1974 ABA Playoffs

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1973 ABA playoffs
Tournament details
DatesMarch 29 – May 10, 1973
Season 1972–73
Teams8
Final positions
Champions New York Nets (1st title)
Runner-up Utah Stars
Semifinalists
  1973
1975  

The 1974 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1973-1974 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion New York Nets defeating the Western Division champion Utah Stars, four games to one in the ABA Finals.

Contents

Notable events

A one-game playoff was held to determine the fourth-place finisher in the Western Division because the San Diego Conquistadors and Denver Rockets had both tied for fourth place during the regular season. The game was played on March 29, 1974, with the Conquistadors posting a 131–111 win at Denver.

The Carolina Cougars played their final game on April 8, 1974, losing at home to the Kentucky Colonels 128–119 in the last game of their Eastern Division semifinal series, which the Colonels swept 4 games to none. The Cougars played in the remaining two seasons of the ABA as the Spirits of St. Louis and were one of only two teams (the Colonels being the other) remaining during the ABA-NBA merger to not enter the NBA.

The New York Nets and Utah Stars won the Eastern Division and Western Division, respectively, in both the regular season and the playoffs. [1]

The New York Nets became the first team since the 1969-1970 Indiana Pacers to win the ABA championship after posting the league's best regular season record.

Julius Erving of the New York Nets was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs. He won that distinction again in 1976 and became the only player in ABA history to repeat as the MVP of the league playoffs.

Bracket

Division Semifinals Division Finals ABA Finals
         
1 Utah Stars 4
4 San Diego Conquistadors 2
1Utah Stars4
Western Division
2 Indiana Pacers 3
3 San Antonio Spurs 3
2 Indiana Pacers 4
W1 Utah Stars 1
E1New York Nets4
1 New York Nets 4
4 Virginia Squires 1
1New York Nets4
Eastern Division
2 Kentucky Colonels 0
3 Carolina Cougars 0
2 Kentucky Colonels 4

Western Division Tiebreaker Game

March 29
San Diego Conquistadors 131, Denver Rockets 111
Scoring by quarter: 29–37, 19–30, 33–33, 30–31
Pts: Bo Lamar 40
Rebs: Tim Bassett 12
Asts: Jimmy O'Brien 12
Pts: Beck, Robisch 18 each
Rebs: Beck, Green 8 each
Asts: Al Smith 20
San Diego wins tiebreaker

Division Semifinals

Western Division Semifinals

(1) Utah Stars vs. (4) San Diego Conquistadors

March 30
San Diego 99, Utah 114
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 1–0
April 1
San Diego 105, Utah 119
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 2–0
April 3
Utah 96, San Diego 97
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 2–1
April 4
Utah 98, San Diego 100
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 2–2
April 6
San Diego 93, Utah 110
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 3–2
April 8
Utah 110, San Diego 99
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah wins series, 4–2

(2) Indiana Pacers vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs

March 30
San Antonio 113, Indiana 109
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
San Antonio leads series, 1–0
April 1
San Antonio 101, Indiana 128
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 1–1
April 3
Indiana 96, San Antonio 115
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
San Antonio leads series, 2–1
April 4
Indiana 91, San Antonio 89
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 2–2
April 6
San Antonio 100, Indiana 105
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Indiana leads series, 3–2
April 10
Indiana 86, San Antonio 102
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 3–3
April 12
San Antonio 79, Indiana 86
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Indiana wins series, 4–3

Eastern Division Semifinals

(1) New York Nets vs. (4) Virginia Squires

March 29
Virginia Squires 96, New York Nets 108
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
New York leads series, 1–0
April 1
Virginia Squires 110, New York Nets 129
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
New York leads series, 2–0
April 4
New York Nets 115, Virginia Squires 116
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
New York leads series, 2–1
April 7
New York Nets 116, Virginia Squires 88
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
New York leads series, 3–1
April 8
Virginia Squires 96, New York Nets 108
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
New York wins series, 4–1

(2) Kentucky Colonels vs. (3) Carolina Cougars

April 1
Carolina Cougars 102, Kentucky Colonels 118
Scoring by quarter: 24–29, 24–28, 21–26, 33–35
Pts: Mack Calvin 21
Rebs: Jim Chones 7
Asts: Gene Littles 6
Pts: Artis Gilmore 33
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 19
Asts: Chuck Williams 7
Kentucky leads series, 1–0
Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 6,749
April 5
Kentucky Colonels 99, Carolina Cougars 96
Scoring by quarter: 18–21, 23–25, 27–23, 31–27
Pts: Artis Gilmore 34
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 20
Asts: Artis Gilmore 4
Pts: Calvin, McClain 20 each
Rebs: Joe Caldwell 13
Asts: Mack Calvin 5
Kentucky leads series, 2–0
April 6
Kentucky Colonels 120, Carolina Cougars 110
Scoring by quarter: 26–14, 26–22, 38–31, 30–43
Pts: Artis Gilmore 19
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 15
Asts: Chuck Williams 8
Pts: Mack Calvin 25
Rebs: Jim Chones 9
Asts: Caldwell, Littles 3 each
Kentucky leads series, 3–0
April 8
Carolina Cougars 119, Kentucky Colonels 128
Scoring by quarter: 31–28, 25–35, 24–30, 39–35
Pts: Mack Calvin 31
Rebs: McClain, Cunningham, Caldwell 7 each
Asts: Gene Littles 7
Pts: Artis Gilmore 33
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 20
Asts: Louie Dampier 8
Kentucky wins series, 4–0
Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 5,243

