1971 ABA Playoffs
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 2 – May 18, 1971 |
| Season | 1970–71 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Utah Stars (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Kentucky Colonels |
| Semifinalists | |
The 1971 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1970-1971 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Utah Stars defeating the Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels, four games to three in the ABA finals.
Notable events
[edit]There was a one-game playoff for fourth place in the Western Division because the Texas Chaparrals and Denver Rockets had tied with regular season records of 30–54. The game was played on April 1 and the Chaparrals won 115–109.
This was the first season in ABA history in which the team with the best regular season record did not win the ABA championship. The Indiana Pacers had the league's best record during this season at 58–26 (.690), putting them one game ahead of the eventual league champion Utah Stars in the Western Division.
This was the first season in ABA history in which neither regular season division champion made it to the ABA finals. The second place Utah Stars represented the West while the Kentucky Colonels, second place in the East behind the Virginia Squires, met them in the finals.
Game 3 of the Eastern Finals saw 287 total points scored. This was the most points scored in any ABA playoff game, and would be the most points scored in a playoff game in either the NBA or ABA until 1992.
13,260 fans attended Game Seven of the ABA championship series between the Utah Stars and Kentucky Colonels at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah on May 18, 1971. After the Stars won 131-121 the fans stormed the floor and mobbed the court for twenty minutes. Willie Wise and Zelmo Beaty rode off the floor carried upon the shoulders of Utah fans.[1]
Zelmo Beaty was named Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs.
Bracket
[edit]| Division semifinals | Division finals | ABA finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Indiana Pacers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Memphis Pros | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Indiana Pacers | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Utah Stars | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Texas Chaparrals | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Utah Stars | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Utah Stars | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Kentucky Colonels | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Virginia Squires | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | New York Nets | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Virginia Squires | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Kentucky Colonels | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | The Floridians | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Kentucky Colonels | 4 | ||||||||||||
Western Division
[edit]Champion: Utah Stars
Division Semifinals
(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (3) Memphis Pros: Pacers win series 4-0
- Game 1 @ Indiana: Indiana 114, Memphis 98
- Game 2 @ Indiana: Indiana 106, Memphis 104
- Game 3 @ Memphis: Indiana 91, Memphis 90
- Game 4 @ Memphis: Indiana 102, Memphis 101 (OT)
(2) Utah Stars vs. (4) Texas Chaparrals: Stars win series 4-0
- Game 1 @ Utah: Utah 125, Texas 115
- Game 2 @ Utah: Utah 137, Texas 107
- Game 3 @ Texas: Utah 113, Texas 101
- Game 4 @ Texas: Utah 128, Texas 107
Division Finals
(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (2) Utah Stars: Stars win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ Indiana: Utah 120, Indiana 118
- Game 2 @ Indiana: Indiana 120, Utah 107
- Game 3 @ Utah: Utah 121, Indiana 108
- Game 4 @ Utah: Utah 126, Indiana 99
- Game 5 @ Indiana: Indiana 127, Utah 109
- Game 6 @ Utah: Indiana 105, Utah 102
- Game 7 @ Indiana: Utah 108, Indiana 101
Eastern Division
[edit]Champion: Kentucky Colonels
Division Semifinals
(1) Virginia Squires vs. (3) New York Nets: Squires win series 4-2
- Game 1 @ Virginia: Virginia 113, New York 105
- Game 2 @ Virginia: Virginia 114, New York 108
- Game 3 @ New York: New York 135, Virginia 131
- Game 4 @ New York: New York 130, Virginia 127
