Index
ABA Finals

1973

BOXSCORE Indiana Pacers Kentucky Colonels
GAME1 4 3
GAME2
GAME3 ABA FINALS STATS ABA FINALS STATS
GAME4  
GAME5
GAME6
GAME7

Game #1 4/28/73 @Louisville

The Pacers came out smoking as they led by as many as 19 points in the opening quarter. Dan Issel tried to keep Kentucky in it with 10 1st quarter points. In that period, Indiana shot 63% while Kentucky hit only 33% of their shots. The teams reversed roles when they came out in the 2nd half. Indiana did not score for the first 4:45 of the 3rd period while Kentucky reeled off 17 points. The Colonels would go on to take a 6-point lead. With the score 98-97 Kentucky, Ron Thomas blocked Mel Daniels point blank and then hit an 18-foot jumper to maie 100-97 with 2:03 left. Roger Brown tied it with a 3 pointer at the 1:09 mark. Jim O’Brien missed an 8-footer, but got the ball back and hit a 20 footer at the 38 second mark. Officials Norm Drucker & Jimmy Clark disallowed the hoop. O’Brien’s first shot did not hit the rim & a shot-clock violation was whistled. According to reports, replays did not provide conclusive evidence one way or the other. Kentucky got a chance to win, but Walt Simon missed a 20-footer at the buzzer. The teams remained tied in overtime until Freddie Lewis scored over Artis Gilmore to give Indiana a 109-107 lead with 0:20 left. Issel missed a 15-footer and Daniels claimed the rebound. Daniels was fouled & converted 2 free throws with 3 seconds left to ice the game.

INDIANA MN FG-FGA FT-FTA OR DR RB AS TO PF PTS
McGinnis 43  9-18   0-1    3 10 13  2  3  5  18
Brown 42  7-12   2-3    1  2  3  4  1  3  14
Daniels 40  9-20   2-3    5  9 14  2  1  4  20
Freeman 30  4-10   4-6    1  3  4  3  2  5  12
Lewis 53 12-28   5-6    2  2  4 13  1  3  29
Buse 4  0-0    0-0    0  0  0  0  1  1   0
Keller 19  2-5    3-3    0  2  2  1  1  1   7
Hillman 21  2-4    0-0    2  3  5  0  1  1   4
Johnson 13  2-5    0-2    4  3  7  1  1  1   4
TOTALS     265 47-102 16-24  18 34 52 26 12 24 111
3-PT: Brown 1-2, Lewis 0-1, Keller 0-1
BS- Daniels 3, Brown 1, McGinnis 1, Hillman 1
ST- McGinnis 2, Buse 2, Brown 1, Lewis 1, Keller 1
KENTUCKY MN FG-FGA FT-FTA OR DR RB AS TO PF PTS
Simon 37  4-12   1-1    1  4  5  6  1  3   9
Issel 50 15-25   3-4    7 13 20  2  1  3  33
Gilmore 51  5-17   5-7    4 12 16  6  6  4  15
Dampier 35  8-12   1-1    0  2  2  5  5  6  19
Mount 37  5-15   5-7    2  2  4  1  2  3  16
Ladner 4  0-2    0-0    0  0  0  1  0  3   0
Thomas 19  5-8    0-0    1  6  7  0  1  1  10
O達rien 30  2-4    1-1    1  1  2  8  2  3   5
Russell 2  0-0    0-0    0  0  0  0  0  0   0
TOTALS     265 44-95  16-21  16 40 56 29 18 26 107
3-PT: Dampier 2-2, Mount 1-1, Issel 0-1, Ladner 0-1
BL- Gilmore 2, Mount 1, Issel 1, Simon 1, Thomas 1
ST- Thomas 1, Dampier 1,
Indiana 38 27 14 21 11  111
Kentucky 19 32 34 15  7  107
A- 12,119

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Game #2 4/30/73 @Louisville

The Colonels built a 9-point lead with 2:53 left in the 1st period and then stretched it to 54-36 with 4:20 left in the 1st half. They lost Rick Mount to an ankle injury at this point and their bench was thin as Mike Gale was already out with a broken eye socket suffered in the Eastern Finals. Dan Issel carried the load with 20 points in the 1st half. Mel Daniels sat out almost the entire 2nd period with foul trouble. The lead would have been larger but they missed 7 straight free throws in the 2nd period. Roger Brown & Freddie Lewis led a Pacer comeback that gave them an 80-79 after 3 quarters. The Colonels opened the 4th with a 16-7 run that was capped by a Jim O’Brien fallaway runner & an Issel fastbreak dunk. Indiana would cut the lead back to 4, but hoops by Louie Dampier, Issel & Walt Simon pushed the lead back to 10.

