2015 NBA Tournament of Champions: Group Play Day 24

It's Friday, and it's time for more basketball.

Today we finish out Round 12 of the group stage of this year's NBA Tournament of Champions. The elimination round field is not yet full, as 20 spots still have yet to be claimed.

Today, Group C will play for the first time in three days, while Groups A, E and G are back after one day off. Among these groups, four spots can be clinched this evening.

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 head courtside.

Group A

@ 1970 New York Knicks 114, 1989 Detroit Pistons 105
The Knicks outscored Detroit 33-19 in the third quarter to turn a one point halftime lead into a 15 point gap. The Pistons would come back to tie the game at 99, but the Knicks promptly retook the lead and never looked back. The win puts the Knicks back at .500 and creates more intrigue in the middle of Group A, where we'll see some tough fights for the last three spots still up for grabs. Willis Reed is starting to heat up, as he finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds, while Walt Frazier had 19 points and four steals and Dave DeBusschere added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Joe Dumars had 18 points and eight assists to lead the Pistons, Adrian Dantley added 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Isiah Thomas finished with 16 points and 11 assists.

2012 Miami Heat 122, @ 1982 Los Angeles Lakers 101
The Lakers saw their six point lead after one quarter go up in smoke as the Heat went on a 13-2 run in just under three minutes to take the lead, going into intermission up seven. Miami just built on it from there, shooting 57 percent and adding to the Group A chaos. LeBron James led the Heat with 31 points, six rebounds and eight assists, Dwyane Wade had 17 points and eight assists, and Chris Bosh added 18 points. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar couldn't turn the tide despite 21 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks. Norm Nixon added 18 points and seven rebounds, while Magic Johnson chipped in 14 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

2015 Golden State Warriors 114, @ 2010 Los Angeles Lakers 97

With two straight losses, the Lakers are now all but out of the Elimination Round while the Warriors stay three points ahead of the '86 Celtics for the point differential tiebreaker that would give them home court advantage throughout Elimination play. The Warriors overcame a three point halftime deficit to tie the game after three quarters, then after exchanging threes with LA early in the fourth, went on a 15-2 run in about two and a half minutes to claim the victory. Steph Curry had 30 points, nine assists and four steals, Klay Thompson got hot from deep again en route to 29 points, and Andrew Bogut had 13 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Warriors. Kobe Bryant had 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the losing effort for the Lakers, Ron Artest added 16, nine and five, and Pau Gasol chipped in 14 points and 14 rebounds.

@ 2002 Los Angeles Lakers 95, 1979 Seattle Supersonics 91
You can all but pencil the Lakers into the Elimination Round, while the Sonics make it three teams at 6-6 fighting for what will likely be two spots. The Lakers were outrebounded 60-46 and didn't shoot particularly well overall, espeically as the Sonics went from being down 17 to down two, but Kobe Bryant iced the game with free throws. The Sonics had no answer for Shaq: O'Neal finished with 34 points, 14 rebounds and five assists to lead the Lakers to their eighth win, Bryant added 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Rick Fox chipped in 12 points. Jack Sikma had 12 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Sonics, Lonnie Shelton had 18 points, and Dennis Johnson added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Group C

1972 Los Angeles Lakers 128, @ 1958 St. Louis Hawks 121
The Hawks are eliminated from advancing to the Elimination Round after surrendering a six point lead entering the fourth quarter. Wilt Chamberlain came alive in the final frame as the Lakers shot 51 percent from the floor and outrebounded St. Louis 60-48. Chamberlain had 21 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks, but it was a team effort in the win. Jerry West had 31 points, six rebounds, 15 assists and five steals, Gail Goodrich added 30 points, and Happy Hairston had 14 points, 17 rebounds and six assists. Cliff Hagan led the Hawks with 28 points and 11 rebounds, Ed Macauley added 15 points and Jack McMahon had six points and 10 assists.

