We're still at least another week, probably longer, away from any teams actually clinching a spot in the Elimination Stage. These games are still very important though for the teams looking to earn their way in. On today's schedule, Group H is our only batch of teams from yesterday playing again, and they will be joined by Groups B, E, and G, with the latter two groups finishing off a home-and-home set. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's head courtside.
Group H
@ '80 Los Angeles Lakers 107, '73 New York Knicks 100
The Lakers put together a late 7-0 run to take a lead, and the Knicks couldn't rally to tie the game, dropping them to 2-5 while the Lakers move into a tie with Milwaukee for the fourth and final berth from the group to the Elimination Stage. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had a monster quadruple-nickel with 21 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists, and seven blocks, Magic Johnson put together 16 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists, and Spencer Haywood added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles. Bill Bradley paced the Knicks with 18 points and seven rebounds, Dave DeBusschere added 11 and 12, and Walt Frazier logged 15 and six.
@ '59 Boston Celtics 115, '03 San Antonio Spurs 94
Boston used a 39-19 third quarter advantage and its 51.9 percent shooting day to flip a ten point halftime deficit and hand San Antonio just their second loss of the tournament so far. Bill Russell had nine points and 19 rebounds for the Celtics, Bob Cousy dropped 27 points, and Bennie Swain added 15 points and five rebounds off the bench. Tim Duncan had 13 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes to lead the Spurs, while Tony Parker and Steve Smith each scored 10 points.
@ '94 Houston Rockets 119, '57 Boston Celtics 111
Houston made 32 of 48 free throws, while Boston took just 16 in a battle of one-win teams that resulted in a 20 point lead for the Rockets after three quarters. The Celtics had no answer for Hakeem Olajuwon, who exploded for 33 points, 18 rebounds, and five blocks, while Otis Thorpe recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds and Vernon Maxwell chipped in 16 points for the Rockets. Bob Cousy paced the Celtics' attack with 20 points and 10 assists, Bill Russell added 19 points and 22 rebounds, and Bill Sharman scored 19 points.
Miami extended its bench a little bit for this one, and the extra men delivered, helping the Heat shoot 54.7 percent against a rested Lakers team to seize sole possession of first place in the group. LeBron James made the most of his 30 minutes on the floor with an insane 37 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, Chris Bosh added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Dwyane Wade chipped in 16 points and six assists for Miami. They overcame a 29 point, nine rebound, eight assist night from Kobe Bryant, while Pau Gasol added 21 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, and Andrew Bynum contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles.
Group G
Tyson Chandler rebounded a Billy Keller miss with eight seconds left, outletted the ball, then got it back and banked home a shot at the buzzer to secure the sweep for Dallas and stay right in the logjam in the middle of the group standings. Chandler finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Dirk Nowitzki added 17 and eight, and Jason Kidd racked up nine rebounds and 12 assists for the Mavericks. Bob Netolicky led the Pacers with 27 points and eight rebounds while Mel Daniels logged 13 points and 14 rebounds.
'76 New York Nets 118, @ '58 St. Louis Hawks 99
St. Louis made just 32.7 percent of their field goals to fall to 1-7 on the tournament. The Nets used a 38-19 second quarter advantage to blow the game wide open and stay at the top of the group. Julius Erving had 26 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, and four blocks to lead the Nets, John Williamson scored 20 points, Ted McClain poured in 14 off the bench, and Swen Nater put up 11 points and 14 rebounds. Bob Pettit's 34 points and 13 rebounds weren't enough for the Hawks, Ed Macauley added 18 points and nine rebounds off the bench, and Chuck Share chipped in 15 and 14.
@ '02 Los Angeles Lakers 101, '67 Philadelphia 76ers 97
The Lakers trailed by as many as 14 early in the fourth quarter, but Shaquille O'Neal scored four straight baskets to help pull Los Angeles out of the hole, Kobe Bryant went on to tie the game, and Rick Fox put them ahead for good with a minute to play. Wilt Chamberlain had a look from the right block to tie the game with two seconds to go, but missed long to give the Lakers the split and a 5-2 mark. Shaq finished with 23 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists, and four blocks to lead LA, Kobe added 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists, and Fox finished with 15, six, and five. Chamberlain had a quadruple-nicker with 21 points, 29 rebounds, six assists, and five blocks, Wali Jones added 16 points, and Chet Walker scored 15 for the Sixers, who fall to 3-3.
@ '66 Boston Celtics 112, '97 Chicago Bulls 101
The Celtics owned the glass and got to the line 33 times to survive an 11-27 day from beyond the arc by Chicago and earn the split. Sam Jones had a great game with 31 points and six rebounds, John Havlicek added 25 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, and Bill Russell chipped in six points and 24 rebounds for Boston. Michael Jordan's 27 points and four blocks weren't enough for the Bulls, nor was a 21 point, 12 rebound, eight assist day for Scottie Pippen.
