| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 26–May 5, 1969 |
| Season | 1968–69 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Boston Celtics (11th title) |
| Runner-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Semifinalists | |
The 1969 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1968–69 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
Despite finishing in 4th place, the Celtics won their second straight NBA title, marking their 11th overall as their era of 1960s dominance drew to a close. They upset Philadelphia and New York on the way to the Finals. Out west, the San Francisco Warriors stunned the Lakers by winning the first 2 in L.A., and Bay Area fans were thinking of avenging the prior year's sweep by the Lakers with a sweep of their own. But the Lakers won 4 straight to win the series in 6.
This year marked the debut of the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award; it was awarded to Jerry West of the Lakers, which marks the only time so far that the trophy has been given to a player on the losing team.
The Celtics were the first team seeded below third in their conference or division and win the NBA championship. It would not happen again until the 1995 NBA playoffs.[1]
The second-year San Diego Rockets made their first playoff appearance; the next time they appeared was in 1975 as the Houston Rockets.
Bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Baltimore* | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| E4 | Boston | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Boston | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Philadelphia | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Boston | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | San Francisco | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| W2 | Atlanta | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | San Diego | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Atlanta | 4 | ||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals
Division Semifinals
Eastern Division Semifinals
(1) Baltimore Bullets vs. (3) New York Knicks
March 27 |
| New York Knicks 113, Baltimore Bullets 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 32–23, 30–28, 29–29 | ||
| Pts: Walt Frazier 26 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 21 Asts: Walt Frazier 11 |
Pts: Earl Monroe 32 Rebs: Wes Unseld 13 Asts: Monroe, Unseld 3 each | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 29 |
| Baltimore Bullets 91, New York Knicks 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–30, 20–23, 28–31, 14–23 | ||
| Pts: Earl Monroe 29 Rebs: Wes Unseld 27 Asts: Kevin Loughery 4 |
Pts: Dick Barnett 27 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 19 Asts: Walt Frazier 12 | |
| New York leads series, 2–0 | ||
March 30 |
| New York Knicks 119, Baltimore Bullets 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 38–32, 24–28, 25–31, 32–25 | ||
| Pts: Willis Reed 35 Rebs: Willis Reed 19 Asts: Walt Frazier 17 |
Pts: Kevin Loughery 29 Rebs: Wes Unseld 14 Asts: Kevin Loughery 7 | |
| New York leads series, 3–0 | ||
April 2 |
| Baltimore Bullets 108, New York Knicks 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–25, 22–25, 29–32, 28–33 | ||
| Pts: Monroe, Unseld 25 each Rebs: Wes Unseld 20 Asts: Kevin Loughery 7 |
Pts: Willis Reed 43 Rebs: Willis Reed 17 Asts: Walt Frazier 11 | |
| New York wins series, 4–0 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[2]
(2) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (4) Boston Celtics
March 26 |
| Boston Celtics 114, Philadelphia 76ers 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–27, 27–22, 26–24, 28–27 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 35 Rebs: Bill Russell 15 Asts: Bill Russell 8 |
Pts: Billy Cunningham 29 Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 19 Asts: Billy Cunningham 6 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 28 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 103, Boston Celtics 134 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–27, 25–28, 25–37, 24–42 | ||
| Pts: Chet Walker 26 Rebs: Billy Cunningham 11 Asts: Matt Guokas 4 |
Pts: Bailey Howell 29 Rebs: Howell, Russell 16 each Asts: John Havlicek 7 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
March 30 |
| Boston Celtics 125, Philadelphia 76ers 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–31, 36–34, 28–28, 30–25 | ||
| Pts: Sam Jones 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 18 Asts: John Havlicek 10 |
Pts: Billy Cunningham 33 Rebs: Imhoff, Cunningham 14 each Asts: Hal Greer 7 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–0 | ||
April 1 |
| Philadelphia 76ers 119, Boston Celtics 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–25, 32–30, 28–28, 34–33 | ||
| Pts: Hal Greer 24 Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 20 Asts: Hal Greer 7 |
Pts: John Havlicek 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 29 Asts: Bill Russell 5 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 4 |
| Boston Celtics 93, Philadelphia 76ers 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–19, 18–21, 27–25, 26–25 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 22 Rebs: Bill Russell 18 Asts: Bill Russell 6 |
Pts: Billy Cunningham 23 Rebs: Darrall Imhoff 19 Asts: Archie Clark 7 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–1 | ||
This was the 13th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning seven of the first 12 meetings.
