 120 40–14 37–27 47–31 32–48 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 33 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 17 Flynn Robinson 14 Archie Clark 20 Jim Washington 11 Bud Ogden 6 Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 15,244 Milwaukee leads series, 2–1 April 1 Boxscore Milwaukee Bucks 118 Philadelphia 76ers 111 35–24 25–32 26–27 32–28 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 33 Greg Smith 19 Bob Dandridge 7 Billy Cunningham 50 Darrall Imhoff 16 Wali Jones 7 Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 14,206 Milwaukee leads series, 3–1 #eee April 3 Boxscore Philadelphia 76ers 106 Milwaukee Bucks 115 28–28 33–24 24–30 21–33 Billy Cunningham 28 Billy Cunningham 18 Hal Greer 6 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 46 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 25 Bob Dandridge 8 University of Wisconsin Field House, Madison, Wisconsin 12,868 Milwaukee wins series, 4–1 This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=MIL&opp_id=PHI&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Milwaukee Bucks versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021 Western Division Semifinals (1) Atlanta Hawks vs. (3) Chicago Bulls #eee March 25 Boxscore Chicago Bulls 111 Atlanta Hawks 129 27–34 33–30 23–33 28–32 Chet Walker 17 Tom Boerwinkle 11 Haskins, Weiss 6 each Joe Caldwell 39 Bill Bridges 15 Walt Hazzard 10 Alexander Memorial Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia 6,427 Atlanta leads series, 1–0 March 28 Boxscore Chicago Bulls 104 Atlanta Hawks 124 25–38 23–23 25–40 31–23 Tom Boerwinkle 23 Tom Boerwinkle 12 Boerwinkle, Weiss 4 each Joe Caldwell 23 Walt Bellamy 14 Walt Hazzard 13 Alexander Memorial Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia 7,195 Atlanta leads series, 2–0 #eee March 31 Boxscore Atlanta Hawks 106 Chicago Bulls 101 29–17 22–37 25–24 30–23 Lou Hudson 30 Walt Bellamy 17 Walt Hazzard 8 Shaler Halimon 22 Tom Boerwinkle 18 Shaler Halimon 6 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois 8,898 Atlanta leads series, 3–0 April 3 Boxscore Atlanta Hawks 120 Chicago Bulls 131 25–32 28–25 35–42 32–32 Joe Caldwell 38 Bill Bridges 25 Walt Hazzard 9 Chet Walker 39 Sloan, Boerwinkle 12 each Clem Haskins 13 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois 7,584 Atlanta leads series, 3–1 #eee April 5 Boxscore Chicago Bulls 107 Atlanta Hawks 113 25–20 26–31 22–34 34–28 Clem Haskins 22 Tom Boerwinkle 19 Clem Haskins 6 Joe Caldwell 24 Walt Bellamy 23 Bill Bridges 4 Alexander Memorial Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia 4,966 Atlanta wins series, 4–1 This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning the first meeting while based in St. Louis. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=ATL&opp_id=CHI&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Chicago Bulls (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021Atlanta/ St. Louis leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1967 St. Louis Hawks 3 Chicago Bulls 0 1967 Western Division Semifinals (2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Phoenix Suns #eee March 25 Boxscore Phoenix Suns 112 Los Angeles Lakers 128 33–25 24–36 25–33 30–34 Paul Silas 26 Paul Silas 18 Connie Hawkins 6 Elgin Baylor 32 Wilt Chamberlain 19 Elgin Baylor 10 The Forum, Inglewood, California 15,046 Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 March 29 Boxscore Phoenix Suns 114 Los Angeles Lakers 101 22–26 25–21 34–32 33–22 Connie Hawkins 34 Connie Hawkins 20 Hawkins, Van Arsdale 7 each Jerry West 33 Wilt Chamberlain 25 Jerry West 11 The Forum, Inglewood, California 17,501 Series tied, 1–1 #eee April 2 Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 98 Phoenix Suns 112 27–21 19–23 25–33 27–35 Jerry West 31 Wilt Chamberlain 12 Chamberlain, West 7 each Gail Goodrich 29 Paul Silas 16 Connie Hawkins 9 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona 12,324 Phoenix leads series, 2–1 April 4 Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 102 Phoenix Suns 112 24–33 29–23 21–26 28–30 Wilt Chamberlain 29 Wilt Chamberlain 19 Keith Erickson 6 Gail Goodrich 34 Paul Silas 16 Gail Goodrich 11 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona 12,356 Phoenix leads series, 3–1 #eee April 5 Boxscore Phoenix Suns 121 Los Angeles Lakers 138 30–31 32–41 31–27 28–29 Connie