1972–73 Indiana Pacers season

The 1972–73 Indiana Pacers season was Indiana's sixth season in the ABA and sixth as a team. The Pacers finished second in the Western Division and won their third ABA title. In a rematch of the 1972 division semifinals, the Pacers eliminated the Denver Rockets. After defeating the Rockets in five games, the Pacers eliminated the Utah Stars in six games. The Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels appeared in the ABA Championships for the second time and were defeated by the Pacers in seven games.

1972–73 Indiana Pacers season
Head coach	Bobby Leonard
Arena	Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum
Results
Record	51–33 (.607)
Place	Division: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	ABA Champions (Defeated Colonels 4–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
< 1971–72 1973–74 >

Offseason

ABA Draft

Main article: 1972 ABA Draft

Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
Ed Ratleff			Long Beach State
Nate Stephens			Long Beach State
Oscar Evans			Butler
George Adams			Gardner-Webb
Rich Garner			Manhattan
Cavin Anderson			Valley City
Wardell Dyson			Shaw
Jolly Spight			Santa Clara
Bill Burton			Eastern Kentucky
Wally Rice			Penn Military
Lee Sims			Morehead State
Nate Williams			Utah State

^[1]

Regular season

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Pacers points	Opponents	Record
1
2

^[2]

Season standings

1972–73 ABA Western Standings

Western Division	W	L	PCT.	GB
Utah Stars	55	29	.655	–
Indiana Pacers	51	33	.607	4
Denver Rockets	47	37	.560	8
San Diego Conquistadors	30	54	.357	25
Dallas Chaparrals	28	56	.333	27

^[3]

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player	GP	MIN	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG
George McGinnis	82	3347	1022	205	160	N/A	2261
Mel Daniels	81	3103	1247	177	N/A	157	1497
Bill Keller	83	2251	204	361	N/A	N/A	1147
Donnie Freeman	77	2170	219	195	N/A	N/A	1103
Freddie Lewis	72	2217	228	288	N/A	N/A	1075
Roger Brown	72	2177	348	204	N/A	N/A	909
Darnell Hillman	84	2541	735	128	N/A	N/A	804

^[4]

Roster

Number	Name	Position	Height	Experience	College
22	Bob Arnzen	Forward	6–5	2 yrs.	Notre Dame
35	Roger Brown	Guard-Forward	6–5	5 yrs.	Dayton
10	Don Buse	Guard	6–4	Rookie	Evansville
34	Mel Daniels	Center	6–9	5 yrs.	New Mexico
13	Donnie Freeman	Guard	6–3	5 yrs.	Illinois
20	Darnell Hillman	Forward-Center	6–9	1 yr.	San Jose State
25	Gus Johnson	Forward-Center	6–6	9 yrs.	Idaho
11	Bill Keller	Guard	5–10	3 yrs.	Purdue
14	Freddie Lewis	Guard	6–0	6 yrs.	Arizona State
30	George McGinnis	Forward-Center	6–8	1 yr.	Indiana
24	Bill Newton	Center	6–9	Rookie	Louisiana State
15	George Peeples	Center-Forward	6–7	5 yrs.	Iowa
12	Craig Raymond	Center	6–11	4 yrs.	Brigham Young

Playoffs

Western Division Semifinals^[5]

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	March 31	Indiana	114–91	1–0	7,051
2	April 1	Denver	106–93	2–0	7,235
3	April 3	Denver	94–105	2–1	5,335
4	April 5	Denver	97–95	3–1	6,904
5	April 7	Indiana	121–107	4–1	9,816

Western Division Finals

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	April 12	Utah	107–124	0–1	7,712
2	April 14	Utah	116–110	1–1	12,233
3	April 16	Indiana	118–108	2–1	9,353
4	April 18	Indiana	103–104	2–2	10,079
5	April 19	Utah	104–102	3–2	12,453
6	April 21	Indiana	107–98	4–2	9,529

ABA Finals

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	April 28	Kentucky	111–107 (OT)	1–0	12,119
2	April 30	Kentucky	102–114	1–1	13,408
3	May 3	Indiana	88–92	1–2	10,079
4	May 5	Indiana	90–86	2–2	9,498
5	May 8	Kentucky	89–86	3–2	16,779
6	May 10	Indiana	93–109	3–3	10,079
7	May 12	Kentucky	88–81	4–3	16,597

Awards, records, and honors

• George McGinnis, appeared in the 1973 ABA All-Star Game
• Mel Daniels, appeared in the 1973 ABA All-Star Game

Transactions

References

1. "1972 ABA Draft on Basketballreference.com". Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
2. 1972–73 Indiana Pacers Games – Basketball-Reference.com
3. "1972-73 ABA Season Summary".
4. "1972-73 Indiana Pacers Roster and Stats".
5. "Remember the ABA: 1972-73 Regular Season Standings and Playoff Results". Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.

• Pacers on Basketball Reference

External links

• RememberTheABA.com 1972–73 regular season and playoff results