Freddie Lewis

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These are the 10 players who comprised the playoff roster for the Pacers' 1970 championship team and their regular season averages.

Remembering the Pacers' First Championship, 50 Years Later »

Four of the 10 players on the Pacers' 1970 playoff roster have passed away: Roger Brown, Mel Daniels, John Barnhill, and Jay Miller. The remaining members are spread throughout the country:

Art Becker (Tempe, Ariz.): Acquired in a preseason trade with the Carolina Cougars, much to his relief and to the Pacers' benefit. Was an ABA All-Star in the league's first season two years earlier when he averaged 18.8 points for Houston. Was a solid reserve on this team, hitting 52 percent of his field goal attempts and scoring in double figures in six playoff games.

He was traded to Denver the following season but remembers his season-and-a-half with the Pacers as the highlight of his six-season professional career.

"It was just magical for me," he says. "The community was great. People would know who you are everywhere you went."

Becker's favorite memory was getting a press pass for the Indianapolis 500 and watching the race from inside the first turn. "It was just crazy," he says. "I might have taken a couple of pictures."

Has lived in Arizona since retiring in 1973 but stays in touch with his former roommate, Keller, and Netolicky. Also saw Thacker a few years ago when Thacker was passing through the Tempe area, and returns occasionally for reunions.

Oliver Darden (Sunrise, Fla.): A starter on the original Pacers team two years earlier. There's credible evidence he scored the first basket in franchise history. Was traded away the following season and then reacquired during this season — and then released again in training camp the following season.

Fed up with the uncertainty of pro basketball and having options, he retired instead of trying to land a spot with another team and went on to have the most successful career of all the members of this team in financial terms.

He worked for Eli Lilly for a while, then State Farm Insurance for 15 years. He earned a Masters degree from Northwestern in 1982 and eventually accumulated 15 Burger King franchises. He sold those in 2002 and has been retired since.

Played a major role off the bench in one of the first-round victories over Carolina after Daniels got in foul trouble.

Stays in close touch with former Pacers teammate Jerry Harkness and returns to Indianapolis often.

Billy Keller (Bloomington, Ind. in summer, St. Petersburg, Fla. in winter): Considered a novelty by some fans at first, he earned everyone's respect in short order. He was particularly effective in the playoffs after getting a starting opportunity when Lewis became ill before the opener of the second round against Kentucky.

Scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games in the postseason, outplaying Kentucky's All-Star guard Louie Dampier in the second round and then outplaying L.A.'s first-team all-rookie guard Mack Calvin in the first four games of the finals.

Went on to play seven seasons for the Pacers and remains one of the most popular players in Indiana's basketball history. Has rings for a high school state championship, an NCAA runner-up finish, and three ABA titles.

"He earned his opportunity to play," Darden says. "He practiced really hard. He was a hustler who took nothing for granted. He made himself into a very good ballplayer."

Freddie Lewis (Washington, D.C.): Point guard and captain of all three Pacers championship teams. Major contributor who deferred much of his potential scoring to the frontline players.

"Mel and Roger wouldn't have been what they were without Freddie," Becker says.

Averaged 16.4 points during the regular season but raised that to 20.4 in the playoffs. Averaged 26.5 points in the first round against Carolina. The Pacers' only loss in the first two rounds was the one he sat out with the flu.

Spends most of his time today caring for his mother, but remains in contact with several former teammates and attends reunions.

Bob Netolicky (Austin, Texas): The team's best water-skier was also its most consistent player. Averaged 20.6 points during the regular season, 20.3 in the postseason, and 20.3 in the finals against the Stars. Scored in double figures every game and 30 or more three times.

Voted to play in the All-Star Game his first four seasons.

"He could rebound, he could run the floor, he had that 15-18 foot jump shot...he was just a damn good player," coach Bob Leonard says. "But you had to beat it out of him."

Moved to Austin last summer to be with his daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids. Has led an effort to get pension money for ABA players for several years and knows the whereabouts of just about every living ABA player.

Tom Thacker (Cincinnati, Ohio): Only man to have played on NCAA, NBA, and ABA championship teams. Won one in the semi-pro North American Basketball League as well.

Not a shooter but contributed everything else. Biggest playoff moment in this season came in Game 6 against the Stars when he played 33 minutes off the bench and contributed 11 points and 10 assists.

Nicknamed "Dogg" in college after a cartoon character. Carried influence in the locker room as a veteran leader and team psychologist who knew how to motivate.

Has been a regular attendee of Pacers games for several years as well as their annual golf outing. Suffered a stroke last year and is rehabilitating.

Have a question for Mark? Want it to be on Pacers.com? Email him at askmontieth@gmail.com and you could be featured in his next mailbag.

Mark Montieth's book on the formation and groundbreaking seasons of the Pacers, "Reborn: The Pacers and the Return of Pro Basketball to Indianapolis," is available in bookstores throughout Indiana and on Amazon.com.

Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Indiana Pacers. All opinions expressed by Mark Montieth are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Indiana Pacers, their partners, or sponsors.

the-1969-70-aba-champion-pacers

The 1969-70 ABA Champion Pacers

It won more games than any other ABA Pacers team. It played in the franchise's first nationally televised games. It was feted in two parades, not to mention a ham and bean dinner. And then the players all went to Bermuda, where the star player crashed his mini-bike into someone's house.

