the Lakers were winning by 15 before Willis Reed got hurt,the Knicks went on the run after Willis Reed got hurt, had he not gotten hurt,they probably wouldve lost this game
jfrank -- thanks for the trip down memory lane. For those of us around at the time, those were very precious years. Jim Gordon, Bill Chatwick, Marv (before the kinky sex stories). And Clyde was always an excellent rebounder for a guard.
@giles422 that would be GREAT! as difficult as this might be to believe in today's cable/satellite world, but back then you couldn't see home games. EVER. even the nba finals! even game 7 they tape delayed on abc until midnight in the ny metropolitan area. so we all knew the result of the game before we watched it.
what the knicks had over every other team of the time is that they had 7 unbelievable outside shooters. a ferocious defense, and they are one of the smartest teams of all time. bradley and frazier back doored EVERYONE. frazier looked so cooled and detached and yet he made the right play almost every time. offense & defense. and debusschere was so underated. an ultimate team player.
@streglia You could see it was a complete team effort. Even Clyde was hitting the boards hard. Brilliant of Red to go small instead of forcing Bowman in there.
Thanks to the uploader - never saw the video of this. That's Jim Gordon doing the TV play by play (interspersed with highlights of Marv on WHN). Gordon was the radio pbp guy for the Giants and the TV pbp guy for Rangers (with the Big Whistle)
so as the knicks start creeping closer and closer in the second half, everyone begins thinking, "can they do it? can they really do it?" but no one wants to say anything and jinx it. because none of us thought they could come back against baylor, chamberlain and west, then among the 3 greatest players of their time.
you've also got to realize that this is the ONE injury all knick fans feared. bradley and debusschere had decent replacements in cazzie & stallworth. even riordan could spell frazier or barnet. the knicks back-up center, nate bowman, was a BIG drop-off. so here, reed goes down in the 1st quarter, the knicks go down by 16. we all think our great run to a championship is finished
one of the great things about youtube is that this is the FIRST time i've ever seen the game. nearly 40 years later! i still remember bradley's two jumpers to this day, the one that gave them the first tie and the one that gave them their first lead. i remember them from marv's radio call. i FINALLY got to see them. i thought they were from exactly the same spot, but this video shows they were not quite.
@streglia this is only part of it. I've got more of this same tape, beginning in the first quarter, before Willy went down, all the way to the end. If I can get it transferred to DVD, it'll be the first thing I upload on YouTube- promise.
then EVERYONE starting imitating their favorite player. barnett's kicking jumper. reed's turnaround fallaway jumper. frazier's incredible ability to anticipate a steal. you can see it on the video. he waits until the player is vulnerable then pounces. even the great jerry west. me, i played a little like bradley. i'd run to the corner and put up jumpers. it was wild.
must have had 50 or so guys listening to the game. stallworth's drive was kind of the icing on the cake. you knew the game was just about over then. everyone went freaking nuts. a few guys started imitating his drive around chamberlain, as best as we could guess it from marv's description
playing ball in valley stream (on long island right next to queens). when the knicks started coming back in the third quarter, we stopped playing and some of the other courts wondered what was going on and everybody soon stopped. we didn't high five or chest bump in those days, just cheer and go crazy and jump around,
People talk about Game 7 and Willis Reed being the inspiration for the Knicks 1st NBA championship. THIS is the game that won them the championship. Reed gets injured in the 1st quarter. The Knicks get down by at least 16 points. They don't even bring in their reserve center, but play with 3 forwards, their tallest player on the court I think was 6'6" Debusschere.
I was 16 at the time of this game. Impossible to believe today, but this game was NOT televised in NY. I was playing basketball at a local playground that had night-time lighting. As the Knicks made their comeback, the entire playground, there were 8 full court courts, stopped playing and huddled around my transistor radio. Everyone was going crazy.
@streglia yo, you MUST PLEASE elaborate on that memory for me, for all of us Knick fans. Where were you playing ball? What happened when Stallworth went up over Wilt? When the game was won, what did everyone do? Please, tell more- it's a great visual... playground night lights, May 1970- Kent State happened that same week, etc...
As the Knicks rallied, Marv got better and better; his rhythm and call were letter-perfect. The crowd background noise got wilder and more hysterical, and by game's end, the Lakers were literally stampeded out of the Garden by that flood of emotion.
I have never heard a better, more dramatic call of a game in any sport, any time, anywhere. It remains an evergreen, golden memory from my childhood for me to this day, nearly 40 years later.
