1950–51 New York Knicks season

The 1950–51 New York Knicks season was the fifth season for the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the regular season, the Knicks finished in third place in the Eastern Division, and their 36–30 record gave them a berth in the NBA Playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.[1]

1950–51 New York Knicks season
Head coachJoe Lapchick
General managerNed Irish
ArenaMadison Square Garden
Results
Record36–30 (.545)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(lost to Royals 3–4)

Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWPIX
RadioWMGM
< 1949–50 1951–52 >

New York faced the Boston Celtics in the first round of the Eastern Division playoffs, and won the best-of-three series 2–0 to advance to the division finals. In that series, the Knicks defeated the Syracuse Nationals 3–2 in a best-of-five series, earning the franchise's first trip to the NBA Finals. The Rochester Royals faced the Knicks in the Finals, and won the first three games of the best-of-seven series. New York won the next three games to even up the series, but Rochester won the seventh game by a score of 79–75.[2]

NBA draft

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Note: This is not an extensive list; it only covers the first and second rounds, and any other players picked by the franchise that played at least one game in the league.[3]

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 6 Irwin Dambrot F   United States CCNY
2 18 Herb Scherer C   United States Long Island

Roster

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New York Knicks 1950–51 roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. From
SF 12 Boryla, Vince 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Denver
PF 19 Clifton, Nathaniel 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Xavier (LA)
C Ellefson, Ray 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) West Texas A&M
F/C 11 Gallatin, Harry 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Truman State
F 14 James, Gene 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Marshall
SF 17 Kaftan, George 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Holy Cross
F 6, 16 Lavelli, Tony 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Yale
G 7 Lumpp, Ray 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) NYU
PG 15 McGuire, Dick 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) St. John's
G/F 10 Ritter, Tex 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Eastern Kentucky
F/C 18 Simmons, Connie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 222 lb (101 kg)
G/F 9 Vandeweghe, Ernie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Colgate
SG 5 Zaslofsky, Max 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) St. John's
Head coach

Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  •   Injured

Regular season

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Season standings

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W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Philadelphia Warriors 40 26 .606 28–4 11–21 1–1 22–14
x-Boston Celtics 39 30 .565 1 25–5 10–23 4–2 21–19
x-New York Knicks 36 30 .545 4 22–5 10–25 4–0 21–15
x-Syracuse Nationals 32 34 .485 8 23–10 9–24 19–17
Baltimore Bullets 24 42 .364 16 20–12 4–24 0–6 12–24
Washington Capitols 10 25 .286 30 7–12 3–12 0–1 6–12
x = clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

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1950–51 NBA records
Team BAL BOS FWP IND MIN NYK PHI ROC SYR TCB WAS
Baltimore 3–6 4–2 2–4 2–4 2–5 3–6 1–5 3–5 3–3 1–2
Boston 6–3 5–1 4–1 3–3 4–4 4–4 2–4 2–5 4–2 4–3
Fort Wayne 2–4 1–5 5–3 5–3 2–4 3–3 3–5 3–3 5–5 3–1
Indianapolis 4–2 1–4 3–5 3–7 5–1 1–5 5–4 3–3 4–4 2–2
Minneapolis 4–2 3–3 3–5 7–3 3–3 4–2 4–4 4–2 10–0 2–0
New York 5–2 4–4 4–2 1–5 3–3 5–3 3–3 5–5 4–2 2–1
Philadelphia 6–3 4–4 3–3 5–1 2–4 3–5 4–2 6–2 4–2 3–0
Rochester 5–3 5–2 3–3 3–3 2–4 5–5 2–6 4–2 5–3 5–0
Syracuse 5–3 5–2 3–3 3–3 2–4 5–5 2–6 2–4 3–3 2–0
Tri-Cities 3–3 2–4 5–5 4–4 0–10 2–4 2–4 3–5 3–3 1–1
Washington 2–1 3–4 1–3 2–2 0–2 1–2 0–3 0–5 0–2 1–1

