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| Dates | March 31–April 10 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hall of Famers | Nationals: Dolph Schayes (1973) Earl Lloyd (2003) Pistons: George Yardley (1996) Andy Phillip (1961) Bob Houbregs (1987) Coaches: Al Cervi (1985, player) Officials: Mendy Rudolph (2007) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Nationals defeatedCeltics, 3–1 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Pistons defeatedLakers, 3–1 | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
The1955 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the1954–55 NBA season. The best-of-seven series was won by theSyracuse Nationals, who defeated theFort Wayne Pistons in the final game when Syracuse'sGeorge King made a free throw with 12 seconds left to put the Nationals up 92–91. King then stole the ball from Fort Wayne'sAndy Phillip with three seconds remaining to clinch the victory for Syracuse.[1] The arena was booked prior to the team making the finals and was thus not available, and the Fort Wayne home games were played in Indianapolis.[2]
It has been alleged that some Fort Wayne players conspired withgamblers to throw the series to Syracuse.[3] The suspicious nature of the seventh game in particular has raised concerns about the legitimacy of the series. Fort Wayne led Syracuse 41–24 early in the second quarter, then allowed the Nationals to rally to win the game.[4]Andy Phillip, who turned the ball over with three seconds left in the game, was believed by at least one of his teammates,George Yardley, to have thrown the game. "There were always unwholesome implications about that ball game", Yardley told the authorCharley Rosen.[5] However, Phillip may not have acted alone. Other Pistons players were strongly believed to have thrown games during the 1954 and 1955 NBA seasons.[6] In fact, Yardley himself turned the ball over to Syracuse with apalming violation with 18 seconds remaining in Game 7.[7] The foul that gave Syracuse its winning free throw, meanwhile, was committed byFrankie Brian.[7] The NBA did not return to the 2–3–2 format until1985. As of the2022–23 season, this is the only NBA Finals to date in which the home team has won all seven games.
| Game | Date | Home team | Result | Road team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | March 31 | Syracuse Nationals | 87–82 (1–0) | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| Game 2 | April 2 | Syracuse Nationals | 87–84 (2–0) | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| Game 3 | April 3 | Fort Wayne Pistons* | 96–89 (1–2) | Syracuse Nationals |
| Game 4 | April 5 | Fort Wayne Pistons* | 109–102 (2–2) | Syracuse Nationals |
| Game 5 | April 7 | Fort Wayne Pistons* | 74–71 (3–2) | Syracuse Nationals |
| Game 6 | April 9 | Syracuse Nationals | 109–104 (3–3) | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| Game 7 | April 10 | Syracuse Nationals | 92–91 (4–3) | Fort Wayne Pistons |
Nationals win series 4–3
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| Head coach Legend
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| Head coach Legend
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March 31 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons 82,Syracuse Nationals86 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–26,25–22,20–18, 18–20 | ||
| Pts:Larry Foust 26 | Pts:Red Rocha 19 | |
| Syracuse leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 2 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons 84,Syracuse Nationals87 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–30, 25–29,27–14, 19–24 | ||
| Pts:George Yardley 21 | Pts:Dolph Schayes 24 | |
| Syracuse leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 3 |
| Syracuse Nationals 89,Fort Wayne Pistons96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–23,21–20, 14–26,32–27 | ||
| Pts:Rocha,Schayes 21 each | Pts:Mel Hutchins 23 | |
| Syracuse leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 5 |
| Syracuse Nationals 102,Fort Wayne Pistons109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–27, 24–26, 22–29,32–27 | ||
| Pts:Dolph Schayes 28 | Pts:Frankie Brian 18 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 7 |
| Syracuse Nationals 71,Fort Wayne Pistons74 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–22, 13–16, 14–20,26–16 | ||
| Pts:Bill Kenville 15 | Pts:George Yardley 16 | |
| Fort Wayne leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 9 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons 104,Syracuse Nationals109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:27–19, 28–34, 19–25, 30–31 | ||
| Pts:George Yardley 31 | Pts:Dolph Schayes 28 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 10 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons 91,Syracuse Nationals92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:31–21, 22–26, 21–27, 17–18 | ||
| Pts:Larry Foust 24 Asts:Andy Phillip 10 | Pts:King,Kenville 15 each Asts:Paul Seymour 8 | |
| Syracuse wins series, 4–3 | ||
NBA Finals on Basketball Reference
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See also:WNBA Finals | ||
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