The Pacers team that won the 1970 ABA championship 50 years ago Monday wasn't the best of the franchise's three teams that won titles, but it had the most fun, the wildest ride, and the greatest impact on fans in Indianapolis, where a "major league" team had never won a championship.

The title was clinched with a 111-107 victory over the Los Angeles Stars, in Los Angeles, on May 25 — technically the 26th in Indianapolis because the game didn't begin until 11 p.m. local time. It could have happened in Game 5 in Indianapolis if not for a star player going water-skiing the day before the game, but we'll get to that later.

Point was, the Pacers won it all and the city didn't care how, when, or where. It just wanted something to celebrate, and how it went about doing so revealed the team's impact.

The Pacers flew home via commercial jet the next day. A parade was conducted the day after that, the 27th, carrying the players, coaches, and front office executives from the team office at 638 E. 38th St. west to Meridian and south to the Circle, where 7,500 fans were waiting.

So were Mayor Richard Lugar and Governor Edgar Whitcomb, who jointly declared it to be "Indiana Pacers Day."

"Indianapolis has finally been put on the map," Lugar said. "It's truly a big-league city. For this we will always be grateful to the Indiana Pacers."

Lugar was guilty of some in-the-moment hyperbole. The Indianapolis 500 had done a good job of making the city known to the world long before that. Still, the championship had real-world value. It boosted civic pride, acted as a unifying force, and amplified the brewing argument for a new arena that came to fruition four years later when Market Square Arena was completed.

Later that evening the Pacers were honored again at a ham and beans dinner in the Farmers Building north of the harness racing track at the State Fairgrounds. Hambeens Junction, a local restaurant, helped sponsor the event, which made it possible for fans to buy tickets for $1.25 each. One newspaper article reported about 700 people were turned away.

That idea came from general manager Mike Storen, who had built the Pacers into a championship team and was about to leave to take over the Kentucky Colonels.

"Mike gets all the credit," recalls Bill McGowan, who organized the banquet. "He didn't want a big-shot dinner. He wanted the real fans."

The Pacers' 37-year-old coach, Bob Leonard, and the players returned downtown to mingle with the fans the next day for the annual 500 Festival Parade. They brought up the rear in a line of convertibles containing drivers in the 500-Mile Race, three astronauts, and television celebrities such as Merv Griffin, Edie Adams, Buddy Ebsen, and, most memorably to some of the players, Frank Sutton — better known as Sergeant Carter on "Gomer Pyle."

"The biggest cheers of all were saved for the Indiana Pacers," a story in the Indianapolis News reported. "As they headed up Meridian, dozens of young fans, both girls and boys, flocked to their cars for a handshake or an autograph."

As if all that wasn't enough recognition for one team, Leonard and his wife, Nancy, were included in the pre-race parade laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway two days later, waving to fans from another convertible.

"I'd never been on the track before," Nancy recalls. "I didn't realize it was tilted. It was amazing riding around the track. Someone you knew would yell at you and you could actually hear them and see them."

The team that brought on all this commotion played at a turning point in the city's history, and in fact helped create that turning point. Local leaders were diligently working and planning to make Indianapolis a major league city, and winning a championship in a major basketball league that was growing in stature was as good a way as any to project that image.

The Pacers' later ABA championship teams, in 1972 and '73, were more talented than this one but lacked the harmony, raw enthusiasm, and unspoiled demeanor of this one. They didn't win as often or as easily, either.

The 1970 champions' frontline of Roger Brown, Bob Netolicky, and Mel Daniels all had played in the All-Star game at the Fairgrounds Coliseum that season. Point guard Freddie Lewis had played in the All-Star Game two years earlier and would be voted MVP of the game five years later.

Rookie Billy Keller had led Washington High School to the state championship five years earlier and earned Mr. Basketball honors, and had quarterbacked Purdue to the final game of the NCAA tournament the previous season. A late draft choice, he established himself as much more than a local fan favorite in his first season and started throughout the playoffs.

The rest of the 10-man playoff roster included guards John Barnhill and Tom Thacker, both veterans of the NBA, and forwards Art Becker, Oliver Darden, and Jay Miller.

1969-70 Pacers: Stats and Where Are They Now »

Each player accepted his role. Each player was happy to be there.

The Pacers won a league-best 59 games in the 84-game regular season, eight more than any of the 10 other ABA teams. The could have surpassed 60 victories without much trouble, but had gone 5-7 over the final month of the season because Leonard went to a platoon system to save legs for the playoffs.

The highlight of the regular season came in a 177-135 victory over Pittsburgh at the Coliseum on Sunday, April 12. It was a 2 p.m. game, the third in less than 48 hours, and the third-to-last of the regular season. It might be panned as a mockery today, but was accepted gleefully then. Pittsburgh was a poor team, winning just 29 games that season, and the Pacers were fouling quickly at the end to get the ball back so they could break the record of 172 points they had set the previous year.

