1969 NBA Playoffs
The 1969 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1968-69 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
Despite finishing in 4th place, the Celtics won their second straight NBA title, marking their 11th overall as their era of 1960s dominance drew to a close. They upset Philadelphia and New York on the way to the Finals. Out west, the San Francisco Warriors stunned the Lakers by winning the first 2 in L.A., and Bay Area fans were thinking of avenging the prior year's sweep by the Lakers with a sweep of their own. But the Lakers won 4 straight to win the series in 6.
This year marked the debut of the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award; it was awarded to Jerry West of the Lakers, which marks the only time so far that the trophy has been given to a player on the losing team.
The second-year San Diego Rockets made their first playoff appearance; the next time they appeared was in 1975 as the Houston Rockets.
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | L.A. Lakers | 4 | |||||||||||
| 3 | San Francisco | 2 | |||||||||||
| 1 | L.A. Lakers | 4 | |||||||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Atlanta | 1 | |||||||||||
| 4 | San Diego | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Atlanta | 4 | |||||||||||
| W1 | L.A. Lakers | 3 | |||||||||||
| E4 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Baltimore | 0 | |||||||||||
| 3 | New York | 4 | |||||||||||
| 3 | New York | 2 | |||||||||||
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia | 1 | |||||||||||
Western Division
Champion: Los Angeles Lakers
Division Semifinals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) San Francisco Warriors: Lakers win series 4-2
- Game 1 @ Los Angeles (March 26): San Francisco 99, Los Angeles 94
- Game 2 @ Los Angeles (March 28): San Francisco 107, Los Angeles 101
- Game 3 @ San Francisco (March 31): Los Angeles 115, San Francisco 98
- Game 4 @ San Francisco (April 2): Los Angeles 103, San Francisco 88
- Game 5 @ Los Angeles (April 4): Los Angeles 103, San Francisco 98
- Game 6 @ San Francisco (April 5): Los Angeles 118, San Francisco 78 (The Lakers become the first team to win a playoff series after losing the first 2 games at home.)
(2) Atlanta Hawks vs. (4) San Diego Rockets: Hawks win series 4-2
- Game 1 @ Atlanta (March 27): Atlanta 107, San Diego 98
- Game 2 @ Atlanta (March 29): Atlanta 116, San Diego 114
- Game 3 @ San Diego (April 1): San Diego 104, Atlanta 97
- Game 4 @ San Diego (April 4): San Diego 114, Atlanta 112
- Game 5 @ Atlanta (April 6): Atlanta 112, San Diego 101
- Game 6 @ San Diego (April 7): Atlanta 108, San Diego 106
Division Finals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (2) Atlanta Hawks: Lakers win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ Los Angeles (April 11): Los Angeles 95, Atlanta 93
- Game 2 @ Los Angeles (April 13): Los Angeles 104, Atlanta 102
- Game 3 @ Atlanta (April 15): Atlanta 99, Los Angeles 86
- Game 4 @ Atlanta (April 17): Los Angeles 100, Atlanta 85
- Game 5 @ Los Angeles (April 20): Los Angeles 104, Atlanta 96
Eastern Division
Champion: Boston Celtics
Division Semifinals
(1) Baltimore Bullets vs. (3) New York Knicks: Knicks win series 4-0
- Game 1 @ Baltimore (March 27): New York 113, Baltimore 101
- Game 2 @ New York (March 29): New York 107, Baltimore 91
- Game 3 @ Baltimore (March 30): New York 119, Baltimore 116
- Game 4 @ New York (April 2): New York 115, Baltimore 108
(2) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (4) Boston Celtics: Celtics win series 4-1
- Game 1 @ Philadelphia (March 26): Boston 114, Philadelphia 100
- Game 2 @ Boston (March 28): Boston 134, Philadelphia 103
- Game 3 @ Philadelphia (March 30): Boston 125, Philadelphia 118
- Game 4 @ Boston (April 1): Philadelphia 119, Boston 116
- Game 5 @ Philadelphia (April 4): Boston 93, Philadelphia 90
Division Finals
(3) New York Knicks vs. (4) Boston Celtics: Celtics win series 4-2
- Game 1 @ New York (April 6): Boston 108, New York 100
- Game 2 @ Boston (April 9): Boston 112, New York 97
- Game 3 @ New York (April 10): New York 101, Boston 91
- Game 4 @ Boston (April 13): Boston 97, New York 96
- Game 5 @ New York (April 14): New York 112, Boston 104
- Game 6 @ Boston (April 18): Boston 106, New York 105 (John Havlicek hits the series-winning shot.)
NBA Finals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Boston Celtics: Celtics win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ Los Angeles (April 23): Los Angeles 120, Boston 118
- Game 2 @ Los Angeles (April 25): Los Angeles 118, Boston 112
- Game 3 @ Boston (April 27): Boston 111, Los Angeles 105
- Game 4 @ Boston (April 29): Boston 89, Los Angeles 88 (Sam Jones hits the game-winner.)
- Game 5 @ Los Angeles (May 1): Los Angeles 117, Boston 104
- Game 6 @ Boston (May 3): Boston 99, Los Angeles 90
- Game 7 @ Los Angeles (May 5): Boston 108, Los Angeles 106 (Bill Russell and Sam Jones’ final NBA game; Celtics become the first team to come back from a 2-0 series deficit in the NBA Finals.)
In Game 7, Don Nelson hit a foul-line jumper which dropped through the basket after hitting the back rim and bouncing several feet straight up. The shot gave the Celtics a 105-102 lead after the Lakers cut their lead to 103-102.
External links
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