Hawkins 28 Connie Hawkins 19 three players 5 each Chamberlain, West 36 each Mel Counts 17 Jerry West 18 The Forum, Inglewood, California 17,475 Phoenix leads series, 3–2 April 7 Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 104 Phoenix Suns 93 22–26 24–17 27–30 31–20 Jerry West 35 Wilt Chamberlain 26 Wilt Chamberlain 11 Connie Hawkins 24 Paul Silas 21 Van Arsdale, Goodrich 4 each Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona 12,386 Series tied, 3–3 #eee April 9 Boxscore Phoenix Suns 94 Los Angeles Lakers 129 21–33 19–30 24–26 30–40 Connie Hawkins 25 Connie Hawkins 15 Hawkins, Silas 4 each Wilt Chamberlain 30 Wilt Chamberlain 27 Jerry West 15 The Forum, Inglewood, California 17,519 Los Angeles wins series, 4–3 The Lakers become the second team to come back from a 3–1 series deficit. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=LAL&opp_id=PHO&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Phoenix Suns (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021 Division Finals Eastern Division Finals (1) New York Knicks vs. (2) Milwaukee Bucks #eee April 11 Boxscore Milwaukee Bucks 102 New York Knicks 110 19–24 25–30 24–28 34–28 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 35 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 15 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 5 Willis Reed 24 Dave DeBusschere 16 Bill Bradley 6 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,500 New York leads series, 1–0 April 13 Boxscore Milwaukee Bucks 111 New York Knicks 112 33–35 33–28 24–23 21–26 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 11 Willis Reed 36 Willis Reed 19 Walt Frazier 14 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,500 New York leads series, 2–0 #eee April 17 Boxscore New York Knicks 96 Milwaukee Bucks 101 16–29 31–29 21–23 28–20 Willis Reed 21 Reed, DeBusschere 10 each Walt Frazier 7 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 33 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 31 Bob Dandridge 8 Mendy Rudolph, Manny Sokolofosky Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 10,746 New York leads series, 2–1 April 19 Boxscore New York Knicks 117 Milwaukee Bucks 105 29–23 36–22 17–34 35–26 Willis Reed 26 Walt Frazier 11 Dick Barnett 8 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38 Abdul-Jabbar, Smith 9 each Flynn Robinson 7 Eddie Rush, Richie Powers Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 10,746 New York leads series, 3–1 #eee April 20 Boxscore Milwaukee Bucks 96 New York Knicks 132 19–35 26–34 27–32 24–31 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27 Zaid Abdul-Aziz 12 Guy Rodgers 6 Willis Reed 32 Dave DeBusschere 11 Walt Frazier 6 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,500 New York wins series, 4–1 Guy Rodgers' final NBA game. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=MIL&opp_id=NYK&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Milwaukee Bucks versus New York Knicks (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021 Western Division Finals (1) Atlanta Hawks vs. (2) Los Angeles Lakers #eee April 12 Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 119 Atlanta Hawks 115 25–28 27–39 36–26 31–22 Jerry West 38 Wilt Chamberlain 17 Wilt Chamberlain 8 Walt Hazzard 29 Walt Bellamy 21 Lou Hudson 8 Alexander Memorial Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia 7,197 Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 April 14 Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 105 Atlanta Hawks 94 25–26 21–22 32–18 27–28 Chamberlain, West 24 each Wilt Chamberlain 24 Keith Erickson 7 Walt Bellamy 20 Bill Bridges 19 Joe Caldwell 7 Alexander Memorial Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia 7,197 Los Angeles leads series, 2–0 #eee April 17 Boxscore Atlanta Hawks 114 Los Angeles Lakers 115 OT 23–25 32–25 23–30 27–25 9–10 Hudson, Beard 22 each Bill Bridges 19 Lou Hudson 6 Jerry West 35 Wilt Chamberlain 26 Jerry West 13 The Forum, Inglewood, California 17,183 Los Angeles leads series, 3–0 Wilt Chamberlain makes the winning free throws in overtime with Jerry West on the bench with six fouls. April 19 Boxscore Atlanta Hawks 114 Los Angeles Lakers 133 30–24 26–32 33–32 25–45 Richie Guerin 31 Bill Bridges 18 Caldwell, Hudson 5 each Jerry West 39 Wilt Chamberlain 21 Jerry West 12 The Forum, Inglewood, California 17,410 Los Angeles