Still, 177 points don't come easily under any circumstance and none of the Pacers went longer than 31 minutes, so it wasn't a total farce. It remains the most points scored by an ABA or NBA team in a non-overtime game. Only two Pacers failed to reach double figures, but they contributed in other ways. Daniels, who took just 11 shots, grabbed 17 rebounds. Thacker, who took just five, had nine rebounds and 11 assists.

If any one game could reflect a team's balance and depth, that was it.

"We are ready for the playoffs," Leonard told reporters afterward.

The Pacers were the obvious favorite to win the championship. Barnhill even predicted late in the season they would not lose more than three games in the playoffs and he turned out to be right. They swept Carolina in four games in the first round and then eliminated Kentucky in five games in the second.

Keller was called into the starting lineup in the first game against Kentucky in the second round because Lewis came down with the flu and he kept that spot the rest of the way. When Lewis was healthy enough to play again, Barnhill went to the bench. Keller made his greatest postseason contribution in that series, when he clearly outplayed Kentucky's All-Star guard, Louie Dampier.

Freddie Lewis (left), Bob Netolicky (middle), and Billy Keller (right) filled out the Pacers' starting lineup in the 1970 ABA Finals. (Photo Credit: Pacers Sports & Entertainment)

That left the championship series against the Stars, who had put on a late rush to win 43 games and barely qualify for the playoffs. Bill Sharman, who by then had been inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame as a player and would be let in again 34 years later as a coach, directed the Stars to an upset of the Western Division's best regular season team, Denver, in the second round.

The Pacers easily won Game 1 on a Friday evening in Indianapolis, 109-93, as Brown, Netolicky, Daniels, and Lewis each scored between 18 and 22 points.

Game 2, on Sunday afternoon, made history as the first ABA game to be televised nationally other than an All-Star game. Don Criqui and Pat Summerall handled the broadcast for CBS. Summerall was a prominent football announcer for the network, but who else was it going to get when it hadn't been carrying basketball games?

The Pacers wore their navy blue road uniforms in Game 2 because their home whites didn't contrast well enough with the Stars' powder blue road uniforms. It made for an odd sight in an era when the home team always wore white, but it was a small sacrifice to make for the opportunity for unprecedented exposure. The broadcast was blacked out locally but was a point of pride for fans who craved national recognition.

The Pacers won that game less easily than the first, 114-111. Netolicky led the scoring with 32 points, hitting 14-of-22 shots, including 10 in a row in the second half. He also grabbed the game's biggest rebound with six seconds left, drawing a foul and hitting two free throws to complete the scoring.

"I played that way for my man Johnny Rutherford," said Netolicky, a rabid race fan. "He inspired me yesterday when he almost got the pole for the 500-mile race."

Mel Daniels added 31 points and 27 rebounds and permitted Stars center Craig Raymond just eight points.

"I thought we played terrible," Daniels said. "But Los Angeles played a terrific game, especially that second unit."

The ABA schedules were notoriously illogical and unforgiving in those days, even in the playoffs. After Game 2, both teams headed for the airport and boarded the same flight to Anaheim, where Games 3 and 4 would be played the following two nights. Netolicky remembers migrating to the first-class section where he got a look at Conrad Hilton Sr., the 82-year old founder of the hotel chain.

The Pacers lost Game 3, 109-105, after squandering a 21-point at the end of the first quarter but came back the following night to take a 3-1 series lead with a 142-120 victory.

And here is where Roger Brown began cementing his legend.

Brown scored 53 points, still a franchise playoff scoring record, while hitting 18-of-29 shots and 14-of-16 free throws. He also grabbed 13 rebounds and passed out six assists, both team highs.

Brown was just a few days short of his 28th birthday and at his physical and emotional peak. His body hadn't begun breaking down and he hadn't yet been softened by success or his poor health habits. He was virtually unstoppable offensively, living up to the "Man of a Thousand Moves" nickname some newspaper reporters had attached to him, and he played with the regal bearing that made his more common nickname, The Rajah, a perfect fit.

Brown cited two factors in his 53-point outburst: news shoes and miniature golf.

He wore navy blue adidas "Superstars," a recently released leather model accented with three stripes that was about to take over the national marketplace for basketball shoes from the Converse Chuck Taylors. He said they made him quicker. Keller, for one, thought it strange a player would wear a new pair of shoes in a game without breaking them in first, but this was a break from canvas shoes of old.

Brown also found a way to calm his nerves. Admittedly putting pressure on himself earlier in the series, he had played miniature golf with a few teammates that afternoon near the team hotel, which was across the street from Disneyland.

"I thought walking around the course would relax me," he said.

The Pacers had a chance to wrap up the championship four days later, on a Saturday afternoon, back at the Coliseum in another game broadcast by CBS — with "color cameras" the Indianapolis Star pointed out. Champagne was on ice in the locker room and the city was braced to celebrate on its own turf.

Pat Vidan, the longtime starter for the "500," met the team at the airport and waved a white flag, signifying one lap to go. The headline in the Indianapolis News read, "Pacers Are Near Own Victory Lane." A standing room only crowd of more than 10,000 fans turned out to see it unfold.

