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1951 NBA Finals

1951 basketball championship series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The 1951 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1951 NBA playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association 1950–51 season. The Western Division champion Rochester Royals faced the Eastern Division champion New York Knicks in a best-of-seven series with Rochester having home-court advantage.

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Rochester won the first three games, two at home, but New York won the next three, two at home. It was the first BAA or NBA Finals (spanning 1947 to 1951)[a] that extended to a seventh-game conclusion, a 4-point win by Rochester at home on Saturday, April 21.

The seven games were played in fifteen days, beginning Saturday and Sunday, April 7 and 8, in Rochester and incorporating one game in Rochester on each following weekend. Three Wednesday or Friday games were played in New York City. The entire postseason tournament spanned 33 days in which both Rochester and New York played 14 games.[1]

The Royals appeared in their first NBA finals by defeating the Fort Wayne Pistons in the semifinals and the two-time defending champion Minneapolis Lakers in the division finals while the Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics in the semifinals and the Syracuse Nationals in the division finals. This was the first finals appearance for both teams, and the first Finals with two teams that had not made a finals appearance since the 1947 BAA Finals.

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Team rosters

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Rochester Royals

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New York Knicks

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Series summary

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Royals win series 4–3

The Rochester / Cincinnati Royals / Kansas City / Sacramento Kings won their first ever NBA Championship.

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Box scores

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April 7
New York Knicks 65, Rochester Royals 92
Scoring by quarter: 18–24, 16–27, 16–21, 15–20
Pts: Vince Boryla 13
Rebs: Simmons, Clifton 10 each
Asts: Ernie Vandeweghe 4
Pts: Arnie Risen 24
Rebs: Arnie Risen 15
Asts: Bobby Wanzer 9
Rochester leads series, 1–0
April 8
New York Knicks 84, Rochester Royals 99
Scoring by quarter: 17–26, 21–21, 28–26, 18–26
Pts: Max Zaslofsky 28
Rebs: Harry Gallatin 17
Asts: Vince Boryla 7
Pts: Bob Davies 24
Rebs: Jack Coleman 28
Asts: Jack Coleman 8
Rochester leads series, 2–0
April 11
Rochester Royals 78, New York Knicks 71
Scoring by quarter: 15–17, 20–16, 16–15, 27–23
Pts: Arnie Risen 27
Rebs: Arnie Risen 18
Asts: Bob Davies 8
Pts: Vince Boryla 20
Rebs: Nat Clifton 11
Asts: Dick McGuire 7
Rochester leads series, 3–0
April 13
Rochester Royals 73, New York Knicks 79
Scoring by quarter: 10–21, 18–19, 28–17, 17–22
Pts: Arnie Risen 26
Rebs: Arnie Risen 20
Asts: Jack Coleman 9
Pts: Harry Gallatin 22
Rebs: Nat Clifton 17
Asts: Zaslofsky, Clifton 6 each
Rochester leads series, 3–1
April 15
New York Knicks 92, Rochester Royals 89
Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 19–21, 29–21, 19–19
Pts: Connie Simmons 26
Rebs: Nat Clifton 10
Asts: Nat Clifton 7
Pts: Bobby Wanzer 21
Rebs: Arnie Risen 14
Asts: Bob Davies 10
Rochester leads series, 3–2
April 18
Rochester Royals 73, New York Knicks 80
Scoring by quarter: 21–19, 17–19, 12–15, 23–27
Pts: Arnie Johnson 27
Rebs: Arnie Johnson 15
Asts: Jack Coleman 8
Pts: Max Zaslofsky 23
Rebs: Ernie Vandeweghe 8
Asts: Dick McGuire 6
Series tied, 3–3
April 21
New York Knicks 75, Rochester Royals 79
Scoring by quarter: 16–22, 18–18, 26–22, 15–17
Pts: Zaslofsky, Boryla 16 each
Rebs: Harry Gallatin 10
Asts: Ernie Vandeweghe 5
Pts: Arnie Risen 24
Rebs: Arnie Risen 13
Asts: Jack Coleman 9
Rochester wins series, 4–3

The Knicks led 74–72 with under three minutes later but Arnie Risen and Bob Davies (who combined for 44 points scored in the game) managed to draw quick shots and free throws in the final minutes to give the Royals a 79–75 victory. Contrary to today's practices, there was no trophy presentation or a parade.[2]

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Aftermath

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This was the first and to date last title for the Rochester Royals, who would move to Cincinnati, Ohio for the 1958 season. The Royals would spend 15 years mired in mediocrity before moving to Kansas City, Missouri in 1972, changing their name in the process to the Kings. One notable highlight was their appearance in the 1981 NBA playoffs, in which their 40–42 team reached the Western Conference finals before losing to the Houston Rockets, who also had a 40–42 record. The Kings moved to Sacramento, California in 1985, where they have remained to this day. The team reached the Western Conference finals in 2002, where they lost in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers in a highly controversial series.[3] The Kings’ 2002 Western Conference final run was the closest the team got to reaching the NBA Finals in the modern era. The Royals/Kings have the longest NBA title drought, the longest NBA Finals appearance drought, the longest active championship round appearance drought in all four of the American major pro sports leagues, and the third longest championship drought in North American sports.[4]

This would be the Knicks first of three consecutive appearances in the Finals, but they would lose all three times. They would not return to the Finals until 1970, which they won.

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Notes

  1. The Basketball Association of America (BAA) played three seasons, 1946–47 to 1948–49, all with postseason tournaments that concluded in best-of-seven series. The NBA recognizes BAA history as part of its own, sometimes without comment.[5]
     The NBA was actually created by 1949 merger of the BAA and its older competitor, the National Basketball League. There were 12 NBL championships, all finally decided by a best-of-three or best-of-five series.
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References

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