{"id":1554708,"date":"2023-03-22T11:43:41","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T15:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1554708"},"modified":"2023-03-22T11:43:42","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T15:43:42","slug":"willis-reeds-4-points-3-rebounds-were-more-effective-than-wilt-chamberlains-21-and-24-in-game-7-of-the-1970-nba-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/willis-reeds-4-points-3-rebounds-were-more-effective-than-wilt-chamberlains-21-and-24-in-game-7-of-the-1970-nba-finals\/","title":{"rendered":"Willis Reed's 4 Points, 3 Rebounds Were More Effective Than Wilt Chamberlain's 21 and 24 in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Willis Reed guided the New York Knicks<\/a> to their only two NBA championships in 1970 and 1973.<\/a> The 6-foot-10 center out of Grambling State University played all 10 of his NBA seasons with the Knicks, who made him the first pick in the second round of the 1964 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Reed didn't outshine legendary center Wilt Chamberlain<\/a> in the statistics department, his four points and three rebounds were far more effective than Wilt's 21 points and 24 rebounds in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Willis Reed and Wilt Chamberlain squared off in the 1970 NBA Finals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Willis
Wilt Chamberlain of the Los Angeles Lakers battles for position with Willis Reed of the New York Knicks during an NBA game circa 1972 at Madison Square Garden. | Focus on Sport\/Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the 1969-70 season, Willis Reed guided the Knicks to the best record in the NBA at 60-22. The star center averaged a career-high 21.7 points and pulled down 13.9 rebounds on his way to earning league MVP honors. He was also named MVP of the 1970 All-Star Game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the Knicks outlasted the Baltimore Bullets in seven games in the divisional semifinals and then ousted the Milwaukee Bucks in five, they headed to the NBA Finals. There, they faced Wilt Chamberlain and the Los Angeles Lakers.<\/a> The Lakers finished second to the Hawks in the Western Division but swept them in the divisional finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1970 NBA Finals featured a classic matchup of two of the game's biggest centers in Reed and Chamberlain. The teams split the first two games in New York and then did the same in LA. Game 5 is when things got interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Late in the first quarter Reed drove to the basket and collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain. Originally thought of as a pulled thigh muscle, it was more serious. According to Robert Cherry's biography of Chamberlain, Wilt: Larger than Life<\/em><\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0 Reed strained a muscle alongside his hip that runs from the pelvis to below the knee. Painkillers didn't help, and he didn't return to the game. Reed had seven points in eight minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite Reed's absence, the Knicks found a way.<\/a> They rallied from a 53-40 halftime deficit to outscore the Lakers 67-47 in the second half to pull out a miraculous 107-100 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We couldn't do anything right in the second half,” said Lakers guard Jerry West, per Cherry. “We couldn't even call a timeout right.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Game 7, Reed led the way despite scoring four points<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Game 7. 1970 NBA Finals. Willis Reed\u2019s status to play was unclear. And then\u2026

\u201cSix-feet-ten from Grambling, the captain of the Knicks, the Most Valuable Player of the NBA.\u201d

One of the great moments in NBA history.

RIP to The Captain. \ud83d\ude4fpic.twitter.com\/5aXvESZZQO<\/a><\/p>— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) March 21, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>