The 1952 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1952 NBA Playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1951–52 season. The Western Division champion Minneapolis Lakers faced the Eastern Division champion New York Knicks in a best-of-seven series with Minneapolis having home-court advantage.
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| Dates | April 12–25 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hall of Famers | Lakers: George Mikan (1959) Jim Pollard (1978) Slater Martin (1982) Vern Mikkelsen (1995) Knicks: Harry Gallatin (1991) Al McGuire (1992, coach) Dick McGuire (1993) Nat Clifton (2014) Coaches: Joe Lapchick (1966, player) John Kundla (1995) | |||||||||
| Eastern Finals | Knicks defeated Nationals, 3–1 | |||||||||
| Western Finals | Lakers defeated Royals, 3–1 | |||||||||
Minneapolis won game one and the teams thereafter alternated victories, Minneapolis winning the decisive game by a 17-point margin at home on Friday, April 25.
All but Game 7 were played in the teams' secondary arenas: the Lakers played at the Saint Paul Auditorium, while the Barnum circus bumped the Knicks from Madison Square Garden to the 69th Regiment Armory.
The seven games were played in fourteen days, beginning Saturday and Sunday, April 12 and 13, in Minneapolis/St. Paul and returning to Minneapolis/St. Paul for games five and seven on the following Saturday and Friday. Meanwhile, three Wednesday or Friday games were played in New York City. The entire postseason tournament spanned 39 days in which Minneapolis played 13 games and New York 14.[1]
Series summary
| Game | Date | Home team | Result | Road team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | April 12 | Minneapolis Lakers | 83–79 (OT) (1–0) | New York Knicks |
| Game 2 | April 13 | Minneapolis Lakers | 72–80 (1–1) | New York Knicks |
| Game 3 | April 16 | New York Knicks | 77–82 (1–2) | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Game 4 | April 18 | New York Knicks | 90–89 (OT) (2–2) | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Game 5 | April 20 | Minneapolis Lakers | 102–89 (3–2) | New York Knicks |
| Game 6 | April 23 | New York Knicks | 76–68 (3–3) | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Game 7 | April 25 | Minneapolis Lakers | 82–65 (4–3) | New York Knicks |
Lakers win series 4–3
Team rosters
Minneapolis Lakers
New York Knicks
Game summaries
April 12 |
| New York Knicks 79, Minneapolis Lakers 83 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–21, 14–19, 27–20, 12–11, Overtime: 8–12 | ||
| Pts: Simmons, McGuire 15 each Rebs: Nat Clifton 12 Asts: Dick McGuire 5 | Pts: Jim Pollard 34 Rebs: George Mikan 16 Asts: Pollard, Mikan 4 each | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 13 |
| New York Knicks 80, Minneapolis Lakers 72 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 11–17, 30–14, 20–20, 19–21 | ||
| Pts: Harry Gallatin 18 Rebs: Harry Gallatin 11 Asts: Dick McGuire 5 | Pts: George Mikan 18 Rebs: George Mikan 21 Asts: Slater Martin 4 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 16 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 82, New York Knicks 77 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–20, 22–26, 19–16, 22–15 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan 26 Rebs: George Mikan 17 Asts: Pep Saul 8 | Pts: Max Zaslofsky 17 Rebs: Nat Clifton 10 Asts: Dick McGuire 10 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 18 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 89, New York Knicks 90 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 21–18, 20–16, 15–20, Overtime: 12–13 | ||
| Pts: Slater Martin 32 Rebs: George Mikan 17 Asts: Pep Saul 5 | Pts: Connie Simmons 30 Rebs: Nat Clifton 12 Asts: Dick McGuire 6 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 20 |
| New York Knicks 89, Minneapolis Lakers 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–33, 22–16, 17–28, 24–25 | ||
| Pts: Nat Clifton 17 Rebs: Clifton, Gallatin 8 each Asts: six players 1 each | Pts: Mikkelsen, Mikan 32 each Rebs: George Mikan 17 Asts: Pep Saul 5 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 23 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 68, New York Knicks 76 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–24, 13–11, 19–17, 16–24 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan 28 Rebs: George Mikan 15 Asts: Slater Martin 9 | Pts: Max Zaslofsky 23 Rebs: Harry Gallatin 13 Asts: Ernie Vandeweghe 7 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 25 |
| New York Knicks 65, Minneapolis Lakers 82 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–18, 17–18, 8–13, 28–33 | ||
| Pts: Max Zaslofsky 21 Rebs: Nat Clifton 10 Asts: Nat Clifton 3 | Pts: George Mikan 22 Rebs: George Mikan 19 Asts: Slater Martin 6 | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 4–3 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[2]
References
External links
- 1952 Finals at NBA.com
- 1952 NBA Playoffs at Basketball-Reference.com