1971–72 New York Knicks season

The 1971–72 New York Knicks season was the 26th season for the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Knicks compiled a 48–34 record in the regular season to finish second in the Atlantic Division and earn a berth in the NBA Playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.^[3] New York had acquired Earl Monroe in a trade with the Baltimore Bullets in November 1971.^[4]

1971–72 New York Knicks season
Conference champions
Head coach	Red Holzman
General manager	Red Holzman
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Results
Record	48–34 (.585)
Place	Division: 2nd (Atlantic) Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (lost to Lakers 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WOR-TV Manhattan Cable Television^[1]
Radio	WNBC^[2]
< 1970–71 1972–73 >

In the first round of the playoffs, New York faced the Baltimore Bullets,^[5] who had defeated the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals the previous year.^[6] The Knicks won the series in six games and advanced to the conference finals, where they faced the Boston Celtics. With a 4–1 series victory,^[5] New York made the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons.^[3] In the Finals, the Knicks were opposed by the Los Angeles Lakers, whom they had beaten in the 1970 NBA Finals.^[7] After winning Game 1 of the Finals 114–92 in Los Angeles, the Knicks lost the next four games and the series.^[8] Willis Reed only played 11 games in the regular season and missed the entirety of the playoffs with a knee injury.^[9][10]

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	16	Dean Meminger	G	United States	Marquette
2	34	Gregg Northington	F	United States	Alabama State
3	50	Kenny Mayfield	G	United States	Tuskegee

^[11]

Roster

1971–72 New York Knicks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From SG 12 Barnett, Dick 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1936-10-02 Tennessee State SF 24 Bradley, Bill 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1943-07-28 Princeton PF 22 DeBusschere, Dave 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1940-10-16 Detroit Mercy PG 10 Frazier, Walt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1945-03-29 Southern Illinois PF 18 Jackson, Phil 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1945-09-17 North Dakota F/C 32 Lucas, Jerry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1940-03-30 Ohio State G 7 Meminger, Dean 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1948-05-13 Marquette G 42 Miles, Eddie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1940-07-05 Seattle G 15 Monroe, Earl 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1944-11-21 Winston-Salem State F 16 Paulk, Charlie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 219 lb (99 kg) 1946–06–14 Northeastern State C 23 Rackley, Luther 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1946-06-11 Xavier C 19 Reed, Willis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1942-06-25 Grambling State

Head coach Red Holzman Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended   Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
y-Boston Celtics	56	26	.683	–	32–9	21–16	3–1	15–3
x-New York Knicks	48	34	.585	8	27–14	20–19	1–1	11–7
Philadelphia 76ers	30	52	.366	26	14–23	14–26	2–3	6–12
Buffalo Braves	22	60	.268	34	13–27	8–31	1–2	4–14

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT
1	z-Boston Celtics	56	26	.683
2	y-Baltimore Bullets	38	44	.463
3	x-New York Knicks	48	34	.585
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	36	46	.439
5	Philadelphia 76ers	30	52	.366
5	Cincinnati Royals	30	52	.366
7	Cleveland Cavaliers	23	59	.280
8	Buffalo Braves	22	60	.268

