1970 NBA playoffs

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.

1970 NBA playoffs

Dates	March 25–May 8, 1970
Season	1969–70
Teams	8
Champions	New York Knicks (1st title)
Runners-up	Los Angeles Lakers (13th finals appearance)
Semifinalists	Atlanta Hawks Milwaukee Bucks
← 1969 1971 →

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
	1	Atlanta	4
	3	Chicago	1
						1	Atlanta	0
	Western Division
						2	L.A. Lakers	4
	4	Phoenix	3
	2	L.A. Lakers	4
											W2	L.A. Lakers	3
											E1	New York	4
	1	New York	4
	3	Baltimore	3
						1	New York	4
	Eastern Division
						2	Milwaukee	1
	4	Philadelphia	1
	2	Milwaukee	4

Western Division

Champion: Los Angeles Lakers

Division Semifinals

(1) Atlanta Hawks vs. (3) Chicago Bulls: Hawks win series 4-1

• Game 1 @ Atlanta (March 25): Atlanta 129, Chicago 111
• Game 2 @ Atlanta (March 28): Atlanta 124, Chicago 104
• Game 3 @ Chicago (March 31): Atlanta 106, Chicago 101
• Game 4 @ Chicago (April 3): Chicago 131, Atlanta 120
• Game 5 @ Atlanta (April 5): Atlanta 113, Chicago 107

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Phoenix Suns: Lakers win series 4-3

• Game 1 @ Los Angeles (March 25): Los Angeles 128, Phoenix 112
• Game 2 @ Los Angeles (March 29): Phoenix 114, Los Angeles 101
• Game 3 @ Phoenix (April 2): Phoenix 112, Los Angeles 98
• Game 4 @ Phoenix (April 4): Phoenix 112, Los Angeles 102
• Game 5 @ Los Angeles (April 5): Los Angeles 138, Phoenix 121
• Game 6 @ Phoenix (April 7): Los Angeles 104, Phoenix 93
• Game 7 @ Los Angeles (April 9): Los Angeles 129, Phoenix 94 (The Lakers become the second team to come back from a 3-1 series deficit)

Division Finals

(1) Atlanta Hawks vs. (2) Los Angeles Lakers: Lakers win series 4-0

• Game 1 @ Atlanta (April 12): Los Angeles 119, Atlanta 115
• Game 2 @ Atlanta (April 14): Los Angeles 105, Atlanta 94
• Game 3 @ Los Angeles (April 17): Los Angeles 115, Atlanta 114 (OT)
• Game 4 @ Los Angeles (April 19): Los Angeles 133, Atlanta 114

Eastern Division

Champion: New York Knicks

Division Semifinals

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

• Game 1 @ New York (March 26): New York 120, Baltimore 117 (2OT)
• Game 2 @ Baltimore (March 27): New York 106, Baltimore 99
• Game 3 @ New York (March 29): Baltimore 127, New York 113
• Game 4 @ Baltimore (March 31): Baltimore 102, New York 92
• Game 5 @ New York (April 2): New York 101, Baltimore 80
• Game 6 @ Baltimore (April 5): Baltimore 96, New York 87
• Game 7 @ New York (April 6): New York 127, Baltimore 114

Regular-season series

New York won 5–1 in the regular-season series

October 25, 1969 Recap Baltimore Bullets 99, New York Knicks 128 Madison Square Garden, New York City December 5, 1969 Recap New York Knicks 116, Baltimore Bullets 107 Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore December 20, 1969 Recap Baltimore Bullets 91, New York Knicks 128 Madison Square Garden, New York City January 6, 1970 Recap New York Knicks 129, Baltimore Bullets 99 Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore February 22, 1970 Recap New York Knicks 104, Baltimore Bullets 110 Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore February 28, 1970 Recap Baltimore Bullets 101, New York Knicks 115 Madison Square Garden, New York City

Previous playoff series

New York leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series
1969 New York Knicks 4, Baltimore Bullets 0 Eastern Division Semifinals

(2) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (4) Philadelphia 76ers: Bucks win series 4-1

• Game 1 @ Milwaukee (March 25): Milwaukee 125, Philadelphia 118
• Game 2 @ Milwaukee (March 27): Philadelphia 112, Milwaukee 105
• Game 3 @ Philadelphia (March 30): Milwaukee 156, Philadelphia 120
• Game 4 @ Philadelphia (April 1): Milwaukee 118, Philadelphia 111
• Game 5 @ Milwaukee (April 3): Milwaukee 115, Philadelphia 106

Last playoff meeting: This is the first meeting between the Bucks and the 76ers.

