1975 ABA Playoffs
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 5 – May 22, 1975 |
| Season | 1974–75 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Kentucky Colonels (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Indiana Pacers |
| Semifinalists | |
The 1975 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1974–75 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels defeating the Western Division champion Indiana Pacers in the ABA Finals in five games.
Background
[edit]The Kentucky Colonels won 22 of their final 25 regular season games to catch the New York Nets for a share of first place in the Eastern Division. The Colonels won their last ten regular season games. They also went 13–3 in the ABA playoffs.
Because the Colonels and Nets tied for first place in the Eastern Division, a special one game playoff was played to determine the division champion (and therefore the #1 seed). The Colonels hosted the game and defeated the Nets 108–99 on April 4, 1975.[1][2]
The Memphis Sounds' Eastern Division 111–99 semifinal loss on the road to the Kentucky Colonels on April 13, 1975, was the final game played by the Sounds. After the season they moved to Maryland and became the Baltimore Claws.
The first round win by the Spirits of St. Louis over the New York Nets was the biggest upset of the playoffs. Not only had the Spirits finished 26 games behind the Nets in the regular season, they had also lost all 11 regular season matchups to the Nets, and by an average of 17.3 points per game. But after losing the opener of the series to stretch the losing streak to 12, the Spirits rolled off four wins in a row to claim the series.
The 1975 ABA Finals marked the second time in three years that the Kentucky Colonels and Indiana Pacers met in the ABA championship series. The Pacers edged the Colonels 4 games to 3 at the end of the 1973 ABA Playoffs.
16,622 fans attended the final playoff game of the season in Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, as the Kentucky Colonels defeated the Indiana Pacers 110–105 to win the ABA Championship.
Artis Gilmore was named Most Valuable Player of the 1975 ABA Playoffs. In Game 3, he recorded 28 rebounds while in the clinching Game 5 he had 28 points and 31 rebounds.
The 1975 Kentucky Colonels were the final team to win an ABA Championship but not move on to the NBA later.
Bracket
[edit]| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | ABA Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Denver Nuggets | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Utah Stars | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Denver Nuggets | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Indiana Pacers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Indiana Pacers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | San Antonio Spurs | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Indiana Pacers | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Kentucky Colonels | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Kentucky Colonels | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Memphis Sounds | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Kentucky Colonels | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Spirits of St. Louis | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Spirits of St. Louis | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | New York Nets | 1 | ||||||||||||
Division Semifinals
[edit]Eastern Division Semifinals
[edit](1) Kentucky Colonels vs. (4) Memphis Sounds
[edit]April 6
|
| Memphis Sounds 91, Kentucky Colonels 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–28, 25–24, 19–22, 24–24 | ||
| Pts: George Carter 22 Rebs: Tom Owens 14 Asts: Chuck Williams 6 |
Pts: Artis Gilmore 25 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 20 Asts: Louie Dampier 10 | |
| Kentucky leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 8
|
| Memphis Sounds 105, Kentucky Colonels 119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–30, 19–30, 26–30, 36–29 | ||
