1971–72 New York Knicks season explained

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.^[1] New York had acquired Earl Monroe in a trade with the Baltimore Bullets in November 1971.^[2]

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

Draft picks

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

^[9]

Regular season

Season standings

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1971–72 NBA records
width=100	Team	ATL	BAL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CIN	CLE	DET	GSW	HOU	LAL	MIL	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SEA
	—	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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		91–84	Willis Reed (20)	0–1
2	October 16		119–104	Bill Bradley (17)	0–2
3	October 17		121–120 (OT)	Willis Reed (28)	1–2
4	October 19		84–93	Bill Bradley (23)	2–2
5	October 22		110–87	Dean Meminger (25)	3–2
6	October 23		95–89	Willis Reed (25)	3–3
7	October 26		101–106	DeBusschere, Frazier (22)	4–3
8	October 27	@ Atlanta	96–110	Walt Frazier (20)	4–4
9	October 28		94–112	Barnett, DeBusschere (26)	5–4
10	October 30		108–101	Jerry Lucas (28)	5–5
11	November 3	@ Houston	117–98	Walt Frazier (31)	6–5
12	November 5		97–101	Walt Frazier (28)	6–6
13	November 7	@ Los Angeles	96–103	Jerry Lucas (20)	6–7
14	November 10		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		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		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		90–130	Walt Frazier (25)	14–11
26	December 7	Boston	105–97	Walt Frazier (25)	14–12
27	December 11		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		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

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 1| March 31| @ Baltimore| L 105–108 (OT)| Walt Frazier (31)| Jerry Lucas (14)| Walt Frazier (6)| Baltimore Civic Center
12,289| 0–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 2| April 2| Baltimore| W 110–88| Walt Frazier (30)| Dave DeBusschere (14)| Walt Frazier (9)| Madison Square Garden
19,588| 1–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 3| April 4| @ Baltimore| L 103–104| Earl Monroe (28)| Jerry Lucas (12)| Bill Bradley (5)| Baltimore Civic Center
12,289| 1–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 4| April 6| Baltimore| W 104–98| Bill Bradley (25)| Dave DeBusschere (13)| Walt Frazier (8)| Madison Square Garden
19,588| 2–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 5| April 9| @ Baltimore| W 106–82| Lucas, Monroe (20)| Jerry Lucas (16)| Jerry Lucas (6)| Baltimore Civic Center
10,244| 3–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 6| April 11| Baltimore| W 107–101| Lucas, Frazier (22)| Jerry Lucas (12)| Frazier, Monroe (5)| Madison Square Garden
19,588| 4–2|-|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 1| April 13| @ Boston| W 116–94| Walt Frazier (36)| Jerry Lucas (11)| Jerry Lucas (8)| Boston Garden
14,292| 1–0|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 2| April 16| Boston| W 106–105| Dave DeBusschere (24)| Dave DeBusschere (17)| three players tied (4)| Madison Square Garden
19,588| 2–0|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 3| April 19| @ Boston| L 109–115| Bill Bradley (29)| Dave DeBusschere (12)| Dave DeBusschere (6)| Boston Garden
15,315| 2–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 4| April 21| Boston| W 116–98| Earl Monroe (26)| Dave DeBusschere (16)| Jerry Lucas (7)| Madison Square Garden
19,588| 3–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 5| April 23| @ Boston| W 111–103| Dave DeBusschere (24)| Frazier, DeBusschere (11)| Walt Frazier (7)| Boston Garden
15,315| 4–1|-|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 1| April 26| @ Los Angeles| W 114–92| Bill Bradley (29)| Dave DeBusschere (18)| Walt Frazier (11)| The Forum
17,505| 1–0|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 2| April 30| @ Los Angeles| L 92–106| Walt Frazier (21)| Lucas, Jackson (11)| Walt Frazier (7)| The Forum
17,505| 1–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 3| May 3| Los Angeles| L 96–107| Walt Frazier (25)| Jerry Lucas (14)| Jerry Lucas (6)| Madison Square Garden
19,588| 1–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 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|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 5| May 7| @ Los Angeles| L 100–114| Walt Frazier (31)| Dave DeBusschere (14)| Walt Frazier (10)| The Forum
17,505| 1–4|-

Awards and records

• Walt Frazier, All-NBA First Team^[10]
• Walt Frazier, NBA All-Defensive First Team^[11]
• Dave DeBusschere, NBA All-Defensive First Team^[11]

Bibliography

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

External links

• Knicks on Basketball Reference
• 1972 NBA Playoff Summary

Notes and References

1. Web site: New York Knickerbockers Franchise Index . Basketball-Reference . May 24, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090427054633/http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/. April 27, 2009 . live.
2. Araton, p. 211.
3. Web site: 1971–72 New York Knickerbockers Roster and Statistics . Basketball-Reference . May 24, 2009 .
4. Web site: 1971 NBA Playoff Summary . Basketball-Reference . May 29, 2010 .
5. News: Lakers, Knicks Gain Hoop Final . Spokane Daily Chronicle . . April 24, 1972 . 15 . May 29, 2010 .
6. Araton, pp. 251–252.
7. News: Nelson . John . Road to Recovery Is Familiar to Willis Reed . Schenectady Gazette . Associated Press . March 26, 1974 . 24 . June 14, 2013 .
8. Carry . Peter . Where There's A Willis . Sports Illustrated . May 21, 1973 . September 15, 2019 .
9. Web site: 1971 NBA Draft . Basketball-Reference . June 16, 2017 .
10. Web site: 1971–72 NBA Season Summary . Basketball-Reference . May 24, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090421061803/http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1972.html. April 21, 2009 . live.
11. Web site: NBA & ABA All-Defensive Teams . Basketball-Reference . August 17, 2013.