Eight teams still remain undefeated through five rounds in a quest for advantageous position in the Elimination Stage. Meanwhile, five teams are still searching for that ever-elusive first win, and find themselves in rough shape trying to break into that hallowed territory.
On today's schedule, Group H is our only back-to-back playing group, while Groups B, F, and G are playing after having yesterday off. Group F is concluding our fifth home and home series of the tournament. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's see our results!
Group G
@ '72 Indiana Pacers 123, '67 Philadelphia 76ers 116
The Pacers won the battle on the boards and outshot the Sixers at the free throw line to escape with a narrow home victory. Mel Daniels had 25 points and 15 rebounds to lead the way for Indiana, Freddie Lewis added 25 points and five assists, and Bob Netolicky finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds. It spoiled a magnificent performance by Wilt Chamberlain, who had a near triple-double of 27 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, four blocks, and three steals, Chet Walker added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Billy Cunningham chipped in 16 and six.
@ '76 New York Nets 109, '97 Chicago Bulls 106 (OT)
Luc Longley split a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to force overtime, but a Julius Erving three point play with 1:37 left in the extra session proved to be the difference as the Nets defense got the key stops after the fact. Julius Erving had 32 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way for New York, John Williamson scored 18 points, and Swen Nater finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Michael Jordan paced the Bulls with 27 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, Scottie Pippen added 21, seven, and eight, and Dennis Rodman chipped in 10 points and 14 rebounds.
'02 Los Angeles Lakers 112, @ '11 Dallas Mavericks 100
LA shot 48.8 percent from the floor, including 7-16 from beyond the arc, and controlled the glass en route to taking over first place in Group G. Dallas had no answer for Shaquille O'Neal, who went off for 31 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists for the Lakers, while Kobe Bryant added 22 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists. Dirk Nowitzki paced the Mavs with 22 points and seven rebounds, Caron Butler scored 20 points, and Jason Kidd chipped in 14 points and eight assists.
St. Louis shot only 38.3 percent from the floor, but forced 23 turnovers and won the rebounding battle to keep it close until Cliff Hagan threw down the game-winning dunk with 10 seconds to go. Hagan finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds, but Bob Pettit ruled the day with 31 points, 23 rebounds, and four steals for the Hawks. John Havlicek paced Boston with 21 points, while Tommy Heinsohn added 18 points and nine rebounds and Bill Russell had a quadruple-nickel with 11 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists, and seven blocks for the Celtics.
Group B
Detroit runs its unbeaten streak to five games after shooting 50 percent from the floor and using a 10-2 fourth quarter run to survive a late push by Indiana. Joe Dumars had 27 points and five assists to lead the scoring load for the Pistons, while Bill Laimbeer added 24 points and 17 rebounds and Isiah Thomas oversaw the affair with 20 points and 15 assists. Roger A. Brown had 28 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Pacers while Mel Daniels chipped in 16 points and 14 rebounds.
'75 Golden State Warriors 126, @ '87 Los Angeles Lakers 121
A 9-2 Warrior run midway through the third quarter turned the tide of the game and made it a back and forth affair, and Golden State stayed hot in the fourth quarter to pull away and squeak out the victory. Rick Barry led the way with 29 points, five rebounds, and six assists, Butch Beard added 22 points and six rebounds, and Clifford Ray added 16 points for the Warriors. Byron Scott had 28 points, five rebounds, and six assists to lead the Lakers, Magic Johnson added 20 points and eight assists, and James Worthy finished with 19 points and six rebounds.
'85 Los Angeles Lakers 116, @ '74 New York Nets 108
New York missed 11 free throws and surrendered 41 fourth quarter points en route to their fifth loss of the tournament. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the Lakers to their fourth win, while Magic Johnson added 18 points, five rebounds, and nine assists, and Michael Cooper added 12 points, including six key points late in the fourth quarter to ice the contest. Julius Erving paced the Nets with 26 points and nine rebounds, John Williamson added 21 points, and Larry Kenon finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds.
'69 Oakland Oaks 116, @ '93 Chicago Bulls 102
The Oaks finally got their first win against an NBA team by dominating the boards and getting to the line 32 times and hitting 29 of them, opening up a 28 point lead after three quarters. Rick Barry led the Oaks with 27 points and seven rebounds, Doug Moe added 20 and 11 off the bench, and Warren Jabali chipped in 13 points and 14 rebounds. They spoiled a 21 point, nine rebound night from Michael Jordan, while Scottie Pippen was held to 11 points and six assists in 25 minutes due to fouling out.
