Now that I am back at COAS Headquarters, I'm doubling down on my efforts to find the best basketball team among the NBA and ABA champions. At the one-third pole, we have only four undefeated teams still remaining, but we also have a lot of interesting races still to be resolved.
On today's slate, Groups C and E are finishing off a back-to-back on their schedule, while Groups B and G return to action after having yesterday off. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's play.
Group C
@ '12 Miami Heat 98, '81 Boston Celtics 87
The Heat make it to 6-0 despite missing 11 free throws, though a 7-16 day from beyond the arc will generally help with that. Miami jumped out to a 31-15 lead and never looked back as the Celtics fall to 1-4. LeBron James had a triple-double of 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists, Chris Bosh added 27 points and five rebounds, and Dwyane Wade chipped in 17 and six for the Heat. Larry Bird paced the Celtics with 19 points and nine rebounds while Robert Parish added 12 and 11.
@ '05 San Antonio Spurs 105, '75 Kentucky Colonels 90
San Antonio gets back to a winning record thanks to making more than double the free throws (28) that the Colonels took (11). Tony Parker led the way with 21 points, five rebounds, and seven assists for the Spurs, Tim Duncan added 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili logged 19 and seven. Dan Issel had a game-high 23 points to go with his six rebounds to lead Kentucky, while Artis Gilmore added 14 points and 15 rebounds. Jim Bradley notched 14 points and five rebounds off the Colonels' bench.
@ '99 San Antonio Spurs 125, '68 Pittsburgh Pipers 84
The Spurs outscored Pittsburgh 35-12 in the first quarter, shot 50 percent for the game, annihilated the Pipers on the boards, and forced 15 turnovers in a dominant performance. David Robinson had 21 points and 12 rebounds to pace San Antonio, Tim Duncan pitched in 19 and 12, Malik Rose had 12 points and 14 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive glass, off the bench, and Avery Johnson finished with 10 points and nine assists for the Spurs. Charlie Williams paced the Pipers with 16 points, while Connie Hawkins added 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Philly trailed by as many as 19 early in the fourth quarter, but fought back to make this a game, pulling within two with 43 seconds to play, but Kobe Bryant answered with a 10 foot pull up jumper to ice the game. He finished the night with 27 points, nine rebounds, and five steals, while Shaquille O'Neal added 25 points, 12 rebounds, and seven blocks for the Lakers. Paul Arizin led the Warriors with 20 points, eight rebounds, and four steals, Neil Johnston chipped in 15 points and 18 rebounds, and Tom Gola contributed 13 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks.
Group G
@ '11 Dallas Mavericks 121, '72 Indiana Pacers 112
Indiana shot just 3-13 from beyond the arc and missed nine free throws, surrendering a 39-27 second quarter disadvantage that drops them to .500 while the Mavs improve to that mark. Dirk Nowitzki went off for 29 points and 11 rebounds to lead Dallas, Caron Butler scored 16 points, and Tyson Chandler recorded 14 points and 12 rebounds. Roger A. Brown finished with 22 points and five rebounds for the Pacers, Bob Netolicky added 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Mel Daniels contributed 12 and 15.
@ '76 New York Nets 115, '58 St. Louis Hawks 113
The Nets led by as many as 13 early in the fourth quarter and nearly blew the lead. John Williamson hit the difference-making bucket with 1:45 left, but after Slater Martin pulled the Hawks back within two, the Hawks couldn't get a shot off until with one second left, and that shot was blocked by Tim Bassett to save the win for New York. Julius Erving had 30 points and nine rebounds for the Nets, Williamson added 15 points, and Al Skinner and Ted McClain combined for 21 points off the bench. They spoiled a 32 point, 21 rebound night for Bob Pettit, while Slater Martin added 17 points and five assists, and Chuck Share chipped in 13 points and 15 rebounds for St. Louis.
@ '67 Philadelphia 76ers 111, '02 Los Angeles Lakers 92
The Sixers shot 52.8 percent from the floor and held the Lakers to 38.8 percent to pick up their third win of the tournament and knock LA from the first place perch. Los Angeles had no answer for Wilt Chamberlain, who went off for 27 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, while Luke Jackson added 23 points and nine rebounds, and Billy Cunningham added 12 and 10 off the bench for Philadelphia. Kobe Bryant had 35 points and six rebounds for the Lakers, while Shaquille O'Neal managed 22 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists.
The Bulls get back on the right track and move into a first place tie thanks to stifling defense that held the Celtics to 30.7 percent shooting for the game. Scottie Pippen was sublime with 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and four steals, while Michael Jordan added 28 points, Dennis Rodman had six points and 19 rebounds, and Ron Harper had 10 rebounds and four steals for Chicago. Sam Jones had 14 points and seven rebounds to pace the Celtics, Don Nelson added 11 and five off the bench, and Bill Russell finished with five points and 19 rebounds.
