| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 22 – April 13, 1949 |
| Season | 1948–49 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Minneapolis Lakers(1st title) |
| Runners-up | Washington Capitols |
| Semifinalists | |
The1949 BAA playoffs was thepostseason tournament following theBasketball Association of America1948–49 season, its third and last. Later that year the BAA andNational Basketball League merged to create theNational Basketball Association or NBA. The tournament concluded with the Western Division championMinneapolis Lakers defeating the Eastern Division championWashington Capitols 4 games to 2 in theBAA Finals.
The eight qualified teams began tournament play on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 22 and 23, and the Finals concluded on Wednesday, April 13. Minneapolis and Washington played 10 and 11 games in a span of 22 days; their six final games in ten days. Prior to their final series, however, Minneapolis had been idle for five days, Washington for only one day.[1]
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | BAA Finals | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Washington* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Philadelphia | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Washington* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| E2 | New York | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | New York | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Baltimore | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Washington* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Minneapolis | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Rochester* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | St. Louis | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Rochester* | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| W2 | Minneapolis | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Minneapolis | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Chicago | 0 | ||||||||||||
March 23 |
| Washington Capitols92,Philadelphia Warriors 70 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–17,25–17,24–13,28–23 | ||
| Pts:Kleggie Hermsen 20 Asts:Sonny Hertzberg 3 | Pts:Jake Bornheimer 13 Asts:Howie Dallmar 3 | |
| Washington leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 24 |
| Philadelphia Warriors 78,Washington Capitols80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–22, 13–17, 16–20,29–21 | ||
| Pts:Chink Crossin 22 Asts:Jerry Fleishman 3 | Pts:Bones McKinney 19 Asts:Jack Nichols 5 | |
| Washington wins series, 2–0 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.
March 23 |
| New York Knicks 81,Baltimore Bullets82 | ||
| Scoring by half:39–36, 42–46 | ||
| Pts:Carl Braun 21 | Pts:Jake Pelkington 21 | |
| Baltimore leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 24 |
| Baltimore Bullets 74,New York Knicks84 | ||
| Scoring by half: 35–39, 39–45 | ||
| Pts:Jake Pelkington 14 | Pts:Carl Braun 20 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 26 |
| Baltimore Bullets 99,New York Knicks103 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter:26–25, 25–26, 16–17,22–21, Overtime: 10–14 | ||
| Pts:Connie Simmons 22 | Pts:Harry Gallatin 21 | |
| New York wins series, 2–1 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bullets winning the first meeting.
| Baltimore leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
March 22 |
| St. Louis Bombers 64,Rochester Royals93 | ||
| Scoring by half: 27–50, 37–43 | ||
| Pts:Bill Roberts 16 | Pts:Bob Davies 23 | |
| Rochester leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 23 |
| Rochester Royals66,St. Louis Bombers 64 | ||
| Scoring by half:29–26, 37–38 | ||
| Pts:Bobby Wanzer 17 | Pts:Red Rocha 27 | |
| Rochester wins series, 2–0 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.
March 23 |
| Chicago Stags 77,Minneapolis Lakers84 | ||
| Scoring by half:35–33, 42–51 | ||
| Pts:Max Zaslofsky 22 | Pts:George Mikan 37 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 24 |
| Minneapolis Lakers101,Chicago Stags 85 | ||
| Scoring by half:56–42,45–43 | ||
| Pts:George Mikan 38 | Pts:Max Zaslofsky 22 | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 2–0 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.
March 29 |
| New York Knicks 71,Washington Capitols77 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–21,18–17, 17–18, 19–21 | ||
| Pts:Harry Gallatin 17 | Pts:Johnny Norlander 16 | |
| Washington leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 31 |
| Washington Capitols 84,New York Knicks86 (OT) | ||
| Pts:Jack Nichols 25 | Pts:Carl Braun 30 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 2 |
| New York Knicks 76,Washington Capitols84 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–24, 23–24,17–12, 21–24 | ||
| Pts:Braun,Gallatin 15 each | Pts:Sonny Hertzberg 24 | |
| Washington wins series, 2–1 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.
March 27 |
| Minneapolis Lakers80,Rochester Royals 79 | ||
| Scoring by half:46–34, 34–45 | ||
| Pts:George Mikan 32 | Pts:Arnie Risen 17 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 29 |
| Rochester Royals 55,Minneapolis Lakers67 | ||
| Scoring by half: 32–34, 23–34 | ||
| Pts:Arnie Risen 21 | Pts:George Mikan 31 | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 2–0 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[2]
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 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.