The players, however, succumbed to the moment. They admitted later they were emotionally uptight. And one was physically tight.

Netolicky had gone water skiing the previous day on Morse Reservoir with his attorney, Mike Quinn. Capable of slaloming on one ski, he put a strain on arm and shoulder muscles that he hadn't used in basketball. It's no wonder, then, he hit just 7-of-22 shots and fired a few air balls in the next day's game, a 117-113 loss in overtime.

"I missed about 10 easy shots," he recalls. "If I hadn't gone water skiing, we would have won it at home."

He says he waited about four years before admitting his misadventure to Leonard.

"The jerk," Leonard says today, not angrily.

Netolicky wasn't the only Pacer missing shots, though. Lewis hit 6-of-21 attempts and Brown's 10-footer at the buzzer that could have won the game in regulation rimmed out. Brown, however, owed no apologies.  He finished with 39 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists.

The players have acknowledged they failed to handle the moment, then and now.

"We were all nervous," Lewis says. "That's why we blew the game. We were like, 'Oh, boy, we're going to win this thing at home before our fans!' But they fought us to the wire."

Leonard, though, promised the championship would come.

"We will see what they (the Stars) do Monday night, and if we don't win Monday, we'll win Tuesday," he said. "The Indiana Pacers will win the ABA title; you can be sure of that."

So, the two teams headed back to California for Game 6, this time to Los Angeles instead of Anaheim. The downtown Sports Arena, where the NBA Lakers had played before The Forum opened in 1967, was available for this one, unlike in Games 3 and 4. A crowd of 8,233, a record for the Stars in L.A., showed up, including Lakers stars Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, comedian Bill Cosby, and movie star Mickey Rooney. Keller isn't sure, but he believes noted actress Debbie Reynolds was on hand as well.

More than likely they had come to see Brown, who was making headlines in the Los Angeles newspapers. So maybe it wasn't such a bad thing Netolicky had gone water skiing, after all. It gave Brown an extra opportunity to put on a show, and in the world's entertainment capital.

If he was anxious, he didn't let on. Nancy Leonard recalls standing to the side of aisle leading from the locker room to the court, anxiety threatening to get the best of her.

"Roger came by and took one look at me and said, 'My god, you look like you're about to go to the death chamber,'" she remembers. "He didn't seem nervous at all."

Brown went on to score 45 points, 21 of them coming on seven 3-pointers — a franchise record at the time — to lead a 111-107 victory that clinched the championship. Lewis hit the game's biggest shot, a 16-footer with 16 seconds left, and added a free throw nine seconds later. Brown, fittingly, scored the Pacers' final points with two free throws with two seconds remaining.

The Pacers got a break when L.A. center Craig Raymond sprained his ankle and had to sit out the last 19 minutes, but the Stars fought to the end without him. Literally, on one occasion. Netolicky, who finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds, exchanged blows with George Stone in the fourth quarter and needed eight stitches to close a cut above his left eye. Neither player was kicked out, which is how things tended to go in the ABA.

Brown let down his guard when the final buzzer sounded, rushing to the sideline to hug Leonard. He had just put on a postseason tour de force never to be forgotten in Pacers lore by averaging 28.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 5.6 assists over the three postseason rounds and 45.7 points on 71 percent shooting over the final three games against the Stars. He had played every second in those three except for part of the final minute in the Game 4 blowout when he scored 53 points.

The locker room champagne celebration that had eluded the Pacers in the previous game in Indianapolis came off this time. But once things calmed down and the players began to shower and dress, Daniels — who had grabbed 27 rebounds in the game and blocked a shot late in the game — experienced what he claimed years later to be his career highlight: Brown walked across the room, kissed him on the forehead and said, "Can you believe we just won this championship?"

Brown created a lot of lasting memories that night.

"You have to have a Roger Brown in order to win a championship," Darden says. "The Stars knew they had to stop him to have a chance and they couldn't do it. He put on a show. And I had the best seat in the house."

Sharman had seen plenty of great individual performances in his playing and coaching career, but never one like this.

"In my 20 years in pro basketball, I've never seen a player come up with such consistently superb performances in playoff games," Sharman said. "Roger just dominated, and that's tough for a forward to do."

West, one of the greatest guards ever to play the game, was equally impressed.

"I have no doubts he could start on any team in my league," West told the Los Angeles Times. "I bet we could even find a spot for him on the Lakers."

The celebrations didn't end with the parades.

In June, the Pacers' ownership paid for the players and their spouses to vacation in Bermuda. Becker had to miss it to attend his sister's wedding and Leonard stayed behind to be with his college coach at Indiana University, Branch McCracken, who was near death in an Indianapolis hospital. Everyone else, however, had a typically fun time.

Darden and Keller recall Brown, of all people, losing control of his motorized mini-bike and riding over a mound and into a house. Daniels' wife, Cecelia, ran her bike across the road into a cluster of bushes.

"After that happened, I think everybody became a lot more careful," Darden says.

Rings later were distributed. Leonard, who had held onto his job with Herff Jones as a graduation supplies representative, designed them. Each one included the motto he had adopted during the regular season: Pride, Poise and Perfection.