I was 10 years old, living in Brooklyn, when this game happened. I can still recall to this day how sad and heartsick I was when Willis went down, and how doomed I felt the Knicks were when it was announced later in the 2nd quarter that Willis would not be back that night.
And then I remember the stunning turnaround, and Marv Albert's brilliant, stirring radio call. (The only TV coverage was cable TV, and that was only available in bars and restaurants in Manhattan in 1970.)
It is THIS game, and not game 7, which is the real miracle of the 1970 finals.
Yes, without game 7, this would mean nothing. But without this stunning comeback from 16 down in the 1st half against L.A. with Baylor (albeit in decline), Chamberlain (not fully recovered from his earlier knee injury) and a still-in-his-prime West, Willis Reed never gets to stage his supreme, heroic moment, and Walt Frazier doesn't get to turn in one of the great clutch games in NBA history in that 7th game.
Give the ball to WIlt bunch of useless, watch the play at 5:10!!!! The Lakers didn't win becasue they didn't play for Wilt! Must focus the game to the center.
Well thats why the lakers lost it,it would be better if Wilt took all those shots.
Joe Mullaney,the lakers coach didnt know what he's doing. he probably told wilt to play defence only. thats why the 70' and 71' werent that great seasons for the lakers.
In 72' when the coach was Bill Sharman the Lakers were champions.
the Lakers were winning by 15 before Willis Reed got hurt,the Knicks went on the run after Willis Reed got hurt, had he not gotten hurt,they probably wouldve lost this game
tuzwol 9 months ago
jfrank -- thanks for the trip down memory lane. For those of us around at the time, those were very precious years. Jim Gordon, Bill Chatwick, Marv (before the kinky sex stories). And Clyde was always an excellent rebounder for a guard.
streglia 1 year ago
@giles422 that would be GREAT! as difficult as this might be to believe in today's cable/satellite world, but back then you couldn't see home games. EVER. even the nba finals! even game 7 they tape delayed on abc until midnight in the ny metropolitan area. so we all knew the result of the game before we watched it.
streglia 1 year ago
what the knicks had over every other team of the time is that they had 7 unbelievable outside shooters. a ferocious defense, and they are one of the smartest teams of all time. bradley and frazier back doored EVERYONE. frazier looked so cooled and detached and yet he made the right play almost every time. offense & defense. and debusschere was so underated. an ultimate team player.
streglia 1 year ago
@streglia You could see it was a complete team effort. Even Clyde was hitting the boards hard. Brilliant of Red to go small instead of forcing Bowman in there.
Thanks to the uploader - never saw the video of this. That's Jim Gordon doing the TV play by play (interspersed with highlights of Marv on WHN). Gordon was the radio pbp guy for the Giants and the TV pbp guy for Rangers (with the Big Whistle)
jfrankparnell 1 year ago
so as the knicks start creeping closer and closer in the second half, everyone begins thinking, "can they do it? can they really do it?" but no one wants to say anything and jinx it. because none of us thought they could come back against baylor, chamberlain and west, then among the 3 greatest players of their time.
streglia 1 year ago
you've also got to realize that this is the ONE injury all knick fans feared. bradley and debusschere had decent replacements in cazzie & stallworth. even riordan could spell frazier or barnet. the knicks back-up center, nate bowman, was a BIG drop-off. so here, reed goes down in the 1st quarter, the knicks go down by 16. we all think our great run to a championship is finished
streglia 1 year ago
one of the great things about youtube is that this is the FIRST time i've ever seen the game. nearly 40 years later! i still remember bradley's two jumpers to this day, the one that gave them the first tie and the one that gave them their first lead. i remember them from marv's radio call. i FINALLY got to see them. i thought they were from exactly the same spot, but this video shows they were not quite.
streglia 1 year ago
@streglia this is only part of it. I've got more of this same tape, beginning in the first quarter, before Willy went down, all the way to the end. If I can get it transferred to DVD, it'll be the first thing I upload on YouTube- promise.
giles422 1 year ago
@giles422 nba tv is listing game 1 of this series to air monday as part of their "old school" series.
do you know if that tape exists?
TheTzdope 7 months ago
@TheTzdope I never knew it did! We'll see what's what I guess-
giles422 7 months ago
@giles422 i bet it's this game 5 coaches film!!