Group E
Golden State got its starters regular minutes with two days off upcoming to keep them sharp, and they responded with a 13-25 day from beyond the arc to blow out the Lakers and earn their sixth win of the tournament. Steph Curry did Steph Curry things, finishing 7-12 from deep to notch 33 points, six rebounds, and five assists, Draymond Green added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Klay Thompson chipped in 14 points for the Warriors. Frank Saul paced the Minneapolis attack with 19 points, George Mikan added 14 points and 16 rebounds, and Slater Martin chipped in 12 points.
@ '69 Boston Celtics 135, '60 Boston Celtics 131
The '69 Celtics shot 38 free throws, making 30 of them to earn the sweep of their younger selves and pick up a fifth win, keeping them firmly in contention for an Elimination Stage spot. John Havlicek had 23 points, six rebounds, and eight assists to lead '69 Boston to the win, '69 Sam Jones added 23 points, and '69 Bill Russell logged 15 points, 22 rebounds, and six assists. Bill Sharman dropped 40 points for the '60 Celtics, including eight points in the final 1:08 of a furious rally to try and come back. '60 Russell pitched in 21 points, 22 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks, and Bob Cousy contributed 15 points, six rebounds, and eight assists.
@ '92 Chicago Bulls 112, '71 Utah Stars 99
Chicago outscored Utah 34-18 in the fourth quarter in a case of turnabout, as the Bulls avenged their first loss of the tournament back in the Windy City. The Bulls shot 54 percent from the floor in the win, and were led by a 29 point, six rebound, five assist, five block quadruple-nickel from Michael Jordan, while Bill Cartwright came alive in the fourth to finish with 13 points and six rebounds, and Scottie Pippen added 12 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists for Chicago. The Stars got 20 points and 14 rebounds from Zelmo Beaty, Glen Combs scored 17 points, and Donnie Freeman added 12 points, six rebounds, and eight assists.
'82 Los Angeles Lakers 125, @ '61 Boston Celtics 99
LA outscored the Celtics 17-4 in the first five minutes and led 37-15 by the end of the frame, and the Celtics never recovered. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 30 points and eight rebounds to lead the Lakers, Norm Nixon added 18 points, six rebounds, and 12 assists, Jamaal Wilkes scored 18 points, and Magic Johnson put up 15 points, 21 rebounds, five assists, and five steals. Tommy Heinsohn had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead Boston, Sam Jones added 16 and six, and Bill Russell chipped in 10 points and 18 rebounds.
Group B
The Oaks continue their domination of fellow ABA teams as they forced 19 Pacer turnovers and shot 48.5 percent from the floor, all from inside the arc, to end up back at .500 after a little rut. Rick Barry went off for 34 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists to lead Oakland, Larry Brown added 19 points and nine assists, Ira Harge put up 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Doug Moe came off the bench to the tune of 13 and 10. Roger A. Brown and Donnie Freeman each had 20 points and six rebounds for Indiana, George McGinnis chipped in 18 and 14, and Mel Daniels logged 13 and 10.
@ '85 Los Angeles Lakers 110, '93 Chicago Bulls 105
The Lakers shot 51.1 percent from the floor and forced 18 turnovers in picking up their fifth win, and a key one against a contending Bulls team. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 24 points and 15 rebounds to pace the Laker attack, while Magic Johnson went off for 20 points, six rebounds, and 14 assists, and Byron Scott scored 22 points. They spoiled a 39 point, nine rebound, five assist, four steal night for Michael Jordan, while Scottie Pippen added 16 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, and Horace Grant contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds for Chicago.
@ '75 Golden State Warriors 115, '74 New York Nets 114
Clifford Ray hit a bunny with 48 seconds left to give Golden State the lead, then survived a late block of a Rick Barry dagger by Julius Erving, as Erving came up short on a floater at the buzzer that would have won the game. Barry logged 24 points and six steals to lead Golden State, Ray added 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Jamaal Wilkes chipped in 14 points and 10 rebounds. Erving finished with a quadruple-nickel of 22 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, and five blocks, Billy Paultz recorded 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Larry Kenon contributed 12 and 10.
'87 Los Angeles Lakers 115, @ '70 New York Knicks 106
The Lakers shot 53.6 percent from the floor to grab their fifth win of the tournament. Magic Johnson had a great game with 30 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar added 18 points and seven rebounds, James Worthy notched 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, and Mychal Thompson had 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench for Los Angeles. Willis Reed had 24 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Knicks, Walt Frazier added 24 points, eight assists, and four steals, and Dave DeBusschere chipped in 14 points and 15 rebounds.
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