1975 NBA playoffs
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 8–May 25, 1975 |
| Season | Washington Bullets |
| Semifinalists | |
→ | |
The 1975 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the
NBA Finals MVP. The Warriors won their third NBA title and first since 1956
as the Philadelphia Warriors.
The playoff format was revised again, as the result of which the first two finishers in each division were guaranteed playoff berths, along with the best third-place team from each conference. Once each conference's qualifiers were selected, they were seeded 1–5, with the fourth and fifth seeds playing a best-of-three series, with the victor advancing to play the first seed in a best-of-seven semifinal, while the second and third seeds played the other semifinal.
The eight-year-old Seattle SuperSonics made their playoff debut, winning the first playoff series in franchise history against the Detroit Pistons. Seattle would go on to make consecutive NBA Finals appearances in 1978 and 1979, winning the championship the latter year.
The
Kansas City-Omaha Kings made their first playoff appearance since 1967 as the Cincinnati Royals, and the Houston Rockets made their first playoff appearance since 1969
as the San Diego Rockets.
The 1975 playoffs expanded the number of playoff qualifiers to 10; it would be expanded again to 12 in 1977 and again to its current number of 16 in 1984.
At the time, this was the closest the Chicago Bulls came to an NBA title, losing to the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals 4–3. This was their second and final Western Conference Finals appearance as they would move to the Eastern Conference in 1980. They would not reach the East Finals until 1989, and would not win a title until 1991.
Bracket
| First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Houston | 2 | E4 | Houston | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| E5 | New York | 1 | Eastern Conference | E1 | Boston* | 2 | |||||||||||||
| E2 | Washington* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Buffalo | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Washington* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Washington* | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Golden State* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Golden State* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Seattle | 2 | W4 | Seattle | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| W5 | Detroit | 1 | Western Conference | W1 | Golden State* | 4 | |||||||||||||
| W2 | Chicago* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Kansas City–Omaha | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Chicago* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage
First round
Eastern Conference first round
(4) Houston Rockets vs. (5) New York Knicks
April 8
|
| New York Knicks 84, Houston Rockets 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–24, 12–22, 21–21, 24–32 | ||
| 11 | Pts: Calvin Murphy 22 Rebs: Kevin Kunnert 14 Asts: Mike Newlin 5 | |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 10
|
| Houston Rockets 96, New York Knicks 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–27, 21–27, 27–30, 33–22 | ||
| 4 each | Pts: Walt Frazier 26 Rebs: Phil Jackson 10 Asts: Harthorne Wingo 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 12
|
| New York Knicks 86, Houston Rockets 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 18–26, 17–28, 26–36 | ||
| 4 | Pts: Rudy Tomjanovich 25 Rebs: Rudy Tomjanovich 10 Asts: Murphy, Newlin 9 each | |
| Houston wins series, 2–1 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[1]
Western Conference first round
(4) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (5) Detroit Pistons
April 8
|
| Detroit Pistons 77, Seattle SuperSonics 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–22, 23–26, 25–20, 17–22 | ||
| 9 | Pts: Fred Brown 23 Rebs: Spencer Haywood 14 Asts: Slick Watts 6 | |
| Seattle leads series, 1–0 | ||
Seattle, Washington Attendance: 14,082 |
April 10
|
| Seattle SuperSonics 106, Detroit Pistons 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–33, 25–24, 23–36, 34–29 | ||
| 8 | Pts: Bing, Trapp 24 each Rebs: George Trapp 14 Asts: Dave Bing 11 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 12
