1973 NBA Finals
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| Dates | May 1–10 | |||||||||
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| MVP |
Willis Reed (New York Knicks) |
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| Television | ABC (U.S.) | |||||||||
| Announcers | Keith Jackson and Bill Russell | |||||||||
| Radio network |
Mutual (National) WNBC–AM (NYK) KFI (LAL) |
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| Announcers |
Marv Albert and John Andariese (NYK) Chick Hearn and Lynn Shackelford (LAL) |
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| Referees | ||||||||||
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| Hall of Famers |
Knicks: Bill Bradley (1983) Jerry Lucas (1980) Dave DeBusschere (1983) Willis Reed (1982) Phil Jackson (2007, coach) Earl Monroe (1990) Walt Frazier (1987) Lakers: Wilt Chamberlain (1979) Gail Goodrich (1996) Pat Riley (2008, coach) Jerry West (1980) Coaches: Red Holzman (1986) Bill Sharman (1976, player/2004, coach) Officials: Darell Garretson (2016) Mendy Rudolph (2007) |
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| Eastern Finals | Knicks defeat Celtics, 4–3 | |||||||||
| Western Finals | Lakers defeat Warriors, 4–1 | |||||||||
| Game 3: | Jack Madden and Don Murphy |
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| Game 4: | Darell Garretson and Mendy Rudolph |
| Game 5: | Darell Garretson and Don Murphy |
The 1973 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1972–73 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the culmination of that season's playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks defeated the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1. The series was an exact reversal of the prior year, with the Lakers winning Game 1 and the Knicks taking the next four games. Knicks center Willis Reed was named as the NBA Finals MVP.
The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 1973 NBA Playoffs as co-favorites in the West with the Milwaukee Bucks, but both teams faced inspired opponents in the first round. The Chicago Bulls gave the Lakers all they could handle before the Lakers came from behind in Game 7 to take the series. The Lakers next faced the Golden State Warriors for the Western Conference Championship (the Warriors had upset the Bucks in six games). In Game 1, the Lakers won by 2, and in Game 2 the Lakers won by 10. In Game 3 at Oakland, the Lakers routed the Warriors 126-70, but the Warriors won Game 4 to send the series back to Los Angeles. In the Forum, the Lakers took Game 5 and advanced to their fourth NBA Finals series in five seasons.
One year after their NBA Finals loss, the Knicks were back in the playoffs. For some of the Knicks, including Jerry Lucas and Earl Monroe, this was probably their last shot at an NBA title. In the first round they paired against the Baltimore Bullets. The Knicks won Game's 1 and 2 in New York, but lost Game 3 at Baltimore (in that game, the Bullets used a strange lineup of two centers and three guards). New York would take Games 4 and 5 Walt Frazier averaging 20 points per game in this series. In the Conference Finals, the Knicks faced none other than the 68-14 Boston Celtics, who had the league's best record. The Celtics won Game 1 at the Boston Garden, but the Knicks stunned the Celtics in Game 2 with a big 129-96 victory. The Knicks eventually held a 3-1 series lead before Boston came back with two critical wins. However, that had to be done without their star John Havlicek, who was nursing an elbow injury. The loss would come back to haunt the Celtics as they lost again, in Game 7 at home to the Knicks. Even rarer was the fact that this was lost on their home court.
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