2015 NBA Tournament of Champions: Group Play Day 12

Another Sunday, another batch of basketball games featuring the best teams in NBA history.

We're now into the sixth round of group play, and every day gets us closer to the elimination round and the competition stepping up. Today, we're finishing out the round. Groups A and C will return to the court after having yesterday off, while Groups G and H are back in action after a two day layoff. Group C is finishing a group home-and-home series today.

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 tip off.

Group A

1970 New York Knicks 127, @ 1989 Detroit Pistons 111
I really don't know what happened in this game. The Pistons got off to a fantastic start, leading 40-28 at the end of the first quarter. The Knicks fought back though, tying the game at 53 with about four minutes left in the second quarter. They took a couple of brief one point leads but Detroit fought back to take the lead into the locker room. The third was back and forth with the Pistons still holding onto a narrow lead, but New York went on 7-0 and 9-0 runs early in the fourth to take over. Willis Reed was excellent, going off for 24 points and 15 rebounds, Bill Bradley added 20 points, and Walt Frazier finished with 16 points and 11 assists. Joe Dumars led the Pistons with 23 points and nine assists, Dennis Rodman and Mark Aguirre each had 18 points with Rodman adding 12 rebounds, and Isiah Thomas had 10 points, 11 assists and five steals.

1982 Los Angeles Lakers 112, @ 2012 Miami Heat 108
The Lakers overcame a one point deficit going into the fourth by immediately taking the lead and refusing to give it back thanks to winning the battle on the glass and shooting 52.7 percent for the game. Jamaal Wilkes had 25 points to lead the Lakers, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar added 22, Norm Nixon had 18 points and 12 assists, and Magic Johnson chipped in 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. LeBron James led the Heat with 28 points and 12 rebounds, Chris Bosh had 20 points, and Dwyane Wade contributed 19 points and eight assists.

@ 2015 Golden State Warriors 118, 2010 Los Angeles Lakers 88

The big difference here was in three point shooting. Golden State finished eight of 23 from beyond the arc, while the Lakers shots just 2-17. Throw in Golden State shooting 54.7 percent overall to LA's 37.4 percent and we know the difference. The Warriors jumped out to a 33-18 first quarter lead and just built on it from there, getting outscored in the fourth, but nowhere near enough to swing the tide. Steph Curry got hot again, finishing with 31 points including a 5-9 day from three, Klay Thompson had a modest 15 points, and Draymond Green finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 24 points but was 0-5 from three, Andrew Bynum had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Ron Artest managed 10 points and eight rebounds, but was 0-6 from deep.

2002 Los Angeles Lakers 107, @ 1979 Seattle Supersonics 83
Seattle has now lost two games in a row and falls into third place when you factor in the tiebreaker after the Lakers put this game out of reach early. Los Angeles jumped out to a 32-18 lead after one quarter. Seattle would get back within six early in the second quarter, but the Lakers just proved to be too much. Kobe Bryant was excellent, finishing with 28 points, eight rebounds and six assists to lead the Lakers. Shaquille O'Neal added 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Jack Sikma led the Sonics with 12 points and 17 rebounds, while Lonnie Shelton had 13 points.

Group C

1972 Los Angeles Lakers 98, @ 1995 Houston Rockets 89
The Lakers earned the split by winning the rebounding battle 51-39 and forcing 22 turnovers despite poor three point shooting. Making nine more free throws (albeit in 16 more attempts) also helped, especially since this held Hakeem Olajuwon to just 24 minutes. The split evens both teams' records at .500 through six games. Jerry West led the Lakers' winning effort with 22 points, Jim McMillian had 20, and Wilt Chamberlain added 14 points and 19 rebounds. Clyde Drexler led the Rockets with 19 points, and Hakeem had 16 points in the limited action before fouling out with about 4:30 left to play.

@ 1977 Portland Trail Blazers 116, 1958 St. Louis Hawks 92
A 9-0 Portland run early in the opening quarter helped set the stage, as the Blazers led 30-15 after one quarter and the Hawks were never in a position to threaten after that, having shot only 35.8 percent. Six Blazers scored in double figures, led by Maurice Lucas with 21 points and 17 rebounds. Bill Walton added 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Robin Jones chipped in 13 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. Bob Pettit led the Hawks with 15 points and 12 rebounds, with Cliff Hagan contributing 15 points and 11 rebounds.

1983 Philadelphia 76ers 119, @ 1954 Minneapolis Lakers 79

Minneapolis shot just 33.7 percent and turned the ball over 19 times, though they did look okay early. The Lakers led 12-8 at one point in the first quarter before the Sixers exploded. They led 26-18 after one quarter, but built it to 20 by halftime. Moses Malone had 25 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Sixers, while Maurice Cheeks added 23 points. James Pollard paced the Lakers with 22 points, while George Mikan finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds. With Philly's win, they maintain their one game lead on Portland for first place.

