Road To The Finals
The New York Knicks had a very successful season; they won 60 games and were led by future hall of famers Willis Reed and Walt Frazier. They had a strong supporting cast that featured Dick Barnett, Bill Bradley and Dave DeBusschere. In the playoffs, the Knicks barely won a tough seven-game series against the Baltimore Bullets. In the Eastern Conference Finals, they beat the Milwaukee Bucks, led by captain Lew Alcindor, in five games.
The veteran Lakers were led by superstars Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West. However, Chamberlain suffered a severe knee injury in the 9th game of the season and didn't return until there were 3 games left. Baylor missed 28 games and West was out for 3 weeks. The Lakers sputtered early without Chamberlain and Baylor and were 13-17 after 30 games. But first year players like center Rick Roberson and guard Dick Garrett made valuable contributions; an early season trade brought Happy Hairston from Detroit to help in the front court, and the Lakers won 46 games to finish 2 games behind the Atlanta Hawks in the Western Division. In the playoffs, the Lakers rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Phoenix Suns, and then in the Western Conference Finals they swept the Atlanta Hawks to advance to the NBA Finals for the 3rd straight year.
Television: ABC - Commentators: Chris Schenkel, Jack Twyman, and Howard Cosell.
Read more about this topic: 1970 NBA Finals
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