1951 NBA Playoffs

The 1951 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1950-51 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division champion Rochester Royals defeating the Eastern Division champion New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

The Rochester Royals (currently the Sacramento Kings) had appeared in the NBL Finals all 3 years they had been in the league, winning 1 title. Their 1951 NBA title was the first (and so far, only) time the franchise made it to the NBA Finals, let alone win the title.

New York made the first trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history; it was the first of 3 straight appearances in the NBA Finals. They had to wait until 1970 for their first NBA title, however.

The Boston Celtics returned after a 3-year absence; they would not fail to make it again until 1970, after they had won 11 NBA titles in a 13-year stretch.

Bracket

Western Division

Champion: Rochester Royals

Division Semifinals

(1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (4) Indianapolis Olympians: Lakers win series 2-1

• Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 95, Indianapolis 81
• Game 2 @ Indianapolis: Indianapolis 108, Minneapolis 88
• Game 3 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 85, Indianapolis 80

(2) Rochester Royals vs. (3) Fort Wayne Pistons: Royals win series 2-1

• Game 1 @ Rochester: Rochester 110, Fort Wayne 81
• Game 2 @ Fort Wayne: Fort Wayne 83, Rochester 78
• Game 3 @ Rochester: Rochester 97, Fort Wayne 78

Division Finals

(1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (2) Rochester Royals: Royals win series 3-1

• Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 76, Rochester 73
• Game 2 @ Minneapolis: Rochester 70, Minneapolis 66
• Game 3 @ Rochester: Rochester 83, Minneapolis 70
• Game 3 @ Rochester: Rochester 80, Minneapolis 75

Eastern Division

Champion: New York Knicks

Division Semifinals

(1) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (4) Syracuse Nationals: Nationals win series 2-0

• Game 1 @ Philadelphia: Syracuse 91, Philadelphia 89 (OT)
• Game 2 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 90, Philadelphia 78

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) New York Knicks: Knicks win series 2-0

• Game 1 @ Boston: New York 83, Boston 69
• Game 2 @ New York: New York 92, Boston 78

Division Finals

(3) New York Knicks vs. (4) Syracuse Nationals: Knicks win series 3-2

• Game 1 @ New York: New York 103, Syracuse 92
• Game 2 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 102, New York 80
• Game 3 @ New York: New York 77, Syracuse 75 (OT)
• Game 4 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 90, New York 83
• Game 5 @ New York: New York 83, Syracuse 81

NBA Finals

(2) Rochester Royals vs. (3) New York Knicks: Royals win series 4-3

• Game 1 @ Rochester: Rochester 92, New York 65
• Game 2 @ Rochester: Rochester 99, New York 84
• Game 3 @ New York: Rochester 78, New York 71
• Game 4 @ New York: New York 79, Rochester 73
• Game 5 @ Rochester: New York 92, Rochester 89
• Game 6 @ New York: New York 80, Rochester 73
• Game 7 @ Rochester: Rochester 79, New York 75

External links

• Basketball-Reference.com's 1951 NBA Playoffs page