2015 NBA Tournament of Champions: Group Play Day 2

32 teams have played their opening game of the redone incarnation of the Tournament of Champions. Today, the remaining teams get their chance.

The idea behind the group play is that over the span of the month of July, the last 64 NBA champions will play 14 games in a double round robin fashion, with each round of the group play lasting two days. Yesterday, four groups were randomly picked to kick things off. Today, Groups A, D, E and G will open their play.

It's important to note again: based on the fact that I'm deciding who plays on the first day of each round by a random number generator, it's probable that some teams that play today will have to turn around and play tomorrow too. The trade off will come in where they get at least one day off following those games.

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

@ 2010 Los Angeles Lakers 108, 1989 Detroit Pistons 94

This was a close game early and went into the break tied at 49. The Lakers opened up a big lead as the third quarter unfolded, however, and Detroit couldn't keep pace offensively. Kobe Bryant had a big game, scoring 35 points on 28 shots, while four other Lakers scored in double figures. Lamar Odom didn't score, but led the team with 13 rebounds.  Isiah Thomas led the Pistons with 20 points, while Dennis Rodman had 11 points and 18 rebounds.

@ 2002 Los Angeles Lakers 95, 1982 Los Angeles Lakers 93
Our first battle between Laker teams went to the wire, but it didn't start out that way. The '82 Lakers led by six at halftime and 11 after three quarters. Shaquille O'Neal went to work from there, and his team fought their way back. O'Neal converted a runner with less than 30 seconds to go to give the '02 Lakers that 95-93 lead, and after Shaq missed a pair of free throws to ice it, the '82 Lakers had time to force overtime, but Kareem's last second shot was off the mark. Shaq finished the game with 28 points on 13 of 21 shooting, while Kobe Bryant added 26, including some big baskets in the fourth quarter. Despite the last-second miss, Kareem finished with a solid 23 points on 11 of 17 shooting, while Magic Johnson finished one assist shy of a triple-double.

@ 1979 Seattle Supersonics 114, 1970 New York Knicks 100
The Knicks started this game pretty well, leading 25-21 after the first quarter, but had no answer for a second half run by Seattle. The Sonics outscored the Knicks 36-23 in that frame, and New York would get no closer than within eight in the second half. Jack Sikma and Gus Williams scored 21 points apiece to lead the way for the Sonics. The Knicks were awful at the line, hitting just 11 of their 24 free throws. Dave DeBusschere led New York with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

@ 2015 Golden State Warriors 108, 2012 Miami Heat 94
The defending NBA Champions went up against a recent superteam, and despite their superstar not playing that well, prevailed. A 40-21 third quarter put the game out of reach, though the Heat did make it look a little closer in the fourth. Steph Curry hit just four of his 15 shots (including a 1-7 mark from three) for 11 points, but he dished out 10 assists, and the team as a whole shot 10 of 29 from beyond the arc. LeBron James led the Heat with 33 points on 12 of 25 shooting, while Chris Bosh added 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Group D

1959 Boston Celtics 122, @ 1953 Minneapolis Lakers 106

We have our first road loss of the day, as the Lakers were badly outrebounded and didn't have the greatest offensive day. Bill Russell had a monster game, scoring 16 points and adding 26 rebounds, while Bob Cousy added 25 points and eight assists. Vern Mikkelsen led the Lakers with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while George Mikan added 16 points and 14 rebounds.

2000 Los Angeles Lakers 94, @ 2007 San Antonio Spurs 85
Neither team really got going offensively early, though the Lakers built up a nine point lead to go into the break. The Lakers weren't able to completely pull away, but managed to keep the distance up to open the tournament with a win. Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Kobe Bryant added 14 points. Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Tony Parker had nine assists, though he was awful from the field, making just two of his 13 shots.

@ 2009 Los Angeles Lakers 105, 2011 Dallas Mavericks 69
We have our first massive blowout of the tournament, though it was closer early on; Dallas only trailed by eight at halftime. The Lakers opened the third quarter with a 10-2 run and just built on the momentum from there. Pau Gasol was the main force for the Lakers, leading all scorers with 25 points, while Kobe Bryant added a near triple-double with 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. The Mavericks shot just 36 percent as a team, with Caron Butler and Tyson Chandler as the only two scorers in double figures. Dirk Nowitzki had just eight points on 3-10 shooting.