Division Finals

(1) New York Knicks vs. (2) Milwaukee Bucks: Knicks win series 4-1

• Game 1 @ New York (April 11): New York 110, Milwaukee 102
• Game 2 @ New York (April 13): New York 112, Milwaukee 111
• Game 3 @ Milwaukee (April 17): Milwaukee 101, New York 96
• Game 4 @ Milwaukee (April 19): New York 117, Milwaukee 105
• Game 5 @ New York (April 20): New York 132, Milwaukee 96 (Guy Rodgers' final NBA game)

Regular-season series

New York won 4–2 in the regular-season series

November 1, 1969 Recap Milwaukee Bucks 108, New York Knicks 112 Madison Square Garden, New York City November 3, 1969 Recap New York Knicks 109, Milwaukee Bucks 93 MECCA Arena, Milwaukee December 6, 1969 Recap Milwaukee Bucks 99, New York Knicks 124 Madison Square Garden, New York City December 10, 1969 Recap New York Knicks 96, Milwaukee Bucks 95 MECCA Arena, Milwaukee January 2, 1970 Recap New York Knicks 105, Milwaukee Bucks 118 MECCA Arena, Milwaukee March 18, 1970 Recap Milwaukee Bucks 116, New York Knicks 108 Madison Square Garden, New York City

Last playoff meeting: This is the first meeting between the Bucks and the Knicks.

Broadcasters

Division Semifinals

Local Television

Teams	Channel	Play-by-play announcer
New York–Baltimore	Manhattan Cable Television (New York) (Games 1, 5 and 7) WOR-TV (New York) (Games 2 and 4)	Bob Wolff and Marty Glickman Bob Wolff

National Television

Teams	Network	Play-by-play announcer	Color analyst(s)
New York–Baltimore	ABC (Games 3, 6)

Local Radio

Teams	Flagship station	Play-by-play announcer
New York–Baltimore	WHN (New York) (Games 1–5, 7)	Marv Albert

Division Finals

Local Television

Teams	Channel	Play-by-play announcer
New York–Milwaukee	Manhattan Cable Television (New York) (Games 2 and 5) WOR-TV (New York) (Game 3)	Bob Wolff and Marty Glickman Bob Wolff

National Television

Teams	Network	Play-by-play announcer	Color analyst(s)
New York–Milwaukee	ABC (Games 1, 4)

Local Radio

Teams	Flagship station	Play-by-play announcer
New York–Milwaukee	WHN (New York)	Marv Albert

NBA Finals

Main article: 1970 NBA Finals

(1) New York Knicks vs. (2) Los Angeles Lakers: Knicks win series 4-3

• Game 1 @ New York (April 24): New York 124, Los Angeles 112
• Game 2 @ New York (April 27): Los Angeles 105, New York 103
• Game 3 @ Los Angeles (April 29): New York 111, Los Angeles 108 (OT; Jerry West hit a desperation buzzer-beating 60-foot shot to tie it at 102 and force OT)
• Game 4 @ Los Angeles (May 1): Los Angeles 121, New York 115 (OT)
• Game 5 @ New York (May 4): New York 107, Los Angeles 100
• Game 6 @ Los Angeles (May 6): Los Angeles 135, New York 113
• Game 7 @ New York (May 8): New York 113, Los Angeles 99

Regular-season series

New York won 4–2 in the regular-season series

October 18, 1969 Recap Los Angeles Lakers 96, New York Knicks 99 Madison Square Garden, New York City November 9, 1969 Recap New York Knicks 112, Los Angeles Lakers 102 The Forum, Inglewood, California November 25, 1969 Recap Los Angeles Lakers 96, New York Knicks 103 Madison Square Garden, New York City December 26, 1969 Recap New York Knicks 106, Los Angeles Lakers 114 The Forum, Inglewood, California February 17, 1970 Recap Los Angeles Lakers 93, New York Knicks 114 Madison Square Garden, New York City March 15, 1970 Recap New York Knicks 101, Los Angeles Lakers 106 The Forum, Inglewood, California

In Game 7, Willis Reed surprised the fans by walking onto the court during warmups, prompting widespread applause and inspiring the Knicks to win the title.

Previous playoff series

Los Angeles leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series
1952 Minneapolis Lakers 4, New York Knicks 3 1952 NBA Finals 1953 Minneapolis Lakers 4, New York Knicks 1 1953 NBA Finals

Broadcasters

National TV

Teams	Network	Play-by-play announcer	Color analyst(s)
New York–Los Angeles	ABC	Chris Schenkel	Jack Twyman

Local Radio

Teams	Flagship station	Play-by-play announcer	Color analyst(s)
New York–Los Angeles	WHN (New York)	Marv Albert

National Radio

Teams	Network	Play-by-play announcer	Color analyst(s)
New York–Los Angeles

External links

• Basketball-Reference.com's 1970 NBA Playoffs page