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The 1975 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1974–75 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeating the Eastern Conference champion Washington Bullets 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. Rick Barry was named NBA Finals MVP. The Warriors won their third NBA title and first since 1956 as the Philadelphia Warriors.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 8–May 25, 1975 |
| Season | 1974–75 |
| Teams | 10 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Golden State Warriors (3rd title) |
| Runner-up | Washington Bullets |
| Semifinalists | |
The playoff format was revised again, as the result of which the first two finishers in each division were guaranteed playoff berths, along with the best third-place team from each conference. Once each conference's qualifiers were selected, they were seeded 1–5, with the fourth and fifth seeds playing a best-of-three series, with the victor advancing to play the first seed in a best-of-seven semifinal, while the second and third seeds played the other semifinal.
The eight-year-old Seattle SuperSonics made their playoff debut, winning the first playoff series in franchise history against the Detroit Pistons. Seattle would go on to make consecutive NBA Finals appearances in 1978 and 1979, winning the championship the latter year.
The Kansas City-Omaha Kings made their first playoff appearance since 1967 as the Cincinnati Royals, and the Houston Rockets made their first playoff appearance since 1969 as the San Diego Rockets.
The 1975 playoffs expanded the number of playoff qualifiers to 10; it would be expanded again to 12 in 1977 and again to its current number of 16 in 1984.
At the time, this was the closest the Chicago Bulls came to an NBA title, losing to the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals 4–3. This was their second and final Western Conference Finals appearance as they would move to the Eastern Conference in 1980. They would not reach the East Finals until 1989, and would not win a title until 1991.
| First Round | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Houston | 2 | E4 | Houston | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| E5 | New York | 1 | Eastern Conference | E1 | Boston* | 2 | |||||||||||||
| E2 | Washington* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Buffalo | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Washington* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Washington* | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Golden State* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Golden State* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Seattle | 2 | W4 | Seattle | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| W5 | Detroit | 1 | Western Conference | W1 | Golden State* | 4 | |||||||||||||
| W2 | Chicago* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Kansas City–Omaha | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Chicago* | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage
Eastern Conference first round
(4) Houston Rockets vs. (5) New York Knicks
April 8 |
| New York Knicks 84, Houston Rockets 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–24, 12–22, 21–21, 24–32 | ||
| Pts: Walt Frazier 21 Rebs: Phil Jackson 13 Asts: Walt Frazier 11 |
Pts: Calvin Murphy 22 Rebs: Kevin Kunnert 14 Asts: Mike Newlin 5 | |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 10 |
| Houston Rockets 96, New York Knicks 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–27, 21–27, 27–30, 33–22 | ||
| Pts: Rudy Tomjanovich 22 Rebs: Kevin Kunnert 9 Asts: Newlin, Ratleff 4 each |
Pts: Walt Frazier 26 Rebs: Phil Jackson 10 Asts: Harthorne Wingo 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 12 |
| New York Knicks 86, Houston Rockets 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 18–26, 17–28, 26–36 | ||