Group H
New York scored six straight points in the span of about 90 seconds to flip the scoreboard and take a lead, and Bill Bradley came up with a key steal from Tim Duncan to hand the Spurs their first loss of the tournament. Bradley finished with 18 points, Earl Monroe added 24 points and eight rebounds, and Dave DeBusschere logged 12 and 16 for the Knicks, who pick up their first win of the tournament. That late turnover was Duncan's eighth of the game, marring an otherwise stellar night of 20 points, 15 rebounds, and eight assists, while Tony Parker added 13 points and eight assists for San Antonio.
'59 Boston Celtics 118, @ '57 Boston Celtics 110
The two iterations of the Celtics combined for 215 field goal attempts, but it was the '59 Celtics' ability to get to the line that proved to be the difference. '59 Bill Sharman led the way offensively for his Boston team with 25 points, '59 Bob Cousy had 22 points and 11 assists, and '59 Bill Russell was the defensive stalwart again with 11 points, 21 rebounds, and eight blocks. '57 Russell put up 24 points and 16 rebounds in the loss, while '57 Tommy Heinsohn added 19 points and 11 rebounds.
@ '10 Los Angeles Lakers 108, '71 Milwaukee Bucks 101
Milwaukee lost two games in all of last year's Group Play, compared to their third already this year. The Lakers hit seven of 16 threes to help press the advantage and take sole possession of third place. Andrew Bynum had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Lakers to the win, Pau Gasol added 18 and 12, and Kobe Bryant logged 17 points and four steals. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks, but had eight of the Bucks' 16 turnovers. Bob Dandridge added 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists for Milwaukee.
@ '13 Miami Heat 123, '94 Houston Rockets 97
Miami shot 53.3 percent from the floor to take advantage of the Spurs' loss and grab sole possession of first place. LeBron James was excellent once again with 25 points, five rebounds, and 12 assists, Dwyane Wade added 24, 14, and six, and Chris Bosh recorded 15 points and four blocks for the Heat. Hakeem Olajuwon paced the Rockets with 24 points and 10 rebounds, Vernon Maxwell scored 14 points, and Robert Horry put in 12.
Group F
'79 Seattle Supersonics 113, @ '86 Boston Celtics 98
The Sonics earned the split with a huge road upset with control of the glass and a dominant first half defensively where they held Boston to just 39 points. Gus Williams had 21 points, six rebounds, and five assists to pace Seattle, Lonnie Shelton added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Jack Sikma chipped in 13 and 13. Robert Parish led the Celtics with 18 points and 14 rebounds, Kevin McHale logged 18 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks, and Larry Bird had a near triple-double of 16 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists.
Detroit shot 51.6 percent and forced 16 Chicago turnovers to grab a huge road win and knock the Bulls down a peg. '89 Dennis Rodman had 22 points and 22 rebounds, destroying Toni Kukoc defensively, while Isiah Thomas put up 21 points, five rebounds, and nine assists, and Mark Aguirre chipped in 19 points for the Pistons. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen each scored 19 points for the Bulls, Kukoc did log 16 points, and Luc Longley finished with 14.
'01 Los Angeles Lakers 102, @ '52 Minneapolis Lakers 92
The '01 Lakers built a 20 point halftime lead and never really looked back, while the '52 Lakers missed 10 free throws that could have made this game look a little closer, though their lack of depth got exposed as well. Shaquille O'Neal logged 25 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks in 35 minutes, Kobe Bryant added 22 points and five assists, and Rick Fox chipped in 14 points for Los Angeles. James Pollard had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists to lead Minneapolis, while Vern Mikkelsen added 21 points and nine rebounds and George Mikan finished with 15 and 10.
@ '68 Boston Celtics 119, '84 Boston Celtics 110
The '68 Celtics get back to .500 with a win over their very good '84 counterparts by getting to the line 39 times and converting 30 of those. Bailey Howell had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead the '68 Celtics to the win, while Sam Jones added 19 points, John Havlicek and Larry Siegfried each scored 18, and Bill Russell logged 12 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists. Larry Bird had 27 points, nine rebounds, and six assists for '84 Boston, Gerald Henderson added 17 points, and Robert Parish put up 13 points and 14 rebounds.
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