2015 NBA Tournament of Champions: Group Play Day 4

Happy Fourth of July! After spending last year's Fourth in Hawaii with my wife and watching fireworks on a boat, we're still going to watch fireworks... plus I'm working with some.

We're now four days into the 2015 NBA Tournament of Champions, and yesterday we had 32 teams play their second games of group play. Today, the remaining 32 catch up to the pack.

Group G returns to the court after two days off, while Groups A, E and H only had a single day. Since there's no intergroup play yet, fatigue won't play an unfair factor.

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. Enjoy the holiday basketball!

Group A

2002 Los Angeles Lakers 117, @ 1989 Detroit Pistons 84
This one was never in doubt. The Lakers forced 19 turnovers and outscored the Pistons in every quarter, leading 27-17 after one and 59-44 at the break. Shaquille O'Neal led the way with 34 points and 15 rebounds, while Kobe Bryant added 18 points, six rebounds and eight assists. Adrian Dantley led the Pistons with 22 points.

1979 Seattle Supersonics 114, @ 2010 Los Angeles Lakers 102

Somebody break up the Sonics! Seattle shot 53.1 percent from the floor and took an early 36-27 lead after one quarter that the Lakers couldn't recover from. LA hit just four of their 21 threes for the game, contributing to the loss. Gus Williams and Jack Sikma each had 21 points to lead the Sonics, with Sikma adding 11 rebounds. Kobe Bryant scored 31 points in the loss, Pau Gasol added 18 points and 15 rebounds, while Lamar Odom chipped in eight points and 13 rebounds.

2015 Golden State Warriors 112, @ 1982 Los Angeles Lakers 109
Don't look now, but the defending NBA champs are looking pretty good. They overcame a nine point fourth quarter deficit behind a monster performance from the Splash Brothers. Steph Curry overcame his first game struggles, finishing with 33 points, including six threes, and 12 assists, while Klay Thompson scored 13 of his 25 points in that final frame. Kareem could only do so much, leading the Lakers with 24 points and 10 rebounds, Jamaal Wilkes added 20, and Magic Johnson finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

@ 1970 New York Knicks 127, 2012 Miami Heat 107
The Heat had no answer for the inside presence of the Knicks, who never trailed in the game. New York shot 53.1 percent from the floor for the game and saw all five starters score in double figures. Willis Reed led the way with 25 points on 11 of 19 shooting and added 13 rebounds. Dick Barnett chipped in 19, including going 3-3 from deep. LeBron led the Heat with 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Udonis Haslem had a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Group E

1997 Chicago Bulls 104, @ 2008 Boston Celtics 79

In the first of a back-to-back, the Bulls fell behind early, trailing 23-16 after one quarter. From there, the Bulls' defense took over, ultimately holding the Celtics to 39 percent shooting for the game. Michael Jordan led all scorers with 29 points and added four steals to help the defensive shutdown, while Scottie Pippen added 23 points and 12 rebounds. Dennis Rodman only scored eight, but pulled down 20 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass. Kevin Garnett led the Celtics with 17 points and eight rebounds.

@ 1978 Washington Bullets 117, 1974 Boston Celtics 104
The Celtics fall to 0-2 on the tournament following a game where they shot just 36.6 percent from the floor. The Bullets shot just shy of 50 percent and saw six players score in double figures. Seven Bullets scored in a 37 point third quarter where they really pulled away. Bob Dandridge led the team with 19 points, Elvin Hayes had 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Wes Unseld had 15 points and 14 rebounds. John Havlicek led all scorers with 23 points, while Dave Cowens had 14 points and a game-high 17 rebounds for Boston.

1981 Boston Celtics 120, @ 1973 New York Knicks 118
The Knicks built an 11 point lead after one quarter, but squandered it with a poor second quarter and actually trailed Boston 55-54 at the half. The Knicks would come back to take a lead after three, but couldn't contain the Celtics in the final twelve minutes to fall to 0-2. Larry Bird led all scorers with 27 points while adding 16 rebounds, while Robert Parish added 22 points and 10 rebounds. Three Knicks scored at least 20 points, led by Dave DeBusschere's 25, while Walt Frazier had 24 and eight assists.

@ 2014 San Antonio Spurs 104, 1990 Detroit Pistons 89
Both defenses came to play early, as the Spurs only led 19-18 after one quarter. They broke out in the second quarter though, outscoring Detroit 26-14 to take a 45- 32 halftime lead. All told, San Antonio shot 51.9 percent from the floor to move to 2-0 so far. Tim Duncan was ruthless inside, hitting 13 of his 18 shots to lead all scorers with 26 points while adding 12 rebounds, four blocks and four assists. Marco Belinelli added 14 off the bench. Bill Laimbeer paced the Pistons with 20 points, including a 3-3 day from beyond the arc.

