| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 17–April 10, 1953 |
| Season | 1952–53 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Minneapolis Lakers (4th title) |
| Runner-up | New York Knicks |
| Semifinalists | |
The 1953 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1952–53 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Minneapolis Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
The Lakers won their fourth championship in the last five years, and defeated the Knicks in the Finals for the second straight season to complete their run.
Not only did the four Western Division teams meet for the third straight year, but the Eastern Division teams this year, had a slight change. The Philadelphia Warriors did not make the playoffs, but the Baltimore Bullets did. They would be swept by the Eastern Division champion New York Knicks in 2 games.
The Indianapolis Olympians played their last game, a Game 2 loss to the Lakers in the first round. They folded at the end of the season, and major professional basketball did not return to Indianapolis, Indiana until the Indiana Pacers were founded for the inaugural 1967–68 season of the American Basketball Association.
The Boston Celtics earned their first playoff series victory with a two-game sweep of the Syracuse Nationals.
The 1952–53 Baltimore Bullets hold the distinction of having the worst regular-season record of any playoff qualifier in league history, at 16–54.
Bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||
| E1 | New York* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Baltimore | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | New York* | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| E3 | Boston | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Boston | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Syracuse | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | New York* | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis* | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Indianapolis | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis* | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| W3 | Fort Wayne | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Fort Wayne | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Rochester | 1 | ||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals
Division Semifinals
Eastern Division Semifinals
(1) New York Knicks vs. (4) Baltimore Bullets
March 17
|
| Baltimore Bullets 62, New York Knicks 80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–12, 19–21, 11–20, 19–27 | ||
| Pts: Jim Baechtold 17 | Pts: Connie Simmons 25 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 20
|
| New York Knicks 90, Baltimore Bullets 81 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–14, 23–24, 21–24, 26–19 | ||
| Pts: Vince Boryla 20 | Pts: Baechtold, Miller 21 each | |
| New York wins series, 2–0 | ||
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team splitting the first two meetings.
| Tied 1–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Syracuse Nationals vs. (3) Boston Celtics
March 19
|
| Boston Celtics 87, Syracuse Nationals 81 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–19, 19–14, 18–16, 34–32 | ||
| Pts: Bob Cousy 20 | Pts: Paul Seymour 18 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 21
|
| Syracuse Nationals 105, Boston Celtics 111 (4OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 20–19, 17–22, 18–15, Overtime: 9–9, 4–4, 9–9, 6–12 | ||
|
Pts:
Red Rocha 19 Asts: George King 4 |
Pts:
Bob Cousy 50 Asts: Macauley, Sharman 5 each | |
| Boston wins series, 2–0 | ||
- Al Cervi’s final NBA game.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. [1]
Western Division Semifinals
(1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (4) Indianapolis Olympians
March 22
|
| Indianapolis Olympians 69, Minneapolis Lakers 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–21, 17–21, 25–21, 13–22 | ||
| Pts: Joe Graboski 22 | Pts: Vern Mikkelsen 18 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 23
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 81, Indianapolis Olympians 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–19, 10–13, 25–17, 22–30 | ||
| Pts: Pollard, Mikkelsen 16 each | Pts: Paul Walther 17 | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 2–0 | ||
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first two meetings.
| Minneapolis leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(2) Rochester Royals vs. (3) Fort Wayne Pistons
March 20
|
| Fort Wayne Pistons 84, Rochester Royals 77 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–16, 23–21, 21–20, 26–20 | ||
| Pts: Fred Schaus 20 | Pts: Arnie Risen 17 | |
| Fort Wayne leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 22
|
| Rochester Royals 83, Fort Wayne Pistons 71 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–19, 19–19, 17–13, 26–20 | ||
| Pts: Bobby Wanzer 19 | Pts: Larry Foust 24 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 24
|
| Fort Wayne Pistons 67, Rochester Royals 65 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 13–13, 15–18, 16–16 | ||
| Pts: Larry Foust 18 | Pts: Bobby Wanzer 17 | |
| Fort Wayne wins series, 2–1 | ||
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Royals winning two of the first three meetings.