1983 Philadelphia 76ers 116, @ 1995 Houston Rockets 102

The Rockets have also been officially knocked out of the Elimination Round race after giving up eight straight points to start the fourth quarter, turning a three point lead into a five point hole. The Sixers piled on a 19-6 run total in the first six and a half minutes of the fourth quarter to pull away for their tenth win. Both teams blew double digit leads though, as the Sixers led 33-21 after one quarter. On the day, Julius Erving had 28 points, eight rebounds and four blocks to pace the Sixers, Moses Malone added 21 points and 17 rebounds, and Andrew Toney chipped in 18 points and seven assists. Hakeem Olajuwon had 19 points but only four rebounds for the Rockets while Clyde Drexler and Sam Cassell each added 11 points.

1992 Chicago Bulls 104, @ 1977 Portland Trailblazers 99
This was a key win for the Bulls, who evened their head to head record with Portland, kept pace with the Sixers at the top of Group C, and all but guaranteed themselves home court advantage in the first series of the Elimination Round. They did so despite getting outrebounded 58-47, largely thanks to the 25 turnovers committed by the Blazers. Chicago used a 34-16 third quarter to take control of the game, then had to hang on for dear life as their once-17 point lead shrunk to as few as three before the Bulls settled down and iced the game. Michael Jordan had 30 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and five steals to lead the Bulls to the win, while Horace Grant added 26 points and 12 rebounds. Scottie Pippen played just 24 minutes due to foul trouble, and he fouled out with about five minutes left on a ball control foul. Maurice Lucas had 22 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Blazers, while Bill Walton added 17 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks.

1993 Chicago Bulls 116, @ 1954 Minneapolis Lakers 88
The Bulls kept pace with the '72 Lakers and remain one game back of the fourth and final Elimination Round spot with two to play. Chicago hit 54.3 percent of their shots and coaxed the Lakers into 22 turnovers.  Michael Jordan was at the forefront again with 32 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals, while Scottie Pippen added 26 points, seven rebounds and five steals. No Laker had double-digit rebounds in their 12th straight loss, though George Mikan did finish with 19 points and seven rebounds.

Group E

1997 Chicago Bulls 102, @ 2014 San Antonio Spurs 92

The Bulls trailed by 20 about three minutes into the second half, but then the tide started to turn. Chicago got as close as four in the frame and went into the fourth only down seven, then went on a 14-2 run fairly early in the fourth to grab a stranglehold on the lead and their spot in the Elimination Round. Michael Jordan finished with 25 points and eight rebounds, Scottie Pippen had 25 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, Steve Kerr came off the bench for 14 points, and Dennis Rodman added 10 points and 12 rebounds. Tony Parker had 17 points to pace the Spurs, while Tim Duncan was shut down for only 10 points and a single rebound. Kawhi Leonard had four points and 10 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili had 14 points off the bench for San Antonio.

@ 1990 Detroit Pistons 107, 1973 New York Knicks 98
The Pistons are getting to be pretty good at this spoiler thing. They've been in last place for most of group play, but have won two in a row against contending teams. Detroit opened the third quarter on an 11-4 run to turn a two point lead into a nine point one, and the Knicks were never a threat the rest of the way. Seven Pistons scored in double figures: James Edwards and Joe Dumars each had 16 points with Dumars adding eight assists, Isiah Thomas had 15 points and seven assists, Bill Laimbeer had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and John Salley chipped in 10 and 11. Willis Reed had 15 and 12 to pace the Knicks, Dave DeBusschere added 15 and 11, and Walt Frazier had 19 points and seven assists.

@ 1981 Boston Celtics 125, 1978 Washington Bullets 101
The Bullets are now officially out of Elimination Play after the Celtics used a 30-19 second quarter edge to take control of the game. Boston shot 56.5 percent from the floor and used a balanced attack to knock off a Washington team that went just 3-13 from beyond the arc and 64 percent at the free throw line. Larry Bird had 24 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and three steals in a "fill the box score" game, Cedric Maxwell had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Robert Parish had 16 and 10, and Gerald Henderson had 17 points and six assists to lead the Celtics. Bob Dandridge and Kevin Grevey each had 17 points for Washington, Charles Johnson added 16, and Elvin Hayes had 11 rebounds.

