1971–72 New York Knicks season

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1971–72 New York Knicks season
Conference champions
Head coachRed Holzman
General managerRed Holzman
ArenaMadison Square Garden
Results
Record48–34 (.585)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Atlantic)
Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(Lost to Lakers 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWOR-TV
Manhattan Cable Television[1]
RadioWNBC[2]
< 1970–71 1972–73 >

The 1971–72 New York Knicks season was the 26th season for the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Knicks compiled a 48–34 record in the regular season to finish second in the Atlantic Division and earn a berth in the NBA Playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.[3] New York had acquired Earl Monroe in a trade with the Baltimore Bullets in November 1971.[4]

In the first round of the playoffs, New York faced the Baltimore Bullets,[5] who had defeated the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals the previous year.[6] The Knicks won the series in six games and advanced to the conference finals, where they faced the Boston Celtics. With a 4–1 series victory,[5] New York made the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons.[3] In the Finals, the Knicks were opposed by the Los Angeles Lakers, whom they had beaten in the 1970 NBA Finals.[7] After winning Game 1 of the Finals 114–92 in Los Angeles, the Knicks lost the next four games and the series.[8] Willis Reed only played 11 games in the regular season and missed the entirety of the playoffs with a knee injury.[9][10]

Draft picks[]

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 16 Dean Meminger G  United States Marquette
2 34 Gregg Northington F  United States Alabama State
3 50 Kenny Mayfield G  United States Tuskegee

[11]

Roster[]

1971–72 New York Knicks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From
SG 12 Barnett, Dick 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1936-10-02 Tennessee State
SF 24 Bradley, Bill 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1943-07-28 Princeton
PF 22 DeBusschere, Dave 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1940-10-16 Detroit
PG 10 Frazier, Walt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1945-03-29 Southern Illinois
PF 18 Jackson, Phil 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1945-09-17 North Dakota
F/C 32 Lucas, Jerry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1940-03-30 Ohio State
G 7 Meminger, Dean 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1948-05-13 Marquette
G 42 Miles, Eddie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1940-07-05 Seattle
G 15 Monroe, Earl 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1944-11-21 Winston-Salem State
F 16 Paulk, Charlie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 219 lb (99 kg) 1946–06–14 Northeastern State
C 23 Rackley, Luther 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1946-06-11 Xavier
C 19 Reed, Willis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1942-06-25 Grambling State
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season[]

Season standings[]

Atlantic Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
y-Boston Celtics 56 26 .683 – 32–9 21–16 3–1 15–3
x-New York Knicks 48 34 .585 8 27–14 20–19 1–1 11–7
Philadelphia 76ers 30 52 .366 26 14–23 14–26 2–3 6–12
Buffalo Braves 22 60 .268 34 13–27 8–31 1–2 4–14
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT
1 z-Boston Celtics 56 26 .683
2 y-Baltimore Bullets 38 44 .463
3 x-New York Knicks 48 34 .585
4 x-Atlanta Hawks 36 46 .439
5 Philadelphia 76ers 30 52 .366
5 Cincinnati Royals 30 52 .366
7 Cleveland Cavaliers 23 59 .280
8 Buffalo Braves 22 60 .268
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents[]

1971–72 NBA records
Team ATL BAL BOS BUF CHI CIN CLE DET GSW HOU LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO POR SEA
Atlanta — 2–4 0–4 4–2 0–5 3–3 4–2 3–2 3–2 1–4 0–5 2–3 3–1 3–3 3–2 4–0 1–4
Baltimore 4–2 — 2–2 3–3 1–4 4–2 1–5 3–2 1–4 3–2 1–4 0–5 2–4 4–0 4–1 3–1 2–3
Boston 4–0 2–2 — 6–0 3–2 4–2 5–1 5–0 2–3 5–0 1–4 2–3 3–3 6–0 2–3 4–0 2–3
Buffalo 2–4 3–3 0–6 — 1–3 3–3 4–2 2–4 1–3 0–4 0–4 0–4 1–5 3–3 0–4 2–4 0–4
Chicago 5–0 4–1 2–3 3–1 — 3–1 4–0 5–1 3–3 5–1 1–3 2–4 3–2 4–1 5–1 6–0 2–3
Cincinnati 3–3 2–4 2–4 3–3 1–3 — 6–2 2–3 2–3 0–4 1–4 0–5 2–2 2–2 2–3 2–2 0–5
Cleveland 2–4 5–1 1–5 2–4 0–4 2–6 — 1–3 0–4 2–2 1–3 0–4 1–5 2–4 0–4 4–2 0–4
Detroit 2–3 2–3 0–5 4–2 1–5 3–2 3–1 — 0–5 3–3 1–4 1–5 1–4 1–4 2–4 2–2 0–4
Golden State 2–3 4–1 3–2 3–1 3–3 3–2 4–0 5–0 — 5–1 1–5 2–2 2–3 4–1 2–3 4–2 4–2
Houston 4–1 2–3 0–5 4–0 1–5 4–0 2–2 3–3 1–5 — 1–5 0–5 0–5 4–1 1–3 4–2 3–3
Los Angeles 5–0 4–1 4–1 4–0 3–1 4–1 3–1 4–1 5–1 5–1 — 4–1 4–1 5–0 4–2 6–0 5–1
Milwaukee 3–2 5–0 3–2 4–0 4–2 5–0 4–0 5–1 2–2 5–0 1–4 — 2–3 4–1 4–2 6–0 6–0
New York 1–3 4–2 3–3 5–1 2–3 2–2 5–1 4–1 3–2 5–0 1–4 3–2 — 3–3 1–4 3–1 3–2
Philadelphia 3–3 0–4 0–6 3–3 1–4 2–2 4–2 4–1 1–4 1–4 0–5 1–4 3–3 — 1–4 2–2 4–1
Phoenix 2–3 1–4 3–2 4–0 1–5 3–2 4–0 4–2 3–2 3–1 2–4 2–4 4–1 4–1 — 6–0 3–2
Portland 0–4 1–3 0–4 4–2 0–6 2–2 2–4 2–2 2–4 2–4 0–6 0–6 1–3 2–2 0–6 — 0–6
Seattle 4–1 3–2 3–2 4–0 3–2 5–0 4–0 4–0 2–4 3–3 1–5 0–6 2–3 1–4 2–3 6–0 —