|
| Detroit Pistons 93, Seattle SuperSonics 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–23, 22–33, 23–16, 29–28 | ||
| 10 | Pts: Tommy Burleson 26 Rebs: Tommy Burleson 16 Asts: Slick Watts 6 | |
| Seattle wins series, 2–1 | ||
Seattle, Washington Attendance: 14,082 |
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[2]
Conference semifinals
Eastern Conference semifinals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Houston Rockets
April 14
|
| Houston Rockets 106, Boston Celtics 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–28, 31–35, 23–28, 31–32 | ||
| 6 | Pts: John Havlicek 30 Rebs: Dave Cowens 19 Asts: John Havlicek 9 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 16
|
| Houston Rockets 100, Boston Celtics 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 21–24, 23–38, 30–23 | ||
| 9 | Pts: Dave Cowens 28 Rebs: Dave Cowens 18 Asts: John Havlicek 7 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 19
|
| Boston Celtics 102, Houston Rockets 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–24, 26–28, 20–24, 34–41 | ||
| 5 each | Pts: Rudy Tomjanovich 28 Rebs: Rudy Tomjanovich 12 Asts: Murphy, Hawes 7 each | |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 22
|
| Boston Celtics 122, Houston Rockets 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–33, 32–18, 31–26, 29–40 | ||
Pts: Dave Cowens 31 |
Pts: Calvin Murphy 35 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 24
|
| Houston Rockets 115, Boston Celtics 128 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–28, 33–32, 28–36, 32–32 | ||
| 6 | Pts: John Havlicek 28 Rebs: Dave Cowens 12 Asts: John Havlicek 11 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–1 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[3]
(2) Washington Bullets vs. (3) Buffalo Braves
April 10
|
Washington Bullets 102
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–26, 23–30, 30–18, 31–28 | ||
| 9 | Pts: Phil Chenier 23 Rebs: Elvin Hayes 9 Asts: Jimmy Jones 5 | |
| Buffalo leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 12
|
Washington Bullets 120, Buffalo Braves 106
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–29, 32–29, 24–17, 36–31 | ||
| 10 | Pts: Bob McAdoo 36 Rebs: Gar Heard 10 Asts: Randy Smith 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 16
|
Washington Bullets 111
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–24, 23–29, 18–28, 26–30 | ||
| 7 | Pts: Elvin Hayes 30 Rebs: Wes Unseld 18 Asts: Kevin Porter 13 | |
| Washington leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 18
|
Washington Bullets 102, Buffalo Braves 108
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–23, 31–24, 19–31, 27–30 | ||
| 10 | Pts: Bob McAdoo 50 Rebs: Bob McAdoo 21 Asts: Randy Smith 10 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 20
|
Washington Bullets 97
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 16–24, 26–19, 28–36 | ||
| 5 each | Pts: Elvin Hayes 46 Rebs: Hayes, Unseld 12 each Asts: Kevin Porter 8 | |
| Washington leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 23
|
Washington Bullets 96, Buffalo Braves 102
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–32, 31–27, 16–20, 23–23 | ||
| 6 each | Pts: Bob McAdoo 37 Rebs: Bob McAdoo 10 Asts: Smith, Weiss 7 each | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 25
|
Washington Bullets 115
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–28, 25–28, 26–25, 32–34 | ||
| 4 | Pts: Phil Chenier 39 Rebs: Wes Unseld 12 Asts: Kevin Porter 8 | |
| Washington wins series, 4–3 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[4]
Western Conference semifinals
(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics
April 14
|
| Seattle SuperSonics 96, Golden State Warriors 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–27, 24–33, 27–32, 27–31 | ||
| 4 each | Pts: Rick Barry 39 Rebs: Clifford Ray 13 Asts: Rick Barry 11 | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 12,279 |
April 16
|
| Seattle SuperSonics 100, Golden State Warriors 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–26, 25–29, 26–23, 25–21 | ||
| 7 | Pts: Rick Barry 29 Rebs: Ray, Dickey 10 each Asts: Barry, Beard 6 each | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 12,787 |
