1974 NBA playoffs

Postseason tournament August 2023 NBA playoffs 1974 1973–74 March 29–May 12, 1974 8 Boston Celtics 12 Milwaukee Bucks Chicago Bulls New York Knicks 1973 1975 The 1974 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1973-74 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. John Havlicek was named NBA Finals MVP. It was the Celtics' twelfth NBA title, and first accomplished in the post-Bill Russell era. It was the last Finals appearance for Milwaukee until 2021. This is the last postseason with only 3 rounds and using only 8 teams. The 1975 NBA Playoffs added a First Round and the number of teams was expanded to 10. Using the revised playoff format adopted in 1973, two third-place teams (Buffalo in the Atlantic Division, Detroit in the Midwest Division) qualified for the playoffs, while the second-place finishers in the Central (Atlanta) and Pacific (Golden State) divisions did not. Also, since the top three Western qualifiers were in the Midwest Division, the two divisional champions in the Western Conference (Milwaukee and Los Angeles) played in the conference semifinals. With a 4–3 series victory over the Pistons in the first round, the Bulls earned their first playoff series victory. In their first eight years of existence, the Bulls made the playoffs seven times. The Bulls–Pistons rivalry started in their conference semifinal encounter, which Chicago won, 4–3. But it wasn't until the next four meetings (1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991) that the rivalry became even more intense, particularly due to the intense battles that made both teams legitimate contenders in the East.December 2016 As a matter of historical curiosity, 3 of the 4 teams in the 1974 Western Conference bracket (Milwaukee, Detroit and Chicago) now reside in the Eastern Conference. This was the only appearance of the Capital Bullets in the playoffs under that moniker; they assumed the "Capital" name for one year before changing to the Washington Bullets the next season. It was the playoff debut of the Buffalo Braves, who had joined the league in 1970. For the first time in BAA/NBA history (dating back to 1947), neither the Lakers (of Minneapolis, then Los Angeles) or Warriors (of Philadelphia, then San Francisco and Golden State) participated in a conference (or division prior to 1971) finals series. Bracket Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals Eastern Conference Western Conference E1 Boston* 4 E4 Buffalo 2 E3 Capital* 3 E2 New York 4 W1 Milwaukee* 4 W4 Los Angeles* 1 W3 Detroit 3 W2 Chicago 4 E1 Boston* 4 E2 New York 1 W1 Milwaukee* 4 W2 Chicago 0 E1 Boston* 4 W1 Milwaukee* 3* Division winner Bold Series winner Italic Team with home-court advantage Conference semifinals Eastern Conference semifinals (1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Buffalo Braves #eee March 30 Boxscore Buffalo Braves 97 Boston Celtics 107 31–20 19–21 31–28 16–38 Bob McAdoo 29 Gar Heard 20 Ernie DiGregorio 8 Jo Jo White 24 Dave Cowens 18 John Havlicek 12 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 14,300 Boston leads series, 1–0 April 2 Boxscore Boston Celtics 105 Buffalo Braves 115 19–31 30–20 27–32 29–32 Jo Jo White 27 Dave Cowens 16 John Havlicek 7 Bob McAdoo 23 Bob McAdoo 20 Ernie DiGregorio 12 Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York 17,507 Series tied, 1–1 #eee April 3 Boxscore Buffalo Braves 107 Boston Celtics 120 22–39 31–27 29–30 25–24 Bob McAdoo 38 Gar Heard 13 Ernie DiGregorio 8 John Havlicek 43 Dave Cowens 19 John Havlicek 8 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 14,656 Boston leads series, 2–1 April 6 Boxscore Boston Celtics 102 Buffalo Braves 104 22–22 26–29 26–21 28–32 Don Nelson 24 Dave Cowens 14 John Havlicek 8 Bob McAdoo 44 Jim McMillian 18 Ernie DiGregorio 11 Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York 18,119 Series tied, 2–2 Jim McMillian tip in at the buzzer. #eee April 9 Boxscore Buffalo Braves 97 Boston Celtics 100 31–25 20–23 20–23 26–29 Randy Smith 25 Gar Heard 16 Ernie DiGregorio 4 John Havlicek 25 Dave Cowens 12 Art Williams 8 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 15,320 Boston leads series, 3–2 April 12 Boxscore Boston Celtics 106 Buffalo Braves 104 20–26 33–28 34–28 19–22 John Havlicek 30 Dave Cowens 17 John Havlicek 7 Bob McAdoo 40 McAdoo, Heard 15 each Ernie DiGregorio 9 Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York 18,257 Boston wins series, 4–2 Jo Jo White's free throws with no time left. