The New York Knicks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, four games to three, in the best-of-seven NBA Finals series to conclude the 1969-70 NBA season. The Knicks won their first championship in franchise history after losing three straight title bids during the 1950s.

1970 marked a new era for the Finals, as Bill Russell's retirement meant that the Celtics dynasty was no more. New York was sitting on the longest active championship drought in the NBA. The franchise had been in existence since the very first BAA season of 1946-47. Three franchises remained from that inaugural season, and the other two -- the Warriors and Celtics -- had multiple championships under their belts. The Knicks had come up empty three times (1951, 1952 and 1953) in the franchise's 24-year existence. The 1970 Finals also marked the first Finals series played at Madison Square Garden -- in previous years, schedule conflicts with the circus meant that New York's Finals home games had to be played at the 69th Regiment Armory, capacity 5,000.

For the first time, the Knicks would have home-court advantage in the Finals by virtue of finishing with the NBA's best record. New York had defeated star rookie Lew Alcindor and the Milwaukee Bucks to earn a Finals berth. The Knicks were led by league MVP Willis Reed, who was coming off a regular season in which he averaged 21.7 points and 13.9 rebounds per game. New York boasted five players who averaged double digits, including another 20 ppg scorer in Walt Frazier.

Under first-year coach Joe Mullaney, Los Angeles had finished second to the Atlanta Hawks in the West during the regular season, but swept them in the Western Division Finals. Los Angeles was appearing in its seventh Finals in 10 seasons; the Lakers were actually 0-7 in the NBA Finals dating back to the '58-59 season, when they were still in Minneapolis. The dominance of the 1960s Celtics meant the Lakers were often stymied in their search for a championship.

The Lakers had a huge edge over the Knicks in terms of experience, with 33-year-old Wilt Chamberlain, 31-year-old Jerry West, and 35-year-old Elgin Baylor on their roster. Entering the 1970 Finals, those three seasoned veterans had a combined 357 career playoff games under their collective belt. West had just finished the regular season as the NBA's leading scorer, averaging 31.2 points per game. The availability of Chamberlain was somewhat of a surprise, as the Laker center had suffered what was thought to be a season-ending knee injury nine games into the '69-70 season. However, Chamberlain had recovered sufficiently to return for the Lakers' final three regular-season games, and the entirety of the playoffs. Entering the Finals, the Chamberlain vs. Reed matchup was considered to be the defining factor in the series.

	Lakers	Knicks
Regular Season	46-36, 2nd in Western Division	60-22, 1st in Eastern Division
Div. Semifinals	Def. Phoenix Suns, 4-3	Def. Baltimore Bullets, 4-3
Div. Finals	Def. Atlanta Hawks, 4-0	Def. Milwaukee Bucks, 4-1

The Knicks came out firing in front of 19,500 fans, in their first-ever Finals game at Madison Square Garden. New York shot 60 percent in the first quarter, making 15 of 25 field goal attempts. The Knicks went on a 15-5 run to start the second quarter, and just like that, the Lakers were down by 20, trailing 50-30.

Los Angeles' tough time in the first half was mostly due to the cold hand of Jerry West, who made only two field goals in the first half. Nevertheless, the Lakers answered with a 9-0 run, kicking off a series of runs that would see L.A. climb all the way back. A 19-2 run in the third quarter brought the Lakers back to just two down, 86-84. The Knicks actually trailed by five points with 11:05 remaining in the game.

But the Lakers only made two field goals in the next seven minutes, and the Knicks pulled away for the win on the strength of a 31-12 run to close out the game. Round 1 in the highly anticipated Willis Reed vs. Wilt Chamberlain matchup went to Reed, who led the Knicks with 37 points on 16-of-30 shooting. Instead of battling Chamberlain in the low post, Reed unexpectedly settled for midrange jumpers; Chamberlain often did not come out to guard him, and Reed continued to knock down outside shots. Reed's 16 field goals were a Knicks playoff record. He also added 16 rebounds and five assists, despite injuring his left shoulder on a first-half dunk. The Knicks also got a key contribution from Dave DeBusschere, who added 19 points and 16 boards.