wins series, 4–0 This was the 10th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning five of the first nine meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=ATL&opp_id=LAL&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021Atlanta leads 5–4 in all-time playoff series#fff 1956 St. Louis Hawks 2 Minneapolis Lakers 1 1956 Western Division Semifinals #fff 1957 St. Louis Hawks 3 Minneapolis Lakers 0 1957 Western Division Finals #fff 1959 St. Louis Hawks 2 Minneapolis Lakers 4 1959 Western Division Finals #fff 1960 St. Louis Hawks 4 Minneapolis Lakers 3 1960 Western Division Finals #fff 1961 St. Louis Hawks 4 Los Angeles Lakers 3 1961 Western Division Finals #fff 1963 St. Louis Hawks 3 Los Angeles Lakers 4 1963 Western Division Finals #fff 1964 St. Louis Hawks 3 Los Angeles Lakers 2 1964 Western Division Semifinals #fff 1966 St. Louis Hawks 3 Los Angeles Lakers 4 1966 Western Division Finals #fff 1969 Atlanta Hawks 1 Los Angeles Lakers 4 1969 Western Division Finals NBA Finals: (E1) New York Knicks vs. (W2) Los Angeles Lakers 1970 NBA Finals #eee April 24 Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 112 New York Knicks 124 25–35 29–30 38–24 20–35 Jerry West 33 Wilt Chamberlain 24 Wilt Chamberlain 5 Willis Reed 37 Reed, DeBusschere 16 each Dick Barnett 9 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,500 New York leads series, 1–0 April 27 Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 105 New York Knicks 103 28–24 24–28 29–29 24–22 Jerry West 34 Wilt Chamberlain 24 Garrett, Erickson 6 each Willis Reed 29 Willis Reed 15 Walt Frazier 11 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,500 Series tied, 1–1 #eee April 29 Boxscore New York Knicks 111 Los Angeles Lakers 108 OT 20–26 22–30 26–17 34–29 9–6 Willis Reed 38 Willis Reed 17 Walt Frazier 7 Jerry West 34 Wilt Chamberlain 26 Elgin Baylor 11 The Forum, Inglewood, California 17,500 New York leads series, 2–1 Jerry West (who suffered a jammed thumb in the first half) hit a desperation buzzer-beating 60-foot shot to tie it at 102 and force overtime. The Knicks pulled ahead in overtime for good when Willis Reed shot a free throw and Dick Barnett made a field goal to close the scoring. Bandaged hand and all, West later stated that the Lakers would beat the Knicks in the next game.https://newspaperarchive.com/colorado-springs-gazette-may-01-1970-p-87/ LA's West Will Play With Hurt Thumb Jack Stevenson Associated Press Colorado Springs Gazette May 1, 1970 April 9, 2025 May 1 Boxscore New York Knicks 115 Los Angeles Lakers 121 OT 27–24 20–30 20–17 32–28 16–22 Dick Barnett 29 Dave Stallworth 13 Walt Frazier 11 Jerry West 37 Wilt Chamberlain 25 Jerry West 18 The Forum, Inglewood, California 17,509 Series tied, 2–2 #eee May 4 Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 100 New York Knicks 107 30–20 23–20 29–35 18–32 Wilt Chamberlain 22 Wilt Chamberlain 19 Keith Erickson 6 Walt Frazier 21 Cazzie Russell 8 Walt Frazier 12 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,500 New York leads series, 3–2 May 6 Boxscore New York Knicks 113 Los Angeles Lakers 135 16–36 35–35 29–28 33–36 Dave DeBusschere 25 Dave DeBusschere 9 Dick Barnett 8 Wilt Chamberlain 45 Wilt Chamberlain 27 Jerry West 13 The Forum, Inglewood, California 17,509 Series tied, 3–3 #eee May 8 Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 99 New York Knicks 113 24–38 18–31 27–25 30–19 Jerry West 28 Wilt Chamberlain 24 Keith Erickson 6 Walt Frazier 36 Dave DeBusschere 17 Walt Frazier 19 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,500 New York wins series, 4–3 Willis Reed surprised the fans by walking onto the court during warmups, prompting widespread applause and inspiring the Knicks to win the title. This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first two meetings while based in Minneapolis. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=LAL&opp_id=NYK&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus New York Knicks (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021Los Angeles/ Minneapolis leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1952 Minneapolis Lakers 4 New York Knicks 3 1952 NBA Finals #fff 1953 Minneapolis Lakers 4 New York Knicks 1 1953 NBA Finals References External links Basketball-Reference.com's 1970 NBA Playoffs page Category:NBA playoffs Playoffs fi:NBA-kausi 1969–1970#Pudotuspelit