| Pts: Carter, Williams 21 each Rebs: Tom Owens 9 Asts: Chuck Williams 5 |
Pts: Louie Dampier 23 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 12 Asts: Dampier, McClain 8 each | |
| Kentucky leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 10
|
| Kentucky Colonels 101, Memphis Sounds 80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–18, 29–18, 26–18, 29–26 | ||
| Pts: Dan Issel 21 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 9 Asts: Ted McClain 5 |
Pts: Tom Owens 33 Rebs: Tom Owens 12 Asts: Chuck Williams 5 | |
| Kentucky leads series, 3–0 | ||
April 11
|
| Kentucky Colonels 93, Memphis Sounds 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–27, 19–26, 31–26, 23–28 | ||
| Pts: Dan Issel 26 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 12 Asts: Louie Dampier 7 |
Pts: Stew Johnson 25 Rebs: Johnson, Carter 11 Asts: Chuck Williams 14 | |
| Kentucky leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 13
|
| Memphis Sounds 99, Kentucky Colonels 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–26, 26–33, 24–26, 31–26 | ||
| Pts: George Carter 26 Rebs: Tom Owens 17 Asts: George Carter 6 |
Pts: Artis Gilmore 31 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 20 Asts: Louie Dampier 6 | |
| Kentucky wins series, 4–1 | ||
(2) New York Nets vs. (3) Spirits of St. Louis
[edit]April 6
|
| Spirits of St. Louis 105, New York Nets 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–21, 19–28, 27–28, 24–34 | ||
| Pts: Marvin Barnes 41 Rebs: Marvin Barnes 12 Asts: Adams, Barr 6 each |
Pts: Julius Erving 32 Rebs: Larry Kenon 13 Asts: Erving, Melchionni 6 each | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 9
|
| Spirits of St. Louis 115, New York Nets 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–20, 24–18, 35–23, 27–36 | ||
| Pts: Marvin Barnes 37 Rebs: Maurice Lucas 21 Asts: Maurice Lucas 7 |
Pts: Larry Kenon 28 Rebs: Larry Kenon 12 Asts: Bill Melchionni 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 11
|
| New York Nets 108, Spirits of St. Louis 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–22, 23–26, 23–28, 35–37 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 30 Rebs: Larry Kenon 14 Asts: Julius Erving 6 |
Pts: Marvin Barnes 35 Rebs: Maurice Lucas 18 Asts: Mike Barr 7 | |
| St. Louis leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 13
|
| New York Nets 89, Spirits of St. Louis 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–24, 22–26, 21–22, 20–28 | ||
| Pts: Julius Erving 35 Rebs: Larry Kenon 16 Asts: Bill Melchionni 6 |
Pts: Marvin Barnes 23 Rebs: Marvin Barnes 20 Asts: Maurice Lucas 6 | |
| St. Louis leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 15
|
| Spirits of St. Louis 108, New York Nets 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–30, 26–30, 25–21, 37–26 | ||
| Pts: Freddie Lewis 29 Rebs: Marvin Barnes 14 Asts: Mike Barr 5 |
Pts: Julius Erving 34 Rebs: Billy Paultz 14 Asts: Bill Melchionni 11 | |
| St. Louis wins series, 4–1 | ||
Western Division Semifinals
[edit](1) Denver Nuggets vs. (4) Utah Stars
[edit]April 6
|
| Utah Stars 107, Denver Nuggets 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–25, 28–28, 26–34, 30–35 | ||
| Pts: Randy Denton 26 Rebs: Moses Malone 19 Asts: Al Smith 7 |
Pts: Ralph Simpson 20 Rebs: Mike Green 8 Asts: Taylor, Terry 6 | |
| Denver leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 7
|
| Utah Stars 120, Denver Nuggets 126 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–31, 26–25, 42–33, 23–37 | ||
| Pts: Ron Boone 29 Rebs: Randy Denton 16 Asts: Al Smith 9 |
Pts: Ralph Simpson 28 Rebs: Mike Green 19 Asts: Simpson, Taylor 6 each | |
| Denver leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 9
|
| Denver Nuggets 108, Utah Stars 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–33, 27–32, 28–31, 21–26 | ||
| Pts: Jones, Calvin, Robisch 17 each Rebs: Mike Green 9 Asts: Jones, Simpson, Taylor, Terry 3 each |
Pts: Moses Malone 30 Rebs: Moses Malone 32 Asts: John Roche 9 | |