Most of the surviving players have stored them away, either in lock boxes at home or in bank safety deposit boxes. Darden gave his to the second of his three sons. Brown's is with his oldest son, Roger Jr.

Championships aren't about rings, though. They are about the lasting memories of accomplishment, and this team produced them in abundance — not only for themselves but for a fan base that finally got a taste of what it was like to live in a big-league city.

Even if that taste bore a faint resemblance to ham and beans.

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Remembering the Pacers' First Championship, 50 Years Later

The Seventies were awfully good to the Pacers. The first half, anyway.

While the latter part of the decade that will be honored at Saturday's game against Portland at Bankers Life Fieldhouse brought decline and near-extinction, the first half brought three championships and an unexpected trip to the ABA finals. That stretch remains the best period in franchise history, one resulting from a favorable set of circumstances that could never be duplicated in today's world.

The seasons completed between 1970 and '75 brought an average of 51 wins despite a massive rebuilding effort before the sixth season. They resulted in titles in 1970, '72 and '73 and ended with an improbable run to the finals. Although the titles were condensed within a five-season period, only four players were members of all three teams – Mel Daniels, Freddie Lewis, Roger Brown and Billy Keller. The starting lineup was different for each of the teams, but the coach remained the same. All were clinched on the road, two of them after failing to do so at home in the previous game.

Here's a look at each of the ABA championships and how they were won.

The Pacers primed for their first title by reaching the finals of the 1969 playoffs in their second season. They had lost seven of their first eight games, and were 2-7 when Bob "Slick" Leonard took over as coach. He won just three of his first 11 games, giving the team a 5-15 record, but gradually stoked the fire in the furnace and brought his players to a boiling point.

They won 13 consecutive games before the final two meaningless games of the regular season to finish 44-34. They came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Kentucky in the first round of the playoffs, then disposed of Miami in five games in the second round.

Beating Oakland for the title was going to be a different matter entirely, however. The Oaks had gone 60-18, dominating the league with experienced veterans Larry Brown and Doug Moe and the league's Rookie of the Year, Warren Armstrong. They were so gifted they didn't even need Rick Barry, the NBA star who had jumped across the bay to the ABA but had to sit out the second half of the season with a knee injury. They won four out of five games against the Pacers to claim the championship.

1970s CENTRAL: Learn More About the Decade at Pacers.com/1970s »

The Oaks moved to Washington D.C. the following season, however, and were never the same again. Their future Hall of Fame coach, Alex Hannum, refused to go with the team, as did Moe. Barry played, but wasn't healthy until late in the season, and never was happy. Armstrong, who later changed his name to Jabali, blew out a knee in January, just a few days after scoring 46 points against Denver.

So much for the defending champion. The only other former title team, the Pittsburgh Pipers, had lost former league MVP Connie Hawkins to the NBA, and was no longer a factor, either.

That left the Pacers to rule the league. Their roster included four players who had played in the All-Star game at least one of the first two seasons – reigning league MVP Daniels, Brown, Lewis and Bob Netolicky – and an improving bench bolstered by rookie Keller and NBA veterans Tom Thacker and John Barnhill.

They jumped out to a 27-5 record, and finished the season 59-25 despite winning just five of their last 12 games while Leonard rested his starters and experimented with new plays. They made history in one of those late wins, however, with a 177-135 victory over Pittsburgh to set an all-time scoring record for a professional game. They scored 51 points in the fourth quarter of that game, fouling at the first opportunity throughout the last three minutes to stop the clock and gain more possessions.

Despite coasting to the finish line, their record was 14 games better than Eastern Division runner-up Kentucky, and eight games better than Western winner Denver. They went on to sweep Carolina in four games in the opening round of the playoffs, then won four in a row over Kentucky after dropping the first game in overtime.

That left a finals matchup with the Los Angeles Stars, who had won 17 of their final 21 games to finish the regular season with a 43-41 record and then advanced to the finals by upsetting Western Division winner Denver in the second round. The Stars couldn't match the Pacers' talent, but were mentored well by Bill Sharman, who is in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and coach, and maximized their talent.

The Pacers won the first two games at the Fairgrounds Coliseum. Game 2 was the first in ABA history to be televised nationally, on CBS. The Pacers wore their visiting blue uniforms because the Stars' road uniforms were light blue and didn't present enough contrast to the television audience, particularly those with black and white sets.

The Stars won Game 3 in the Sports Arena back in Los Angeles, but the Pacers won Game 4, 142-120, to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. Brown exploded for 53 points in that game, hitting 18-of-29 field goal attempts and 14-of-16 free throws, while adding 13 rebounds and six assists.

The Pacers could have wrapped up the championship at the Coliseum four days later before a standing-room-only crowd and another national television audience, but the long layoff between games and the assumption presented by the iced champagne and television cameras set up in their locker room sapped their momentum and focus. They led by 10 points midway through the third quarter, but couldn't hang on.

PACERS VOTE: Fans Pick Starting Five from the 1970s »

Brown, who finished with 39 points, had a chance to win the game in the final few seconds of regulation, but his 10-footer on the baseline spun around the rim and out. The Stars won in overtime, 117-113.

