1972 ABA playoffs

Notable events

The Kentucky Colonels, despite finishing the season with the best record in the history of the ABA (68–16, .810), winning 8 of 11 regular season games against the New York Nets and finishing 24 games ahead of the Nets in the regular season standings, lost their first round series to the Nets.

The Floridians played their final game on April 6, 1972, losing at home in their Eastern Division semifinal series to the Virginia Squires 115–106. The Squires swept the series 4 games to none behind rookie Julius Erving who grabbed at least seventeen rebounds in three of those four games. On June 13, 1972, the league bought the Floridians and disbanded the team.

The Indiana Pacers became the first team to win a second ABA championship.

Freddie Lewis of the Pacers was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs.

This was the first season in which two future NBA teams met for the ABA Championship. This only happened one other time in the league's history, during its final year in 1976 when the Denver Nuggets edged past the Colonels 4–3 to meet the Nets in the ABA championship series.

Five of the seven playoff series ended in final games in which the home team lost.

Bracket

| RD1-group1=Western Division | RD1-group2=Eastern Division | RD1-seed1=1 | RD1-team1=Utah Stars | RD1-score1=4 | RD1-seed2=3 | RD1-team2=Dallas Chaparrals | RD1-score2=0 | RD1-seed3=4 | RD1-team3=Denver Rockets | RD1-score3=3 | RD1-seed4=2 | RD1-team4=Indiana Pacers | RD1-score4=4 | RD1-seed5=1 | RD1-team5=Kentucky Colonels | RD1-score5=2 | RD1-seed6=3 | RD1-team6=New York Nets | RD1-score6=4 | RD1-seed7=4 | RD1-team7=The Floridians | RD1-score7=0 | RD1-seed8=2 | RD1-team8=Virginia Squires | RD1-score8=4 | RD2-seed1=1 | RD2-team1=Utah Stars | RD2-score1=3 | RD2-seed2=2 | RD2-team2=Indiana Pacers | RD2-score2=4 | RD2-seed3=3 | RD2-team3=New York Nets | RD2-score3=4 | RD2-seed4=2 | RD2-team4=Virginia Squires | RD2-score4=3 | RD3-seed1=W2 | RD3-team1=Indiana Pacers | RD3-score1=4 | RD3-seed2=E3 | RD3-team2=New York Nets | RD3-score2=2

Division Semifinals

Western Division Semifinals

(1) Utah Stars vs. (3) Dallas Chaparrals

(2) Indiana Pacers vs. (4) Denver Rockets

Eastern Division Semifinals

(1) Kentucky Colonels vs. (3) New York Nets

With his 50-point performance, Barry became the first and only ABA player to score 50 points in multiple postseason games.

(2) Virginia Squires vs. (4) The Floridians

Due to prior bookings, the Floridians played their playoff games at the north campus of Miami-Dade Junior College. Julius Erving tied the playoff record for points scored in an ABA playoff game with 53. Irving iced the game with two late free throws that gave them a four-point lead.

With reports that loomed about the dissolving of The Floridians, the Squires dominated the second and third quarters to win the series. This was the last game played by The Floridians, as the team elected to fold in the offseason rather than relocate (rumors had indicated the possibility of playing in Cincinnati) or play further.

Division Finals

Western Division Finals

(1) Utah Stars vs. (2) Indiana Pacers

Eastern Division Finals

(2) Virginia Squires vs. (3) New York Nets

Game 3 occurred nine days after Game 2 due to the Coliseum being booked for several days (the ABA refused to have the games played at the Island Garden).

ABA Finals: (E3) New York Nets vs. (W2) Indiana Pacers

The two teams battled to a tough first half that saw New York lead by one point (56–55) at the half, but the Pacers took control late in the third quarter. The two teams were tied at 74 with five minutes remaining in the third quarter before Freddie Lewis started a rally for the Pacers with a three-point shot that was followed by made shots by Mel Daniels and company before Rick Mount made it 88–78 before the quarter ended with his made shot. The Pacers held on from there as Lewis led the Pacers in scoring with 33.

This was the first home game played by the Pacers at the Coliseum in 26 days, as the venue had hosted circus and tennis events since the Pacers had won the First Round series. Bill Melchionni, fresh from recovering from a broken bone in his hand that had knocked him out until midway through the second round of the playoffs, contributed 26 points as the Nets withstood a late rally. The Nets led at halftime and were dominating the second half, even leading 114–99 with under five minutes to play before the Pacers scored sixteen straight points to actually take a one-point lead with 1:40 to go. Both teams kept missing shots down the line, with Rick Mount missing a quick shot after taking the rebound that saw the Nets quickly recover it and get it to Rick Barry, who scored from 14 feet out to give the Nets the lead with 27 seconds remaining. The Pacers then went down the court and missed before Barry was then fouled with little time to go. Barry made just one free throw before the Pacers got a last-second chance in the midcourt, where Mel Daniels missed a turnaround jumper that skidded off the rim that gave the Nets the victory.