1992 Chicago Bulls 119, @ 1993 Chicago Bulls 86
In a critical game for both Chicago teams, the '92 Bulls shot 52.2 percent and jumped out to a 36-25 lead after just one quarter, and won the subsequent quarters as well to stay within one game of the Sixers. '92 Scottie Pippen had a near triple-double with a game-high 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. '92 Horace Grant added 21 points and 13 rebounds, '92 B.J. Armstrong added 16 points off the bench, and '92 Scott Williams added 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench as well. '93 Michael Jordan led his Bulls with 17 points, '93 Armstrong added 12, and '93 Pippen finished with eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Group G

@ 1967 Philadelphia 76ers 127, 1964 Boston Celtics 117

Wilt Chamberlain took another game against his old nemesis to stay at the top of the group standings, as his Sixers shot 51.1 percent for the game while holding the Celtics to 37.9 percent and took a 14 point lead into halftime. Wilt himself was a big reason, as he finished with 26 points, 29 rebounds and six assists, while Chet Walker led all scorers with 28 points. Tommy Heinsohn led the Celtics with 24 points while Bill Russell had 19 points and 27 rebounds.

2005 San Antonio Spurs 106, @ 1955 Syracuse Nationals 78
San Antonio got Syracuse at a perfect time as they remain just one game back of the group lead, while the Nationals fall to 0-6. The Spurs shot 53.4 percent while holding the Nationals to 35.1 percent and outscoring them in every quarter. Tim Duncan had a quadruple-nickel of 18 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and five blocks while adding three steals, Manu Ginobili had 16 points and Tony Parker added 15 in the Spurs win. Every Syracuse player scored at least two points, led by Dolph Schayes' 15, with Paul Seymour and Red Rocha each adding 11.

@ 2003 San Antonio Spurs 112, 2001 Los Angeles Lakers 96
The Lakers fell out of a first place tie by missing their first six shots and by the time they finally got on the board, four and a half minutes had passed and the Spurs had already put up 14 points. San Antonio would lead 36-14 after the first, and the Lakers never really recovered. Tim Duncan had a triple double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in the Spur win, Manu Ginobili added 18 points, Tony Parker 13 and David Robinson 12. Shaquille O'Neal did all he could, leading the Lakers with 23 points and 14 rebounds while Kobe Bryant added 16 points.

@ 1987 Los Angeles Lakers 120, 1957 Boston Celtics 102
Make it a three-way tie for second place in the group as the Lakers won the rebounding battle 63-50 and hit 52.1 percent of their shots en route to an easy victory. The Celtics only managed to hit 39.2 percent of their shots, but had the two highest scorers of the day. Bob Cousy had 28 points while Bill Sharman added 26 points and nine assists in the loss for Boston. Bill Russell had a game-high 16 rebounds. James Worthy had 23 points to lead the Lakers, Magic Johnson had 21 points, nine rebounds and 15 assists, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds.

Group H

2006 Miami Heat 99, @ 1991 Chicago Bulls 98
Jason Williams hit a go-ahead bank shot with just over a minute to play, and MJ and the Bulls couldn't respond in time as the Heat move into first place with a big win in Chicago. It almost didn't come down to this, as the Heat roared out to a 32-16 lead after one quarter. The Bulls came back and took a four point lead into the fourth quarter, but they couldn't hold the advantage. Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 25 points and 11 assists, Jason Williams had 15 points, including the eventual game-winner, and Shaquille O'Neal had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Michael Jordan led all scorers with 26 points, while Scottie Pippen had a triple-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

@1976 Boston Celtics 118, 1963 Boston Celtics 109
Count the '76 Celtics as among the first place teams now, too, after they held the '63 Celtics to just 35.1 percent shooting and forced 18 turnovers. The '63 Celtics did win the battle on the glass, including 28 offensive boards, but couldn't take advantage of their second chances. Dave Cowens had 26 points and 12 rebounds in the victory for '76 Boston, with Charlie Scott adding 17, while Paul Silas added 12 points and 20 rebounds. Tommy Heinsohn led the '63 Celtics with 20 points, '63 John Havlicek had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Bill Russell finished with 11 points and a game-high 27 rebounds.

1984 Boston Celtics 120, @ 1969 Boston Celtics 102

The '84 Celtics got to the line 39 times and made the most of it, hitting 32 of them en route to just their second win of the tournament. Robert Parish had a big game, going off for 30 points and 12 rebounds, Dennis Johnson added 23 points, and Larry Bird contributed 17 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. Don Nelson led the '69 Celtics with 19 points off the bench, Larry Siegfried added 17 points, and Bill Russell finished with eight points and 21 rebounds.

@ 1952 Minneapolis Lakers 110, 1962 Boston Celtics 91
After getting swept in the 2013 NBA Tournament of Champions, the '52 Lakers are still struggling, but they're out of the Group H basement with a second win in three tries. Neither team shot particularly well (both under 40 percent), but the Lakers hit six of their 20 threes to help. More so, it was George Mikan raising his game again, notching 26 points, 21 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks in the win. James Pollard added 23 points, and Vern Mikkelsen had 16 points and 15 rebounds. Tommy Heinsohn and Sam Jones each had 20 points to pace Boston, with Heinsohn adding 12 rebounds, while Bill Russell had 11 boards to go with his six points.