1972–73 Indiana Pacers season

The 1972–73 Indiana Pacers season was Indiana's sixth season in the ABA and sixth as a team. The Pacers finished second in the Western Division and won their third ABA title. In a rematch of the 1972 division semifinals, the Pacers eliminated the Denver Rockets. After defeating the Rockets in five games, the Pacers eliminated the Utah Stars in six games. The Eastern Division champion Kentucky Colonels appeared in the ABA Championships for the second time and were defeated by the Pacers in seven games.

1972–73 Indiana Pacers season
Head coachBobby Leonard
ArenaIndiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum
Results
Record51–33 (.607)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishABA Champions
(Defeated Colonels 4–3)

Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
< 1971–72 1973–74 >

Offseason

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ABA Draft

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Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
Ed Ratleff Long Beach State
Nate Stephens Long Beach State
Oscar Evans Butler
George Adams Gardner-Webb
Rich Garner Manhattan
Cavin Anderson Valley City
Wardell Dyson Shaw
Jolly Spight Santa Clara
Bill Burton Eastern Kentucky
Wally Rice Penn Military
Lee Sims Morehead State
Nate Williams Utah State

[1]

Regular season

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Schedule

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Game Date Opponent Result Pacers points Opponents Record
1
2

[2]

Season standings

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1972–73 ABA Western Standings
Western Division W L PCT. GB
Utah Stars 55 29 .655
Indiana Pacers 51 33 .607 4
Denver Rockets 47 37 .560 8
San Diego Conquistadors 30 54 .357 25
Dallas Chaparrals 28 56 .333 27

[3]

Player stats

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Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player GP MIN REB AST STL BLK PTS AVG
George McGinnis 82 3347 1022 205 160 N/A 2261
Mel Daniels 81 3103 1247 177 N/A 157 1497
Bill Keller 83 2251 204 361 N/A N/A 1147
Donnie Freeman 77 2170 219 195 N/A N/A 1103
Freddie Lewis 72 2217 228 288 N/A N/A 1075
Roger Brown 72 2177 348 204 N/A N/A 909
Darnell Hillman 84 2541 735 128 N/A N/A 804

[4]

Roster

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Number Name Position Height Experience College
22 Bob Arnzen Forward 6–5 2 yrs. Notre Dame
35 Roger Brown Guard-Forward 6–5 5 yrs. Dayton
10 Don Buse Guard 6–4 Rookie Evansville
34 Mel Daniels Center 6–9 5 yrs. New Mexico
13 Donnie Freeman Guard 6–3 5 yrs. Illinois
20 Darnell Hillman Forward-Center 6–9 1 yr. San Jose State
25 Gus Johnson Forward-Center 6–6 9 yrs. Idaho
11 Bill Keller Guard 5–10 3 yrs. Purdue
14 Freddie Lewis Guard 6–0 6 yrs. Arizona State
30 George McGinnis Forward-Center 6–8 1 yr. Indiana
24 Bill Newton Center 6–9 Rookie Louisiana State
15 George Peeples Center-Forward 6–7 5 yrs. Iowa
12 Craig Raymond Center 6–11 4 yrs. Brigham Young

Playoffs

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Western Division Semifinals[5]

Game Date Location Score Record Attendance
1 March 31 Indiana 114–91 1–0 7,051
2 April 1 Denver 106–93 2–0 7,235
3 April 3 Denver 94–105 2–1 5,335
4 April 5 Denver 97–95 3–1 6,904
5 April 7 Indiana 121–107 4–1 9,816

Western Division Finals

Game Date Location Score Record Attendance
1 April 12 Utah 107–124 0–1 7,712
2 April 14 Utah 116–110 1–1 12,233
3 April 16 Indiana 118–108 2–1 9,353
4 April 18 Indiana 103–104 2–2 10,079
5 April 19 Utah 104–102 3–2 12,453
6 April 21 Indiana 107–98 4–2 9,529

ABA Finals

Game Date Location Score Record Attendance
1 April 28 Kentucky 111–107 (OT) 1–0 12,119
2 April 30 Kentucky 102–114 1–1 13,408
3 May 3 Indiana 88–92 1–2 10,079
4 May 5 Indiana 90–86 2–2 9,498
5 May 8 Kentucky 89–86 3–2 16,779
6 May 10 Indiana 93–109 3–3 10,079
7 May 12 Kentucky 88–81 4–3 16,597

Awards, records, and honors

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Transactions

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References

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  1. ^ "1972 ABA Draft on Basketballreference.com". Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
  2. ^ 1972–73 Indiana Pacers Games – Basketball-Reference.com
  3. ^ "1972-73 ABA Season Summary".
  4. ^ "1972-73 Indiana Pacers Roster and Stats".
  5. ^ "Remember the ABA: 1972-73 Regular Season Standings and Playoff Results". Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
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