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1971–72 NBA records
Team	ATL	BAL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CIN	CLE	DET	GSW	HOU	LAL	MIL	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SEA
Atlanta	—	2–4	0–4	4–2	0–5	3–3	4–2	3–2	3–2	1–4	0–5	2–3	3–1	3–3	3–2	4–0	1–4
Baltimore	4–2	—	2–2	3–3	1–4	4–2	1–5	3–2	1–4	3–2	1–4	0–5	2–4	4–0	4–1	3–1	2–3
Boston	4–0	2–2	—	6–0	3–2	4–2	5–1	5–0	2–3	5–0	1–4	2–3	3–3	6–0	2–3	4–0	2–3
Buffalo	2–4	3–3	0–6	—	1–3	3–3	4–2	2–4	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–5	3–3	0–4	2–4	0–4
Chicago	5–0	4–1	2–3	3–1	—	3–1	4–0	5–1	3–3	5–1	1–3	2–4	3–2	4–1	5–1	6–0	2–3
Cincinnati	3–3	2–4	2–4	3–3	1–3	—	6–2	2–3	2–3	0–4	1–4	0–5	2–2	2–2	2–3	2–2	0–5
Cleveland	2–4	5–1	1–5	2–4	0–4	2–6	—	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–5	2–4	0–4	4–2	0–4
Detroit	2–3	2–3	0–5	4–2	1–5	3–2	3–1	—	0–5	3–3	1–4	1–5	1–4	1–4	2–4	2–2	0–4
Golden State	2–3	4–1	3–2	3–1	3–3	3–2	4–0	5–0	—	5–1	1–5	2–2	2–3	4–1	2–3	4–2	4–2
Houston	4–1	2–3	0–5	4–0	1–5	4–0	2–2	3–3	1–5	—	1–5	0–5	0–5	4–1	1–3	4–2	3–3
Los Angeles	5–0	4–1	4–1	4–0	3–1	4–1	3–1	4–1	5–1	5–1	—	4–1	4–1	5–0	4–2	6–0	5–1
Milwaukee	3–2	5–0	3–2	4–0	4–2	5–0	4–0	5–1	2–2	5–0	1–4	—	2–3	4–1	4–2	6–0	6–0
New York	1–3	4–2	3–3	5–1	2–3	2–2	5–1	4–1	3–2	5–0	1–4	3–2	—	3–3	1–4	3–1	3–2
Philadelphia	3–3	0–4	0–6	3–3	1–4	2–2	4–2	4–1	1–4	1–4	0–5	1–4	3–3	—	1–4	2–2	4–1
Phoenix	2–3	1–4	3–2	4–0	1–5	3–2	4–0	4–2	3–2	3–1	2–4	2–4	4–1	4–1	—	6–0	3–2
Portland	0–4	1–3	0–4	4–2	0–6	2–2	2–4	2–2	2–4	2–4	0–6	0–6	1–3	2–2	0–6	—	0–6
Seattle	4–1	3–2	3–2	4–0	3–2	5–0	4–0	4–0	2–4	3–3	1–5	0–6	2–3	1–4	2–3	6–0	—

