2015 NBA Tournament of Champions: Group Play Day 17

Another July Friday brings another batch of basketball games as we start Round 9 of group play of the NBA Tournament of Champions.

Each team has played eight games to date, and while we haven't eliminated anyone or locked up any elimination round spots, we're getting closer. Several teams have separated themselves from the pack, and they have a chance to do so even more today.

In today's action, the randomizer guaranteed everyone a day off: Groups C, D, F and H are all back in action after one day off.

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. Time for some basketball.

Group C

1972 Los Angeles Lakers 114, @ 1954 Minneapolis Lakers 105
It is not official quite yet, but the '54 Lakers have all but been eliminated from advancing following their ninth straight loss. Minneapolis did lead by as many as 11 in the second quarter, but LA worked its way back to only trail by four at the break, but Wilt Chamberlain put the '72 Lakers ahead for good with 5:13 to go in the third quarter. Jerry West led Los Angeles with 30 points and 10 rebounds, Jim McMillian added 21 points, and Wilt finished with 11 points and 16 rebounds. George Mikan led the '54 Lakers with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while James Pollard had 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

1977 Portland Trailblazers 106, @ 1993 Chicago Bulls 86
The Bulls' loss marks their fourth in five games and bumps them down to one game back of advancing. Portland used a 14-0 run late in the first quarter to pull away from the Bulls and lead 29-15 after 12 minutes, and the Bulls never really recovered. Bill Walton led the way with 19 points, 18 rebounds and five steals, while Maurice Lucas led the Blazers in scoring with 21 points and adding 10 rebounds. Michael Jordan paced the Bulls with 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Scottie Pippen added 16 points and Horace Grant finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

@ 1992 Chicago Bulls 127, 1995 Houston Rockets 120 (OT)

This was a weird game. The Bulls led by 10 at halftime and by 12 during the third quarter, but the Rockets made a couple runs, narrowing the gap to five after three quarters and a 12-0 run in the fourth gave them a 98-91 lead with 5:35 left. The Bulls refused to go away, however, as Michael Jordan hit a floater with 21 seconds left to tie the game. Hakeem Olajuwon couldn't hit the game-winner in the lane with two seconds left, and it went to overtime. Chicago never trailed in the extra session, as Jordan finished off the Rockets, nearly outscoring them by himself in the frame. MJ finished with 37 points, including 10 in overtime, six rebounds and six assists, Scottie Pippen had 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, and B.J. Armstrong had 17 points off the bench for the Bulls. Hakeem Olajuwon went down swinging though with 32 points, nine rebounds and 10 blocks. Otis Thorpe added 26 points and eight rebounds, and Clyde Drexler finished with 20 points and eight rebounds.

@ 1983 Philadelphia 76ers 127, 1958 St. Louis Hawks 88
The Sixers shot 55.4 percent from the field and hit 35 of their 43 free throws en route to a blowout win to keep pace with the '92 Bulls and '77 Blazers. This one was over by halftime, as the Rockets led 74-44. Moses Malone had 24 points and 20 rebounds in the win, Julius Erving added 20 points, and Andrew Toney had 15 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Sixers. Bob Pettit led the Hawks with 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Slater Martin added 14 points.

Group D

@ 2011 Dallas Mavericks 108, 1959 Boston Celtics 101
The Celtics held an 11 point lead midway through the third quarter, but the Mavericks wouldn't go away, pulling back within one by the end of the quarter. The final frame was a back-and-forth affair, but Shawn Marion hit a go-ahead layup with 1:38 to play and the Celtics couldn't answer, with Dirk Nowitzki clinching the game with a dunk with 11 seconds left. Nowitzki led all scorers with 23 points while adding 11 rebounds and six assists, Jason Terry added 18 points, and Jason Kidd had a decent floor game of eight points, six rebounds and nine assists. Tommy Heinsohn paced the Celtics' offense with 22 points, Bill Russell added 17 points and 18 rebounds, and Bob Cousy had nine points and nine assists.

@ 2000 Los Angeles Lakers 89, 1999 San Antonio Spurs 86
The Lakers bounced back from two straight losses with a strong start at home, leading 27-13 after one quarter. The Spurs didn't go quietly though, narrowing the gap to five by halftime, then opened the second half on an 8-0 run to take a brief lead. The Lakers led by four after three, then started the fourth on a 12-4 run to put the game out of reach. Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers with 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Kobe Bryant scored 22 points. Tim Duncan paced the Spurs with 24 points and 10 rebounds, Mario Elie added 14 points, and Avery Johnson 13.

2013 Miami Heat 101, @ 1953 Minneapolis Lakers 83

Take note: in the 263rd game of the 2015 NBA Tournament of Champions, we have our first elimination, as the '53 Lakers are mathematically unable to finish in the top four of Group D. The Lakers did give Miami a pretty good game despite the final score, forcing a 62-all tie midway through the third, but then the Heat scored 15 of the next 17 points in a five minute stretch to put the game away. Dwyane Wade led the way for Miami with 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists, LeBron James had 15 points and nine assists, and Chris Bosh, Norris Cole and Ray Allen each added 11 points. Vern Mikkelsen led the Lakers with 19 points and nine rebounds, George Mikan had 16 and 10, and James Pollard had 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

@ 2007 San Antonio Spurs 95, 2009 Los Angeles Lakers 86
The Spurs are making a late run for that last spot, winning their second game in a row against the cluster of teams tied for second place. A 26-14 second quarter gave the Spurs a 50-36 lead going into the break, but the Lakers fought back in the second half, pulling within two points with 4:08 left, but the Spurs scored six straight over the next two-plus minutes to seal the deal. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili each scored 17 points to lead a balanced Spurs attack, while Michael Finley added 11 off the bench. Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant tied for the game high score with 22 points apiece, with Gasol adding nine rebounds. Andrew Bynum added 15 points for the Lakers.