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=CLE&opp_id=WAS&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Los Angeles Clippers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021 (2) New York Knicks vs. (3) Capital Bullets #eee March 29 Boxscore Capital Bullets 91 New York Knicks 102 26–20 16–29 22–25 27–28 Elvin Hayes 40 Elvin Hayes 14 Hayes, Porter 4 each Walt Frazier 20 Walt Frazier 12 Dave DeBusschere 7 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,694 New York leads series, 1–0 March 31 Boxscore New York Knicks 87 Capital Bullets 99 26–25 18–25 22–20 21–29 Dave DeBusschere 20 Dave DeBusschere 10 Jerry Lucas 5 Phil Chenier 35 Elvin Hayes 21 Kevin Porter 7 Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland 16,522 Series tied, 1–1 #eee April 2 Boxscore Capital Bullets 88 New York Knicks 79 23–21 21–23 26–13 18–22 Kevin Porter 22 Elvin Hayes 13 Kevin Porter 5 Walt Frazier 20 Dave DeBusschere 12 DeBusschere, Meminger 5 each Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,694 Capital leads series, 2–1 April 5 Boxscore New York Knicks 101 Capital Bullets 93 OT 29–30 24–24 15–22 19–11 14–6 Earl Monroe 23 Walt Frazier 11 Walt Frazier 6 Hayes, Porter 20 each Elvin Hayes 17 Kevin Porter 7 Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland 19,035 Series tied, 2–2 #eee April 7 Boxscore Capital Bullets 105 New York Knicks 106 28–28 24–27 26–22 27–29 Elvin Hayes 27 Wes Unseld 12 Wes Unseld 8 Walt Frazier 38 Dave DeBusschere 8 Walt Frazier 4 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,694 New York leads series, 3–2 April 10 Boxscore New York Knicks 92 Capital Bullets 109 25–20 19–24 23–24 25–41 Walt Frazier 25 Phil Jackson 8 Walt Frazier 10 Elvin Hayes 31 Elvin Hayes 23 Wes Unseld 5 Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland 19,025 Series tied, 3–3 #eee April 12 Boxscore Capital Bullets 81 New York Knicks 91 20–29 31–24 10–16 20–22 Phil Chenier 21 Phil Chenier 14 Elvin Hayes 5 Earl Monroe 30 DeBusschere, Gianelli 15 each Dave DeBusschere 7 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,694 New York wins series, 4–3 This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning four of the previous five meetings. +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 4–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1969 Baltimore Bullets 0 New York Knicks 4 1969 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1970 Baltimore Bullets 3 New York Knicks 4 1970 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1971 Baltimore Bullets 4 New York Knicks 3 1971 Eastern Conference Finals #fff 1972 Baltimore Bullets 2 New York Knicks 4 1972 Eastern Conference Semifinals #fff 1973 Baltimore Bullets 1 New York Knicks 4 1973 Eastern Conference Semifinals Western Conference semifinals (1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (4) Los Angeles Lakers #eee March 29 Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 95 Milwaukee Bucks 99 26–23 23–24 28–24 18–28 Gail Goodrich 31 Connie Hawkins 14 Gail Goodrich 6 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 35 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 21 Oscar Robertson 9 Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 10,938 Milwaukee leads series, 1–0 March 31 Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 90 Milwaukee Bucks 109 23–29 25–21 14–27 28–32 Gail Goodrich 21 Happy Hairston 10 Happy Hairston 7 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 32 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 25 Oscar Robertson 9 Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 10,938 Milwaukee leads series, 2–0 #eee April 2 Boxscore Milwaukee Bucks 96 Los Angeles Lakers 98 24–29 31–23 21–29 20–17 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 29 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 15 Oscar Robertson 16 Elmore Smith 30 Elmore Smith 17 Gail Goodrich 12 The Forum, Inglewood, California 17,505 Milwaukee leads series, 2–1 Jerry West’s final NBA game. April 4 Boxscore Milwaukee Bucks 112 Los Angeles Lakers 90 30–21 22–18 34–14 26–37 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 31 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 16 Oscar Robertson 9 Elmore Smith 20 Elmore Smith 13 Connie Hawkins 5 The Forum, Inglewood, California Jake O'Donnell, Richie Powers, Paul Mihalak Milwaukee leads series, 3–1 #eee April 7 Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 92 Milwaukee Bucks 114 16–33 12–18 26–36 38–27 Gail Goodrich 22 Happy Hairston 11 Gail Goodrich 6 Ron Williams 22 Cornell Warner 17 Abdul-Jabbar, Robertson 8 each Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 10,938 Milwaukee wins series, 4–1 This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with both teams splitting the prior two meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=LAL&opp_id=MIL&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus Milwaukee Bucks (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021Tied 1–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1971 Los Angeles Lakers 1 Milwaukee Bucks 4 1971 Western Conference Finals #fff 1972 Los Angeles Lakers 4 Milwaukee Bucks 2 1972 Western Conference Finals (2) Chicago Bulls vs. (3) Detroit