# 1971–72 Indiana Pacers season

The 1971–72 Indiana Pacers season was the fifth season of the Pacers in the American Basketball Association. The Pacers finished second in the Western Division and won their second ABA title. In the division semifinals, the Pacers required seven games to eliminate the Denver Rockets. In the division finals, the Utah Stars were eliminated in seven games. The New York Nets appeared in the ABA Championships for the first time and were defeated by the Pacers in six games.

## Offseason
### ABA Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Pacers points | Opponents | Record |
| 1 | | | | | | |
| 2 | | | | | | |

### Season standings

1971–72 ABA Western Standings :
| Western Division | W | L | PCT. | GB |
| Utah Stars | 60 | 24 | .714 | – |
| Indiana Pacers | 47 | 37 | .560 | 13 |
| Dallas Chaparrals | 42 | 42 | .500 | 18 |
| Denver Rockets | 34 | 50 | .405 | 26 |
| Memphis Pros | 26 | 58 | .310 | 34 |

### Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; AVG = Average
| Player | GP | MIN | REB | AST | PTS |
| Mel Daniels | 79 | 2971 | 1297 | 176 | 1513 |
| Roger Brown | 78 | 2987 | 502 | 306 | 1444 |
| Bob Netolicky | 83 | 2905 | 764 | 83 | 1250 |
| George McGinnis | 73 | 2179 | 711 | 137 | 1234 |
| Freddie Lewis | 77 | 2714 | 327 | 362 | 1182 |
| Rick Mount | 78 | 2126 | 155 | 230 | 1113 |
| Bill Keller | 76 | 1729 | 164 | 264 | 737 |
| Darnell Hillman | 73 | 1386 | 478 | 49 | 515 |
| Larry Cannon | 28 | 478 | 33 | 72 | 186 |
| Donald Sidle | 27 | 394 | 95 | 10 | 175 |
| John Barnhill | 19 | 194 | 19 | 16 | 68 |

## Playoffs

Western Division Semifinals vs. Denver Rockets
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | March 31 | Indiana | 102–95 | 1–0 | 6,103 |
| 2 | April 1 | Indiana | 105–106 | 1–1 | 6,521 |
| 3 | April 4 | Denver | 122–120 | 2–1 | 5,304 |
| 4 | April 6 | Denver | 96–112 | 2–2 | 6,109 |
| 5 | April 8 | Indiana | 91–79 | 3–2 | 9,428 |
| 6 | April 9 | Denver | 99–106 | 3–3 | 5,815 |
| 7 | April 13 | Indiana | 91–89 | 4–3 | 8,643 |
Pacers won series, 4–3
Western Division Finals vs. Utah Stars
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | April 15 | Utah | 100–108 | 0–1 | 9,854 |
| 2 | April 17 | Utah | 109–117 | 0–2 | 11,780 |
| 3 | April 19 | Indiana | 116–111 | 1–2 | 7,489 |
| 4 | April 22 | Indiana | 118–108 | 2–2 | 13,007 |
| 5 | April 24 | Utah | 130–139 | 2–3 | 12,526 |
| 6 | April 26 | Indiana | 105–99 | 3–3 | 8,103 |
| 7 | May 1 | Utah | 117–113 | 4–3 | 12,724 |
Pacers won series, 4–3
ABA Finals vs. New York Nets
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | May 6 | Indiana | 124–103 | 1–0 | 7,483 |
| 2 | May 9 | Indiana | 115–117 | 1–1 | 10,079 |
| 3 | May 12 | New York | 114–108 | 2–1 | 15,241 |
| 4 | May 15 | New York | 105–110 | 2–2 | 15,890 |
| 5 | May 18 | Indiana | 100–99 | 3–2 | 10,079 |
| 6 | May 20 | New York | 108–105 | 4–2 | 10,434 |
Pacers won series, 4–2

## Awards, records, and honors

* Roger Brown appeared in the 1972 ABA All-Star Game
* Mel Daniels appeared in the 1972 ABA All-Star Game
* Freddie Lewis appeared in the 1972 ABA All-Star Game