Game log

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1950–51 game log
# Date Opponent Score High points Record
1 November 4 at Tri-Cities 76–87 Max Zaslofsky (17) 0–1
2 November 5 at Tri-Cities 95–98 (OT) Vince Boryla (35) 0–2
3 November 7 at Indianapolis 73–86 Vince Boryla (18) 0–3
4 November 9 Indianapolis 73–85 Ernie Vandeweghe (14) 0–4
5 November 11 Syracuse 74–72 (OT) Vince Boryla (19) 1–4
6 November 14 at Washington 92–87 Vince Boryla (21) 2–4
7 November 16 Minneapolis 71–69 Vince Boryla (25) 3–4
8 November 18 Philadelphia 93–87 Max Zaslofsky (21) 4–4
9 November 19 at Syracuse 83–96 Vince Boryla (22) 4–5
10 November 21 Boston 83–89 Max Zaslofsky (17) 4–6
11 November 22 at Baltimore 87–73 Vince Boryla (21) 5–6
12 November 23 Washington 109–78 Max Zaslofsky (20) 6–6
13 November 26 at Boston 90–93 (2OT) Max Zaslofsky (17) 6–7
14 November 28 Syracuse 108–84 Max Zaslofsky (17) 7–7
15 November 30 Rochester 79–74 Harry Gallatin (13) 8–7
16 December 3 at Tri-Cities 100–92 Vince Boryla (27) 9–7
17 December 5 at Indianapolis 89–95 Nathaniel Clifton (16) 9–8
18 December 6 at Minneapolis 62–84 Max Zaslofsky (15) 9–9
19 December 9 at Washington 84–91 Ray Lumpp (18) 9–10
20 December 10 Indianapolis 106–84 Harry Gallatin (25) 10–10
21 December 12 at Philadelphia 91–101 Vince Boryla (26) 10–11
22 December 16 Fort Wayne 86–77 Vince Boryla (19) 11–11
23 December 17 at Syracuse 86–95 Nathaniel Clifton (20) 11–12
24 December 19 vs Boston 86–80 Vince Boryla (23) 12–12
25 December 23 Philadelphia 83–79 (2OT) Boryla, Zaslofsky (15) 13–12
26 December 25 at Philadelphia 86–84 (OT) Harry Gallatin (25) 14–12
27 December 27 at Philadelphia 79–74 Vince Boryla (18) 15–12
28 December 30 Boston 77–60 Vince Boryla (20) 16–12
29 December 31 at Boston 90–100 Max Zaslofsky (19) 16–13
30 January 1 at Rochester 88–91 (OT) Connie Simmons (20) 16–14
31 January 6 Syracuse 85–87 (OT) Max Zaslofsky (22) 16–15
32 January 7 at Fort Wayne 79–76 Boryla, Lavelli (14) 17–15
33 January 8 vs Fort Wayne 75–70 (OT) Harry Gallatin (17) 18–15
34 January 10 at Minneapolis 65–70 Vince Boryla (17) 18–16
35 January 13 Baltimore 92–79 Harry Gallatin (20) 19–16
36 January 14 at Baltimore 91–93 (2OT) Harry Gallatin (25) 19–17
37 January 18 Minneapolis 95–78 Vince Boryla (30) 20–17
38 January 21 Rochester 88–83 (OT) Max Zaslofsky (27) 21–17
39 January 23 at Rochester 92–102 (4OT) Vince Boryla (24) 21–18
40 January 24 Tri-Cities 95–85 Max Zaslofsky (22) 22–18
41 January 27 Boston 76–75 Max Zaslofsky (15) 23–18
42 January 31 Baltimore 89–77 Harry Gallatin (23) 24–18
43 February 1 at Syracuse 93–90 Boryla, Gallatin (21) 25–18
44 February 3 at Baltimore 83–72 Harry Gallatin (19) 26–18
45 February 4 Indianapolis 83–105 Boryla, Gallatin (17) 26–19
46 February 6 vs Baltimore 91–82 Harry Gallatin (29) 27–19
47 February 8 at Syracuse 83–96 Harry Gallatin (13) 27–20
48 February 10 Fort Wayne 73–62 Vince Boryla (18) 28–20
49 February 11 at Fort Wayne 96–120 Connie Simmons (21) 28–21
50 February 14 Rochester 81–65 Max Zaslofsky (17) 29–21
51 February 15 at Philadelphia 98–93 Harry Gallatin (22) 30–21
52 February 17 Syracuse 88–75 Max Zaslofsky (13) 31–21
53 February 21 at Boston 85–87 (OT) Dick McGuire (16) 31–22
54 February 22 Tri-Cities 94–90 Connie Simmons (24) 32–22
55 February 24 Philadelphia 64–70 Clifton, Gallatin (13) 32–23
56 February 25 at Syracuse 93–98 Vince Boryla (21) 32–24
57 February 27 at Rochester 90–100 Max Zaslofsky (18) 32–25
58 March 1 at Boston 84–78 Max Zaslofsky (18) 33–25
59 March 3 Syracuse 97–78 Max Zaslofsky (22) 34–25
60 March 4 at Fort Wayne 98–105 Vince Boryla (29) 34–26
61 March 6 at Philadelphia 76–96 Vince Boryla (19) 34–27
62 March 8 Minneapolis 97–94 (OT) Vince Boryla (18) 35–27
63 March 11 at Baltimore 89–112 Max Zaslofsky (18) 35–28
64 March 14 at Tri-Cities 92–91 Harry Gallatin (24) 36–28
65 March 15 at Indianapolis 70–74 Gallatin, Zaslofsky (14) 36–29
66 March 18 at Minneapolis 68–86 George Kaftan (16) 36–30