| Boston leads 7–5 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Division Semifinals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) San Francisco Warriors
March 26 |
| San Francisco Warriors 99, Los Angeles Lakers 94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–22, 19–25, 25–29, 27–18 | ||
| Pts: Jeff Mullins 36 Rebs: Nate Thurmond 27 Asts: Al Attles 9 |
Pts: Jerry West 36 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 30 Asts: Jerry West 7 | |
| San Francisco leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 28 |
| San Francisco Warriors 107, Los Angeles Lakers 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 34–30, 30–23, 22–26, 21–22 | ||
| Pts: Rudy LaRusso 29 Rebs: Nate Thurmond 28 Asts: Jim King 7 |
Pts: Jerry West 36 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 17 Asts: Jerry West 11 | |
| San Francisco leads series, 2–0 | ||
March 31 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 115, San Francisco Warriors 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 22–22, 41–25, 31–28 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 25 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 28 Asts: Jerry West 9 |
Pts: Nate Thurmond 22 Rebs: Nate Thurmond 20 Asts: Nate Thurmond 5 | |
| San Francisco leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 2 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 103, San Francisco Warriors 88 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–16, 32–19, 26–23, 20–30 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 36 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 14 Asts: Jerry West 5 |
Pts: Ron Williams 16 Rebs: Nate Thurmond 15 Asts: Nate Thurmond 4 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 4 |
| San Francisco Warriors 98, Los Angeles Lakers 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–28, 18–32, 30–24, 24–19 | ||
| Pts: Joe Ellis 23 Rebs: Bill Turner 14 Asts: Nate Thurmond 6 |
Pts: Jerry West 29 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 27 Asts: Jerry West 13 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 5 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 118, San Francisco Warriors 78 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–20, 32–18, 24–17, 33–23 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 29 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 25 Asts: Jerry West 8 |
Pts: Jeff Mullins 21 Rebs: Nate Thurmond 14 Asts: Jeff Mullins 5 | |
| Los Angeles wins series, 4–2 | ||
- The Lakers become the first team to win a playoff series after losing the first 2 games at home.
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with both teams splitting the first two meetings.
| Tied 1–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Atlanta Hawks vs. (4) San Diego Rockets
March 27 |
| San Diego Rockets 98, Atlanta Hawks 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–18, 17–28, 26–36, 29–25 | ||
| Pts: Elvin Hayes 31 Rebs: Toby Kimball 15 Asts: Art Williams 6 |
Pts: Lou Hudson 39 Rebs: Bill Bridges 22 Asts: Ohl, Hazzard 3 each | |
| Atlanta leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 29 |
| San Diego Rockets 114, Atlanta Hawks 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–21, 21–30, 25–32, 44–33 | ||
| Pts: Rick Adelman 26 Rebs: three players 9 each Asts: Rick Adelman 6 |
Pts: Zelmo Beaty 31 Rebs: Bill Bridges 14 Asts: Joe Caldwell 8 | |
| Atlanta leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 1 |