"We were just too cautious," Brown said. "Too cautious."

That sent the series back to Los Angeles for Game 6, where Brown turned in yet another classic performance to clinch the championship. With L.A. celebrities on hand, along with Lakers stars Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, Brown hit seven 3-point shots on his way to 45 points to lead a 111-107 victory.

Brown needed help, though. Lewis, who finished with 18 points, hit a key jumper with 16 seconds left and a free throw at nine seconds. Daniels hit just 5-of-17 shots, but had 27 rebounds. Netolicky had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Thacker came off the bench to contribute 11 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and strong defense on Stars guard Merv Jackson, who hit just 5-of-18 shots.

The day, and the series, belonged to Brown, however, who later was the obvious selection for Most Valuable Player in the finals. He hit 14-of-27 shots, including 7-of-12 3-pointers. His teammates combined to hit just 24-of-72 shots.

"He was the man in the whole series," Sharman said. "Whenever they needed something, he gave it to them. He was simply phenomenal."

The Pacers followed their 1970 championship with a 58-26 record in the 1970-71 season, the best record in the ABA. They swept Memphis in the first round, but lost to Utah in the second in a seven-game series that ended with a 108-101 loss at the Coliseum.

Leonard tinkered with the starting lineup in that series, bringing his captain, Lewis, off the bench in some of the games, and it backfired. Lewis was distraught over his demotion and the outcome of the series, and vowed to prove himself all over again the following season.

The 1971-72 season was rocky, with some internal unrest, and the Pacers' record dropped to 47-37. They managed to right themselves in the playoffs, however. Having been moved to the league's Western Division, they survived a seven-game opening-round series with Denver, then another seven-game series with Utah. That left New York, where Barry had migrated.

Lewis was primed. He led the Pacers with 33 points in Game 1 of the series, played at Assembly Hall in Bloomington because the Coliseum had been booked for a horse show. Game 2 returned to the Coliseum, but the Pacers lost 117-115 to give home court advantage to the Nets.

They got it back in Game 3 in New York with a balanced six-point victory led by rookie George McGinnis' 30 points and 20 rebounds, which negated Barry's 44-point effort. But they gave it back again with a five-point loss in Game 4 in New York.

With the series tied 2-2, the Pacers won Game 5 at the Coliseum, 100-99, in one of the most dramatic playoff games in franchise history. They hit just 5-of-22 field goals in the first quarter and just 1-of-11 free throws in the second. They trailed 40-20 at one point in the second period and by 15 at halftime, but forced a tie in the third quarter. Still, New York held a four-point lead with 27 seconds left after Barry hit two free throws.

It didn't hold up. Keller hit a 30-foot 3-pointer – his third in a row –  to make it a one-point game then Lewis stole the ball from Ollie Taylor, drove, and drew a foul. Given three chances to hit two, he hit the second and third attempts with eight seconds left to give the Pacers a 100-99 lead. Barry, who finished with 33 points, then let the inbound pass from midcourt slip through his hands and out of bounds on the Nets' final possession, giving the Pacers the victory and a 3-2 series lead.

They wrapped up the series in New York with a 108-105 victory. Brown, who had been relatively quiet in the series, summoned another clutch performance with 32 points, hitting all three 3-point attempts, and all five starters – Keller included – scored in double figures. Just as in Los Angeles two years earlier, the team had to confine its celebration to the privacy of its locker room, pouring champagne on one another and throwing front office personnel and media members into the shower, before a public gathering could be held in Indianapolis.

The individual payout for the title was a reported $7,000 – which was an annual salary for many workers at the time. "We smell the money," McGinnis had said during the series. "That isn't bad, $7,000."

Lewis was named MVP of the series, having played a starring role in each round. He averaged 19.2 points in the playoffs, up from his 15.5-point average during the regular season, and aside from his heroics in the Game 5 comeback against the Nets had made crucial contributions in each round. He clinched Game 7 of the opening series with Denver with two foul shots in the final seconds, then scored the winning points in Game 7 of the series with Utah with two foul shots with 24 seconds remaining. He finished that game with 24 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

"This is the best playoff I've ever had," Lewis said. "I really get up for the these games. The whole season is on the line. I always thought we had the talent to win it – although we didn't have a  particularly good season – and I felt it was my job to pass on that spirit to the other guys."

The Pacers had needed all the positive spirit Lewis or anyone else could generate, because two key players – Netolicky and Rick Mount – had voiced trade requests in newspapers during the 1972 playoffs. Those requests were happily granted in the off-season, with Mount going to Kentucky and Netolicky to Dallas. They were sold, actually, bringing much-needed cash to the franchise and removing two disgruntled players from the roster.

Although Daniels, Lewis and Brown remained, the team was now built around the 22-year-old McGinnis. Veteran guard Donnie Freeman was acquired to fill the "off" guard spot, while Lewis and Keller shared the point guard role. Brown, his body wearing down, started barely more than half the games while second-year player Darnell Hillman started 52 of the 84. A rookie, Don Buse, made several contributions, and an NBA veteran at the end of his career, Gus Johnson, was brought in to bring bench strength and leadership.