@ 1974 Boston Celtics 110, 2008 Boston Celtics 89
The '08 Celtics have lost six of their last seven, and this one hurts as they lost to a bottom feeder of Group E when they had a chance to tie the Knicks for the last Elimination Round spot. They turned it over to the '74 Celtics 18 times while getting outrebounded 54-44. They had no answer for John Havlicek, who went off for 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Paul Silas added 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Dave Cowens was able to play a complementary role with eight points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Kevin Garnett led the '08 Celtics with 12 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists, Rajon Rondo and Sam Cassell each added 11 points, and Paul Pierce chipped in eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Group G

@ 2005 San Antonio Spurs 110, 1967 Philadelphia 76ers 109
Radoslav Nesterovic had a key block on Hal Greer with 23 seconds left, leading to Tim Duncan nailing a fadeaway on the left side with 10 seconds to go to give the Spurs the lead. Wali Jones front-rimmed a fadeaway at the buzzer, and the Spurs pick up that crucial eighth win. Duncan's game winner ended a fantastic back and forth affair with both teams shooting fairly well overall, but the Sixers will lament a 3-12 day from beyond the arc while the Spurs made six of their 12 attempts. Tony Parker went to town on Philly's guards to the tune of 26 points and eight assists, Tim Duncan had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili added 15 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Spurs. Wilt Chamberlain had 20 points, a game-high 27 rebounds, and seven assists to lead the Sixers, Chet Walker added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Billy Cunningham added 15 points off the bench.

@ 2001 Los Angeles Lakers 121, 1964 Boston Celtics 94
The Lakers are the first Group G team to clinch a spot, giving each group at least one locked entrant into the Elimination Round. They did so with star power, shooting 50.5 percent from the floor, and forcing 18 turnovers. The Celtics could only manage a 40.2 percent clip for the day, and struggled at the line to not help their cause. The Lakers actually only led by nine at the break, and the Celtics pulled within three points a couple times before LA could rally to open up the lead a little bit. A 41 point third quarter made it a 20 point advantage going into the final frame, and the Celtics couldn't stage a comeback. Shaquille O'Neal had 36 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lakers, though Kobe Bryant helped make sure a spot was clinched with 30 points and seven assists. Tommy Heinsohn had 24 points and eight rebounds to pace the Celtics, while Bill Russell had 16 and 18.

@ 1957 Boston Celtics 108, 1955 Syracuse Nationals 89

Don't look now, but Bill Russell's first title team just pulled into a tie with Wilt's first title team for the fourth and final spot in the Elimination Round. The Celtics also have the temporary advantage of the head-to-head tiebreaker with their opening game win. As for the Nationals, it's their 12th straight loss in a game where they hit just a third of their shots and went 4-17 from deep. The Celtics also won the rebounding battle 66-54 while making 18 of their 22 free throws. Bill Russell had 16 points, 22 rebounds, seven blocks and five steals in leading the Celtics to a guarantee of finishing no worse than .500 in group play while Tommy Heinsohn added 20 points, Bob Cousy had 16 points and nine assists, and Bill Sharman added 16 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Dolph Schayes had 24 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Nationals while Johnny "Red" Kerr had 11 and six off the bench.

@ 1987 Los Angeles Lakers 105, 2003 San Antonio Spurs 100
The Spurs led by 11 at halftime, but could only score 11 points in the third quarter as the Lakers took control. Other than a tie at 85-all, the Lakers led for the entirety of the fourth quarter to clinch a spot in the Elimination Round. The Lakers shot 54.3 percent for the game while holding the Spurs to just a tick over 40 percent. San Antonio also missed 15 of their 36 free throws, something I'm sure they'll look back on as a major reason for the loss. Magic Johnson had 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Lakers to the win, Byron Scott added 19 points, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Tony Parker paced the Spurs with 21 points, while Tim Duncan had 10 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, and David Robinson added 15 points and 13 rebounds.