Group G

@ 1967 Philadelphia 76ers 117, 2001 Los Angeles Lakers 115

Philly comes up with a huge upset behind very balanced scoring. Both teams played well on offense, with the Lakers shooting 49 percent from the field and the Sixers shooting 52.9 percent. Shaquille O'Neal actually fouled out less than 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, and the Lakers still outscored Philly 34-31 in that final frame, but it wasn't enough, as backup center Greg Foster missed a shot to tie the game at the buzzer. Wilt Chamberlain led the Sixers with 28 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, while Chet Walker and Billy Cunningham each had 20 points. Shaq had 20 points in 20 minutes, but only grabbed four rebounds before fouling out. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 27 points.

@ 2005 San Antonio Spurs 106, 1957 Boston Celtics 95
The Celtics led by nine a little ways into the second quarter, but the Spurs were not going to be outdone. The Celtics held on to the lead, other than a few ties, until late in the third when the Spurs took a lead they would not relinquish. San Antonio shot 52.1 percent for the game, thanks largely to the efforts of Tony Parker, who led all scorers with 34 points on 13 of 19 shooting. Tim Duncan added 24 points and 14 rebounds while Manu Ginobili finished with 16 points. Bob Cousy led the way for Boston with 29 points and eight assists. Bill Sharman added 20, and Bill Russell struggled, managing just six points and 12 rebounds.

@ 1964 Boston Celtics 121, 1987 Los Angeles Lakers 113 (OT)
This '64 Celtics team might be underrated, but they needed a miracle to stay undefeated. The Lakers used a 33-22 second quarter to take an eight point lead into the locker room, and they led by 14 after three. The Lakers led by as many as 15, but then Boston went on a 10-0 run to get back in the game, and even took a six point lead with under three minutes to play. The Lakers came back to tie, Sam Jones missed the game winner at the buzzer, and we went to overtime. The Lakers shot just 2-12 in the extra session, however, and the Celtics took advantage to steal the win. Despite missing at the end of regulation, Sam Jones still had a great game, leading all scorers with 27 points, while Bill Russell filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 26 rebounds (11 offensive), eight assists, five blocks, and four steals. Kareem led the Lakers with 20 points and eight rebounds, Magic Johnson had 16 points and 16 assists, and James Worthy had 17 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.

2003 San Antonio Spurs 88, @ 1955 Syracuse Nationals 87
The Spurs nearly gave this one away. A 31-20 second quarter gave them a nine point edge at the break, but the Nationals didn't go away. They even led at a couple points in the fourth quarter before the Spurs took it back, with Tim Duncan getting the eventual game-winner with 42 seconds to go. Syracuse missed its final three shots, including a tip attempt, and even got some extra time off of a steal, but couldn't put the ball in the hoop. Tim Duncan was brilliant, leading all scorers with 28 points and adding 15 rebounds, while Tony Parker added 21 points. Dolph Schayes and Earl Lloyd each had 16 points and double digit rebounds to lead Syracuse, but both missed shots in the final minute that might have given them the win.

Group H

2006 Miami Heat 111, @ 1984 Boston Celtics 96

The Heat easily controlled the boards, outrebounding the Celtics 59-36, including a 22-4 edge on the offensive glass. Miami outscored Boston in every quarter, the biggest being a 25-19 edge after one. Dwyane Wade was ruthless on offense going 15 for 29 from the floor en route to 36 points while adding eight assists. Shaquille O'Neal added 16 points and 11 rebounds. Just four Celtics scored in double figures, with Larry Bird and Kevin McHale each scoring 15 points to lead the way.

@ 1963 Boston Celtics 132, 1962 Boston Celtics 117
In another paradox game, both teams tried to run the floor, with a combined 221 field goals and 78 free throws attempted. The '62 Celtics struggled at the line though, making just 18 of their 31 free throws. A combined 15 players scored in double figures in this game, with '63 Tommy Heinsohn leading all scorers with 24 points. '63 John Havlicek added 23 points and 10 rebounds, while '63 Bill Russell had 16 points and 21 rebounds. '62 Bill Russell had 12 points and a game-high 23 rebounds, while '62 Sam Jones led the team with 20 points.

@ 1991 Chicago Bulls 100, 1952 Minneapolis Lakers 79
The Bulls' defense was excellent, holding the Lakers to 33.3 percent shooting for the game and forcing 20 turnovers. The Lakers actually led 26-25 after one quarter, but the Bulls buckled down from there, outscoring them 28-16 in the second quarter to open up a big lead. Michael Jordan led all scorers with 22 points and added seven rebounds and five assists, while Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant and Bill Cartwright each had nine rebounds. James Pollard and Vern Mikkelsen each had double-doubles with 16 points, while George Mikan had 14 points and nine rebounds.

@ 1976 Boston Celtics 115, 1969 Boston Celtics 113
In another back and forth battle at the Boston Garden, the '76 Celtics came out of a 31-all tie after one quarter by outscoring the '69 Celtics 28-20. The '69 team was able to bounce back in the second half, but they were unable to get over the hump. A total of 13 players scored in double figures in this game. '76 Charlie Scott led the way for the victorious '76 group with 22 points, while '76 Paul Silas out-Russelled Bill Russell by scoring 11 points and pulling down 22 rebounds. '69 Russell himself managed nine points and 16 rebounds, while '69 Sam Jones led all scorers with 23 points.