INDIANA MN FG-FGA FT-FTA OR DR RB AS TO PF PTS
McGinnis 46  9-23  10-13   3 12 15  3  2  4  28
Brown 47  6-12   2-2    1  5  6  3  2  3  15
Daniels 35  6-18   0-0    9  7 16  4  1  4  14
Freeman 32  3-9    4-4    0  1  1  2  3  2  10
Lewis 43  8-18   4-4    3  3  6  3  4  4  20
Keller 21  6-14   1-1    1  2  3  3  0  5  13
Hillman 12  1-5    0-1    3  5  8  0  2  2   2
Johnson 3  0-0    0-0    0  0  0  0  0  1   0
Arnzen 1  0-0    0-0    0  0  0  0  0  0   0
TOTALS     240 39-99  23-28  20 35 55 18 14 25 102
3-PT: Brown 1-5, Keller 0-4, McGinnis 0-1, Lewis 0-1
BL- Daniels 5, McGinnis 1
ST- McGinnis 2, Brown 2, Lewis 1
KENTUCKY MN FG-FGA FT-FTA OR DR RB AS TO PF PTS
Simon 41  7-17   2-2    2  6  8  9  2  4  16
Issel 42 10-23   8-11   2 10 12  3  3  5  28
Gilmore 47 11-16   7-12   7 19 26  6  2  5  25
Dampier 45  8-15   1-3    0  3  3  4  3  4  18
Mount 14  5-9    1-1    0  0  0  0  0  1  11
O達rien 36  2-5    5-5    0  1  1 10  1  1   9
Ladner 7  1-3    0-0    0  3  3  0  1  2   3
Thomas 7  0-2    0-3    2  1  3  1  1  2   0
Russell 1  0-0    0-0    0  1  1  0  0  1   0
TOTALS     240 44-90  24-37  13 44 57 33 13 25 114
3-PT: Dampier 1-4, Ladner 1-2, Simon 0-3
BL- Gilmore 7
ST- Simon 3, O達rien 2, Mount 1, Dampier 1
Indiana 23 24 33 22  102
Kentucky 28 29 22 35  114
A- 13,408

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Game #3 5/3/73 @Indianapolis

Kentucky started fast again as they built a 26-13 lead. Indiana would come back to take a 52-49 lead in the 3rd period. Artis Gilmore led the Colonels back to the lead. They started the 4th period with a 16-9 run that gave them an 83-75 lead with 6:39 to play. The lead was still 90-83 with 2:26 left. The wheels fell off as, on their next 3 possessions, Kentucky had force up bad shots to avoid shot clock violations. Indiana converted after the last one to cut the lead to 90-88 with 0:26 left. The Pacers then came up with the ball and had a chance to tie, but Gilmore blocked a George McGinnis shot. Jim O’Brien retrieved the loose ball & Rick Mount was fouled with 2 seconds left. His 2 free throws clinched the win.