| Pts: Walt Frazier 24 Rebs: Harthorne Wingo 10 Asts: Walt Frazier 4 |
Pts: Rudy Tomjanovich 25 Rebs: Rudy Tomjanovich 10 Asts: Murphy, Newlin 9 each | |
| Houston wins series, 2–1 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[1]
Western Conference first round
(4) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (5) Detroit Pistons
April 8 |
| Detroit Pistons 77, Seattle SuperSonics 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–22, 23–26, 25–20, 17–22 | ||
| Pts: Howard Porter 21 Rebs: Bob Lanier 14 Asts: Bob Lanier 9 |
Pts: Fred Brown 23 Rebs: Spencer Haywood 14 Asts: Slick Watts 6 | |
| Seattle leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 10 |
| Seattle SuperSonics 106, Detroit Pistons 122 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–33, 25–24, 23–36, 34–29 | ||
| Pts: Fred Brown 30 Rebs: Tommy Burleson 10 Asts: Slick Watts 8 |
Pts: Bing, Trapp 24 each Rebs: George Trapp 14 Asts: Dave Bing 11 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 12 |
| Detroit Pistons 93, Seattle SuperSonics 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–23, 22–33, 23–16, 29–28 | ||
| Pts: Bob Lanier 29 Rebs: Curtis Rowe 13 Asts: Dave Bing 10 |
Pts: Tommy Burleson 26 Rebs: Tommy Burleson 16 Asts: Slick Watts 6 | |
| Seattle wins series, 2–1 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[2]
Eastern Conference semifinals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Houston Rockets
April 14 |
| Houston Rockets 106, Boston Celtics 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–28, 31–35, 23–28, 31–32 | ||
| Pts: Rudy Tomjanovich 30 Rebs: Tomjanovich, Riley 9 each Asts: Calvin Murphy 6 |
Pts: John Havlicek 30 Rebs: Dave Cowens 19 Asts: John Havlicek 9 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 16 |
| Houston Rockets 100, Boston Celtics 112 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 21–24, 23–38, 30–23 | ||
| Pts: Calvin Murphy 30 Rebs: Kevin Kunnert 10 Asts: Calvin Murphy 9 |
Pts: Dave Cowens 28 Rebs: Dave Cowens 18 Asts: John Havlicek 7 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 19 |
| Boston Celtics 102, Houston Rockets 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–24, 26–28, 20–24, 34–41 | ||
| Pts: Don Nelson 21 Rebs: Havlicek, Silas 8 each Asts: Silas, White 5 each |
Pts: Rudy Tomjanovich 28 Rebs: Rudy Tomjanovich 12 Asts: Murphy, Hawes 7 each | |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 22 |
| Boston Celtics 122, Houston Rockets 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 30–33, 32–18, 31–26, 29–40 | ||
| Pts: Dave Cowens 31 | Pts: Calvin Murphy 35 | |
| Boston leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 24 |
| Houston Rockets 115, Boston Celtics 128 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–28, 33–32, 28–36, 32–32 | ||
| Pts: Tomjanovich, Murphy 27 each Rebs: Ed Ratleff 6 Asts: Ed Ratleff 6 |
Pts: John Havlicek 28 Rebs: Dave Cowens 12 Asts: John Havlicek 11 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–1 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[3]
(2) Washington Bullets vs. (3) Buffalo Braves
April 10 |
| Buffalo Braves 113, Washington Bullets 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–26, 23–30, 30–18, 31–28 | ||
| Pts: Bob McAdoo 35 Rebs: Bob McAdoo 14 Asts: Randy Smith 9 |
Pts: Phil Chenier 23 Rebs: Elvin Hayes 9 Asts: Jimmy Jones 5 | |
| Buffalo leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 12 |
| Washington Bullets 120, Buffalo Braves 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–29, 32–29, 24–17, 36–31 | ||
| Pts: Elvin Hayes 34 Rebs: Wes Unseld 25 Asts: Kevin Porter 10 |
Pts: Bob McAdoo 36 Rebs: Gar Heard 10 Asts: Randy Smith 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 16 |
| Buffalo Braves 96, Washington Bullets 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–24, 23–29, 18–28, 26–30 | ||