Playoffs

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1951 playoff game log
Division semifinals: 2–0 (home: 1–0; road: 1–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High assists Location Series
1 March 20 @ Boston W 83–69 Vince Boryla (20) Boston Garden 1–0
2 March 22 Boston W 92–78 Max Zaslofsky (27) Dick McGuire (9) Madison Square Garden III 2–0
Division finals: 3–2 (home: 3–0; road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High assists Location Series
1 March 28 Syracuse W 103–92 Vince Boryla (30) Dick McGuire (13) Madison Square Garden III 1–0
2 March 29 @ Syracuse L 80–102 Ray Lumpp (16) Vandeweghe, McGuire (5) State Fair Coliseum 1–1
3 March 31 Syracuse W 77–75 (OT) Harry Gallatin (18) Madison Square Garden III 2–1
4 April 1 @ Syracuse L 83–90 Max Zaslofsky (20) Dick McGuire (9) State Fair Coliseum 2–2
5 April 4 Syracuse W 83–81 Vince Boryla (23) Ernie Vandeweghe (5) Madison Square Garden III 3–2
NBA Finals: 3–4 (home: 2–1; road: 1–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Series
1 April 7 @ Rochester L 65–92 Vince Boryla (13) Simmons, Clifton (10) Ernie Vandeweghe (4) Edgerton Park Arena
4,200
0–1
2 April 8 @ Rochester L 84–99 Max Zaslofsky (28) Harry Gallatin (17) Vince Boryla (7) Edgerton Park Arena
4,200
0–2
3 April 11 Rochester L 71–78 Vince Boryla (20) Nat Clifton (11) Dick McGuire (7) 69th Regiment Armory
5,000
0–3
4 April 13 Rochester W 79–73 Harry Gallatin (22) Nat Clifton (17) Zaslofsky, Clifton (6) 69th Regiment Armory
4,000
1–3
5 April 15 @ Rochester W 92–89 Connie Simmons (26) Nat Clifton (10) Nat Clifton (7) Edgerton Park Arena
4,200
2–3
6 April 18 Rochester W 80–73 Max Zaslofsky (23) Ernie Vandeweghe (8) Dick McGuire (6) 69th Regiment Armory
4,500
3–3
7 April 21 @ Rochester L 75–79 Zaslofsky, Boryla (16) Harry Gallatin (10) Ernie Vandeweghe (5) Edgerton Park Arena
4,200
3–4
1951 schedule

Player statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Season

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Playoffs

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Awards and records

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "New York Knickerbockers Franchise Index". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  2. ^ "1951 NBA Playoff Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  3. ^ "1950 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  4. ^ "All-NBA & All-ABA Teams". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
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