That revived group finished with a 51-33 record after winning 11 consecutive games late in the season, but that was just the fourth-best record in the league behind Carolina and Kentucky in the East and Utah in the West. They would only have homecourt advantage in the first round against Denver.

The Pacers eliminated an ailing Rockets team in five games in the first round. They won the first two games in Indianapolis, with Lewis scoring 30 points in Game 2, lost Game 3 in Denver, then took control of the series by winning Game 4 on the Rockets' court, as Keller hit a game-winning 3-pointer from the left wing off a broken play with 14 seconds left for a 97-95 victory. That shot gained historical value in passing years, because Leonard rose off the bench and shouted "Boom, baby!" as the ball dropped through the net. It would become Leonard's signature call on every Pacers' 3-pointer as a broadcaster in following decades.

The Pacers clinched the series back home in Game 5 as Freeman scored 30 points and Daniels scored 29 and added 23 rebounds.

After dropping the second-round opener to Utah, the Pacers came back to win the series in six games. Hillman stepped into a starting role in Game 5 when Brown had to sit out with a bad back, and came through with 13 points, 19 rebounds and six assists. A 58 percent foul shooter, he hit two free throws with 58 seconds left to provide the final two-point margin.

The Pacers then won Game 7 with a rare series-clinching victory on their home court, 107-98. Brown returned to score 13 points in 23 minutes off the bench before his back gave out again, and Keller scored eight of his 15 points in the final 6 ½ minutes. Hillman, starting again, had 13 rebounds and contained Utah star forward Willie Wise.

They had a week off before beginning the finals against arch-rival Kentucky. Brown took advantage of the layoff to recover well enough to start Game 1, and all five starters reached double figures in an overtime win in Louisville. Lewis led with 29 points.  Kentucky won Game 2, then took  Game 3 in Indianapolis when Leonard tried a new lineup featuring Brown in place of Freeman in the backcourt.

Down 2-1, the Pacers won a memorable Game 4 at the Coliseum. Freeman and Mount got into a brawl that ended with both players rolling on the floor in the second quarter, then Leonard got kicked out at halftime after picking up his second technical foul. Angry at Lewis for a turnover late in the half, he stomped his foot and shouted. Referee Joe Gushue thought Leonard was yelling at him, and called a second technical that brought an automatic ejection from the game.

Leonard, who didn't have an assistant coach that season, paced the locker room in the second half. Johnson, meanwhile, coached while sitting on the court, which he found more comfortable. All five starters reached double figures again, and the Pacers held on for a four-point victory as Hillman finished with 17 points and 18 rebounds and held Colonels forward Dan Issel to 7-of-23 shooting.

The players seemed to rally around Leonard's absence, but he was incensed and vented his frustration with the officials.

"I've never complained publicly before about the officials, but I'm through holding back," he said after the game. "The league can take its officials and stick 'em."

The Pacers won Game 5 in Louisville as Lewis scored 31 points and McGinnis picked off a pass at midcourt and drove for the winning layup in a three-point victory. Once again, they were poised to win a championship in Indianapolis.

They didn't, falling 109-93 at the Coliseum before a standing-room crowd of 10,079. Burdened with anticipation just as they had been three years earlier against the Stars, they missed their first 11 shots of the fourth period.

It was the fourth game of the series won by the visiting team. It was appropriate, then, that the Pacers won the championship in Game 7 in Louisville. Both teams shot poorly, but the Pacers scored seven more points from the foul line in an 88-81 victory that was more one-sided than the final score indicated. McGinnis scored 13 of his 27 points in the final eight minutes of the third period, in which the Colonels scored just 11 points. Once again, Hillman started and kept Issel in check.

"Before the game, we were very relaxed in the dressing room," Hillman said. "It was surprising to be so relaxed and I was wondering if we could go outside and do the job. But you saw it – we did!"

Once again, wives, front office personnel and media members were tossed into the shower while champagne was sprayed throughout the smoke-filled locker room. A more formal public celebration was held back at the Coliseum a couple of nights later, where fried chicken was served to 1,600 fans – 100 more than the number of dinners that were available.

The clock hadn't ticked off the final seconds of the Game 7 clincher when the Pacemates held up signs that read "Four in '74." A fourth title certainly seemed possible at the time, with rising stars in McGinnis and Hillman, but it wasn't to be. Plagued by complacency during the regular season, the Pacers' record dropped to 46-38. They tried to rally late, winning six of their final seven regular season games, but couldn't sustain the momentum in the playoffs.

They needed seven games to eliminate San Antonio in the first round, then fought back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the second-round series with Utah. That turned out to be the last gasp of a proud but aging group, however, as they fell hard in Game 7 in Salt Lake City, 109-87.

Daniels, Lewis and Brown were shipped off to Memphis in the off-season, where they reunited with the original Pacers general manager Mike Storen, as the Pacers rebuilt with a young group around McGinnis. They were seven games under .500 in January, but finished 45-39. They eliminated San Antonio in six games to advance to the second round, then battled Denver for seven games to improbably reach the 1975 finals.