| Atlanta Hawks 97, San Diego Rockets 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–21, 26–28, 23–27, 18–28 | ||
| Pts: Zelmo Beaty 31 Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 17 Asts: Joe Caldwell 6 |
Pts: Elvin Hayes 26 Rebs: Elvin Hayes 19 Asts: Rick Adelman 8 | |
| Atlanta leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 4 |
| Atlanta Hawks 112, San Diego Rockets 114 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–26, 26–33, 19–23, 35–32 | ||
| Pts: Walt Hazzard 34 Rebs: Beaty, Bridges 11 each Asts: Walt Hazzard 5 |
Pts: Elvin Hayes 30 Rebs: Elvin Hayes 20 Asts: Don Kojis 4 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 6 |
| San Diego Rockets 101, Atlanta Hawks 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 24–28, 27–31, 24–28 | ||
| Pts: Elvin Hayes 27 Rebs: Elvin Hayes 9 Asts: Art Williams 8 |
Pts: Joe Caldwell 26 Rebs: Bill Bridges 17 Asts: Caldwell, Hazzard 5 each | |
| Atlanta leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 7 |
| Atlanta Hawks 108, San Diego Rockets 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–29, 27–33, 27–22, 31–22 | ||
| Pts: Lou Hudson 27 Rebs: Bill Bridges 17 Asts: Caldwell, Hazzard 4 each |
Pts: Kojis, Hayes 26 each Rebs: Toby Kimball 15 Asts: Adelman, Williams 6 each | |
| Atlanta wins series, 4–2 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[5]
Division Finals
Eastern Division Finals
(3) New York Knicks vs. (4) Boston Celtics
April 6 |
| Boston Celtics 108, New York Knicks 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–26, 33–23, 22–24, 30–27 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 25 Rebs: Bill Russell 16 Asts: Em Bryant 8 |
Pts: Walt Frazier 34 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 14 Asts: Walt Frazier 8 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 9 |
| New York Knicks 97, Boston Celtics 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–26, 19–29, 30–32, 34–25 | ||
| Pts: Willis Reed 28 Rebs: Willis Reed 13 Asts: Walt Frazier 4 |
Pts: Bailey Howell 27 Rebs: Bill Russell 29 Asts: John Havlicek 12 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 10 |
| Boston Celtics 91, New York Knicks 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–28, 22–23, 29–24, 21–26 | ||
| Pts: Russell, Bryant 16 each Rebs: Bill Russell 20 Asts: Russell, Havlicek 8 each |
Pts: Walt Frazier 26 Rebs: Willis Reed 14 Asts: Walt Frazier 12 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 13 |
| New York Knicks 96, Boston Celtics 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–25, 24–26, 23–24, 23–22 | ||
| Pts: Willis Reed 22 Rebs: Willis Reed 19 Asts: Walt Frazier 6 |
Pts: Bill Russell 21 Rebs: Bill Russell 23 Asts: John Havlicek 4 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 14 |
| Boston Celtics 104, New York Knicks 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–30, 22–30, 21–25, 37–27 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 29 Rebs: Bill Russell 16 Asts: John Havlicek 7 |
Pts: Willis Reed 24 Rebs: Walt Frazier 12 Asts: Walt Frazier 9 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 18 |
| New York Knicks 105, Boston Celtics 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–24, 31–33, 24–25, 29–24 | ||
| Pts: Willis Reed 32 Rebs: Willis Reed 11 Asts: Bill Bradley 7 |
Pts: Sam Jones 29 Rebs: Bill Russell 21 Asts: Russell, Havlicek 5 each | |
| Boston wins series, 4–2 | ||
- John Havlicek hits the series-winning shot.
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with both teams splitting the first six meetings.
