The 1953 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1953 NBA Playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1952–53 season. The Western Division champion Minneapolis Lakers faced the Eastern Division champion New York Knicks in a best-of-seven series with Minneapolis having home-court advantage.[1] By winning four games to one, the Lakers won their fifth title in six years dating from 1948, the club's final season in the National Basketball League.

1953 NBA Finals
TeamCoachWins
Minneapolis Lakers John Kundla 4
New York Knicks Joe Lapchick 1
DatesApril 4–10
Hall of FamersLakers:
George Mikan (1959)
Jim Pollard (1978)
Slater Martin (1982)
Vern Mikkelsen (1995)
Knicks:
Harry Gallatin (1991)
Al McGuire (1992, coach)
Dick McGuire (1993)
Nat Clifton (2014)
Carl Braun (2019)
Coaches:
Joe Lapchick (1966, player)
John Kundla (1995)
Eastern finalsKnicks defeated Celtics, 3–1
Western finalsLakers defeated Pistons, 3–2
← 1952 NBA finals 1954 →

The five games were played in seven days, beginning Saturday and Sunday, April 4 and 5, in Minneapolis and concluding there on the following Friday. Meanwhile, two mid-week games were played in New York City. The entire postseason tournament spanned 25 days in which Minneapolis played 12 games, New York 11.[1]

Series summary

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Game Date Home team Result Road team
Game 1 April 4 Minneapolis Lakers 88–96 (0–1) New York Knicks
Game 2 April 5 Minneapolis Lakers 73–71 (1–1) New York Knicks
Game 3 April 7 New York Knicks 75–90 (1–2) Minneapolis Lakers
Game 4 April 8 New York Knicks 69–72 (1–3) Minneapolis Lakers
Game 5 April 10 New York Knicks 84–91 (1–4) Minneapolis Lakers

Lakers win series 4–1

Team rosters

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Minneapolis Lakers

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New York Knicks

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Game summaries

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April 4
New York Knicks 96, Minneapolis Lakers 88
Scoring by quarter: 19–18, 24–29, 23–20, 30–21
Pts: Carl Braun 21 Pts: George Mikan 25
New York leads series, 1–0
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 5,000
Referees: Sid Borgia, Arnie Heft
April 5
New York Knicks 71, Minneapolis Lakers 73
Scoring by quarter: 16–26, 14–21, 24–11, 17–15
Pts: Connie Simmons 17 Pts: George Mikan 18
Series tied, 1–1
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 4,848
Referees: Sid Borgia, Arnie Heft
April 7
Minneapolis Lakers 90, New York Knicks 75
Scoring by quarter: 21–14, 18–24, 26–22, 25–15
Pts: George Mikan 20 Pts: Connie Simmons 18
Minneapolis leads series, 2–1
April 8
Minneapolis Lakers 71, New York Knicks 69
Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 20–18, 13–16, 17–19
Pts: George Mikan 27 Pts: Connie Simmons 17
Minneapolis leads series, 3–1
April 10
Minneapolis Lakers 91, New York Knicks 84
Scoring by quarter: 19–18, 25–17, 25–25, 22–24
Pts: Jim Pollard 17
Asts: Vern Mikkelsen 6
Pts: Carl Braun 19
Asts: Ernie Vandeweghe 4
Minneapolis wins series, 4–1

References

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  1. ^ a b "1952–53 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
      Select "Previous Season" from the heading for 1951–52, and so on. Select "Finals" from League Playoffs for the daily schedule of the final series, and so on.
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