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| Dates | April 4–13 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hall of Famers | Lakers: George Mikan (1959) Jim Pollard (1978) Coaches: Red Auerbach (1969) John Kundla (1995) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Capitols defeatedKnicks, 2–1 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Lakers defeatedRoyals, 2–0 | |||||||||
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The1949 BAA Finals was the championship round following theBasketball Association of America (BAA)'s1948–49 season, its third and last. Later that year, the BAA andNational Basketball League merged to create theNational Basketball Association (NBA).
6'10"George Mikan and theMinneapolis Lakers proved dominant. They routed theWashington Capitols in six games. This was the first of several successive NBA titles for the Lakers. It was the beginning of the George Mikan and the Lakers Dynasty. This was the first professional sports championship ever won by aMinneapolis-St. Paul-based team.
As for the Capitols, they would never reach the Finals again, but their coach inRed Auerbach would do so several times over the next two decades, and this represented his only loss in a Final until 1958 (Auerbach would win nine of his eleven appearances in a Final); this would be the first of six overall finals that featured Auerbach against the Lakers, for which he beat them five times, including in1959 when he beat Kundla in his last game as head coach of the Lakers.
The six games of the final series were played in ten days – Monday, April 4, to Wednesday, April 13 – with one day off except after game three, the first of three played in Washington (Minneapolis led 3–0). Prior to its start, however, Minneapolis had been idle for five days, having qualified on the preceding Tuesday; Washington idle for only one day, having qualified on Saturday. The entire playoff tournament extended 23 days.[1]
| Game | Date | Home team | Result | Road team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | April 4 | Minneapolis Lakers | 88–84 (1–0) | Washington Capitols |
| Game 2 | April 6 | Minneapolis Lakers | 76–62 (2–0) | Washington Capitols |
| Game 3 | April 8 | Washington Capitols | 74–94 (0–3) | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Game 4 | April 9 | Washington Capitols | 83–71 (1–3) | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Game 5 | April 11 | Washington Capitols | 74–65 (2–3) | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Game 6 | April 13 | Minneapolis Lakers | 77–56 (4–2) | Washington Capitols |
Lakers win series 4–2
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| Head coach Legend
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| Head coach Legend
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April 4 |
| Washington Capitols 84,Minneapolis Lakers88 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–23,27–25,21–19,23–21 | ||
| Pts:Fred Scolari 20 | Pts:George Mikan 42 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 6 |
| Washington Capitols 62,Minneapolis Lakers76 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–20, 19–27,13–11, 17–18 | ||
| Pts:Sonny Hertzberg 13 | Pts:Don Carlson 16 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 8 |
| Minneapolis Lakers94,Washington Capitols 74 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:26–14,17–15,28–24,23–21 | ||
| Pts:George Mikan 35 | Pts:Nichols,Zunic 12 each | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 3–0 | ||
April 9 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 71,Washington Capitols83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:23–22, 12–23, 16–20,20–18 | ||
| Pts:George Mikan 27 | Pts:Jack Nichols 27 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 11 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 65,Washington Capitols74 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–22, 18–19,22–15, 13–18 | ||
| Pts:George Mikan 22 | Pts:Hermsen,Nichols 13 each | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 13 |
| Washington Capitols 56,Minneapolis Lakers77 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–19, 12–21, 17–22, 15–15 | ||
| Pts:Kleggie Hermsen 12 | Pts:George Mikan 29 | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 4–2 | ||
| 1940s |  | |
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| 1950s | ||
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| 2000s | ||
| 2010s | ||
| 2020s | ||
See also:WNBA Finals | ||