| Pts: Bob McAdoo 34 Rebs: Bob McAdoo 19 Asts: Randy Smith 7 |
Pts: Elvin Hayes 30 Rebs: Wes Unseld 18 Asts: Kevin Porter 13 | |
| Washington leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 18 |
| Washington Bullets 102, Buffalo Braves 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–23, 31–24, 19–31, 27–30 | ||
| Pts: Nick Weatherspoon 21 Rebs: Wes Unseld 23 Asts: Kevin Porter 10 |
Pts: Bob McAdoo 50 Rebs: Bob McAdoo 21 Asts: Randy Smith 10 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 20 |
| Buffalo Braves 93, Washington Bullets 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 16–24, 26–19, 28–36 | ||
| Pts: Bob McAdoo 34 Rebs: Gar Heard 14 Asts: Heard, Smith 5 each |
Pts: Elvin Hayes 46 Rebs: Hayes, Unseld 12 each Asts: Kevin Porter 8 | |
| Washington leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 23 |
| Washington Bullets 96, Buffalo Braves 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–32, 31–27, 16–20, 23–23 | ||
| Pts: Phil Chenier 25 Rebs: Wes Unseld 12 Asts: Unseld, Chenier 6 each |
Pts: Bob McAdoo 37 Rebs: Bob McAdoo 10 Asts: Smith, Weiss 7 each | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 25 |
| Buffalo Braves 96, Washington Bullets 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–28, 25–28, 26–25, 32–34 | ||
| Pts: Bob McAdoo 36 Rebs: Gar Heard 14 Asts: Randy Smith 4 |
Pts: Phil Chenier 39 Rebs: Wes Unseld 12 Asts: Kevin Porter 8 | |
| Washington wins series, 4–3 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[4]
Western Conference semifinals
(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (4) Seattle SuperSonics
April 14 |
| Seattle SuperSonics 96, Golden State Warriors 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–27, 24–33, 27–32, 27–31 | ||
| Pts: Leonard Gray 20 Rebs: Leonard Gray 8 Asts: Watts, Brown 4 each |
Pts: Rick Barry 39 Rebs: Clifford Ray 13 Asts: Rick Barry 11 | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 16 |
| Seattle SuperSonics 100, Golden State Warriors 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–26, 25–29, 26–23, 25–21 | ||
| Pts: Spencer Haywood 28 Rebs: Spencer Haywood 15 Asts: Slick Watts 7 |
Pts: Rick Barry 29 Rebs: Ray, Dickey 10 each Asts: Barry, Beard 6 each | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 17 |
| Golden State Warriors 105, Seattle SuperSonics 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–28, 23–22, 26–24, 27–22 | ||
| Pts: Rick Barry 33 Rebs: George Johnson 13 Asts: Rick Barry 7 |
Pts: Tommy Burleson 25 Rebs: Tommy Burleson 11 Asts: Slick Watts 9 | |
| Golden State leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 19 |
| Golden State Warriors 94, Seattle SuperSonics 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–23, 25–34, 25–28, 22–26 | ||
| Pts: Jamaal Wilkes 22 Rebs: Wilkes, Ray 9 each Asts: three players 3 each |
Pts: Fred Brown 37 Rebs: Tommy Burleson 15 Asts: Slick Watts 10 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 22 |
| Seattle SuperSonics 100, Golden State Warriors 124 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–32, 29–25, 21–34, 33–33 | ||
| Pts: three players 15 each Rebs: Tommy Burleson 8 Asts: Leonard Gray 5 |
Pts: Jamaal Wilkes 24 Rebs: Ray, G. Johnson 13 Asts: Rick Barry 10 | |
| Golden State leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 24 |
| Golden State Warriors 105, Seattle SuperSonics 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–20, 18–18, 34–28, 25–30 | ||
| Pts: Rick Barry 31 Rebs: George Johnson 15 Asts: Charles Johnson 6 |
Pts: Slick Watts 24 Rebs: Tommy Burleson 11 Asts: Slick Watts 11 | |
| Golden State wins series, 4–2 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[5]
(2) Chicago Bulls vs. (3) Kansas City-Omaha Kings
April 9 |
| Kansas City–Omaha Kings 89, Chicago Bulls 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–34, 21–20, 21–17, 25–24 | ||
| Pts: Larry McNeill 22 Rebs: Sam Lacey 13 Asts: Tiny Archibald 7 |