Pistons Bulls-Pistons rivalry #eee March 30 Boxscore Detroit Pistons 97 Chicago Bulls 88 29–16 22–22 20–27 26–23 Bob Lanier 27 Lanier, Rowe 13 each Don Adams 6 Jerry Sloan 24 Sloan, Ray 10 each Norm Van Lier 6 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois 10,711 Detroit leads series, 1–0 April 1 Boxscore Chicago Bulls 108 Detroit Pistons 103 27–27 23–22 29–28 29–26 Bob Love 38 Clifford Ray 11 Norm Van Lier 9 Bob Lanier 38 Bob Lanier 19 Dave Bing 7 Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan 11,499 Series tied, 1–1 #eee April 5 Boxscore Detroit Pistons 83 Chicago Bulls 84 17–13 23–29 19–27 24–15 Dave Bing 23 Bob Lanier 16 Lanier, Rowe 2 each Chet Walker 21 Jerry Sloan 14 Norm Van Lier 5 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois 17,634 Chicago leads series, 2–1 April 7 Boxscore Chicago Bulls 87 Detroit Pistons 102 25–22 19–25 21–35 22–20 Bob Love 23 Clifford Ray 9 Norm Van Lier 9 Bob Lanier 26 Bob Lanier 18 Dave Bing 8 Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan 11,287 Series tied, 2–2 #eee April 9 Boxscore Detroit Pistons 94 Chicago Bulls 98 14–28 26–29 23–18 31–23 Bob Lanier 23 Bob Lanier 17 Dave Bing 6 Bob Love 32 Jerry Sloan 17 Norm Van Lier 4 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois 14,236 Chicago leads series, 3–2 April 11 Boxscore Chicago Bulls 88 Detroit Pistons 92 22–15 19–25 23–24 24–28 Chet Walker 33 Clifford Ray 15 Norm Van Lier 10 Bob Lanier 28 Bob Lanier 14 Dave Bing 10 Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan 11,134 Series tied, 3–3 #eee April 13 Boxscore Detroit Pistons 94 Chicago Bulls 96 18–25 23–27 30–28 23–16 Stu Lantz 25 Lanier, Rowe 10 each Stu Lantz 5 Chet Walker 26 Clifford Ray 15 Bob Weiss 5 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois 13,133 Chicago wins series, 4–3 This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams, and is one of only two times in which the Bulls defeated the Pistons in the playoffs.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=CHI&opp_id=DET&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Detroit Pistons (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021 Conference finals Eastern Conference finals (1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) New York Knicks #eee April 14 Boxscore New York Knicks 88 Boston Celtics 113 16–21 23–30 23–32 26–30 Walt Frazier 16 Dave DeBusschere 10 Meminger, Bibby 3 each John Havlicek 25 Dave Cowens 13 John Havlicek 12 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 14,101 Boston leads series, 1–0 April 16 Boxscore Boston Celtics 111 New York Knicks 99 33–25 20–35 33–14 25–25 John Havlicek 27 Dave Cowens 18 Jo Jo White 6 Bill Bradley 20 Dave DeBusschere 9 Walt Frazier 4 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,694 Boston leads series, 2–0 #eee April 19 Boxscore New York Knicks 103 Boston Celtics 100 22–18 31–26 31–23 19–33 Walt Frazier 38 Frazier, Gianelli 10 each Walt Frazier 4 Dave Cowens 28 Dave Cowens 22 Art Williams 5 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 15,320 Boston leads series, 2–1 April 21 Boxscore Boston Celtics 98 New York Knicks 91 28–32 23–18 24–23 23–18 John Havlicek 36 Paul Silas 14 Jo Jo White 9 Walt Frazier 25 John Gianelli 9 Earl Monroe 5 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,694 Boston leads series, 3–1 Willis Reed’s final NBA game. #eee April 24 Boxscore New York Knicks 94 Boston Celtics 105 20–21 32–24 27–35 15–25 Phil Jackson 27 Phil Jackson 9 Walt Frazier 6 John Havlicek 33 Dave Cowens 14 John Havlicek 5 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 15,320 Boston wins series, 4–1 Dave DeBusschere and Jerry Lucas’ final NBA game. This was the 10th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning five of the previous nine meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=BOS&opp_id=NYK&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus New York Knicks (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021New York leads 5–4 in all-time playoff series#fff 1951 Boston Celtics 0 New York Knicks 2 1951 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1952 Boston Celtics 1 New York Knicks 2 1952 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1953 Boston Celtics 1 New York Knicks 3 1953 Eastern Division Finals #fff 1954 Boston Celtics 2 New York Knicks 0 1954 Eastern Division Round Robin Semifinals #fff 1955 Boston Celtics 2 New York Knicks 1 1955 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1967 Boston Celtics 3 New York Knicks 1 1967 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1969 Boston Celtics 4 New York Knicks 2 1969 Eastern Division Finals #fff 1972 Boston Celtics 1 New York Knicks 4 1972 Eastern Conference Finals #fff 1973 Boston Celtics 3 New York Knicks 4 1973 Eastern Conference Finals Western Conference finals (1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (2) Chicago