1960–61 St. Louis Hawks season
Prior to the 1960–61 St. Louis Hawks season owner Ben Kerner changed coaches despite reaching the 1960 NBA Finals. Ed Macauley was replaced with Paul Seymour.[1] On the court, rookie Lenny Wilkens was averaging 11.7 points per game in his first year.[1] The brunt of the scoring came from the Hawks' front line of Bob Pettit, Cliff Hagan, and Clyde Lovellette. They combined for 72.0 points per game, and the Hawks won the West by 15 games.[1] The Hawks finished the season with a record of 51–28. In the playoffs, the Hawks needed a 1-point overtime win in Game 6 on the road to force a 7th game with the Los Angeles Lakers. Game 7 was played in St. Louis and the Hawks beat the Lakers by 2 points.[1] The Hawks then were up against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. The Hawks fell in 5 games as the Celtics won their 4th NBA Title in 5 seasons.
| 1960–61 St. Louis Hawks season | |
|---|---|
Division champions | |
| Head coach | Paul Seymour |
| Arena | Kiel Auditorium |
| Results | |
| Record | 51–28 (.646) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | NBA Finals (Eliminated 1–4) |
Regular season
Standings
| Western Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-St. Louis Hawks | 51 | 28 | .646 | – | 29–5 | 15–20 | 7–3 | 25–14 |
| x-Los Angeles Lakers | 36 | 43 | .456 | 15 | 16–12 | 8–20 | 12–11 | 19–20 |
| x-Detroit Pistons | 34 | 45 | .430 | 17 | 20–11 | 3–19 | 11–15 | 18–21 |
| Cincinnati Royals | 33 | 46 | .418 | 18 | 18–13 | 8–19 | 7–14 | 16–23 |
Record vs. opponents
| 1960-61 NBA Records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CIN | DET | LAL | NYK | PHI | STL | SYR |
| Boston | — | 7–3 | 8–2 | 8–2 | 10–3 | 8–5 | 6–4 | 10–3 |
| Cincinnati | 3–7 | — | 2–11 | 8–5 | 8–2 | 2–8 | 6–7 | 4–6 |
| Detroit | 2–8 | 11–2 | — | 4–9 | 5–5 | 5–5 | 3–10 | 4–6 |
| Los Angeles | 2–8 | 5–8 | 9–4 | — | 7–3 | 2–8 | 5–8 | 6–4 |
| New York | 3–10 | 2–8 | 5–5 | 3–7 | — | 2–11 | 1–9 | 5–8 |
| Philadelphia | 5–8 | 8–2 | 5–5 | 8–2 | 11–2 | — | 3–7 | 6–7 |
| St. Louis | 4–6 | 7–6 | 10–3 | 8–5 | 9–1 | 7–3 | — | 6–4 |
| Syracuse | 3–10 | 6–4 | 6–4 | 4–6 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 4–6 | — |
Playoffs
West Division Semifinals
The Hawks had a division semifinal bye.
West Division Finals
(1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Los Angeles Lakers: Hawks win series 4–3
- Game 1 @ St. Louis: Los Angeles 122, St. Louis 118
- Game 2 @ St. Louis: St. Louis 121, Los Angeles 106
- Game 3 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 118, St. Louis 112
- Game 4 @ Los Angeles: St. Louis 118, Los Angeles 117
- Game 5 @ St. Louis: Los Angeles 121, St. Louis 112
- Game 6 @ Los Angeles: St. Louis 114, Los Angeles 113 (OT)
- Game 7 @ St. Louis: St. Louis 105, Los Angeles 103
NBA Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (1) St. Louis Hawks: Celtics win series 4–1
- Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 129, St. Louis 95
- Game 2 @ Boston: Boston 116, St. Louis 108
- Game 3 @ St. Louis: St. Louis 124, Boston 120
- Game 4 @ St. Louis: Boston 119, St. Louis 104
- Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 121, St. Louis 112