The efforts of rookie George McGinnis in Game 3 led Nets coach Lou Carnesecca to call him a "champion" type of heavy-weight contender. McGinnis (nursing a jammed finger on his left hand) scored 30 points and led the game in rebounds with 20, with nine of his points being in the first five minutes of the third quarter that saw Indiana take permanent control of the lead. Rick Barry led the game in scoring for the Nets with 44 (24 in the first half), but he went 8-of-13 from the free throw line despite leading the league in the category, while his teammate John Roche went 1-of-7 from the line.

Billy Paultz took control for the Nets, scoring 18 rebounds and 30 points while Rick Barry led the way in nine assists to go with 26 points as the aggressive defense of the Nets limited the Pacers to having no scorer with more than 23 points. Ollie Taylor gave New York the lead for good with his driving shot with just eight minutes to go in the game.

The Nets took advantage of poor shooting from Indiana to lead 33–15 and rode it to a 15-point halftime lead. However, the Pacers went on a 17–4 run to narrow the deficit in a matter of under four minutes. The Nets led by four with 27 seconds to go with Rick Barry making free throws, but Billy Keller hit a three-pointer (his fourth of the game) to narrow it to one with :17 to go. The Pacers got the ball back and free throws with Freddie Lewis managing to make two of them to give Indiana the lead with nine seconds to go. The Nets saw their inbound pass go through Barry's hands as Indiana clinched the victory.

Roger Brown contributed a game-high 32 points as the Pacers rode an energetic third quarter that turned a tied game at halftime to a lead of 11 at one point. The two teams were tied at halftime because Indiana went on a 21–9 run in the last seven minutes in the first half. The Pacers led by nine with less than six minutes to go before they had to hold off the Nets narrowing it late, with Brown scoring a three-pointer to give Indiana a seven-point lead with a minute to go. Bill Melchionni tried a desperation three-pointer with time expiring that just missed the basket. The Pacers became the first ABA team to win multiple championships.

Less than a month later, a series of events led to Rick Barry never playing for the Nets again. On June 23, 1972, a United States District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction to prohibit Barry from playing for any team other than the Golden State Warriors after his contract with the Nets ended, due to a 5-year contract signed in 1969. On October 6, 1972, the Nets released Barry and he returned to the Warriors.

Three members of the Pacers eventually made the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: Mel Daniels (2012), Roger Brown (2013), George McGinnis (2017), to go along with Rick Barry for the Nets (1987) while both head coaches from the series in Lou Carnesecca (1992) and Bobby Leonard (2014) also were later inducted.

Statistical leaders

Total leaders

Points

1. Rick Barry - 554
2. John Roche - 425
3. Roger Brown - 409
4. Freddie Lewis - 383
5. Julius Erving - 366

Rebounds

1. Mel Daniels - 302
2. Billy Paultz - 288
3. George McGinnis - 227
4. Julius Erving - 224
5. Trooper Washington - 173

Assists

1. Freddie Lewis - 87
2. John Roche - 84
3. Billy Keller - 84
4. Roger Brown - 81
5. Julius Erving - 72

Minutes

1. Roger Brown - 845
2. Billy Paultz - 809
3. Freddie Lewis - 805
4. John Roche - 763
5. Rick Barry - 749

References

References

1. (April 2, 1972). "Nets Shock Colonels". Kingston Sunday Freeman.
2. (April 5, 1972). "Irving's 53 Points Ties Playoff Record In ABA". Suffolk News-Herald.
3. (April 6, 1972). "Squires Expected To Put End To Sad History of Floridians". Danville Bee.
4. (April 5, 1972). "Irving's 53 Points Ties Playoff Record In ABA". Suffolk News-Herald.
5. (April 7, 1972). "Squires Sweep Floridians". Winchester Evening Star.
6. Pluto, Terry. (1990). "Loose Balls". Simon & Schuster.
7. Bailey, Jim. (May 7, 1972). "Pacers Bury Nets, 124-103, In Championship Opener". Anderson Sunday Herald.
8. (May 10, 1972). "ABA Home Courts No Real Advantage". Kingston Daily Freeman.
9. Cronin, Don. (May 10, 1972). "Melchionni ignite NY to tie ABA title series". Anderson Herald Bulletin.
10. (May 13, 1972). "Pacers win third game behind rook McGinnis". Anderson Herald Bulletin.
11. (May 16, 1972). "Nets Square It With Pacers 110-105". Canandaigua Daily Messenger.
12. Lane, Kevin. (May 19, 1972). "Keller's bombs ignite Indiana to 3-2 margin". Anderson Herald Bulletin.
13. (May 21, 1972). "Indiana Captures ABA Championship". Anderson Sunday Herald.
14. (June 24, 1972). "Judge Orders Nets' Barry to Honor 5-Year Warriors' Pact He Signed in 1969". The New York Times.
15. "Rick Barry Returns To The Warriors". [[KRON-TV]].