Playoffs[]

1972 playoff game log
Conference Semifinals: 4–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 March 31 @ Baltimore L 105–108 (OT) Walt Frazier (31) Jerry Lucas (14) Walt Frazier (6) Baltimore Civic Center
12,289 		0–1
2 April 2 Baltimore W 110–88 Walt Frazier (30) Dave DeBusschere (14) Walt Frazier (9) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		1–1
3 April 4 @ Baltimore L 103–104 Earl Monroe (28) Jerry Lucas (12) Bill Bradley (5) Baltimore Civic Center
12,289 		1–2
4 April 6 Baltimore W 104–98 Bill Bradley (25) Dave DeBusschere (13) Walt Frazier (8) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		2–2
5 April 9 @ Baltimore W 106–82 Lucas, Monroe (20) Jerry Lucas (16) Jerry Lucas (6) Baltimore Civic Center
10,244 		3–2
6 April 11 Baltimore W 107–101 Lucas, Frazier (22) Jerry Lucas (12) Frazier, Monroe (5) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		4–2
Conference Finals: 4–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 13 @ Boston W 116–94 Walt Frazier (36) Jerry Lucas (11) Jerry Lucas (8) Boston Garden
14,292 		1–0
2 April 16 Boston W 106–105 Dave DeBusschere (24) Dave DeBusschere (17) three players tied (4) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		2–0
3 April 19 @ Boston L 109–115 Bill Bradley (29) Dave DeBusschere (12) Dave DeBusschere (6) Boston Garden
15,315 		2–1
4 April 21 Boston W 116–98 Earl Monroe (26) Dave DeBusschere (16) Jerry Lucas (7) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		3–1
5 April 23 @ Boston W 111–103 Dave DeBusschere (24) Frazier, DeBusschere (11) Walt Frazier (7) Boston Garden
15,315 		4–1
NBA Finals: 1–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 26 @ Los Angeles W 114–92 Bill Bradley (29) Dave DeBusschere (18) Walt Frazier (11) The Forum
17,505 		1–0
2 April 30 @ Los Angeles L 92–106 Walt Frazier (21) Lucas, Jackson (11) Walt Frazier (7) The Forum
17,505 		1–1
3 May 3 Los Angeles L 96–107 Walt Frazier (25) Jerry Lucas (14) Jerry Lucas (6) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		1–2
4 May 5 Los Angeles L 111–116 (OT) Bill Bradley (26) Dave DeBusschere (13) Jerry Lucas (11) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		1–3
5 May 7 @ Los Angeles L 100–114 Walt Frazier (31) Dave DeBusschere (14) Walt Frazier (10) The Forum
17,505 		1–4
1972 schedule

Awards and records[]

References[]

  1. ^ The Fourth Estate (PDF). New York Knicks. 2003. p. 331. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  2. ^ The Fourth Estate (PDF). New York Knicks. 2003. p. 330. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "New York Knickerbockers Franchise Index". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on April 27, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  4. ^ Araton, p. 211.
  5. ^ a b "1971–72 New York Knickerbockers Roster and Statistics". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  6. ^ "1971 NBA Playoff Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  7. ^ "Lakers, Knicks Gain Hoop Final". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. April 24, 1972. p. 15. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  8. ^ Araton, pp. 251–252.
  9. ^ Nelson, John (March 26, 1974). "Road to Recovery Is Familiar to Willis Reed". Schenectady Gazette. Associated Press. p. 24. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  10. ^ Carry, Peter (May 21, 1973). "Where There's A Willis". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  11. ^ "1971 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  12. ^ "1971–72 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  13. ^ a b "NBA & ABA All-Defensive Teams". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved August 17, 2013.

Bibliography[]

External links[]

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