Division Finals

Western Division Finals

(W1) Utah Stars vs. (W2) Indiana Pacers

April 13
Indiana 96, Utah 105
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 1–0
Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah
April 15
Indiana 102, Utah 106
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 2–0
Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah
April 17
Utah 99, Indiana 90
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 3–0
Indiana State Fair Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
April 18
Utah 107, Indiana 118
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 3–1
Indiana State Fair Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
April 22
Indiana 110, Utah 101
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 3–2
Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah
April 25
Utah 89, Indiana 91
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 3–3
Indiana State Fair Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
April 27
Indiana 87, Utah 109
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah wins series, 4–3
Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah

Eastern Division Finals

(1) New York Nets vs. (2) Kentucky Colonels

April 13
Kentucky Colonels 106, New York Nets 119
Scoring by quarter: 30–26, 21–26, 24–38, 31–29
Pts: Dan Issel 22
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 10
Asts: Chuck Williams 7
Pts: Julius Erving 35
Rebs: Larry Kenon 15
Asts: Brian Taylor 7
New York leads series, 1–0
April 15
Kentucky Colonels 80, New York Nets 99
Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 13–18, 26–30, 19–30
Pts: Louie Dampier 16
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 18
Asts: Artis Gilmore 4
Pts: Julius Erving 27
Rebs: Wendell Ladner 14
Asts: Wendell Ladner 5
New York leads series, 2–0
April 17
New York Nets 89, Kentucky Colonels 87
Scoring by quarter: 18–31, 27–23, 24–19, 20–14
Pts: Julius Erving 30
Rebs: Julius Erving 14
Asts: Gale, Williamson 4 each
Pts: Dan Issel 26
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 27
Asts: Louie Dampier 8
New York leads series, 3–0
Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 13,797

With the game tied, Julius Erving hit a 15-foot shot at the buzzer to deliver a victory for New York. It is believed to be the first ABA buzzer-beater playoff shot in history. [2]

April 20
New York Nets 103, Kentucky Colonels 90
Scoring by quarter: 31–27, 33–22, 20–23, 19–18
Pts: Julius Erving 27
Rebs: Billy Paultz 12
Asts: Brian Taylor 6
Pts: Artis Gilmore 20
Rebs: Artis Gilmore 20
Asts: John Roche 7
New York wins series, 4–0

ABA Finals: (E1) New York Nets vs. (W1) Utah Stars

April 30
Utah Stars 85, New York Nets 89
Scoring by quarter: 14–22, 26–20, 25–25, 20–22
Pts: Jimmy Jones 25
Rebs: Wise, Gerald Govan 12 each
Asts: Jones, Wise, Govan, Bruce Seals 2 each
Pts: Julius Erving 47
Rebs: Larry Kenon 20
Asts: John Williamson 5
New York leads series, 1–0
May 4
Utah Stars 94, New York Nets 118
Scoring by quarter: 19–28, 18–33, 30–20, 27–37
Pts: Jones, Wise 19 each
Rebs: Wise, Govan 12 each
Asts: Ron Boone 8
Pts: Julius Erving 32
Rebs: Larry Kenon 13
Asts: Bill Melchionni 7
New York leads series, 2–0
May 6
New York Nets 103, Utah Stars 100 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 17–25, 26–18, 31–19, 20–32,  Overtime:9–6
Pts: Julius Erving 24
Rebs: Julius Erving 13
Asts: Mike Gale 8
Pts: Jimmy Jones 28
Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 16
Asts: Jimmy Jones 6
New York leads series, 3–0
Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah
Attendance: 10,743
May 8
New York Nets 89, Utah Stars 97
Scoring by quarter: 18–26, 24–24, 34–24, 13–23
Pts: Julius Erving 18
Rebs: Larry Kenon 15
Asts: Julius Erving 7
Pts: Jimmy Jones 24
Rebs: Gerald Govan 23
Asts: Ron Boone 10
New York leads series, 3–1
Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah
Attendance: 10,743
May 10
Utah Stars 100, New York Nets 111
Scoring by quarter: 27–28, 21–22, 29–30, 23–31
Pts: Willie Wise 34
Rebs: Gerald Govan 10
Asts: Willie Wise 6
Pts: Larry Kenon 23
Rebs: Julius Erving 16
Asts: Williamson, Gale 5 each
New York wins series, 4–1

Statistical leaders

CategoryTotalAverage
PlayerTeamTotalPlayerTeamAvg.Games played
Points Willie Wise Utah Stars 420 Julius Erving New York Nets 27.914
Rebounds Gerald Govan Utah Stars 246 Artis Gilmore Kentucky Colonels 18.68
Assists Ron Boone Utah Stars 109 Ron Boone Utah Stars 6.118
Steals Brian Taylor New York Nets 33 Mike Barr Virginia Squires 2.45
Blocks Artis Gilmore Kentucky Colonels 30 Artis Gilmore Kentucky Colonels 3.88

Total leaders

References