| Denver leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 11
|
| Denver Nuggets 110, Utah Stars 132 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–38, 22–31, 33–34, 35–29 | ||
| Pts: Dave Robisch 16 Rebs: Robisch, van Breda Kolff 8 each Asts: Mack Calvin 7 |
Pts: Ron Boone 30 Rebs: Moses Malone 17 Asts: John Roche 12 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 12
|
| Utah Stars 119, Denver Nuggets 130 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–36, 20–31, 31–33, 35–30 | ||
| Pts: John Roche 27 Rebs: Randy Denton 12 Asts: John Roche 8 |
Pts: Dave Robisch 22 Rebs: Green, Simpson 7 each Asts: Mack Calvin 10 | |
| Denver leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 14
|
| Denver Nuggets 115, Utah Stars 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–20, 22–27, 39–37, 31–29 | ||
| Pts: Ralph Simpson 28 Rebs: Mike Green 11 Asts: Ralph Simpson 4 |
Pts: Ron Boone 33 Rebs: Moses Malone 15 Asts: John Roche 9 | |
| Denver wins series, 4–2 | ||
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (3) Indiana Pacers
[edit]April 5
|
| Indiana Pacers 122, San Antonio Spurs 119 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–27, 32–26, 24–30, 26–24, Overtime: 15–12 | ||
| Pts: George McGinnis 32 Rebs: George McGinnis 20 Asts: George McGinnis 7 |
Pts: James Silas 25 Rebs: George Gervin 23 Asts: James Silas 13 | |
| Indiana leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 7
|
| Indiana Pacers 98, San Antonio Spurs 93 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–23, 28–20, 32–25, 26–25 | ||
| Pts: George McGinnis 33 Rebs: Len Elmore 16 Asts: McGinnis, Buse 7 each |
Pts: George Gervin 38 Rebs: Swen Nater 20 Asts: James Silas 7 | |
| Indiana leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 10
|
| San Antonio Spurs 103, Indiana Pacers 113 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–32, 26–24, 20–24, 23–17, Overtime: 6–16 | ||
| Pts: George Gervin 37 Rebs: Swen Nater 14 Asts: James Silas 11 |
Pts: George McGinnis 42 Rebs: George McGinnis 24 Asts: George McGinnis 9 | |
| Indiana leads series, 3–0 | ||
April 12
|
| San Antonio Spurs 110, Indiana Pacers 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–24, 27–26, 26–31, 26–28 | ||
| Pts: George Gervin 29 Rebs: Swen Nater 22 Asts: James Silas 10 |
Pts: George McGinnis 51 Rebs: George McGinnis 17 Asts: George McGinnis 10 | |
| Indiana leads series, 3–1 | ||
George McGinnis powered the Pacers with a triple-double of 51 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds. It was the first and only 50-point triple double in NBA/ABA playoff history for 42 years.[3]
April 14
|
| Indiana Pacers 117, San Antonio Spurs 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–37, 32–30, 22–26, 34–30 | ||
| Pts: George McGinnis 40 Rebs: George McGinnis 14 Asts: George McGinnis 8 |
Pts: George Gervin 42 Rebs: George Gervin 17 Asts: James Silas 13 | |
| Indiana leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 16
|
| San Antonio Spurs 100, Indiana Pacers 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–28, 21–36, 24–24, 26–27 | ||
| Pts: George Gervin 34 Rebs: Swen Nater 19 Asts: Swen Nater 6 |
Pts: Billy Knight 33 Rebs: George McGinnis 23 Asts: George McGinnis 14 | |
| Indiana wins series, 4–2 | ||
Division Finals
[edit]Western Division Finals
[edit](1) Denver Nuggets vs. (3) Indiana Pacers
[edit]April 20
|
| Indiana Pacers 128, Denver Nuggets 131 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–34, 29–31, 33–28, 38–28 | ||
| Pts: George McGinnis 39 Rebs: George McGinnis 22 Asts: McGinnis, Joyce 8 each |
Pts: Ralph Simpson 29 Rebs: Mike Green 13 Asts: Mack Calvin 9 | |
| Denver leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 22
|
| Indiana Pacers 131, Denver Nuggets 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–26, 41–28, 25–28, 40–42 | ||
| Pts: Billy Knight 44 Rebs: Darnell Hillman 14 Asts: George McGinnis 9 |
Pts: Ralph Simpson 29 Rebs: Mike Green 10 Asts: Ralph Simpson 8 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 24
|