For his part, Chamberlain racked up 17 points and 24 rebounds and handed out five assists. The Lakers were led in the losing effort by West, who ended up with 33 points; Elgin Baylor added 21 points and 20 rebounds.

In what would become a theme for the 1970 Finals, Willis Reed was nursing an injury entering Game 2. His shoulder was sore after he collided with Lakers forward Happy Hairston during a dunk in Game 1. Whether due to his injury or to increased defensive pressure from Wilt Chamberlain, Reed was slightly less effective in Game 2.

As a result, the game was a lot closer. The teams were tied at the end of the half and tied after three quarters. They were even with 1:01 left after a Walt Frazier field goal brought the score to 103-all.With 46 seconds to play, Jerry West was fouled by Knicks swingman Mike Riordan; West hit his two free throws to make the score 105-103. The Knicks got the ball back with 22 seconds left, and had three opportunities to tie the game. Reed had a shot blocked by Wilt Chamberlain. Walt Frazier grabbed the rebound and it ended up in the hands of Dave DeBusschere, who also missed. The Lakers gained possession with 18 seconds left after a three-second call on New York. But rather than hold the ball, Los Angeles guard Dick Garrett chose to fire a pass that was stolen by Willis Reed. The ball ended up in the hands of New York's Dick Barnett with three seconds left, but his shot was short and the Lakers escaped with the win.

West led the Lakers once again, posting 34 points; Chamberlain racked up 19 points and 24 rebounds. Despite Chamberlain's contribution, the Lakers were actually outrebounded by the Knicks, 59-46. Reed finished the game with 29 points and 15 rebounds but was less effective from the field, going 12 for 29. The Lakers had stolen New York's home-court advantage, and the series was on its way to Los Angeles.

Game 3 of the 1970 Finals is remembered not for who won, but rather for a single shot -- by a player on the losing team. Jerry West's desperation backcourt heave is widely considered to be one of the greatest shots in NBA history.

Early in the game, it looked as if the Knicks would go down quietly. The Lakers built up a 14-point halftime lead on the strength of a big game from Wilt Chamberlain, who finished with 21 points and 26 rebounds. Chamberlain even made the majority of his free throws in the game (7-of-10), a rarity for the Lakers' center.

The Knicks rallied, however, and went ahead late in the game. New York's Dave DeBusschere made a 17-foot jumper to put the Knicks up 102-100 with three seconds left. Los Angeles was out of timeouts, so any attempt at a tie seemed impossible. Chamberlain inbounded the ball to Jerry West, who threw up a last-second one-handed Hail Mary shot from nearly 60 feet out. Improbably, the ball went in. If the 3-point shot had been instituted in the NBA, the shot would have given the Lakers the win. Wilt Chamberlain actually left the court, thinking the shot counted for three -- which it would have in the NBA's rival league, the ABA. But in 1970, the NBA gave no extra points for difficulty, so Chamberlain was called back and the game went to overtime tied at 102.

Los Angeles didn't have a lot left for overtime -- three players (Elgin Baylor, Happy Hairston, and Dick Garrett) had five fouls entering the extra period, and the Lakers' stars, West and Chamberlain, had played every minute of regulation. DeBusschere scored four straight points in overtime; he finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Willis Reed added a late 3-point play to bring his total for the game to 38 points. New York guard Dick Barnett closed out the scoring with a basket with four seconds left, and the Knicks took a game back in L.A.

West finished with game with 34 points, but none more memorable than the two he scored from the backcourt.

When the NBA compilied its list of the 60 Greatest Playoff Moments to coincide with the league's 60th anniversary, West's shot was ranked No. 7 on the list.

Despite his heroics, it turned out that Los Angeles' Jerry West had severely jammed his left thumb during Game 3. After undergoing nearly 48 hours of continuous medical treatment, he entered Game 4 listed as "doubtful." Knicks star Willis Reed had another injury of his own to contend with, as he was kicked in the knee at some point during Game 3 and suffered swelling. Both injured All-Stars had to battle it out in a second straight overtime game.