TheTzdope 7 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@TheTzdope I bet you're right
giles422 7 months ago
then EVERYONE starting imitating their favorite player. barnett's kicking jumper. reed's turnaround fallaway jumper. frazier's incredible ability to anticipate a steal. you can see it on the video. he waits until the player is vulnerable then pounces. even the great jerry west. me, i played a little like bradley. i'd run to the corner and put up jumpers. it was wild.
streglia 1 year ago
@streglia terrific stuff! what a night, eh?
giles422 7 months ago
must have had 50 or so guys listening to the game. stallworth's drive was kind of the icing on the cake. you knew the game was just about over then. everyone went freaking nuts. a few guys started imitating his drive around chamberlain, as best as we could guess it from marv's description
streglia 1 year ago
playing ball in valley stream (on long island right next to queens). when the knicks started coming back in the third quarter, we stopped playing and some of the other courts wondered what was going on and everybody soon stopped. we didn't high five or chest bump in those days, just cheer and go crazy and jump around,
streglia 1 year ago
People talk about Game 7 and Willis Reed being the inspiration for the Knicks 1st NBA championship. THIS is the game that won them the championship. Reed gets injured in the 1st quarter. The Knicks get down by at least 16 points. They don't even bring in their reserve center, but play with 3 forwards, their tallest player on the court I think was 6'6" Debusschere.
streglia 1 year ago
I was 16 at the time of this game. Impossible to believe today, but this game was NOT televised in NY. I was playing basketball at a local playground that had night-time lighting. As the Knicks made their comeback, the entire playground, there were 8 full court courts, stopped playing and huddled around my transistor radio. Everyone was going crazy.
streglia 1 year ago
@streglia yo, you MUST PLEASE elaborate on that memory for me, for all of us Knick fans. Where were you playing ball? What happened when Stallworth went up over Wilt? When the game was won, what did everyone do? Please, tell more- it's a great visual... playground night lights, May 1970- Kent State happened that same week, etc...
giles422 1 year ago
As the Knicks rallied, Marv got better and better; his rhythm and call were letter-perfect. The crowd background noise got wilder and more hysterical, and by game's end, the Lakers were literally stampeded out of the Garden by that flood of emotion.
I have never heard a better, more dramatic call of a game in any sport, any time, anywhere. It remains an evergreen, golden memory from my childhood for me to this day, nearly 40 years later.
Evan3457 2 years ago
I was 10 years old, living in Brooklyn, when this game happened. I can still recall to this day how sad and heartsick I was when Willis went down, and how doomed I felt the Knicks were when it was announced later in the 2nd quarter that Willis would not be back that night.
And then I remember the stunning turnaround, and Marv Albert's brilliant, stirring radio call. (The only TV coverage was cable TV, and that was only available in bars and restaurants in Manhattan in 1970.)
Evan3457 2 years ago
It is THIS game, and not game 7, which is the real miracle of the 1970 finals.
Yes, without game 7, this would mean nothing. But without this stunning comeback from 16 down in the 1st half against L.A. with Baylor (albeit in decline), Chamberlain (not fully recovered from his earlier knee injury) and a still-in-his-prime West, Willis Reed never gets to stage his supreme, heroic moment, and Walt Frazier doesn't get to turn in one of the great clutch games in NBA history in that 7th game.
Evan3457 2 years ago
THIS is the game that won the series for the knicks if they LOST HERE it would have been all over !!!
azbaldy5 2 years ago
In this game wilt played 45 minutes - 22 points, 19 rebs, 3 assists and shot 9/12 FG
julizaver 2 years ago
Now you understand why he scored 50? If he were shot 24 he would have scored 40.
WiltatKansas 2 years ago
Very nice game. Thanks.
ScottPippenBulls 2 years ago
Thanks for this Vintage Game
hocje 2 years ago
Thank you ginoongkamote!
threeby8887 3 years ago
Give the ball to WIlt bunch of useless, watch the play at 5:10!!!! The Lakers didn't win becasue they didn't play for Wilt! Must focus the game to the center.
WiltatKansas 3 years ago 2
Well thats why the lakers lost it,it would be better if Wilt took all those shots.
Joe Mullaney,the lakers coach didnt know what he's doing. he probably told wilt to play defence only. thats why the 70' and 71' werent that great seasons for the lakers.
In 72' when the coach was Bill Sharman the Lakers were champions.
garioldwin 2 years ago
Just to pass the ball to Wilt and the defense open, then a pass to one of the guards and a easy shot for them, or a dunk by Wilt.
WiltatKansas 2 years ago
Comment removed
WiltatKansas 3 years ago