Out of miracles, and with an injured McGinnis limping throughout the game, they fell to a better Kentucky team in five games. Still, it remains one the more impressive seasons in franchise history for its surpassed expectations. McGinnis, the league's co-MVP with Julius Erving, had grown too desirable for the Pacers to afford and jumped to the NBA after the season.

The Pacers wouldn't have a winning season for six years. Despite joining the NBA for the 1976-77 season, their greatest challenge over the next 10 years was mere survival. No matter how dire their circumstances became, however, the glow cast from the three championships remained as a beacon of hope and reminder of possibilities.

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The Story Behind All Three of the Pacers' ABA Championships

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1960s Decade Game Honorees

The Moses Malone the outside world saw was polar opposite from the one his teammates and opponents knew. That's why there were so much collective heartbreak over the death of the 60-year-old Naismith Hall of Famer.

Malone, who died in his sleep on Sunday, had one of the most unique professional basketball careers in history. He played 21 seasons in two leagues, from the age of 19 to 39, for nine teams over 10 stops, and wore eight jersey numbers.  He was voted the NBA's Most Valuable Player three times, the Finals MVP once when he led Philadelphia to a championship, was first-team all-NBA four times and second-team all-NBA four times.

Two former Pacers, George McGinnis and Freddie Lewis, have different recollections, however.

"He was a very joyful guy who liked to have fun," said Freddie Lewis, a teammate of Malone's for a half-season with the immortal Spirits of St. Louis.

"I loved him as a player, loved him as a person," said George McGinnis, who played against Malone for one season in the ABA and several more in the NBA.

Malone began his professional career as a 6-11 teenager with the ABA's Utah Stars, the first player drafted directly out of high school by a professional team. He started a trend. Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby were drafted by NBA teams the following year, and the practice continued in fits and starts until 2005, when current Pacers Monta Ellis and C.J. Miles were part of the last high school class to have that opportunity.

Nobody took better advantage of it than Malone, who was ready to battle the pros from the moment he took off his cap and gown at Petersburg (Va.) High School. He averaged 18.8 points and 9.1 rebounds as a rookie, played in the All-Star game, and gave ample warning of what was to come. The Pacers, for one, didn't need to be told twice.

Malone's first game against the Pacers came on Nov. 13, 1974. He scored 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting and grabbed 17 rebounds in a Utah victory. His first of many games in Indianapolis came on Dec. 4, when he finished with 27 points on 12-of-19 shooting and 10 rebounds. The Pacers won that one only because George McGinnis had 37 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists (and nine turnovers). In 10 games against the Pacers that season, Malone averaged 20.2 points and 14.5 rebounds, and had one game of 28 points and 29 rebounds.

McGinnis was regarded as a man-child when he entered the ABA after his sophomore year of college, but he considers himself a late-bloomer in comparison to the ready-made Malone. Not even in the same category.

"I wish I would have been," McGinnis said on Monday. "Damn, are you kidding me?

"He was a beast. I had never seen anyone like that come out of high school. He had a nose for the basketball like I'd never seen before, especially at the offensive end. He was incredible. Relentless."

McGinnis had his best season as a pro during Malone's rookie year with the Stars, averaging 29.8 points, 14.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists to share league MVP honors with Julius Erving. He was five years older than Malone that season, so he's more impressed with the teenager's stats that season than his own.

"Those are sick numbers; come on, man," McGinnis said. "Nobody else was doing that.

"He was better than I was coming out of high school. He was incredible, to come into the pro league and put up the kind of numbers he put up. He had no fear of anybody or anything. There was a relentlessness that I had never seen."

Malone, who grew up an only child to a single mother who had dropped out of school after fifth grade, did not communicate well with the media or public. He's famous for his "Fo, fo, fo," declaration in the playoffs, when he predicted the 76ers would sweep each round. (They fell one game short of doing that.)

He showed a different side to those who knew him, however, during games and away from the court.

"He liked to mess with me all the time," McGinnis said. "If he'd block my shot, he'd say, 'Hey McGinnis, don't come in here with that weak stuff.' He'd make you laugh. Every time I'd see him he'd start joking about something."

Lewis hooked up with Malone in St. Louis, in the 1975-76 season, the ABA's last. Malone had injured his foot in training camp with the Stars that year. The Stars folded before he could return, and he had a choice of signing with St. Louis or Atlanta in the NBA, which had conducted a special draft to determine which team got his rights. He chose St. Louis. His first game with the Spirits came on Jan. 23 against the Pacers. He finished with 32 points and 25 rebounds.

The two teams played again the next night back in Indianapolis, where Malone finished with 21 points and 19 rebounds. He played two more ABA games against the Pacers, one in which he played just six minutes off the bench and another in which he scored 27 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.

Lewis, who had been the captain of all three Pacers' ABA championship teams, became close friends with him during that time, and never lost touch. They were together in St. Louis a few months ago at a Spirits reunion, and had talked since then on the telephone.

Freddie Lewis

The 1969-70 ABA Champion Pacers

Remembering the Pacers' First Championship, 50 Years Later

The Story Behind All Three of the Pacers' ABA Championships

1960s Decade Game Honorees

Malone was Unknown to Fans, Beloved by Players

Lewis Teaches History Lesson to Young Players

Where Are They Now? Freddie Lewis