New York came out hot, making nine of its first 11 field goals. The Knicks were led early on by Dick Barnett, who made six of his seven shots in the first quarter, including 5 in a row. Barnett would lead New York with 29 points in the game. Despite the hot start, the Lakers surged ahead when the Knicks' shooting cooled off in the second quarter. New York found itself trailing at the half, 54-47. Los Angeles built its lead up to 11 points in the third quarter before going through its own cold spell, scoring only three points over the next five minutes. Barnett finally tied the game at 79 with 7:42 remaining. The game went back and forth over the waning minutes of regulation. Walt Frazier put the Knicks ahead with a couple of free throws with 34 seconds remaining, but Elgin Baylor responded by making two free throws of his own 11 seconds later. The Knicks held the ball for the final shot, but Frazier's shot fell short at the buzzer and the game went to overtime tied at 99.

This time, it was the Knicks who were facing foul trouble -- stars Dave DeBusschere and Bill Bradley fouled out in the extra frame. It wasn't the L.A. stars who sealed the win for the Lakers in OT; it was little-used backup forward John Tresvant, who hadn't even played in the first three games. Tresvant made the most of his opportunity to play in overtime, posting 3 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in the extra period. With Tresvant sparking the offense, the Lakers went on an 8-0 run to pull away for the win.

By game's end, West had gone from being listed as "doubtful" with a bad thumb to playing his best game of the series, logging 52 minutes and racking up 37 points and 18 assists. Elgin Baylor added 30 points and 13 boards. Wilt Chamberlain contributed 18 points and 25 rebounds, helping L.A. outrebound New York 66-51 in the game. Meanwhile, Reed was slowed by his injury, ending up with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Before Game 5, Willis Reed was still feeling the effects of a left knee injury aggravated during Game 3. Reed originally injured the knee in November of 1969, and the pain was exacerbated after the same knee was kicked during the Finals. Reed received frequent cortisone injections to dull the pain, and between Games 4 and 5 he underwent sound therapy and whirlpool baths.

The Lakers also had injury concerns; elder statesman Elgin Baylor was listed as doubtful after pulling a groin muscle in practice the day before the game. With the series switching back to New York, the teams had an extra day off between games; both hoped the rest would do their injured players good.

This time, it was the Lakers who got off to a strong start, hitting 12 of their first 15 field-goal attempts. Los Angeles quickly built up a 25-15 lead in the first eight minutes. Then, the Knicks' worst fears were realized. Willis Reed, already slowed by his knee injury, collided with Wilt Chamberlain on a drive to the basket and tripped. Reed lay on the floor as play continued the other way, but went to the locker room eight seconds later. It turned out that Reed had severely damaged the tensor muscle in his upper right leg, near his hip.

Without Reed on the court, it seemed all but impossible to counteract Wilt Chamberlain and make up the deficit. Knicks coach Red Holzman first replaced Reed with backup center Nate Bowman, and then tried forward Bill Hosket, who had not seen a minute of action in the playoffs to that point. The replacements proved to be ineffective in containing Chamberlain, and the Knicks went into the half trailing Los Angeles by 13.

In the second half, Holzman made radical adjustments on both sides of the ball. The Knicks switched to a 3-2 zone offense, with Bill Bradley, Cazzie Russell and Dave DeBusschere in the low post. It was a move that forced Chamberlain to come out from under the basket, as there was no true center in the formation. On the other side of the ball, New York applied a frantic zone-pressure defense, harassing the Lakers at every turn. The Knicks' trio of frontcourt players continuously denied Chamberlain the ball, and the Laker center only managed three field goals after halftime. He finished the game with 22 points and 19 rebounds.

The Knicks forced Los Angeles into 19 turnovers in the second half, and 30 in the game overall. Jerry West was held to just four points on two field goals after scoring 16 in the first. The Lakers still led entering the fourth quarter, 82-75, but that edge didn't last very long. Cazzie Russell led the Knicks on a fourth-quarter run, making five field goals in the period. Dave Stallworth drained a hook shot to give the Knicks a seven-point lead with just over two minutes remaining, and one of the most improbable comebacks in Knicks history was complete.

When the dust settled, the Knicks had held Jerry West to just 20 points, a feat that Holzman compared to "holding a regular human being scoreless" in the next morning's New York Times. New York was one victory away from its first-ever NBA title, but the fact remained that it looked as if the Knicks would be without Willis Reed for the foreseeable future.

