A History of Nets Overtime Playoff Basketball

April 17, 1970, OT:
New York Nets 122, Kentucky Colonels 118

In their third season of existence in 1969-70, the then-New York Nets of the American Basketball Association (ABA) made their first franchise playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. It wasn’t that impressive an accomplishment, as the 39-45 Nets played in a league in which 2/3rds of the league made the postseason. In an odd playoff structure where the first seed played the third seed and the second seed played the fourth seed, the fourth-seeded Nets played the second-seeded Kentucky Colonels in the first round.

Game 1 took place in the bluegrass state on April 17, 1970, with the Nets upsetting the Colonels 122-118 in one overtime. Unfortunately, box scores for 1970 ABA games have not been digitized, so the story of the Nets first playoff victory remains somewhat mysterious to those of us in the 21st century who were not alive at the time to follow the game. While no box score remains, we at least know that the Nets’ Levern Tart led all scorers with 46 points, tying an ABA record with 19 two-point field goals.

Despite upsetting the Colonels in Game 1, the Nets would go on to lose the series 4-3.

Next: March 31, 1973

April 19, 1970 | March 31, 1973 | May 6, 1974 | May 4, 1994 | April 24, 1998 | May 2, 2002 | April 26, 2003 | May 12, 2003 | May 14, 2004 | April 28, 2005 | April 27, 2013