Syracuse Nationals @ Minneapolis Lakers Game 1 1954 NBA Finals 31 March 1954

Описание: “Game of the Week” footage of the first game of the 1954 “World Series of Basketball,” which found the Minneapolis Lakers hosting the Syracuse Nationals, on March 31, 1954 before 4,579 fans

As is evident from the commentary (by Dick Enroth), this is not the “live” NBA Game of the Week which was presented by the Dumont Network; rather, this appears to be a syndicated package, intended for weekly viewing (curiously, during the sign off Enroth says the next week’s game will feature Milwaukee Hawks at Baltimore Bullets—the two-bottom dwellers in the NBA that year; odd programming choice in the middle of the NBA Finals)

Notwithstanding the grand title, the “World Series of Basketball” was, in reality, the NBA finals. Minneapolis—featuring “Mr. Basketball,” George Mikan—was THE dynasty of the early NBA, and was seeking a fifth title in seven years. Their challengers came in battered and bruised; Syracuse stars Dolph Schayes and Earl Lloyd saw limited duty due to injuries suffered in the Eastern Division finals against Boston, and the Nats were never able to get their “run-and-gun” offense on track

Nevertheless, Syracuse kept the game close, leading 13-10 after the first quarter and down only 34-31 at the half. Syracuse closed the gap to 2 early in the 4th quarter, but the Lakers pulled away against the tiring Nationals, outscoring the visitors, 23-18, for a 79-68. The Lakers’ two centers, Clyde Lovelette and George Mikan, led Minneapolis scorers with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Syracuse center Bob Lavoy had 15 for the losers. That centers were the leading scorers gives you an idea of the importance of the pivot position in early professional basketball

Enjoying home court advantage in the series, the Lakers prevailed in seven games, winning their third straight title

Footage from this package was played on ESPN, interspersed with reflections about George Mikan; poor video copies of that presentation have been on YouTube for awhile, along with annoying “pop up” graphics of facts that had been inserted by ESPN. Here, for the first time, is a crystal clear (albeit slightly watermarked) copy of the COMPLETE broadcast. The footage was in seven separate pieces which needed to be cobbled together. Unfortunately, the sound from this source is long gone, so the audio from the ESPN telecast has been dubbed in. As this video includes footage not used by ESPN, the missing audio has been replaced with music