KENTUCKY MN FG-FGA FT-FTA OR DR RB AS TO PF PTS
Simon 40  5-12   2-3    2  2  4  6  1  4  12
Issel 48  7-19   4-5    2 12 14  1  1  3  18
Gilmore 48 13-21   2-9    7  9 16  6  1  5  28
Dampier 40  3-8    2-2    0  1  1  1  1  4   8
Mount 45  6-18   6-8    2  2  4  6  2  5  18
O達rien 10  1-3    1-2    0  1  1  1  1  0   3
Ladner 8  2-4    1-1    0  2  2  0  1  2   5
Russell 1  0-0    0-0    0  0  0  0  0  0   0
TOTALS     240 37-85  18-30  13 29 42 21  8 23  92
3-PT: Ladner 0-2, Dampier 0-1, Mount 0-1
BL- Gilmore 7, Mount 1
ST- Issel 2, Simon 1, Gilmore 1, Dampier 1
INDIANA MN FG-FGA FT-FTA OR DR RB AS TO PF PTS
Hillman 44  5-13   2-3    5  6 11  0  2  3  12
McGinnis 42  7-21   6-8   10  7 17  3  1  5  20
Daniels 28 10-19   1-1    1 10 11  3  0  5  21
Lewis 37  2-12   8-9    5  2  7  8  5  3  12
Brown 42  4-13   2-2    3  3  6  0  0  2  10
Johnson 20  2-8    3-3    1  6  7  1  2  4   7
Keller 14  0-2    2-3    1  3  4  1  1  3   2
Freeman 13  1-4    2-3    1  2  3  4  0  1   4
TOTALS     240 31-92  26-32  27 39 66 20 11 26  88
3-PT: Lewis 0-2
BL- Daniels 3, McGinnis 2, Brown 1, Keller 1
ST- Hillman 1, Freeman 1, Lewis 1
Kentucky 26 18 22 26   92
Indiana 14 26 27 21   88
A- 10,079

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Game #4 5/5/73 @Indianapolis

A wild 1st half saw the Pacers take a 29-22 lead before chaos ensued. In the 2nd period, Rick Mount & Donnie Freeman squared off in a fight that emptied both benches. Then Indiana coach Bob Leonard was tossed after receiving his 2nd technical foul. Leonard left Gus Johnson to be player/coach the rest of the way. Kentucky led 70-68 with 2:01 left in the 3rd despite playing 8 minutes without Gilmore who was in foul trouble. Indiana to the lead back by scoring the last 6 points of the period on a steal & layup by Roger Brown, a hoop by Don Buse and a drive by Brown. They would never trail again. Gilmore brought Kentucky within 4 on a dunk with 0:42 left, but Dampier missed the next time down. Darnell Hillman converted a fastbreak dunk to push the lead back to 4.

KENTUCKY MN FG-FGA FT-FTA OR DR RB AS TO PF PTS
Simon 36  2-7    0-0    0  2  2  4  4  2   4
Issel 44  7-23   7-7    4 11 15  0  2  4  21
Gilmore 36  7-14   4-4    4  4  8  2  3  5  18
Dampier 38  7-14   3-3    2  2  4  0  2  2  18
Mount 45  6-21   3-4    2  1  3  3  3  3  15
Ladner 11  0-2    0-0    0  1  1  2  0  2   0
Thomas 17  4-7    0-1    6  4 10  1  3  4   8
O達rien 13  1-3    0-0    0  0  0  2  2  1   2
TOTALS     240 34-91  17-19  18 25 43 14 19 23  86
3-PT: Dampier 1-3, Mount 0-3, Ladner 0-2
BL- Issel 2, Thomas 1, Gilmore 1
ST- Mount 3, O達rien 1, Issel 1, Thomas 1
INDIANA MN FG-FGA FT-FTA OR DR RB AS TO PF PTS
Hillman 45  7-14   3-4    6 12 18  3  2  3  17
McGinnis 37  9-18   2-5    4  9 13  3  5  4  20
Daniels 36  5-13   5-6    3  9 12  4  3  5  15
Freeman 39  4-13   3-3    4  0  4  1  3  4  11
Lewis 47  7-16   1-1    1  4  5  6  5  2  15
Brown 24  3-5    2-5    3  2  5  1  4  3   8
Buse 10  2-6    0-0    1  1  2  1  1  3   4
Johnson 2  0-0    0-0    0  0  0  0  0  0   0
TOTALS     240 37-85  16-24  22 37 59 19 23 24  90
3-PT: Lewis 0-1, Buse 0-1
BL- Brown 3, Daniels 2, Hillman 2, McGinnis 1
ST- Brown 2, McGinnis 1, Freeman 1, Lewis 1, Buse 1
Kentucky 22 23 27 16   86
Indiana 29 19 26 16   90
A- 9,498