Game log

1971–72 game log
#	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	Record
1	October 12	Detroit	91–84	Willis Reed (20)	0–1
2	October 16	Los Angeles	119–104	Bill Bradley (17)	0–2
3	October 17	@ Cleveland	121–120 (OT)	Willis Reed (28)	1–2
4	October 19	Golden State	84–93	Bill Bradley (23)	2–2
5	October 22	@ Baltimore	110–87	Dean Meminger (25)	3–2
6	October 23	Atlanta	95–89	Willis Reed (25)	3–3
7	October 26	Boston	101–106	DeBusschere, Frazier (22)	4–3
8	October 27	@ Atlanta	96–110	Walt Frazier (20)	4–4
9	October 28	Houston	94–112	Barnett, DeBusschere (26)	5–4
10	October 30	Philadelphia	108–101	Jerry Lucas (28)	5–5
11	November 3	@ Houston	117–98	Walt Frazier (31)	6–5
12	November 5	@ Seattle	97–101	Walt Frazier (28)	6–6
13	November 7	@ Los Angeles	96–103	Jerry Lucas (20)	6–7
14	November 10	@ Cincinnati	85–99	Barnett, Frazier (15)	6–8
15	November 11	Golden State	112–103	Walt Frazier (30)	6–9
16	November 13	Detroit	105–127	Walt Frazier (24)	7–9
17	November 16	Phoenix	111–112	Walt Frazier (39)	8–9
18	November 20	Baltimore	114–125	Dave DeBusschere (35)	9–9
19	November 23	Cincinnati	110–125	Walt Frazier (23)	10–9
20	November 24	@ Baltimore	114–94	Walt Frazier (28)	11–9
21	November 26	@ Boston	104–89	Walt Frazier (25)	12–9
22	November 27	Chicago	99–100	Walt Frazier (27)	13–9
23	November 30	Seattle	110–109	Dave DeBusschere (29)	13–10
24	December 3	@ Chicago	96–122	Walt Frazier (19)	13–11
25	December 4	Buffalo	90–130	Walt Frazier (25)	14–11
26	December 7	Boston	105–97	Walt Frazier (25)	14–12
27	December 11	Portland	102–134	Walt Frazier (29)	15–12
28	December 12	@ Cleveland	103–92	Walt Frazier (30)	16–12
29	December 14	Phoenix	110–100	Dick Barnett (25)	16–13
30	December 17	@ Buffalo	115–95	Walt Frazier (39)	17–13
31	December 18	Cleveland	84–104	Walt Frazier (25)	18–13
32	December 21	@ Golden State	113–87	Walt Frazier (27)	19–13
33	December 22	@ Seattle	120–104	Walt Frazier (28)	20–13
34	December 23	@ Portland	120–117	Walt Frazier (36)	21–13
35	December 25	Golden State	89–114	Walt Frazier (36)	22–13
36	December 28	@ Detroit	119–100	Walt Frazier (30)	23–13
37	December 30	Baltimore	110–102	Frazier, Monroe (21)	23–14
38	January 1	Cincinnati	94–104	Walt Frazier (41)	24–14
39	January 3	Milwaukee	99–101	Walt Frazier (31)	25–14
40	January 4	@ Milwaukee	100–121	Walt Frazier (21)	25–15
41	January 7	@ Philadelphia	113–117	Walt Frazier (32)	25–16
42	January 8	Chicago	113–108	Walt Frazier (30)	25–17
43	January 11	@ Chicago	91–116	Walt Frazier (24)	25–18
44	January 14	N Golden State	111–115	Dick Barnett (26)	25–19
45	January 16	@ Houston	109–108	Walt Frazier (31)	26–19
46	January 20	@ Phoenix	109–130	Walt Frazier (21)	26–20
47	January 21	@ Los Angeles	104–101	Jerry Lucas (26)	27–20
48	January 23	@ Seattle	101–99	Earl Monroe (27)	28–20
49	January 25	Boston	106–109	Walt Frazier (35)	29–20
50	January 28	@ Boston	116–122 (OT)	Lucas, Monroe (20)	29–21
51	January 29	Seattle	106–110	Walt Frazier (27)	30–21
52	February 1	Detroit	106–115	Bill Bradley (29)	31–21
53	February 2	@ Cincinnati	105–116	Bill Bradley (27)	31–22
54	February 4	@ Buffalo	103–84	Earl Monroe (21)	32–22
55	February 5	Philadelphia	104–112	Bill Bradley (30)	33–22
56	February 6	@ Philadelphia	109–107	Bill Bradley (28)	34–22
57	February 8	Los Angeles	107–102	Bill Bradley (26)	34–23
58	February 9	@ Detroit	126–102	Walt Frazier (31)	35–23
59	February 11	@ Milwaukee	113–107	Jerry Lucas (29)	36–23
60	February 12	Cleveland	91–106	Bill Bradley (23)	37–23
61	February 16	Houston	100–110	Walt Frazier (28)	38–23
62	February 17	@ Chicago	102–99 (OT)	Walt Frazier (22)	39–23
63	February 19	Buffalo	95–100	Jerry Lucas (22)	40–23
64	February 20	@ Cleveland	109–111	Dave DeBusschere (28)	40–24
65	February 22	Portland	105–122	Walt Frazier (29)	41–24
66	February 26	Baltimore	104–97	Walt Frazier (22)	41–25
67	February 27	N Baltimore	97–95 (OT)	Earl Monroe (21)	42–25
68	February 29	Los Angeles	114–111	Jerry Lucas (32)	42–26
69	March 3	@ Buffalo	97–105	Frazier, Lucas (19)	42–27
70	March 4	Philadelphia	115–118 (OT)	Jerry Lucas (28)	43–27
71	March 5	@ Philadelphia	98–100	Dave DeBusschere (24)	43–28
72	March 7	Milwaukee	101–110	Jerry Lucas (30)	44–28
73	March 11	Phoenix	110–106	Bill Bradley (30)	44–29
74	March 12	@ Boston	109–112	Phil Jackson (28)	44–30
75	March 14	Atlanta	107–115	Barnett, Frazier (22)	45–30
76	March 16	@ Houston	103–102	Bradley, Monroe (20)	46–30
77	March 17	@ Phoenix	106–111	Walt Frazier (25)	46–31
78	March 18	@ Portland	86–133	Frazier, Rackley (15)	46–32
79	March 22	Buffalo	99–123	Bill Bradley (33)	47–32
80	March 24	@ Milwaukee	88–131	Jackson, Monroe (12)	47–33
81	March 25	Cleveland	83–98	Walt Frazier (23)	48–33
82	March 26	@ Atlanta	106–120	Walt Frazier (27)	48–34