April 17
|
| Golden State Warriors 105, Seattle SuperSonics 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–28, 23–22, 26–24, 27–22 | ||
| 7 | Pts: Tommy Burleson 25 Rebs: Tommy Burleson 11 Asts: Slick Watts 9 | |
| Golden State leads series, 2–1 | ||
Seattle, Washington Attendance: 14,082 |
April 19
|
| Golden State Warriors 94, Seattle SuperSonics 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–23, 25–34, 25–28, 22–26 | ||
| : three players 3 each | Pts: Fred Brown 37 Rebs: Tommy Burleson 15 Asts: Slick Watts 10 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Seattle, Washington Attendance: 14,082 |
April 22
|
| Seattle SuperSonics 100, Golden State Warriors 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–32, 29–25, 21–34, 33–33 | ||
| 5 | Pts: G. Johnson 13 10Asts: Rick Barry | |
| Golden State leads series, 3–2 | ||
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 12,787 |
April 24
|
| Golden State Warriors 105, Seattle SuperSonics 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–20, 18–18, 34–28, 25–30 | ||
| 6 | Pts: Slick Watts 24 Rebs: Tommy Burleson 11 Asts: Slick Watts 11 | |
| Golden State wins series, 4–2 | ||
Seattle, Washington Attendance: 14,082 |
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[5]
(2) Kansas City-Omaha Kings
April 9
|
Kansas City–Omaha Kings 89, Chicago Bulls 95
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–34, 21–20, 21–17, 25–24 | ||
Tiny Archibald 7 |
Pts: Bob Love 38 Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 12 Asts: Tom Boerwinkle 5 | |
| Chicago leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 13
|
Kansas City–Omaha Kings 102
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–29, 26–26, 22–28, 22–19 | ||
| 3 | Pts: Tiny Archibald 12 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri Attendance: 11,378 |
April 16
|
Kansas City–Omaha Kings 90, Chicago Bulls 93
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–26, 25–28, 20–20, 21–19 | ||
| 4 | Pts: Bob Love 31 Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 24 Asts: Norm Van Lier 6 | |
| Chicago leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 18
|
Kansas City–Omaha Kings 104 (OT)
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 19–23, 29–27, 24–22, Overtime: 6–10 | ||
| 5 | Pts: 8 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri Attendance: 14,945 |
April 20
|
Kansas City–Omaha Kings 77, Chicago Bulls 104
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–20, 18–27, 23–22, 23–35 | ||
| 5 | Pts: Bob Love 30 Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 19 Asts: Tom Boerwinkle 8 | |
| Chicago leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 23
|
Kansas City–Omaha Kings 89
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–22, 27–22, 24–21, 27–24 | ||
| 4 | Pts: 5 | |
| Chicago wins series, 4–2 | ||
Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri Attendance: 12,445 |
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[6]
Conference finals
Eastern Conference finals
(1) Washington Bullets
April 27
|
Washington Bullets 100, Boston Celtics 95
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–26, 20–29, 27–18, 30–22 | ||
| 7 | Pts: Jo Jo White 27 Rebs: Dave Cowens 19 Asts: Paul Silas 6 | |
| Washington leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 30
|
Washington Bullets 117
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–31, 24–29, 30–24, 18–33 | ||
| 7 | Pts: Elvin Hayes 29 Rebs: Wes Unseld 16 Asts: Kevin Porter 6 | |
| Washington leads series, 2–0 | ||
May 3
|
Washington Bullets 90, Boston Celtics 101
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–31, 24–29, 10–21, 23–20 | ||
| 5 | Pts: John Havlicek 26 Rebs: Paul Silas 25 Asts: Jo Jo White 7 | |
| Washington leads series, 2–1 | ||
May 7
|
Washington Bullets 119
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–29, 28–36, 34–34, 20–20 | ||
| 7 | Pts: Phil Chenier 27 Rebs: Wes Unseld 25 Asts: Wes Unseld 7 | |
| Washington leads series, 3–1 | ||
May 9
|
Washington Bullets 99, Boston Celtics 103
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–24, 31–35, 23–20, 22–24 | ||
| 6 | Pts: Dave Cowens 27 Rebs: Dave Cowens 12 Asts: Don Chaney 5 | |