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Game #5 5/8/73 @Louisville

A back and forth, tight game saw the teams trade leads numerous times. The Pacers got a big performance from Freddie Lewis who scored 28 of their 47 2nd half points. He started the 3rd period with 3 straight hoops that gave Indiana a 48-44 lead. He then opened the 4th with a bomb that gave Indiana a 65-64 lead. That shot triggered a run that left Indiana leading 75-66 (a 14-2 run). However, the Colonels responded with a 19-5 run that gave them an 85-80 lead late in the 4th period. Gilmore then fouled out near the 2 minute mark and McGinnis converted both free throws to cut the margin to 3. Issel made 1 of 2 free throws to give Kentucky an 86-82 lead. Lewis hit another 3-pointer to cut the lead to 86-85 with 1:05 to play. McGinnis then stole the ball from Wendall Ladner and his dunk gave Indiana an 87-86 lead. Walt Simon missed and Mel Daniels got the rebound. McGinnis then found an open lane to the hoop after Ron Thomas missed a steal opportunity. McGinnis lost the ball out of bounds. Dan Issel found O’Brien for an open 15-footer but he missed. The Colonels forced another turnover, but O’Brien missed a drive. Lewis sank 2 free throws with 0:02 left that provided the final margin. Indiana got a big boost from Don Buse who had 5 steals off the bench. Artis Gilmore registered a triple-double in defeat for Kentucky.

INDIANA MN FG-FGA FT-FTA OR DR RB AS TO PF PTS
Hillman 29  1-2    1-3    2  6  8  0  7  2   3
McGinnis 37  6-15   5-5    8  8 16  2  8  5  17
Daniels 48  7-20   3-3    5 15 20  3  3  3  17
Freeman 23  3-12   1-1    2  1  3  3  1  2   7
Lewis 36 10-16   9-10   1  2  3  2  2  2  31
Buse 22  1-4    4-6    1  3  4  1  0  2   6
Brown 30  4-3    0-0    1  7  8  0  0  3   8
Keller 15  0-3    0-0    1  2  3  2  1  1   0
TOTALS     240 32-85  23-28  21 44 65 13 22 20  89
3-PT: Lewis 2-2, Brown 0-2, Keller 0-1, McGinnis 0-1
BL- Hillman 1, Brown 1
ST- Buse 5, McGinnis 2
KENTUCKY MN FG-FGA FT-FTA OR DR RB AS TO PF PTS
Simon 27  4-10   1-1    1  2  3  5  2  3   9
Issel 48 13-25   5-7    1 10 11  1  3  4  31
Gilmore 47  7-16   3-3    4 13 17 11  5  6  17
Dampier 36  6-11   0-3    1  0  1  3  0  3  13
Mount 29  0-8    4-5    1  3  4  3  1  1   4
Ladner 12  2-6    0-0    0  3  3  0  0  3   4
Gale 12  2-4    0-0    0  0  0  1  1  3   4
Thomas 10  1-2    0-0    1  0  1  0  0  0   2
O達rien 19  1-5    0-0    0  1  1  1  2  1   2
TOTALS     240 36-87  13-19   9 32 41 25 14 24  86
3-PT: Dampier 1-1, Mount 0-2, Ladner 0-2
BL- Gilmore 5, Issel 1, Thomas 1
ST- Dampier 4, Issel 2, O’Brien 1, Ladner 1

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Game #6 5/10/73 @Indianapolis

Louie Dampier had 12 1st quarter points and his 3-pointer gave Kentucky the lead for good at 19-19 with 5:07 left in the 1st period. Dan Issel took over in the 2nd period with 12 points & Mike Gale’s return from injury gave Kentucky a boost in the backcourt. Kentucky led 72-62 with 3:36 left in the 3rd when the Pacers finally responded with a 14-6 run that was led by George McGinnis & Freddie Lewis. Two Donnie Freeman jumpers made it Kentucky 78 Indiana 76 with 0:40 left in the 3rd. Louie Dampier’s lay-up at the end of the 3rd started a 10-0 Colonels run that made it 88-76. The Pacers did not make a field goal in the 4th until Billy Keller’s layup with 5:47 to play that cut the Colonels’ lead to 97-79. An Artis Gilmore hoop would give them their largest lead, 105-84, with 3:12 to play.