Willis Reed accompanied the Knicks back to Los Angeles for Game 6, but it turned out to be just a formality. Reed had added a severely strained hip to his already painful knees, and despite the Knicks' trying every treatment under the sun, he would be unable to play in Game 6. The decision was left right up until game time; Reed's teammates took the floor not knowing whether he would play. Ultimately, New York decided to give Reed an extra 48 hours to rest in case of a Game 7.

With no Reed in the lineup, Wilt Chamberlain was unleashed for a monster game. Chamberlain recorded 45 points and 27 rebounds in a game that was never in question. Knicks coach Red Holzman again deployed Nate Bowman and Bill Hosket against Chamberlain, but to no avail. The Lakers outscored the Knicks 36-16 in the first quarter, and Los Angeles guard Dick Garrett went 7-for-7 from the field in the period.

The harassing pressure defense that had worked so well for the Knicks in Game 5 was looked upon less kindly by the Game 6 refs, and New York racked up 10 personal fouls in the first quarter. New York never recovered from its 20-point hole at the end of the first, and despite getting 25 points from Dave DeBusschere, fell in Game 6.

Lakers star Jerry West rebounded from his subpar 20-point effort in Game 5 to score 33 points and hand out 13 assists. The Knicks lost DeBusschere in the closing minutes to a blistered heel, but it didn't matter at that point. The series was tied at 3-all and headed back to Madison Square Garden for a decisive Game 7.

Game 7 of the 1970 Finals went down as one of the greatest games in Knicks franchise history. Entering the game, Willis Reed had been given a "50-50" chance of being able to play. As in Game 6, Reed's fellow Knicks had no idea whether he would play, right up until game time. Reed suffered through multiple pain-killing injections throughout the day of Game 7, and his status was still unclear after a pregame examination. Reportedly, teammates Dave DeBusschere and Bill Bradley convinced Reed to give them just one half of basketball.

And so Willis Reed limped out onto the court for pregame warmups, sending the 19,500 fans in attendance into a frenzy of excitement. The Lakers even stopped warming up to watch Reed gingerly make his way onto the floor. Bill Bradley would later be quoted as saying, "When Willis Reed stepped onto the court, it gave us a 10-foot lift just to have him."

Reed made the first two field goals of the game, and Madison Square Garden went crazy. The resulting roar gave the Knicks a spark that they would carry throughout the contest. As it turned out, those would be the only two shots that Reed would make in the game, but he also made a big contribution on the defensive end. Despite his limited mobility, Reed was instrumental in holding Wilt Chamberlain to just 21 points and 10 field goals.

Inspired by Reed's effort, his teammates put forth one of their best games of the season. Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley and Dave DeBusschere combined to make 15 of their first 21 field goal attempts. For his part, Frazier accounted for 15 points in the first quarter and 24 points in the first half. The Knicks jumped out to a 38-24 lead after one quarter and never looked back, building the lead to 27 points by halftime. Reed left the court to a standing ovation with 3:04 remaining in the first half, but at that point his team held a 24-point lead.

Jerry West, who had received painkilling injections in his hands before the game, led the Lakers with 28 points but couldn't overcome the emotion of the Knicks as they coasted to a championship. Frazier led New York with 36 points and 19 assists, and DeBusschere added 18 points and 17 rebounds.

It was Reed's brief but inspirational comeback, however, that would define the 1970 Finals in the minds of Knicks fans. Reed was named the 1970 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player; as the winner, he received a new car. More important, the Knicks won their first title in the 24 years of their franchise's existence. New York head coach Red Holzman eschewed the postgame champagne celebration, preferring to celebrate with beer instead.

Meanwhile, the Lakers came up short once again, losing their eighth straight Finals bid. Jerry West, now 0-7 in his Finals career, described his team's defensive effort as "terrible" in postgame interviews. Los Angeles coach Joe Mullaney was so impressed with the Knicks roster that he opined to The New York Times, "This may be the start of a dynasty." Ironically, the Lakers would put together a dynasty before the Knicks did; New York would garner only one more championship during the '70s, and beyond that, it wouldn't make another Finals appearance until 1994.

When the NBA compilied its list of the 60 Greatest Playoff Moments to coincide with the league's 60th anniversary, this game was ranked No. 3 on the list.