- Game 5 @ Virginia: Virginia 127, New York 124
- Game 6 @ New York: Virginia 118, New York 114
(2) Kentucky Colonels vs. (4) The Floridians: Colonels win series 4-2
- Game 1 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 116, Florida 112
- Game 2 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 120, Florida 110
- Game 3 @ Florida: Florida 120, Kentucky 102
- Game 4 @ Florida: Florida 129, Kentucky 117
- Game 5 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 118, Florida 101
- Game 6 @ Florida: Kentucky 112, Florida 103
Division Finals
(1) Virginia Squires vs. (2) Kentucky Colonels: Colonels win series 4-2
- Game 1 @ Virginia: Kentucky 136, Virginia 132
- Game 2 @ Virginia: Virginia 142, Kentucky 122
- Game 3 @ Kentucky: Virginia 150, Kentucky 137
- Game 4 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 128, Virginia 110
- Game 5 @ Virginia: Kentucky 117, Virginia 105
- Game 6 @ Kentucky: Kentucky 129, Virginia 117
ABA Finals: (2) Utah Stars vs. (2) Kentucky Colonels
[edit]May 3
|
| Kentucky Colonels 117, Utah Stars 136 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–26, 25–50, 33–25, 24–35 | ||
| Pts: Darel Carrier 36 Rebs: Cincy Powell 11 Asts: Jim Ligon 6 |
Pts: Beaty, Stone 26 each Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 16 Asts: Mervin Jackson 9 | |
| Utah leads series, 1–0 | ||
May 5
|
| Kentucky Colonels 125, Utah Stars 138 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–37, 34–28, 29–32, 34–41 | ||
| Pts: Dan Issel 40 Rebs: Dan Issel 11 Asts: Dampier, Hunter 6 each |
Pts: Zelmo Beaty 40 Rebs: Willie Wise 24 Asts: Wise, Jackson 8 ach | |
| Utah leads series, 2–0 | ||
May 7
|
| Utah Stars 110, Kentucky Colonels 116 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–30, 28–25, 26–28, 29–33 | ||
| Pts: Willie Wise 29 Rebs: Willie Wise 17 Asts: Willie Wise 5 |
Pts: Darel Carrier 25 Rebs: Issel, Powell, Ligon 17 each Asts: Louie Dampier 11 | |
| Utah leads series, 2–1 | ||
May 8
|
| Utah Stars 125, Kentucky Colonels 129 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–35, 30–32, 31–30, 34–22, Overtime: 6–10 | ||
| Pts: Willie Wise 34 Rebs: Willie Wise 17 Asts: Ron Boone 8 |
Pts: Louie Dampier 33 Rebs: Jim Ligon 17 Asts: Darel Carrier 6 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
May 12
|
| Kentucky Colonels 127, Utah Stars 137 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–34, 31–41, 32–29, 39–33 | ||
| Pts: Dan Issel 33 Rebs: Issel, Powell 16 each Asts: Louie Dampier 11 |
Pts: Zelmo Beaty 32 Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 22 Asts: Glen Combs 8 | |
| Utah lead series 3–2 | ||
May 15
|
| Utah Stars 102, Kentucky Colonels 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–31, 25–27, 34–23, 19–24 | ||
| Pts: Willie Wise 34 Rebs: Zelmo Beaty 16 Asts: Mervin Jackson 4 |
Pts: Cincy Powell 31 Rebs: Cincy Powell 17 Asts: Louie Dampier 10 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
May 18
|
| Kentucky Colonels 127, Utah Stars 131 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–28, 22–33, 36–37, 31–33 | ||
| Pts: Dan Issel 41 Rebs: Cincy Powell 20 Asts: Louie Dampier 14 |
Pts: Zelmo Beaty 36 Rebs: Willie Wise 20 Asts: Mervin Jackson 7 | |
| Utah wins series 4–3 | ||
Two members of the Stars would eventually be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: Zelmo Beaty (2016) and head coach Bill Sharman (2004). This was the last game coached by Sharman with the Stars, as he elected to resign to coach the Los Angeles Lakers. He was replaced by LaDell Andersen. Frank Ramsey was not retained by Kentucky, who hired Joe Mullaney in the offseason.
Celebration spilled out of the 10,000-seat Salt Palace and into the streets of the state capital for jubilant Stars fans. It was the first professional sports championship for the state of Utah and the only one until MLS Cup 2009.[2]
Statistical leaders
[edit]| Category | Total | Average | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Total | Player | Team | Avg. | Games played | |
| Points | Dan Issel | Kentucky Colonels | 534 | Rick Barry | New York Nets | 33.7 | 6 |
| Rebounds | Zelmo Beaty | Utah Stars | 263 | Mel Daniels | Indiana Pacers | 19.2 | 11 |
| Assists | Louie Dampier | Kentucky Colonels | 179 | Louie Dampier | Kentucky Colonels | 9.4 | 19 |
Total leaders
[edit]|
Points
Rebounds
|
Assists
Minutes
|