ABA Finals: (E1) Kentucky Colonels vs. (W3) Indiana Pacers
Strangely, due to
Freedom Hall likely already being booked, the ABA Finals was delayed for several days, which led to both teams in the Pacers (10 days) and Colonels (14 days) being considerably relaxed. In tune to ABA promotional wizardry, select Pacers fans even took interest of a package deal that offered a ticket, food and drink to go with bus transportation down
Interstate 65 to Louisville for just $17.50. Kentucky played with domination over Indiana, holding them to 37 percent shooting and outscoring 37-21 while the bench held firm even when Artis Gilmore was taken out for a time after getting his fifth foul. On the promotional side, the Pacers being held to under 100 points meant a free hamburger for every person to have bought a ticket (14,368). A rough first quarter (missing 16 shots) for Indiana meant that the Colonels had an early lead in the first half, but the Pacers went on a 23–8 run to lead by five at halftime. The Colonels eventually narrowed the lead down by the end of the third quarter to three and even led by six in the final quarter before the two teams tightened. The game was tied at 93 on a George McGinnis shot with 46 seconds to play. With twelve seconds remaining, a Pacer turnover gave the Colonels the ball.
Louie Dampier got the ball to
Dan Issel, who then got the ball to
Artis Gilmore to get the inside shot to give Kentucky the lead. Billy Keller tried a desperation shot from 40 feet out that had gone in, but the referees ruled that the shot was released after the buzzer while the Pacers contended that the clock did not start in time. The Pacers filed a protest with the league asking for a replay. A 41-point performance by Artis Gilmore lifted the Colonels to victory after being down by eight to start the final quarter (with a 92–83 game with eight minutes to go). Dan Issel scored seven straight points to cut the deficit before Louie Dampier tied it on a three and Gilmore hit a layup to pull the Colonels ahead as they held on for the final three minutes. Prior to the game, the request to replay Game 2 was denied by the league. The Pacers, facing elimination, managed to turn a 73–72 lead with nine minutes to go into an insurmountable one with shots from Billy Keller and others to go up 82–76 with six minutes to go. After eight years of frustration (which saw them hire seven head coaches) and two prior losses in the ABA Finals, the Colonels closed out Game 5 with a victory (their 22nd in the last 25 games combined) to win the championship. Indiana had the lead just two times as Kentucky controlled the game despite not leading by more than nine at any point, doing so with a fastbreak offense that did not waver. The Pacers did threaten late by narrowing it to 100–97 with 3:19 to go, but Marv Robers and McClain made quick baskets to keep a steady lead. Gilmore shot two free throws with under twenty seconds to go to fully clinch the victory.
Ted McClain had fifteen steals and
Artis Gilmore had 31 rebounds, each being league records for a postseason game. The Game 5 victory is the first (and so far only) time a team from the commonwealth of
Kentucky has won a professional championship. Along with both head coaches (
Hubie Brown and
Bobby Leonard), five players in the series have since been inducted into the
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame:
Louie Dampier,
Dan Issel,
Artis Gilmore,
Roger Brown, and
George McGinnis.
George McGinnis finished his postseason run with 581 points scored in eighteen total games, setting a new record for most points scored in a postseason by any basketball player. In addition to being the most scored for an ABA postseason, it was not surpassed by any player until
Larry Bird in the 1984 postseason. McGinnis was the first and only NBA/ABA player to lead the entire postseason in points, assists, and rebounds until
Nikola Jokić accomplished the feat in the
2023 NBA Playoffs. The Colonels issued a challenge to the NBA champion
Golden State Warriors and even offered money, but the NBA refused. True to the word of team co-owner Ellie Brown, the Colonel championship ring was inscribed with "World Champions" on the front. ==Statistical leaders==