1970 NBA Playoffs
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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, ironically, 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 the second-year Milwaukee Bucks, and they managed a first-round defeat of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Boston missed the playoffs despite being the defending champions.
| 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
| New York won 5–1 in the regular-season series |
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| New York leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
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(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 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
| New York won 4–2 in the regular-season series |
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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
(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
| New York won 4–2 in the regular-season series |
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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.
| Los Angeles leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
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Broadcasters
National TV
| Teams | Network | Play-by-play announcer | Color analyst(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York–Los Angeles | ABC |
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 |