2015 NBA Tournament of Champions: Group Play Day 10

It's kind of crazy to think that we're ten days into this craziness already. Yet here we are, finishing out the fifth round of a double round robin to find the best NBA champion of the past 64 years.

Today's games pose some intriguing matchups. Groups A and F return after a one-day layoff, while Groups B and C are back after having the last two off. Today's slate will see some fun matchups, including probably the best game of the tournament to date between the '71 Bucks and defending Champion of Champions in the '96 Bulls.

Below, I will include links to each group's page in their respective headers so you can view scores and standings. On those pages, the team on the right will be considered the home team for all games. All game simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. To view player and team stats for the tournament, click here. Let's play.

Group A

1989 Detroit Pistons 108, @ 2012 Miami Heat 91
The Heat got destroyed on the glass 60-36, with the Pistons winning the offensive rebound battle 23-4. That usually doesn't bode well for winning a basketball game, even if you shoot 48.6 percent for the game like Miami did. The Pistons took advantage of a 29-17 second quarter to take a 14 points halftime lead, and Miami never really threatened. Isiah Thomas led the way for the Pistons with 20 points, five rebounds and 11 assists, Joe Dumars scored 19, Bill Laimbeer had 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Dennis Rodman pulled down 15 rebounds. LeBron James led the Heat with 23 points and seven assists, while Dwyane Wade added 22 points.

2015 Golden State Warriors 124, @ 1970 New York Knicks 106

The Warriors bounced back with a strong win on the road behind three point shooting that was back up to par. The Knicks were able to keep pace for most of the first half, even taking a couple small leads, but Golden State's 14-30 output from beyond the arc just proved to be too much. Klay Thompson continues his rampage through Group A with 37 points, including eight threes, Steph Curry added 26 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists, and Andrew Bogut chipped in 19 points, 18 rebounds and six assists. Willis Reed had a great game in the loss, posting 23 points and 21 rebounds. Walt Frazier had 18 points and eight assists.

@ 1982 Los Angeles Lakers 117, 1979 Seattle Supersonics 113
Seattle drops off the undefeated list, but they remain in a tie for first place with Golden State. The Sonics did play pretty well, hanging with the Lakers for the entire game, but they had no answer for the Lakers' inside presence. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went off for 40 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks, Mitch Kupchak had 18 points and 13 rebounds, Norm Nixon had 15 points, 10 assists and five steals, and Magic Johnson had seven points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Gus Williams had 28 in the loss for the Sonics while Jack Sikma had 13 points and 15 rebounds.

@ 2010 Los Angeles Lakers 98, 2002 Los Angeles Lakers 83
The '10 Lakers came ready to play defense, holding the '02 Lakers to just 37.9 percent shooting. Part of that was the '02 Lakers struggling from deep, hitting just two of their 18 threes. The '10 Lakers still outscored the '02 Lakers in each of the first three quarters, only getting outscored in the final quarter with the game out of reach. Pau Gasol had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the win, with '10 Kobe Bryant adding 19 and Andrew Bynum more than holding his own with 18 points and 13 rebounds. '02 Kobe led his team with 21 points while Shaquille O'Neal only managed 18 points and nine rebounds. Samaki Walker did manage 10 points and 13 rebounds off the bench.

Group B

1996 Chicago Bulls 103, @ 1971 Milwaukee Bucks 85

The Bulls put on a seven minute stretch of domination in the opening quarter where they outscored the Bucks 18-4 en route to a 28-11 lead after one quarter. The Bucks would get no closer than down six at one point in the second quarter as the Bulls just kept their distance. Michael Jordan led the way with 27 points, five rebounds and four steals. Scottie Pippen had 16 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, and Toni Kukoc added 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Jon McGlocklin led the Bucks with 16 points, while Bob Dandridge added 15. Kareem was all right, managing 11 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and four blocks, while Oscar Robertson was held to eight points and seven rebounds thanks to Pippen and when he was out, Jordan.

1985 Los Angeles Lakers 111, @ 1968 Boston Celtics 110
A back and forth battle between representatives from legendary franchises had to come down to the wire. The Celtics only shot 40.2 percent from the floor, but had 34 free throws to help keep pace. They only hit 24 of them, which hurt down the stretch. Ultimately, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hit the game winner with nine seconds to go, and John Havlicek had a chance to answer, but missed an open jumper from the free throw line as time expired. Kareem had 26 points, including the game-winner, to go with 13 rebounds. James Worthy had 31 points, and Magic Johnson chipped in 11 points and 11 assists. Havlicek finished with 26 points, Sam Jones added 21, and Bill Russell had 18 points and 17 rebounds.

1965 Boston Celtics 129, @ 1966 Boston Celtics 120
The two teams combined for 216 field goals in this barn burner, with the '65 team narrowly prevailing. Both teams scored at least 30 points in each of the first three quarters, and the '66 Celtics shot slightly better, but the '65 Celtics got nine more free throws and took advantage of them. '65 Sam Jones led the way with 29 points, '65 Tommy Heinsohn added 28, while '65 Bill Russell had 16 points and 23 rebounds. '66 Sam Jones would up leading the home team with 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, '66 Satch Sanders had 19 points and nine rebounds and '66 John Havlicek had 16 points, six rebounds and eight assists.