| Washington leads series, 3–2 | ||
May 11
|
Washington Bullets 98
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–26, 22–29, 26–18, 26–25 | ||
| 6 | Pts: Phil Chenier 24 Rebs: Wes Unseld 17 Asts: Kevin Porter 11 | |
| Washington wins series, 4–2 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[7]
Western Conference finals
(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (2) Chicago Bulls
April 27
|
| Chicago Bulls 89, Golden State Warriors 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–26, 15–20, 26–26, 24–35 | ||
| 4 | Pts: George Johnson 11 9Asts: Butch Beard | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 12,787 |
April 30
|
| Golden State Warriors 89, Chicago Bulls 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–21, 20–22, 26–19, 23–28 | ||
| 8 | Pts: Chet Walker 28 Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 14 Asts: Tom Boerwinkle 5 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
May 4
|
| Golden State Warriors 101, Chicago Bulls 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 37–26, 13–26, 21–29, 30–27 | ||
| 9 | Pts: Norm Van Lier 35 Rebs: Nate Thurmond 12 Asts: Norm Van Lier 9 | |
| Chicago leads series, 2–1 | ||
May 6
|
| Chicago Bulls 106, Golden State Warriors 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–18, 17–32, 32–32, 22–29 | ||
| 9 | Pts: Rick Barry 36 Rebs: Clifford Ray 18 Asts: Rick Barry 9 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 12,787 |
May 8
|
| Chicago Bulls 89, Golden State Warriors 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–20, 22–19, 20–17, 22–23 | ||
| 4 each | Pts: Rick Barry 20 Rebs: Clifford Ray 12 Asts: Rick Barry 4 | |
| Chicago leads series, 3–2 | ||
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 12,787 |
May 11
|
| Golden State Warriors 86, Chicago Bulls 72 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–25, 28–13, 21–22, 19–12 | ||
| : three players 3 each | Pts: Norm Van Lier 24 Rebs: Sloan, Boerwinkle 8 each Asts: Nate Thurmond 5 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
May 14
|
| Chicago Bulls 79, Golden State Warriors 83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 26–20, 18–23, 14–24 | ||
| 6 | Pts: Jamaal Wilkes 23 Rebs: Clifford Ray 12 Asts: Rick Barry 4 | |
| Golden State wins series, 4–3 | ||
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California |
- Chet Walker's final NBA game.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[8]
NBA Finals: (E2) Washington Bullets vs. (W1) Golden State Warriors
May 18
|
Washington Bullets 95
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–27, 23–27, 31–18, 30–23 | ||
| 5 | Pts: Elvin Hayes 29 Rebs: Hayes, Unseld 16 each Asts: Wes Unseld 6 | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 20
|
Washington Bullets 91, Golden State Warriors 92
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–19, 24–27, 21–27, 18–19 | ||
| 8 | Pts: Rick Barry 36 Rebs: Rick Barry 9 Asts: three players 4 each | |
| Golden State leads series, 2–0 | ||
May 23
|
Washington Bullets 101, Golden State Warriors 109
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–26, 27–24, 23–27, 30–32 | ||
| 6 | Pts: Rick Barry 38 Rebs: Jamaal Wilkes 10 Asts: Rick Barry 6 | |
| Golden State leads series, 3–0 | ||
May 25
|
Washington Bullets 95
| ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–30, 28–22, 22–21, 26–22 | ||
| 5 | Pts: Phil Chenier 26 Rebs: Wes Unseld 16 Asts: Phil Chenier 11 | |
| Golden State wins series, 4–0 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[9]
See also
- NBA records
References
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Houston Rockets versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Oklahoma City Thunder (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Houston Rockets (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Clippers versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Oklahoma City Thunder (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Sacramento Kings (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Chicago Bulls versus Golden State Warriors (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Washington Wizards (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.