KENTUCKY MN FG-FGA FT-FTA OR DR RB AS TO PF PTS
Simon 25  2-6    1-1    0  3  3  4  3  3   5
Issel 46 10-21   2-5    2  7  9  0  1  2  22
Gilmore 46 13-20   3-5    5 16 21  6  2  2  29
Dampier 42 10-15   4-4    0  1  1  7  0  1  25
Mount 14  2-5    0-0    0  1  1  3  2  2   4
Thomas 21  1-1    0-0    0  3  3  1  1  6   2
Gale 23  4-6    2-2    0  1  1  2  1  5  10
O達rien 19  5-9    2-2    2  2  4  6  1  4  12
Ladner   2  0-6    0-0    0  0  0  1  0  0   0
TOTALS     240 47-90  14-19   9 35 44 30 11 25 109
3-PT: Dampier 1-1, Ladner 0-4
BL- Gilmore 2, Thomas 1, Issel 1
ST- O達rien 2, Simon 1, Gale 1, Gilmore 1, Issel 1
INDIANA MN FG-FGA FT-FTA OR DR RB AS TO PF PTS
Hillman 34  2-6    0-0    2  6  8  2  1  2   4
McGinnis 37 11-21   4-8    8  7 15  0  1  5  26
Daniels 45  7-18   3-6    3  8 11  1  2  3  17
Freeman 31  3-9    7-8    0  2  2  7  3  3  13
Lewis 34  5-12   5-5    0  3  3  3  3  3  16
Brown 22  2-5    0-0    0  3  3  0  2  1   4
Keller 17  4-12   1-1    3  0  3  2  1  2  10
Johnson 3  0-0    2-2    1  3  4  2  2  0   2
Arnzen 3  0-1    0-0    0  0  0  0  0  0   0
TOTALS     240 34-85  23-31  18 34 52 18 18 20  93
3-PT: Keller 1-4, Lewis 1-2, McGinnis 0-1, Arnzen 0-1, Brown 0-1
BL- Hillman 1, Daniels 1
ST- Brown 2, Buse 1, Daniels 1
Kentucky 28 27 25 29  109
Indiana 24 19 33 17   93
A- 10,079

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Game #7 @Louisville

Indiana started the deciding game with a 7-0 spurt, but could not pull away in the 1st half. Only Freddie Lewis jumper at the buzzer gave Indiana a 42-41 halftime lead. George McGinnis would give the Pacers the lead for good at 49-48 with 8:06 left in the 3rd on a 3-point play after being fouled by Dan Issel. Issel picked up his 5th personal foul and had to sit out. Kentucky would score only 1 point in the next 6 minutes (a Louie Dampier free throw) as Indiana went on a 13-1 run to lead 59-49. The 3rd quarter run was fueled by McGinnis who scored 13 points in the period. Artis Gilmore managed only 1 field goal attempt in the 3rd period as he guarded most of the period by Gus Johnson. The Colonels scored an ABA playoff low 11 points in the 3rd period. Leading 73-68, Indiana sealed it with an 8-0 run: Roger Brown hit a 12-footer, Billy Keller hit a 17-footer off a Brown feed, Brown hit a 21-foot jumper & another 17-foot jumper to close the run. The final score 88-81 represents the closest Kentucky got in the last part of the game.