| Rochester leads 2–1 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Division Finals
Eastern Division Finals
(1) New York Knicks vs. (3) Boston Celtics
March 25
|
| Boston Celtics 91, New York Knicks 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–26, 15–16, 18–27, 31–26 | ||
|
Pts:
Bob Cousy 28 Asts: Chuck Cooper 6 |
Pts:
Connie Simmons 18 Asts: Dick McGuire 8 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 26
|
| New York Knicks 70, Boston Celtics 86 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 10–23, 19–13, 15–21, 26–29 | ||
|
Pts:
Harry Gallatin 17 Asts: Carl Braun 7 |
Pts:
Macauley,
Cousy 21 each Asts: Bob Cousy 13 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 28
|
| Boston Celtics 82, New York Knicks 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–20, 15–23, 18–32, 27–26 | ||
|
Pts:
Bob Cousy 18 Asts: Ed Macauley 5 |
Pts:
Harry Gallatin 23 Asts: Dick McGuire 11 | |
| New York leads series, 2–1 | ||
March 29
|
| New York Knicks 82, Boston Celtics 75 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–26, 14–19, 22–11, 29–19 | ||
|
Pts:
Carl Braun 18 Asts: Nat Clifton 9 |
Pts:
Ed Macauley 25 Asts: Bob Cousy 8 | |
| New York wins series, 3–1 | ||
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning the first two meetings.
| New York leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Division Finals
(1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Fort Wayne Pistons
March 26
|
| Fort Wayne Pistons 73, Minneapolis Lakers 83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–24, 14–19, 12–13, 31–27 | ||
| Pts: Larry Foust 16 | Pts: George Mikan 21 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 28
|
| Fort Wayne Pistons 75, Minneapolis Lakers 82 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–16, 17–23, 18–17, 22–26 | ||
| Pts: Larry Foust 21 | Pts: George Mikan 20 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 2–0 | ||
March 30
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 95, Fort Wayne Pistons 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–29, 28–18, 17–24, 34–27 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan 23 | Pts: Fred Scolari 27 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 1
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 82, Fort Wayne Pistons 85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–25, 18–22, 23–11, 21–27 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan 25 | Pts: Larry Foust 20 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 2
|
| Fort Wayne Pistons 58, Minneapolis Lakers 74 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 9–23, 16–11, 12–19, 21–21 | ||
| Pts: Larry Foust 16 | Pts: Mikan, Martin 18 each | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 3–2 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting.
| Minneapolis leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
NBA Finals: (W1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (E1) New York Knicks
April 4
|
| New York Knicks 96, Minneapolis Lakers 88 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–18, 24–29, 23–20, 30–21 | ||
| Pts: Carl Braun 21 | Pts: George Mikan 25 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 5
|
| New York Knicks 71, Minneapolis Lakers 73 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–26, 14–21, 24–11, 17–15 | ||
| Pts: Connie Simmons 17 | Pts: George Mikan 18 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 7
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 90, New York Knicks 75 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–14, 18–24, 26–22, 25–15 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan 20 | Pts: Connie Simmons 18 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 8
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 71, New York Knicks 69 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 20–18, 13–16, 17–19 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan 27 | Pts: Connie Simmons 17 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 10
|
| Minneapolis Lakers 91, New York Knicks 84 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–18, 25–17, 25–25, 22–24 | ||
|
Pts:
Jim Pollard 17 Asts: Vern Mikkelsen 6 |
Pts:
Carl Braun 19 Asts: Ernie Vandeweghe 4 | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 4–1 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting.
| Minneapolis leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
See also
References
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Sacramento Kings (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Team Rivalry Finder — Los Angeles Lakers versus New York Knicks (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.