1974 ABA Playoffs

1973 ABA playoffs
Tournament details
Dates	March 29 – May 10, 1973
Season	1972–73
Teams	8
Final positions
Champions	New York Nets (1st title)
Runner-up	Utah Stars
Semifinalists	Kentucky Colonels ; Indiana Pacers ;
	← 1973 1975 →

Last updated March 05, 2025

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.

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
			1	Utah Stars	4
Western Division
			2	Indiana Pacers	3
3	San Antonio Spurs	3

2	Indiana Pacers	4
						W1	Utah Stars	1

						E1	New York Nets	4
1	New York Nets	4

4	Virginia Squires	1
			1	New York Nets	4
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

San Diego 99, Utah 114
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 1–0

San Diego 105, Utah 119
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 2–0

Utah 96, San Diego 97
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 2–1

Utah 98, San Diego 100
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 2–2

San Diego 93, Utah 110
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 3–2

Utah 110, San Diego 99
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah wins series, 4–2

San Antonio 113, Indiana 109
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
San Antonio leads series, 1–0

San Antonio 101, Indiana 128
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 1–1

Indiana 96, San Antonio 115
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
San Antonio leads series, 2–1

Indiana 91, San Antonio 89
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 2–2

San Antonio 100, Indiana 105
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Indiana leads series, 3–2

Indiana 86, San Antonio 102
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 3–3

San Antonio 79, Indiana 86
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Indiana wins series, 4–3

Virginia Squires 96, New York Nets 108
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
New York leads series, 1–0

Virginia Squires 110, New York Nets 129
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
New York leads series, 2–0

New York Nets 115, Virginia Squires 116
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
New York leads series, 2–1

New York Nets 116, Virginia Squires 88
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
New York leads series, 3–1

Virginia Squires 96, New York Nets 108
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
New York wins series, 4–1

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

1974 ABA Playoffs

Contents

Notable events

Bracket

Western Division Tiebreaker Game

Division Semifinals

Western Division Semifinals

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

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

Eastern Division Semifinals

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

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

Division Finals

Western Division Finals

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

Eastern Division Finals

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

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

Statistical leaders

Total leaders

References

External links

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

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

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

Indiana 96, Utah 105
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 1–0

Indiana 102, Utah 106
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 2–0

Utah 99, Indiana 90
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 3–0

Utah 107, Indiana 118
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 3–1

Indiana 110, Utah 101
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah leads series, 3–2

Utah 89, Indiana 91
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Series tied, 3–3

Indiana 87, Utah 109
Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, –
Utah wins series, 4–3