| Denver Nuggets 112, Indiana Pacers 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 36–29, 27–30, 30–25, 19–34 | ||
| Pts: Ralph Simpson 30 Rebs: Dave Robisch 12 Asts: Ralph Simpson 7 |
Pts: George McGinnis 33 Rebs: George McGinnis 21 Asts: George McGinnis 14 | |
| Indiana leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 25
|
| Denver Nuggets 126, Indiana Pacers 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–29, 30–35, 33–20, 32–25 | ||
| Pts: Mike Green 32 Rebs: Bobby Jones 20 Asts: Ralph Simpson 8 |
Pts: Darnell Hillman 34 Rebs: George McGinnis 10 Asts: McGinnis, Knight 8 each | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 27
|
| Indiana Pacers 109, Denver Nuggets 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 32–26, 25–29, 30–13 | ||
| Pts: George McGinnis 33 Rebs: Billy Knight 10 Asts: Don Buse 5 |
Pts: Mike Green 20 Rebs: Bobby Jones 10 Asts: Ralph Simpson 8 | |
| Indiana leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 30
|
| Denver Nuggets 104, Indiana Pacers 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–24, 19–22, 36–31, 24–22 | ||
| Pts: Mike Green 31 Rebs: Bobby Jones 11 Asts: Jones, Calvin, Simpson, Beck 3 each |
Pts: George McGinnis 26 Rebs: George McGinnis 14 Asts: George McGinnis 10 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
May 3
|
| Indiana Pacers 104, Denver Nuggets 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–24, 33–25, 25–28, 26–19 | ||
| Pts: George McGinnis 40 Rebs: George McGinnis 23 Asts: George McGinnis 8 |
Pts: Bobby Jones 20 Rebs: Bobby Jones 15 Asts: Ralph Simpson 6 | |
| Indiana wins series, 4–3 | ||
Eastern Division Finals
[edit](1) Kentucky Colonels vs. (3) Spirits of St. Louis
[edit]April 21
|
| Spirits of St. Louis 109, Kentucky Colonels 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–22, 30–30, 23–34, 28–26 | ||
| Pts: Freddie Lewis 35 Rebs: Maurice Lucas 19 Asts: Lucas, Adams 6 each |
Pts: Louie Dampier 27 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 17 Asts: Louie Dampier 15 | |
| Kentucky leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 23
|
| Spirits of St. Louis 103, Kentucky Colonels 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–32, 20–22, 23–28, 33–26 | ||
| Pts: Marvin Barnes 43 Rebs: Marvin Barnes 17 Asts: Maurice Lucas 6 |
Pts: Ted McClain 24 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 15 Asts: Louie Dampier 8 | |
| Kentucky leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 25
|
| Kentucky Colonels 97, Spirits of St. Louis 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–34, 25–19, 25–27, 23–23 | ||
| Pts: Dan Issel 31 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 18 Asts: Louie Dampier 9 |
Pts: Freddie Lewis 32 Rebs: Maurice Lucas 20 Asts: Don Adams 7 | |
| Kentucky leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 27
|
| Kentucky Colonels 117, Spirits of St. Louis 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–31, 30–27, 26–27, 31–13 | ||
| Pts: Artis Gilmore 33 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 16 Asts: Ted McClain 11 |
Pts: Marvin Barnes 24 Rebs: Maurice Lucas 19 Asts: Lucas, Barr 5 each | |
| Kentucky leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 28
|
| Spirits of St. Louis 103, Kentucky Colonels 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–33, 19–24, 36–37, 21–29 | ||
| Pts: Marvin Barnes 35 Rebs: Maurice Lucas 11 Asts: Mike Barr 5 |
Pts: Artis Gilmore 29 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 20 Asts: Louie Dampier 12 | |
| Kentucky wins series, 4–1 | ||
ABA Finals: (E1) Kentucky Colonels vs. (W3) Indiana Pacers
[edit]May 13
|
| Indiana Pacers 94, Kentucky Colonels 120 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–27, 24–29, 28–27, 21–37 | ||
| Pts: George McGinnis 35 Rebs: George McGinnis 12 Asts: George McGinnis 9 |
Pts: Artis Gilmore 26 Rebs: Dan Issel 19 Asts: Jones, McClain 6 each | |
| Kentucky leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 15
|
| Indiana Pacers 93, Kentucky Colonels 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–27, 31–18, 18–26, 25–24 | ||