Bulls #eee April 16 Boxscore Chicago Bulls 85 Milwaukee Bucks 101 18–21 24–28 21–32 22–20 Norm Van Lier 26 Bob Love 10 Norm Van Lier 10 Abdul-Jabbar, Dandridge 25 each Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 19 Oscar Robertson 10 Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 10,938 Milwaukee leads series, 1–0 April 18 Boxscore Milwaukee Bucks 113 Chicago Bulls 111 30–29 32–22 29–26 22–34 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 44 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 21 Oscar Robertson 8 Norm Van Lier 27 Clifford Ray 15 Norm Van Lier 7 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois 17,787 Milwaukee leads series, 2–0 #eee April 20 Boxscore Chicago Bulls 90 Milwaukee Bucks 113 22–26 19–27 25–30 24–30 Bob Love 30 Clifford Ray 15 Clifford Ray 6 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 32 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 14 Oscar Robertson 12 Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 10,938 Milwaukee leads series, 3–0 April 22 Boxscore Milwaukee Bucks 115 Chicago Bulls 99 20–20 28–32 29–16 38–31 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24 Oscar Robertson 10 Bob Love 32 Love, Ray 8 each Norm Van Lier 7 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois 12,762 Milwaukee wins series, 4–0 This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=CHI&opp_id=MIL&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Milwaukee Bucks (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021 NBA Finals: (W1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (E1) Boston Celtics 1974 NBA Finals #eee April 28 Boxscore Boston Celtics 98 Milwaukee Bucks 83 35–19 17–23 17–19 29–22 John Havlicek 26 Dave Cowens 17 Cowens, White 7 each Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 35 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 14 Oscar Robertson 8 Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 10,938 Richie Powers, Jake O'Donnell Boston leads series, 1–0 April 30 Boxscore Boston Celtics 96 Milwaukee Bucks 105 OT 24–23 17–32 25–22 24–13 6–15 Jo Jo White 25 Dave Cowens 11 Dave Cowens 6 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 36 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 15 Oscar Robertson 9 Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 10,938 Mendy Rudolph, Darell Garretson Series tied, 1–1 #eee May 3 Boxscore Milwaukee Bucks 83 Boston Celtics 95 13–32 24–19 22–26 24–18 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26 Abdul-Jabbar, Warner 10 each Abdul-Jabbar, Robertson 5 each Dave Cowens 30 John Havlicek 12 Jo Jo White 8 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 15,320 Richie Powers, Don Murphy Boston leads series, 2–1 May 5 Boxscore Milwaukee Bucks 97 Boston Celtics 89 28–27 21–12 21–26 27–24 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 34 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 14 Oscar Robertson 9 John Havlicek 33 Paul Silas 12 Jo Jo White 9 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 15,320 Mendy Rudolph, Earl Strom Series tied, 2–2 #eee May 7 Boxscore Boston Celtics 96 Milwaukee Bucks 87 20–15 25–29 24–17 27–26 Havlicek, Cowens 28 each Paul Silas 16 Dave Cowens 6 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 37 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 11 Jon McGlocklin 8 Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 10,938 Richie Powers, Jake O'Donnell Boston leads series, 3–2 May 10 Boxscore Milwaukee Bucks 102 Boston Celtics 101 2OT 27–19 20–21 22–23 17–23 4–4, 12–11 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 34 four players 8 each Oscar Robertson 10 John Havlicek 36 Havlicek, Silas 9 each Jo Jo White 11 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 15,320 Mendy Rudolph, Darell Garretson Series tied, 3–3 Dave Cowens hits the game-tying shot with 1 minute left in regulation to force the first OT; John Havlicek rebounds his missed-shot and makes the game-tying basket with 5 seconds left in the first OT to force the second OT; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hits the game-winning sky-hook with 3 seconds left in the second OT. #eee May 12 Boxscore Boston Celtics 102 Milwaukee Bucks 87 22–20 31–20 18–26 31–21 Dave Cowens 28 Dave Cowens 14 Havlicek, Westphal 6 each Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 13 Oscar Robertson 11 Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 10,938 Mendy Rudolph, Richie Powers Boston wins series, 4–3 Oscar Robertson’s 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=BOS&opp_id=MIL&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Milwaukee Bucks (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021 References External links Basketball-Reference.com's 1974 NBA Playoffs page Category:NBA playoffs Playoffs fi:NBA-kausi 1973–1974#Pudotuspelit