| Tied 3–3 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Division Finals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (2) Atlanta Hawks
April 11 |
| Atlanta Hawks 93, Los Angeles Lakers 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–25, 23–28, 29–23, 24–19 | ||
| Pts: Zelmo Beaty 29 Rebs: Bill Bridges 20 Asts: Walt Hazzard 6 |
Pts: Jerry West 25 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 29 Asts: Baylor, Egan 6 each | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 13 |
| Atlanta Hawks 102, Los Angeles Lakers 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–27, 31–25, 30–29, 20–23 | ||
| Pts: Joe Caldwell 34 Rebs: Caldwell, Bridges 10 each Asts: Bill Bridges 5 |
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 23 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 29 Asts: Johnny Egan 11 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 15 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 86, Atlanta Hawks 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–18, 20–28, 23–23, 25–30 | ||
| Pts: Johnny Egan 19 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 22 Asts: West, Baylor 4 each |
Pts: Zelmo Beaty 22 Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 15 Asts: Lou Hudson 5 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 17 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 100, Atlanta Hawks 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–15, 21–28, 26–20, 33–22 | ||
| Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 25 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 19 Asts: Jerry West 5 |
Pts: Lou Hudson 35 Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 20 Asts: Bill Bridges 5 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 20 |
| Atlanta Hawks 96, Los Angeles Lakers 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–22, 26–32, 29–22, 25–23 | ||
| Pts: Zelmo Beaty 30 Rebs: Bill Bridges 22 Asts: Lou Hudson 7 |
Pts: Elgin Baylor 29 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 29 Asts: Elgin Baylor 12 | |
| Los Angeles wins series, 4–1 | ||
This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning five of the first eight meetings while in St. Louis.
| Atlanta/ St. Louis leads 5–3 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
NBA Finals: (W1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E4) Boston Celtics
April 23 |
| Boston Celtics 118, Los Angeles Lakers 120 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–33, 26–23, 26–26, 34–38 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 37 Rebs: Bill Russell 27 Asts: Sam Jones 6 |
Pts: Jerry West 53 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 23 Asts: Jerry West 10 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 25 |
| Boston Celtics 112, Los Angeles Lakers 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–24, 30–29, 30–35, 27–30 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 43 Rebs: Bill Russell 21 Asts: Bill Russell 13 |
Pts: Jerry West 41 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 19 Asts: Egan, West 8 each | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 27 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 105, Boston Celtics 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–25, 24–32, 38–21, 27–33 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 24 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 26 Asts: Jerry West 6 |
Pts: John Havlicek 34 Rebs: Bill Russell 18 Asts: John Havlicek 7 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 29 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 88, Boston Celtics 89 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–16, 26–33, 29–18, 18–22 | ||
| Pts: Jerry West 40 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 31 Asts: West, Baylor 4 each |
Pts: John Havlicek 21 Rebs: Bill Russell 29 Asts: five players 2 each | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
- Sam Jones hits the game-winner at the buzzer.
May 1 |
| Boston Celtics 104, Los Angeles Lakers 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–23, 21–26, 24–30, 35–38 | ||
| Pts: Sam Jones 25 Rebs: John Havlicek 14 Asts: Russell, Havlicek 5 each |
Pts: Jerry West 39 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 31 Asts: Jerry West 9 | |
| Los Angeles leads series, 3–2 | ||
May 3 |
| Los Angeles Lakers 90, Boston Celtics 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–32, 17–23, 26–27, 25–17 | ||
| Pts: West, Baylor 26 each Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 18 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 4 |
Pts: Don Nelson 25 Rebs: Bill Russell 19 Asts: Em Bryant 5 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
May 5 |
| Boston Celtics 108, Los Angeles Lakers 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–25, 31–31, 32–20, 17–30 | ||
| Pts: John Havlicek 26 Rebs: Bill Russell 21 Asts: Bill Russell 6 |
Pts: Jerry West 42 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 27 Asts: Jerry West 12 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–3 | ||
- Don Nelson hit a foul-line jumper which dropped through the basket after hitting the back rim and bouncing several feet straight up. The shot gave the Celtics a 105–102 lead after the Lakers cut their lead to 103–102.
- Bill Russell and Sam Jones’ final NBA game; Celtics become the first team to come back from a 2–0 series deficit in the NBA Finals.
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first six meetings.
| Boston leads 6–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
See also
References
- ↑ Exner, Rich. "What history says about a No. 4 seed like the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals". cleveland.com. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — New York Knicks versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Houston Rockets (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ↑ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
External links
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