Question: The 1948–49 New York Knicks season was the third season for the team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which later became the National Basketball Association (NBA),New York qualified for the playoffs, and defeated which American Basketball League (1944–47) team, and later, a Basketball Association of America (1947–49), and (beginning in 1949, following the BAA's absorption of the National Basketball League) a National Basketball Association team based in Baltimore?  

Context paragraphs:
1947–48 New York Knicks season: The 1947–48 New York Knicks season was the second season for the team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which later became known as the National Basketball Association.  The Knicks finished in second place in the Eastern Division with a 26–22 record and qualified for the BAA Playoffs.  In the first round, New York was eliminated by the Baltimore Bullets in a best-of-three series, two games to one.  Carl Braun was the team's scoring leader during the season.

Baltimore Bullets (1944–54): The Baltimore Bullets were an American Basketball League (1944–47) team, and later, a Basketball Association of America (1947–49), and (beginning in 1949, following the BAA's absorption of the National Basketball League) a National Basketball Association team based in Baltimore.  The team folded November 27, 1954 with a 3–11 record, making the Bullets the last NBA franchise to do so, as of 2016.  Out of all defunct NBA teams, the Bullets were members of the association for the longest time and the only defunct team to win a championship.

1948–49 New York Knicks season: The 1948–49 New York Knicks season was the third season for the team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which later became the National Basketball Association (NBA).  The Knicks had a 32–28 record in 1948–49 and finished second in the Eastern Division, six games behind the Washington Capitols.  New York qualified for the playoffs, and defeated the Baltimore Bullets 2–1 in a best-of-three series to earn a place in the Eastern Division Finals.  In the division championship series, the Knicks lost to the Capitols, two games to one.  Before the 1949–50 season, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League to form the NBA.

1947 BAA draft: The 1947 BAA draft was the inaugural draft of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which later became the National Basketball Association (NBA).  The draft was held on July 1, 1947, before the 1947–48 season.  In this draft, nine remaining BAA teams along with the Baltimore Bullets who joined the BAA from the American Basketball League, took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players.  In the first round of the draft, the teams select in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season, while the Bullets were assigned the tenth pick, the last pick of the first round.  Both the Pittsburgh Ironmen and Toronto Huskies participated in this draft, but they folded before the season opened.

1948 BAA Playoffs: The 1948 BAA Playoffs was the postseason tournament following the Basketball Association of America 1947–48 season.  (Following its third, 1948–49 season, the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association or NBA.)  The tournament concluded with the Baltimore Bullets defeating the Philadelphia Warriors 4 games to 2 in the BAA Finals.

1946–47 BAA season: The 1946–47 BAA season was the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America.  (Following its third, the 1948–49 season, the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association or NBA.)  The league launched with 11 teams playing a 60-game schedule.  The postseason tournament at its conclusion, the 1947 BAA Playoffs, ended with the Philadelphia Warriors becoming the first BAA Champion, beating the Chicago Stags 4 games to 1 in the BAA Finals.

NBA Conference Finals: The National Basketball Association Conference Finals are the Eastern and Western championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA), a major professional basketball league in North America.  The NBA was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).  The NBA adopted its current name at the start of the 1949–50 season when the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL).  The league currently consists of 30 teams, of which 29 are located in the United States and 1 in Canada.  Each team plays 82 games in the regular season.  After the regular season, eight teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs.  At the end of the playoffs, the top two teams play each other in the Conference Finals, to determine the Conference Champions from each side, who then proceed to play in the NBA Finals.

1947–48 BAA season: The 1947–48 BAA season was the second season of the Basketball Association of America.  (Following its third, 1948–49 season, the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association or NBA.)  The postseason tournament at its conclusion, the 1948 BAA Playoffs, ended with the Baltimore Bullets winning the BAA Championship, beating the Philadelphia Warriors 4 games to 2 in the BAA Finals.

1948–49 BAA season: The 1948–49 BAA season was the third and final season of the Basketball Association of America.  (Later that year the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association or NBA.)  The postseason tournament at its conclusion, the 1949 BAA Playoffs, ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning the BAA Championship, beating the Washington Capitols 4 games to 2 in the BAA Finals.

1947 BAA Finals: The 1947 BAA Finals was the championship round of playoffs following the inaugural Basketball Association of America 1946–47 season.  The Philadelphia Warriors of the Eastern Division faced the Chicago Stags of the Western Division for the inaugural championship, with Philadelphia having home court advantage.  Hall of Fame inductee Joe Fulks played for the Warriors in the series.  Following the 1948–49 season (the BAA's third season of play), the BAA and the National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association.

Supporting paragraphs: 1948–49 New York Knicks season Baltimore Bullets (1944–54)
Answer: Baltimore Bullets