| Pts: George McGinnis 30 Rebs: George McGinnis 16 Asts: Don Buse 7 |
Pts: Dan Issel 22 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 15 Asts: Roberts, Dampier, Jones 4 each | |
| Kentucky leads series, 2–0 | ||
May 17
|
| Kentucky Colonels 109, Indiana Pacers 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 31–30, 25–21, 17–30, 36–20 | ||
| Pts: Artis Gilmore 41 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 28 Asts: Ted McClain 7 |
Pts: Billy Knight 28 Rebs: Billy Knight 12 Asts: Knight, Buse 5 each | |
| Kentucky leads series, 3–0 | ||
May 19
|
| Kentucky Colonels 112, Indiana Pacers 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–19, 26–22, 25–26, 17–27 | ||
| Pts: Dan Issel 26 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 18 Asts: Louie Dampier 6 |
Pts: George McGinnis 22 Rebs: George McGinnis 21 Asts: George McGinnis 6 | |
| Kentucky leads series, 3–1 | ||
May 22
|
| Indiana Pacers 105, Kentucky Colonels 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–29, 19–25, 28–26, 29–30 | ||
| Pts: Billy Knight 40 Rebs: McGinnis, Elmore 11 each Asts: George McGinnis 9 |
Pts: Artis Gilmore 28 Rebs: Artis Gilmore 31 Asts: Louie Dampier 12 | |
| Kentucky wins series, 4–1 | ||
After eight years of frustration (which saw them hire seven head coaches) and two prior losses in the ABA Finals, the Colonels closed out Game 5 with a victory (their 22nd in the last 25 games combined) to win the championship. Ted McClain had fifteen steals and Artis Gilmore had 31 rebounds, each being league records for a postseason game. The Game 5 victory is the first (and so far only) time a team from the commonwealth of Kentucky has won a professional championship.[4][5]
Along with both head coaches (Hubie Brown and Bobby Leonard), five players in the series have since been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: Louie Dampier, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Roger Brown, and George McGinnis.
George McGinnis finished his postseason run with 581 points scored in eighteen total games, setting a new record for most points scored in a postseason by any basketball player. In addition to being the most scored for an ABA postseason, it was not surpassed by any player until Larry Bird in the 1984 postseason.[6] McGinnis was the first and only NBA/ABA player to lead the entire postseason in points, assists, and rebounds until Nikola Jokić accomplished the feat in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.[7]
Statistical leaders
[edit]| Category | Total | Average | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Total | Player | Team | Avg. | Games played | |
| Points | George McGinnis | Indiana Pacers | 581 | George Gervin | San Antonio Spurs | 34.0 | 6 |
| Rebounds | George McGinnis | Indiana Pacers | 286 | Artis Gilmore | Kentucky Colonels | 17.6 | 15 |
| Assists | George McGinnis | Indiana Pacers | 148 | James Silas | San Antonio Spurs | 10.0 | 6 |
| Steals | Don Buse | Indiana Pacers | 45 | Don Buse | Indiana Pacers | 2.5 | 18 |
| Blocks | Len Elmore | Indiana Pacers | 39 | Billy Paultz | New York Nets | 3.2 | 5 |
Total leaders
[edit]|
Points
Rebounds
|
Assists
Minutes
|
References
[edit]- ^ "Playoff For Nets, Colonels". The New York Times. April 4, 1975. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
- ^ "New York Nets at Kentucky Colonels Box Score, April 4, 1975". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
- ^ "Pacers legend McGinnis dead at 73". Manila Bulletin. December 14, 2023. Archived from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ https://www.kentucky.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mark-story/article242875996.html
- ^ "Colonels Win Title in A.B.A." The New York Times. May 23, 1975.
- ^ "NBA & ABA Single Season Playoff Leaders and Records for Points".
- ^ Wright, Michael C. (June 13, 2023). "Nikola Jokic's resume after winning 2023 Finals MVP". NBA.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.