Group F

@ 1988 Los Angeles Lakers 118, 1998 Chicago Bulls 107

The Bulls actually led by four at halftime, but the Lakers' size proved problematic as the game went on, with the Bulls falling behind by nine after three quarters. Los Angeles was able to maintain at least a six point lead throughout the final frame as they recovered from two straight losses to the '86 Celtics. Magic Johnson had a phenomenal game, going off for 31 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists, while Byron Scott added 23 points, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 19 points and nine rebounds. Michael Jordan couldn't do enough to lift the Bulls, but he did finish with 30 points and 10 rebounds, Dennis Rodman had 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Toni Kukoc finished with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists.

1960 Boston Celtics 120, @ 1956 Philadelphia Warriors 119
Paul Arizin had a chance to ice the game with four seconds left, but missed both of his free throws, and Tommy Heinsohn buried an open look at the free throw line as the buzzer sounded to steal the win for Boston. This capped off a fairly fast game that featured 217 field goal attempts and 63 free throws. Bob Cousy led all scorers with 29 points and added seven assists, Tommy Heinsohn had 19 points, including the game-winner, and 11 rebounds, and Bill Russell finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. Arizin finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds, but his two missed free throws at the end likely cost the Warriors the game. Jack George added 20 points, and Neil Johnston had 18 points, 19 rebounds and six assists.

@ 1994 Houston Rockets 113, 1986 Boston Celtics 96

And with that, our final undefeated team has fallen. Houston won the rebounding battle 50-45 and forced 14 turnovers while hitting 11 of their 19 threes. Hakeem Olajuwon had 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks in the win, Kenny Smith had 18 points, including a 4-4 day beyond the arc, while Robert Horry and Mario Elie also each added 18. Kevin McHale paced Boston's offense with 19 points while adding 11 rebounds, Robert Parish had 17 and nine, and Larry Bird finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and three steals.

2004 Detroit Pistons 100, @ 1961 Boston Celtics 90
Detroit held the Celtics to 36.4 percent shooting and forced 18 turnovers to stay tied with the '88 Lakers for third place. Boston actually led by 11 at halftime, but blew the lead in the third quarter after only scoring 17 points. Rasheed Wallace broke through with 22 points and nine rebounds to help lead the Pistons, Chauncey Billups added 19 points, Tayshaun Prince had 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and Ben Wallace had 11 points and 15 rebounds. Bill Russell had 13 points and 19 rebounds for the Celtics, while Tommy Heinsohn had 21 points.

Group H

@ 2006 Miami Heat 118, 1976 Boston Celtics 117 (OT)

The Celtics are incredibly lucky this game went to overtime, but they deserved to lose this game. Miami led by nine after one quarter, but the Celtics came back to tie the game after three. They also led by nine with 6:14 to play and by eight with 1:46 left, and couldn't hold it. Shaquille O'Neal tipped in a Dwyane Wade miss with 16 seconds left to tie the game, and Jo Jo White missed a three at the buzzer, forcing overtime. In the extra session, The Celtics led by three with 41 seconds left after a couple Charlie Scott free throws, but Shaq got a dunk with 25 seconds left to make it a one point game. After the dumbest offensive sequence of all time resulted in Charlie Scott getting called for three seconds with the lead, Dwyane Wade hit an eight foot jumper at the buzzer to win the game. Wade had 21 points, including the game-winner, and 10 rebounds, but also turned the ball over 10 times in the game. Shaq was a monster, finishing with 38 points, including the dunk to force overtime, along with 12 rebounds. Charlie Scott led the Celtics with 23 points, Paul Silas had 14 points and 18 rebounds, and Dave Cowens had 20 and 10.

@ 1991 Chicago Bulls 122, 1969 Boston Celtics 101
The Bulls remain in third place by crushing the Celtics on the boards and a dose of the greatest of all time. Chicago never trailed in this game and jumped out to a 67-43 halftime lead and was never really threatened by the Celtics. Michael Jordan led the way with a 38 point, eight assist outburst. Scottie Pippen had 12 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, Horace Grant had 17 points and 15 rebounds, and Bill Cartwright finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Bill Russell led the Celtics with nine points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, four blocks and three steals, and Larry Siegfried and Sam Jones each had 15 points.

@ 1963 Boston Celtics 116, 1952 Minneapolis Lakers 70
The Lakers shot under 30 percent for the game, I believe the first team to do so in the tournament, and that pretty much tells the tale. After leading 21-17 following the first quarter, the Celtics outscored the Lakers in the second quarter 30-8 to make it a laugher. Tommy Heinsohn led the Celtics with 21 points, Sam Jones had 20 points, five rebounds and seven assists, and Bill Russell had 12 points, 20 rebounds and eight blocks. Vern Mikkelsen led the Lakers with 22 points and 13 rebounds, while George Mikan had 17 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks.

@ 1984 Boston Celtics 118, 1962 Boston Celtics 110
The '84 Celtics opened the fourth quarter on a 16-4 run to turn a two point game into a done deal, making it four wins in a row. The '62 Celtics controlled the glass, winning the board battle 67-53, but the '84 Celtics got to the line more and took advantage of the opportunities. Larry Bird had a triple-double of 34 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, including an 11-11 day at the stripe. Kevin McHale came off the bench with 16 points, and Robert Parish finished with 10 points and 16 rebounds. Bob Cousy led the '62 team with 25 points and nine assists, while Bill Russell had 16 points, 21 rebounds, four blocks and four steals.