Summary
The Boston Celtics boasted some great individual performances. Center Easy Ed Macauley scored 46 points in a game, tying him with George Mikan for the season high. Guard Bill Sharman hit his first 11 shots in another game to tie the NBA record. And the other guard, Bob Cousy, also tied a league record by making 15 of 15 free throws in yet another game, and he established new records with 18 assists in a game and 547 for the season.
Despite those heroics, though, the Celtics finished only third in the Eastern Division, behind New York and Syracuse. Cousy also turned in the top performance of the playoffs, scoring 50 points in a four-overtime win over Syracuse in the first round.
But the Knicks eliminated the Celtics in the second round, while the Minneapolis Lakers took a hard-fought 3-2 series win over Fort Wayne to get into the finals.
It was the first time both first-place teams from the regular season had met in the championship round. It looked good for the Knicks after they stole first game in Minneapolis, but the Lakers came back to win the next four in a row for their fourth NBA championship.
Neil Johnston of Philadelphia was the league scoring leader, with Mikan second and Cousy third. Mikan again led in rebounding.
The NBA gave a Rookie of the Year award for the first time. It went to Don Meineke of Fort Wayne. That was the league's only post-season award until 1955-56, when the Most Valuable Player award was established.