Pts: Bob Love 38 Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 12 Asts: Tom Boerwinkle 5 | |
| Chicago leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 13 |
| Chicago Bulls 95, Kansas City–Omaha Kings 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–29, 26–26, 22–28, 22–19 | ||
| Pts: Chet Walker 20 Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 12 Asts: Tom Boerwinkle 3 |
Pts: Jimmy Walker 26 Rebs: Sam Lacey 20 Asts: Tiny Archibald 12 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 16 |
| Kansas City–Omaha Kings 90, Chicago Bulls 93 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–26, 25–28, 20–20, 21–19 | ||
| Pts: Tiny Archibald 18 Rebs: Sam Lacey 18 Asts: Scott Wedman 4 |
Pts: Bob Love 31 Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 24 Asts: Norm Van Lier 6 | |
| Chicago leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 18 |
| Chicago Bulls 100, Kansas City–Omaha Kings 104 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–22, 19–23, 29–27, 24–22, Overtime: 6–10 | ||
| Pts: Bob Love 34 Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 17 Asts: Tom Boerwinkle 5 |
Pts: Tiny Archibald 28 Rebs: Sam Lacey 16 Asts: Sam Lacey 8 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 20 |
| Kansas City–Omaha Kings 77, Chicago Bulls 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–20, 18–27, 23–22, 23–35 | ||
| Pts: Wedman, Archibald 13 each Rebs: Sam Lacey 12 Asts: Sam Lacey 5 |
Pts: Bob Love 30 Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 19 Asts: Tom Boerwinkle 8 | |
| Chicago leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 23 |
| Chicago Bulls 101, Kansas City–Omaha Kings 89 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–22, 27–22, 24–21, 27–24 | ||
| Pts: Bob Love 26 Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 14 Asts: Norm Van Lier 4 |
Pts: Tiny Archibald 26 Rebs: Sam Lacey 15 Asts: Sam Lacey 5 | |
| Chicago wins series, 4–2 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[6]
Eastern Conference finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Washington Bullets
April 27 |
| Washington Bullets 100, Boston Celtics 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–26, 20–29, 27–18, 30–22 | ||
| Pts: Elvin Hayes 34 Rebs: Wes Unseld 14 Asts: Kevin Porter 7 |
Pts: Jo Jo White 27 Rebs: Dave Cowens 19 Asts: Paul Silas 6 | |
| Washington leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 30 |
| Boston Celtics 92, Washington Bullets 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–31, 24–29, 30–24, 18–33 | ||
| Pts: Don Nelson 23 Rebs: Paul Silas 17 Asts: Jo Jo White 7 |
Pts: Elvin Hayes 29 Rebs: Wes Unseld 16 Asts: Kevin Porter 6 | |
| Washington leads series, 2–0 | ||
May 3 |
| Washington Bullets 90, Boston Celtics 101 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–31, 24–29, 10–21, 23–20 | ||
| Pts: Elvin Hayes 23 Rebs: Wes Unseld 15 Asts: Kevin Porter 5 |
Pts: John Havlicek 26 Rebs: Paul Silas 25 Asts: Jo Jo White 7 | |
| Washington leads series, 2–1 | ||
May 7 |
| Boston Celtics 108, Washington Bullets 119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–29, 28–36, 34–34, 20–20 | ||
| Pts: Jo Jo White 32 Rebs: Dave Cowens 17 Asts: Jo Jo White 7 |
Pts: Phil Chenier 27 Rebs: Wes Unseld 25 Asts: Wes Unseld 7 | |
| Washington leads series, 3–1 | ||
May 9 |
| Washington Bullets 99, Boston Celtics 103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–24, 31–35, 23–20, 22–24 | ||
| Pts: Phil Chenier 32 Rebs: Wes Unseld 13 Asts: Kevin Porter 6 |
Pts: Dave Cowens 27 Rebs: Dave Cowens 12 Asts: Don Chaney 5 | |
| Washington leads series, 3–2 | ||
May 11 |
| Boston Celtics 92, Washington Bullets 98 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–26, 22–29, 26–18, 26–25 | ||
| Pts: Dave Cowens 23 Rebs: Dave Cowens 21 Asts: Jo Jo White 6 |
Pts: Phil Chenier 24 Rebs: Wes Unseld 17 Asts: Kevin Porter 11 | |