INDIANA MN FG-FGA FT-FTA OR DR RB AS TO PF PTS
Hillman 44  3-10   1-2    3 10 13  0  2  4   7
McGinnis 39 11-21   5-6    2  5  7  1  3  3  27
Daniels 18  2-7    5-5    3  6  9  0  3  4   9
Freeman 35  6-14   3-4    2  0  2  4  4  2  15
Lewis 35  3-8    5-5    2  0  2  2  3  4  11
Brown 30  5-10   0-0    1  2  3  4  0  3  10
Keller 22  1-5    4-4    1  4  5  4  2  4   6
Johnson 13  1-2    1-2    1  6  7  1  3  1   3
Buse 4  0-0    0-0    0  0  0  0  0  0   0
TOTALS     240 32-77  24-28  15 33 48 16 20 25  88
3-PT: Keller 0-1, Brown 0-1
BL- Lewis 1, McGinnis 1
ST- Hillman 1, Daniels 1, Johnson 1, McGinnis 1
KENTUCKY MN FG-FGA FT-FTA OR DR RB AS TO PF PTS
Simons 22  4-10   3-3    1  1  2  3  4  2  11
Issel 42  5-15   2-2    4  6 10  4  3  5  12
Gilmore 46  8-15   3-5    7 10 17  0  5  4  19
Dampier 40  4-9    2-5    0  1  1  3  2  2  10
Mount 31  5-9    3-4    1  1  2  3  1  2  16
Ladner 16  3-9    0-0    0  2  2  1  2  6   7
Thomas 11  0-4    2-3    1  2  3  1  1  2   2
O達rien 19  0-6    2-2    0  1  1  1  1  3   2
Gale 11  0-1    0-1    1  2  3  1  1  2   0
Russell 2  1-1    0-2    1  0  1  0  0  1   2
TOTALS     240 30-79  17-27  16 26 42 17 20 29  81
3-PT: Mount 3-3, Ladner 1-4, Dampier 0-2, Gale 0-1, Issel 0-1,
Thomas 0-1
BL- Gilmore 4, Dampier 1
ST- Dampier 1, Thomas 1, Gale 1

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COMPOSITE BOXSCORE
INDIANA    G  MN  FG-FGA  3P-3PA  FT-FTA  OR  DR  RB  AS  PF  ST  TO  BL  PTS
Lewis 7 285  47-110   3-9    37-40   14  16  30  37  21   4  23   1  134
McGinnis 7 281  62-137   0-3    32-46   38  58  96  14  31   8  23   6  156
Daniels 7 250  46-115   0-0    21-27   29  64  93  17  28   2  13  10  113
Brown 7 237  31-70    2-11    8-12   10  24  34  12  19   5   7   7   72
Hillman 7 229  21-54    0-0     7-13   23  48  71   5  17   2  17   5   49
Freeman 7 203  24-71    0-0    20-25   10   9  19  24  19   2  16   0   68
Keller 6 108  13-41    1-11   11-12    7  13  20  13  16   1   6   1   38
Buse 5  54   3-11    0-1     5-7     3   6   9   2   7   9   5   0   11
Johnson 5  41   4-13    0-0     5-5     6  12  18   4   6   0   5   0   13
Arnzen 2   4   0-1     0-1     0-0     0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0    0
TOTALS 7     251-623   6-35  146-187 140 250 390 128 164  33 115  30  654
KENTUCKY    G  MN  FG-FGA  3P-3PA  FT-FTA  OR  DR  RB  AS  PF  ST  TO  BL  PTS
Gilmore 7 321  64-119   0-0    27-45   38  83 121  37  13   2  24  28  155
Issel 7 320  67-151   0-2    31-41   22  69  91  11  26   6  14   5  165
Dampier 7 276  44-87    6-15   13-21    3  10  13  23  22   8  13   1  107
Simon 7 228  28-74    0-3    10-11    7  20  27  37  21   5  17   1   66
Mount 7 215  31-83    4-10   21-28    8  10  18  19  11   4  11   2   87
O達rien 7 136  12-35    0-0    11-12    3   7  10  29  13   6  10   0   35
Thomas 6  85  11-24    0-1     2-7    11  16  27   4  15   3   7   4   24
Ladner 7  60   8-24    2-15    1-1     0  11  11   5  18   1   4   0   19
Gale 3  46   6-12    0-1     2-3     1   3   4   4  10   1   3   0   14
Russell 5   8   1-2     0-0     0-2     1   2   3   0   2   0   0   0    2
TOTALS 7     272-611  12-47  119-172  94 231 325 169 151  36 103  41  675

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