1974 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 | |
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
[edit]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
[edit]| 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
[edit]Champion: Utah Stars
Division Semifinals
(1) Utah Stars vs. (4) San Diego Conquistadors: Stars win series 4-2
- Game 1 @ Utah: Utah 114, San Diego 99
- Game 2 @ Utah: Utah 119, San Diego 105
- Game 3 @ San Diego: San Diego 97, Utah 96
- Game 4 @ San Diego: San Diego 100, Utah 98
- Game 5 @ Utah: Utah 110, San Diego 93
- Game 6 @ San Diego: Utah 110, San Diego 99
(2) Indiana Pacers vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs: Pacers win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ Indiana: San Antonio 113, Indiana 109
- Game 2 @ Indiana: Indiana 128, San Antonio 101
- Game 3 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 115, Indiana 96
- Game 4 @ San Antonio: Indiana 91, San Antonio 89
- Game 5 @ Indiana: Indiana 105, San Antonio 100
- Game 6 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 102, Indiana 86
- Game 7 @ Indiana: Indiana 86, San Antonio 79
Division Finals
(1) Utah Stars vs. (2) Indiana Pacers: Stars win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ Utah: Utah 105, Indiana 96
- Game 2 @ Utah: Utah 106, Indiana 102
- Game 3 @ Indiana: Utah 99, Indiana 90
- Game 4 @ Indiana: Indiana 118, Utah 107
- Game 5 @ Utah: Indiana 110, Utah 101
- Game 6 @ Indiana: Indiana 91, Utah 89
- Game 7 @ Utah: Utah 109, Indiana 87
Eastern Division
[edit]Champion: New York Nets
Division Semifinals
(1) New York Nets vs. (4) Virginia Squires: Nets win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ New York: New York 108, Virginia 96
- Game 2 @ New York: New York 129, Virginia 110
- Game 3 @ Virginia: Virginia 116, New York 115
- Game 4 @ Virginia: New York 116, Virginia 88
- Game 5 @ New York: New York 108, Virginia 96
(2) Kentucky Colonels vs. (3) Carolina Cougars: Colonels win series 4-0
- Game 1 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 118, Carolina 102
- Game 2 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 99, Carolina 96
- Game 3 @ Carolina: Kentucky 120, Carolina 110
- Game 4 @ Carolina: Kentucky 128, Carolina 119
Division Finals
(1) New York Nets vs. (2) Kentucky Colonels: Nets win series 4-0
- Game 1 @ New York: New York 119, Kentucky 106
- Game 2 @ New York: New York 99, Kentucky 80
- Game 3 @ Kentucky: New York 89, Kentucky 87
- Game 4 @ Kentucky: New York 103, Kentucky 90
ABA Finals: (1) New York Nets vs. (1) Utah Stars
[edit]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 8
|
| 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 | ||
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 | ||
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
[edit]| Category | Total | Average | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Total | Player | Team | Avg. | Games played | |
| Points | Willie Wise | Utah Stars | 420 | Julius Erving | New York Nets | 27.9 | 14 |
| Rebounds | Gerald Govan | Utah Stars | 246 | Artis Gilmore | Kentucky Colonels | 18.6 | 8 |
| Assists | Ron Boone | Utah Stars | 109 | Ron Boone | Utah Stars | 6.1 | 18 |
| Steals | Brian Taylor | New York Nets | 33 | Mike Barr | Virginia Squires | 2.4 | 5 |
| Blocks | Artis Gilmore | Kentucky Colonels | 30 | Artis Gilmore | Kentucky Colonels | 3.8 | 8 |
Total leaders
[edit]|
Points
Rebounds
|
Assists
Minutes
|