| Washington wins series, 4–2 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[7]
Western Conference finals
(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (2) Chicago Bulls
April 27 |
| Chicago Bulls 89, Golden State Warriors 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–26, 15–20, 26–26, 24–35 | ||
| Pts: Bob Love 37 Rebs: Nate Thurmond 7 Asts: Tom Boerwinkle 4 |
Pts: Rick Barry 38 Rebs: George Johnson 11 Asts: Butch Beard 9 | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 30 |
| Golden State Warriors 89, Chicago Bulls 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–21, 20–22, 26–19, 23–28 | ||
| Pts: Rick Barry 26 Rebs: Clifford Ray 7 Asts: Rick Barry 8 |
Pts: Chet Walker 28 Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 14 Asts: Tom Boerwinkle 5 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
May 4 |
| Golden State Warriors 101, Chicago Bulls 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 37–26, 13–26, 21–29, 30–27 | ||
| Pts: Butch Beard 28 Rebs: Rick Barry 7 Asts: Rick Barry 9 |
Pts: Norm Van Lier 35 Rebs: Nate Thurmond 12 Asts: Norm Van Lier 9 | |
| Chicago leads series, 2–1 | ||
May 6 |
| Chicago Bulls 106, Golden State Warriors 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–18, 17–32, 32–32, 22–29 | ||
| Pts: Bob Love 27 Rebs: Jerry Sloan 12 Asts: Norm Van Lier 9 |
Pts: Rick Barry 36 Rebs: Clifford Ray 18 Asts: Rick Barry 9 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
May 8 |
| Chicago Bulls 89, Golden State Warriors 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–20, 22–19, 20–17, 22–23 | ||
| Pts: Chet Walker 21 Rebs: Sloan, Boerwinkle 10 each Asts: Van Lier, Boerwinkle 4 each |
Pts: Rick Barry 20 Rebs: Clifford Ray 12 Asts: Rick Barry 4 | |
| Chicago leads series, 3–2 | ||
May 11 |
| Golden State Warriors 86, Chicago Bulls 72 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–25, 28–13, 21–22, 19–12 | ||
| Pts: Rick Barry 36 Rebs: Bill Bridges 11 Asts: three players 3 each |
Pts: Norm Van Lier 24 Rebs: Sloan, Boerwinkle 8 each Asts: Nate Thurmond 5 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
May 14 |
| Chicago Bulls 79, Golden State Warriors 83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 26–20, 18–23, 14–24 | ||
| Pts: Chet Walker 21 Rebs: Tom Boerwinkle 16 Asts: Tom Boerwinkle 6 |
Pts: Jamaal Wilkes 23 Rebs: Clifford Ray 12 Asts: Rick Barry 4 | |
| Golden State wins series, 4–3 | ||
- Chet Walker's final NBA game.
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[8]
May 18 |
| Golden State Warriors 101, Washington Bullets 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–27, 23–27, 31–18, 30–23 | ||
| Pts: Rick Barry 24 Rebs: Clifford Ray 16 Asts: Rick Barry 5 |
Pts: Elvin Hayes 29 Rebs: Hayes, Unseld 16 each Asts: Wes Unseld 6 | |
| Golden State leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 20 |
| Washington Bullets 91, Golden State Warriors 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–19, 24–27, 21–27, 18–19 | ||
| Pts: Phil Chenier 30 Rebs: Wes Unseld 20 Asts: Kevin Porter 8 |
Pts: Rick Barry 36 Rebs: Rick Barry 9 Asts: three players 4 each | |
| Golden State leads series, 2–0 | ||
May 23 |
| Washington Bullets 101, Golden State Warriors 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–26, 27–24, 23–27, 30–32 | ||
| Pts: Elvin Hayes 24 Rebs: Wes Unseld 15 Asts: Kevin Porter 6 |
Pts: Rick Barry 38 Rebs: Jamaal Wilkes 10 Asts: Rick Barry 6 | |
| Golden State leads series, 3–0 | ||
May 25 |
| Golden State Warriors 96, Washington Bullets 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–30, 28–22, 22–21, 26–22 | ||
| Pts: Rick Barry 20 Rebs: Clifford Ray 11 Asts: Rick Barry 5 |
Pts: Phil Chenier 26 Rebs: Wes Unseld 16 Asts: Phil Chenier 11 | |
| Golden State wins series, 4–0 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[9]
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