Group B
'70 New York Knicks 104, @ '73 Indiana Pacers 95
The Knicks log the first road win of the day behind a 36-15 third quarter advantage and tenacious defense that forced 26 Indiana turnovers. Willis Reed had 18 points and 16 rebounds to pace New York, Bill Bradley added 18 points, Walt Frazier logged 16 points and eight assists, and Dave DeBusschere chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds. George McGinnis had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Pacers, while Mel Daniels added 12 points and 17 rebounds, and Billy Keller contributed 20 points and six assists.
'90 Detroit Pistons 112, @ '75 Golden State Warriors 103
The Pistons move to 6-0 in a game that was never in doubt, as they led by 20 at halftime and only allowed 15 first quarter points. Golden State shot 6-19 from three, but only took 21 free throws to Detroit's 37. Dennis Rodman has caught fire for the Pistons, as he went off for 24 points and 13 rebounds in the win. Joe Dumars added 16 points and five assists, Isiah Thomas had 15 points, five rebounds, and nine assists, and Bill Laimbeer chipped in 12 points and 13 rebounds. Jamaal Wilkes had 25 points and six rebounds to lead the Warriors in their fourth loss, Rick Barry added 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists, and Butch Beard chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Oaks go right back to losing to the NBA's best as they blew a seven point lead going into the fourth quarter. The Lakers used a 12-1 run midway through the frame to turn the tide and take control en route to their fourth win of the tournament. Magic Johnson had a ridiculous triple-double with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 17 assists, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and A.C. Green chipped in 14 and 10 for Los Angeles. Rick Barry finished with 34 points and nine rebounds to pace Oakland, Warren Jabali added 22 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, and Ira Harge contributed 10 points and 14 rebounds.
@ '93 Chicago Bulls 107, '74 New York Nets 92
The Bulls shot 51.7 percent from the floor to help overcome an awful day at the free throw line and move back into a tie for second place in the group. Really, the Nets had no answer for Michael Jordan, who exploded for 34 points and five rebounds, while Scottie Pippen did the dirty work with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. B.J. Armstrong put up 17 points, and Horace Grant added 15 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago. New York got 22 points and 16 rebounds out of Larry Kenon, while Julius Erving added 16 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
Group E
@ '15 Golden State Warriors 115, '53 Minneapolis Lakers 72
The Warriors went deep into their bench for much of the game and more than got away with it, turning in the biggest blowout of the tournament to date. The Lakers shot just 30.1 percent against Golden State's bench, one of the lowest outputs through 13 days of the tournament. Klay Thompson had 22 points in just 22 minutes to pace the Warriors, Steph Curry added 11, David Lee had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Marreese Speights added 11 and six. George Mikan had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Minneapolis, while Vern Mikkelsen chipped in 15 and 14.
'69 Boston Celtics 138, @ '60 Boston Celtics 125
These two iterations of the Celtics put up a combined 222 field goal attempts and made a combined 97, resulting in one of the highest scoring games of the tournament. The '69 Celtics shot 45.6 percent from the floor and forced 24 turnovers to take control of the game and get their fourth win of the tournament. Bailey Howell had 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead the '69 Celtics to the win, John Havlicek had 21 points, six rebounds, and 12 assists, '69 Sam Jones added 22 points, and '69 Bill Russell had 15 rebounds and six assists to go with just four points. They spoiled a nice outing by '60 Russell, who finished with 15 points, 27 rebounds, and six blocks, while Bob Cousy added 19 points and eight assists, and Tommy Heinsohn added 18 points and nine rebounds.
The Bulls drop from the ranks of the unbeaten after a late 11-2 Utah run capped by a contested Red Robbins three effectively put the game away. Donnie Freeman had 23 points, five rebounds, and seven assists to lead the Stars to their second win, Willie Wise put up 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Zelmo Beaty added 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Bulls hit just one of their 11 threes but still got 21 points and four steals out of Michael Jordan, while Horace Grant added 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Scottie Pippen finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists before fouling out.
@ '82 Los Angeles Lakers 134, '61 Boston Celtics 99
The Lakers shot 54.7 percent from the floor and forced 21 turnovers to pick up their third win of the tournament. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the way with 27 points, eight rebounds, and six blocks, Mitch Kupchak put up 24 points and nine rebounds, and Magic Johnson finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists for Los Angeles. Bob Cousy and Tommy Heinsohn each scored 19 points for the Celtics, while Bill Russell added 16 points and 25 rebounds.
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