The 1974 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1973-74 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks, four games to three in the NBA Finals. It was the Celtics' 12th NBA Championship, and the very first one accomplished in the post-Bill Russell era. John Havlicek of the Celtics was named NBA Finals MVP. An injury to Bucks' starting guard Lucius Allen was a key factor in the finals.
Using the revised playoff format adopted in 1973, two third-place teams (Buffalo in the East, Detroit in the West) qualified for the playoffs, while the second-place finishers in the Central (Atlanta) and Pacific (Golden State) divisions did not qualify. Also, since the top three Western qualifiers were in the Midwest Division, the two divisional champions in the Western Conference (Milwaukee and Los Angeles) played in the conference semifinals.
With a 4-3 series victory over the Detroit Pistons in the first round, the Chicago Bulls earned their first playoff series victory. In their first eight years of existence, the Bulls made the playoffs seven times.
As a matter of historical curiosity, three of the four teams in the 1974 Western Conference bracket (Milwaukee, Detroit and Chicago) now reside in the Eastern Conference.
This was the only appearance of the Capital Bullets in the playoffs under that moniker; the Bullets assumed the "Capital" name for only one year before changing to the Washington Bullets the following season. The 1974 playoffs also marked the playoff debut of the Buffalo Braves, who had joined the league in the 1970-71 season.
For the first time in NBA/BAA history (dating back to 1947), neither the Lakers (of Minnesota then Los Angeles) or the Warriors (of Philadelphia then San Francisco and Golden State) participated in a conference (or division prior to 1971) finals series.
Contents |
| Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | Milwaukee | 4 | |||||||||||
| 4 | L.A. Lakers | 1 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Milwaukee | 4 | |||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 0 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Detroit | 3 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Milwaukee | 3 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Buffalo | 2 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||
| 2 | New York | 1 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Capital | 3 | |||||||||||
| 2 | New York | 4 | |||||||||||
Champion: Milwaukee Bucks
Conference Semifinals
Bucks win series 4-1
Bulls win series 4-3
Conference Finals
Bucks win series 4-0
Champion: Boston Celtics
Conference Semifinals
Boston win series 4-2
Knicks win series 4-3
Conference Finals
Celtics win series 4-1
(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (1) Boston Celtics: Celtics win series 4-3
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