1969-70 The Celtics dynasty falls. The Knicks win title.
1969-70 The Celtics dynasty falls. The Knicks win title.
The Celtic dynasty was finally over. Bill Russell retired as player and
coach after winning the 1969 Championship. Sam Jones and K.C. Jones also
retired. The best team in the East was the New York Knicks, who won 18 straight
games early in the season. Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Walt
Frazier, Cazzie Russell and Dick Barnett played as a team on both ends of the
floor, and their play was unsurpassed by anybody. The other team to be reckoned
with in the East was Milwaukee, which had 56 wins in its second season at NBA,
led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (known earlier as Lew Alcindor).
New York was forced to play seven games by Baltimore before advancing to the
Finals, but first besting Milwaukee after five games. In the West, Jerry West
had won the league scoring title (31.2) as Wilt Chamberlain suffered an injury
in his nine game and came back just with three games remained. As a result
Atlanta won the division by two games over the Lakers. But Wilt Chamberlain
returned for the Playoffs, and Atlanta was easily swept. The Lakers met the
Knicks in the Finals. The first six games were excellent battles, with the
Knicks winning one, then it was the Lakers's turn. In seven games, The Knicks,
with injured Reed, won the game, bringing the title for the first time in 24
years in the league.
The Knicks win the title in seven games. Reed played excellently in the
Finals, dominating injuried Chamberlain, until he suffered an injury in Game 5.
The game he spent on the bench and with Reed out, the Lakers won the game,
thanks to Wilt's 45 points the series was now tied 3-3.
The Knicks went to the lockerroom before Game 7 not knowing if Reed would be
able to play. Just before tipoff, Reed hobbled through the tunnel and onto the
floor of Madison Square Garden, where he was greeted by the audience, he scored
the first two baskets, and led his team to a 113-99 victory. "There is not a
single day in my life that people don't remind me of that game" Reed said years
later.
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