Playoffs

1972 playoff game log
Conference semifinals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 31 @ Baltimore L 105–108 (OT) Walt Frazier (31) Jerry Lucas (14) Walt Frazier (6) Baltimore Civic Center 12,289 0–1 2 April 2 Baltimore W 110–88 Walt Frazier (30) Dave DeBusschere (14) Walt Frazier (9) Madison Square Garden 19,588 1–1 3 April 4 @ Baltimore L 103–104 Earl Monroe (28) Jerry Lucas (12) Bill Bradley (5) Baltimore Civic Center 12,289 1–2 4 April 6 Baltimore W 104–98 Bill Bradley (25) Dave DeBusschere (13) Walt Frazier (8) Madison Square Garden 19,588 2–2 5 April 9 @ Baltimore W 106–82 Lucas, Monroe (20) Jerry Lucas (16) Jerry Lucas (6) Baltimore Civic Center 10,244 3–2 6 April 11 Baltimore W 107–101 Lucas, Frazier (22) Jerry Lucas (12) Frazier, Monroe (5) Madison Square Garden 19,588 4–2
Conference finals: 4–1 (home: 2–0; road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 13 @ Boston W 116–94 Walt Frazier (36) Jerry Lucas (11) Jerry Lucas (8) Boston Garden 14,292 1–0 2 April 16 Boston W 106–105 Dave DeBusschere (24) Dave DeBusschere (17) three players tied (4) Madison Square Garden 19,588 2–0 3 April 19 @ Boston L 109–115 Bill Bradley (29) Dave DeBusschere (12) Dave DeBusschere (6) Boston Garden 15,315 2–1 4 April 21 Boston W 116–98 Earl Monroe (26) Dave DeBusschere (16) Jerry Lucas (7) Madison Square Garden 19,588 3–1 5 April 23 @ Boston W 111–103 Dave DeBusschere (24) Frazier, DeBusschere (11) Walt Frazier (7) Boston Garden 15,315 4–1
NBA Finals: 1–4 (home: 0–2; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 26 @ Los Angeles W 114–92 Bill Bradley (29) Dave DeBusschere (18) Walt Frazier (11) The Forum 17,505 1–0 2 April 30 @ Los Angeles L 92–106 Walt Frazier (21) Lucas, Jackson (11) Walt Frazier (7) The Forum 17,505 1–1 3 May 3 Los Angeles L 96–107 Walt Frazier (25) Jerry Lucas (14) Jerry Lucas (6) Madison Square Garden 19,588 1–2 4 May 5 Los Angeles L 111–116 (OT) Bill Bradley (26) Dave DeBusschere (13) Jerry Lucas (11) Madison Square Garden 19,588 1–3 5 May 7 @ Los Angeles L 100–114 Walt Frazier (31) Dave DeBusschere (14) Walt Frazier (10) The Forum 17,505 1–4
1972 schedule

Awards and records

• Walt Frazier, All-NBA First Team^[12]
• Walt Frazier, NBA All-Defensive First Team^[13]
• Dave DeBusschere, NBA All-Defensive First Team^[13]

References

1. The Fourth Estate (PDF). New York Knicks. 2003. p. 331. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
2. The Fourth Estate (PDF). New York Knicks. 2003. p. 330. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
3. "New York Knickerbockers Franchise Index". Basketball-Reference. from the original on April 27, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
4. Araton, p. 211.
5. "1971–72 New York Knickerbockers Roster and Statistics". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
6. "1971 NBA Playoff Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
7. "Lakers, Knicks Gain Hoop Final". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. April 24, 1972. p. 15. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
8. Araton, pp. 251–252.
9. Nelson, John (March 26, 1974). "Road to Recovery Is Familiar to Willis Reed". Schenectady Gazette. Associated Press. p. 24. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
10. Carry, Peter (May 21, 1973). "Where There's A Willis". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
11. "1971 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
12. "1971–72 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
13. "NBA & ABA All-Defensive Teams". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved August 17, 2013.

Bibliography

• Araton, Harvey (2011). When the Garden Was Eden: Clyde, the Captain, Dollar Bill, and the Glory Days of the New York Knicks. New York City: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-195623-2.

External links

• Knicks on Basketball Reference
• 1972 NBA Playoff Summary