@ 2013 Miami Heat 101, 1999 San Antonio Spurs 83
The Heat were the definition of efficiency in this game, spreading the wealth on offense while playing great defense. San Antonio was able to stay close, tying the game at halftime and trailing by only five after three quarters, but Miami outscored the Spurs 28-15 in the fourth to pull away. LeBron James finished one rebound shy of a triple-double, while Dwyane Wade added 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists. As a team, the Spurs shot just 35.5 percent from the floor, with Tim Duncan really struggling (6-20 shooting for a team-high 16 points).

Group E

1997 Chicago Bulls 105, @ 1973 New York Knicks 98

Despite historic concerns about the 90's Bulls potentially being weak against elite centers, the size provided by the Knicks was no threat to the Bulls, who overcame a 53-48 halftime deficit to win their opener. Michael Jordan led all scorers with 30 points, Scottie Pippen added 26, and Dennis Rodman had a game-high 20 rebounds. Willis Reed attempted just five shots and managed only five points, so Earl Monroe led the team in scoring with 20 points on 20 shots. Dave DeBusscherre had 18 points and 12 rebounds.

@ 2014 San Antonio Spurs 112, 1978 Washington Bullets 79
The Spurs brought tremendous balance to their opening game and blew out the overmatched Bullets, outscoring them in every quarter. A 14 point halftime lead ballooned in the third, as San Antonio outscored Washington 33-18. The Spurs had four players in double figures, led by Tony Parker's 18. Tim Duncan had 17 points to go with 13 rebounds. Wes Unseld led the Bullets with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

2008 Boston Celtics 89, @ 1990 Detroit Pistons 82 (OT)
Our first overtime game of the tournament was a great back and forth affair, with both teams having chances to win in regulation. Kevin Garnett took over in overtime, scoring as many points as Detroit did. Garnett finished the game with 27 points to lead all scorers, while Paul Pierce added 18 and Ray Allen chipped in 16. Isiah Thomas led the Pistons with 24 points and eight assists.

@ 1981 Boston Celtics 110, 1974 Boston Celtics 89
The '74 Celtics did well early against the first of Bird's title teams, leading by two at halftime. However, the '81 Celtics made their halftime adjustments and outscored the '74 Celtics 39-24 in the third quarter, then pulled away in the fourth. Robert Parish led the '81 Celtics with 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Larry Bird had 23 and 11. Four members of the '74 Celtics scored in double figures, led by Dave Cowens' 17. John Havlicek had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Group G

1957 Boston Celtics 130, @ 1967 Philadelphia 76ers 120

As was the case for most of their careers, Russell beats Wilt. The Sixers actually shot better than the Celtics and won the battle on the boards, but their 31 turnovers doomed them. Wilt filled the stat sheet a lot though, with 16 points, 20 rebounds, six assists and six blocks, while Chet Walker led the team in scoring with 20. Three Celtics topped 20 points, led by Bob Cousy, who had 25 to go with six rebounds, seven assists, and four steals. Russell had 23 points and 18 rebounds.

@ 2001 Los Angeles Lakers 121, 1987 Los Angeles Lakers 109
This was a back and forth battle, with both teams seeming to seize firm control throughout. The '01 Lakers led by four at the break, but the '87 Lakers came out of the locker room and outscored the '01 team 33-21 to take an eight point lead after three. Not to be outdone, the '01 Lakers caught fire and scored a tournament-high 47 fourth quarter points to turn the game into a rout. Shaquille O'Neal led all scorers with 35 points and added 20 rebounds. Kobe Bryant scored 18 of his 28 points in that runaway fourth quarter and added eight rebounds for effect. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the '87 Lakers with 20 points, while Magic Johnson had 16 points and 10 assists.

@ 2005 San Antonio Spurs 110, 2003 San Antonio Spurs 76
The '05 Spurs, finalists in the 2013 Tournament of Champions, showed how they got that far with a dominant defensive performance against an earlier version of their era. The '03 Spurs shot just 34.2 percent from the floor for the game and got outrebounded 55-39. '05 Tony Parker led the way with 30 points on 14 of 19 shooting, while '05 Tim Duncan added 14 points and 13 rebounds. '03 Tim Duncan did all he could, scoring 22 points while adding 15 rebounds in the loss.

@ 1964 Boston Celtics 139, 1955 Syracuse Nationals 102
The '64 Celtics have the high score after one round of play. Boston outscored Syracuse 42-25 in the opening quarter and never looked back. Tommy Heinsohn was the picture of efficiency: in just 26 minutes, he attempted 20 shots and scored 28 points. Bill Russell added 13 points, 24 rebounds, six assists and five blocks in the winning effort. Dolph Schayes led the Nationals with 17 points and 14 rebounds.