1980 Los Angeles Lakers 126, @ 1975 Golden State Warriors 99
The Lakers make it a sweep for the road teams today by shooting almost 60 percent from the floor and getting to the line 40 times. Seven Lakers scored in double figures, led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 24 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Magic Johnson added 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists off the bench, while Norm Nixon chipped in 15 points and nine assists. Rick Barry led all scorers with 30 points, while Butch Beard added 19 for the Warriors.

Group C

1995 Houston Rockets 114, @ 1972 Los Angeles Lakers 102

The Lakers shot 49.4 percent from the floor, but couldn't get stops on defense when they needed to and were outrebounded 56-46. Clyde Drexler couldn't be stopped, putting up 36 points and 12 rebounds, while Hakeem Olajuwon added 28 points and 12 rebounds. Robert Horry had 10 points and six steals off the bench. Gail Goodrich led the Lakers with 20 points, Happy Hairston had 16 points and 15 rebounds, Jerry West added 18 points and eight assists, and Wilt Chamberlain finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

@ 1958 St. Louis Hawks 102, 1977 Portland Trailblazers 100
Every Hawk scored in this win, but they only shot 40.2 percent in a game that took them a while to get going. St. Louis scored the first nine points of the second quarter to turn a two point deficit into a seven point lead that they carried into the second half. Portland came close in the fourth quarter numerous times, but just couldn't get over the hump. They also held the ball for the final 42 seconds and got off three shots to tie the game, none of which fell. Bob Pettit led the Hawks with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Cliff Hagan added 15 points and eight rebounds. Lionel Hollins led the Blazers with 18 points, while Bill Walton had 16 points and 22 rebounds.

@ 1983 Philadelphia 76ers 120, 1954 Minneapolis Lakers 78
The Sixers set the new tournament record for field goal defense, holding the Lakers to just 25.9 percent shooting from the floor. No other team has shot worse than 30 percent in a single game thus far. 16 blocks helped to set that record, with Moses Malone and Julius Erving each posting five. The Sixers jumped out to a 31-15 lead after one quarter and never looked back. Erving led the way with 23 points, six rebounds, eight assists and those five blocks, while Malone 16 points and 22 rebounds. George Mikan finished with 17 points but hit just three of his 11 field goals, though he did pull down 11 rebounds. Clyde Lovellette had 16 points off the bench for the Lakers.

@ 1992 Chicago Bulls 107, 1993 Chicago Bulls 88
The '92 Bulls lived up to their potential against themselves, shooting a scorching 57.5 percent while holding the '93 Bulls to 38.5 percent shooting. The '92 Bulls led 32-25 after one, then stomped on the gas to build a 22 point halftime lead. '92 Michael Jordan led the way offensively with 27 points and added five steals on defense, but '92 Scottie Pippen arguably did more, scoring only 11 points but pulling down 12 rebounds and dishing out eight assists. '92 Horace Grant was also great, logging 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. '93 MJ managed just 13 points but had five rebounds and eight assists to go with it. '93 Pippen had 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while '93 Grant had 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Group F

@ 1998 Chicago Bulls 119, 1961 Boston Celtics 95
This game was much closer than the final score indicates. Boston was able to keep pace with Chicago for much of the contest, trailing by only two after the first quarter and by one at halftime. The Bulls led by as many as 11 in the third before the Celtics narrowed it to three at the end of the frame. The Bulls gave up a field goal on the opening possession of the fourth quarter, then went on a 14-0 run to end the threat. Michael Jordan dropped 34 points, Scottie Pippen added 24, and Dennis Rodman had a game-high 17 rebounds. Sam Jones led the Celtics with 21 points while Bill Russell had 18 points and 15 rebounds.

@ 1994 Houston Rockets 103, 2004 Detroit Pistons 94
The Rockets led by six at halftime and saw it disappear as the Pistons came out of the locker room strong, not only taking the lead, but leading by as much as 11. The Rockets cut it to three at the end of the quarter thanks to a Hakeem three. Houston was finally able to pull away later in the fourth to improve to 4-1. Hakeem Olajuwon was phenomenal, recording 36 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and six blocks, while Otis Thorpe added 12 points and 16 rebounds. Rip Hamilton led the Pistons with 27 points, Ben Wallace added 12 points and 18 rebounds, and Chauncey Billups had a near triple-double of 19 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists.

1986 Boston Celtics 116, @ 1956 Philadelphia Warriors 102

The Celtics keep their undefeated group play alive, but they had to survive a strong second quarter from the Warriors who would lead by as many as five. Ultimately, Philly's 20 turnovers were too much to overcome and they had no answer for Boston's inside presence. Kevin McHale killed the Warriors with 29 points and 17 rebounds, both game-highs, while Larry Bird added 23 points. Neil Johnston had 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead Philly, while Paul Arizin chipped in 25 points and eight rebounds.

@ 1988 Los Angeles Lakers 122, 1960 Boston Celtics 108
The Lakers outscored the Celtics in every quarter, hitting 52 percent of their shots while holding Boston to under 40 percent. Both sides' starting fives all scored in double figures, but the Lakers' five was stronger. Byron Scott led the way with 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists, James Worthy had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Magic Johnson added 17 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists. Bill Russell paced the Celtics with 18 points and 21 rebounds with Bob Cousy, Tommy Heinsohn and Bill Sharman each adding 14 points.