To begin our ninth round of games, Groups A and C are going to finish off a back to back, while Groups B and H are back in the saddle after taking yesterday off. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Time to play.
Group A
Houston rallied from down eight with just under four minutes to go, with Hakeem Olajuwon tying the game with 11 seconds to go, and Jerry West and Hakeem traded misses in the closing seconds of regulation. The Rockets then scored the first seven points of the first overtime and led for the entire frame until Jerry West buried a jumper at the buzzer to tie the game and force another overtime. Clyde Drexler came alive in the second overtime though, and he, Hakeem, and Otis Thorpe finished off the Lakers. Hakeem led the way with 39 points, 20 rebounds, eight assists, and five blocks, Drexler logged 33 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, Thorpe added 28 points and 14 assists, and Kenny Smith finished with 15 points, six rebounds, and nine assists for Houston. Gail Goodrich had a tournament-high 47 points to lead the Lakers, Jerry West added 30 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, and four steals, and Wilt Chamberlian chipped in 14 points, 27 rebounds, and six assists.
@ '14 San Antonio Spurs 104, '83 Philadelphia 76ers 73
The Spurs put up 38 third quarter points to turn a six point halftime lead into a blowout and forced 26 Philadelphia turnovers for their sixth win of the tournament and moving within half a game of the '72 Lakers. Tim Duncan had 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead San Antonio, Tony Parker added 14 points and five assists, Kawhi Leonard chipped in 13 points, six rebounds, and five steals, and Manu Ginobili contributed 12 points and seven assists off the bench. Julius Erving had 16 points but coughed the ball up nine times, a tournament high to the best of my knowledge. Andrew Toney scored 12 points, and Moses Malone recorded 11 points and 19 rebounds for the Sixers.
@ '91 Chicago Bulls 134, '70 Indiana Pacers 93
The Bulls shot a tournament record 65.9 percent from the floor and held the Pacers below 40 percent to move within half a game of the '72 Lakers for first place as well as tied with the '14 Spurs for second. Every Bull scored in this game, led by Michael Jordan with 31 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists, Scottie Pippen added 24 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and four blocks, and Horace Grant chipped in 16 points and seven rebounds. Mel Daniels paced Indiana with 15 points and 17 rebounds, John Barnhill contributed 15 points and four steals, and Bob Netolicky finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
'06 Miami Heat 123, @ '65 Boston Celtics 94
The Celtics are still searching for their first win and were never in this one, falling behind by 30 at halftime after shooting just 36.5 percent from the floor. They had no answer for Dwyane Wade, who went off for 37 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals, Jason Williams had 12 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, and Shaquille O'Neal logged nine points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks for the Heat. Bill Russell led the Celtics with 10 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists, Sam Jones scored 18 points, and John Havlicek added 15.
Group C
Shaquille O'Neal hit a go-ahead layup with 19 seconds to go, but couldn't get a stop at the other end as Tony Parker buried a jumper with two seconds to go to force the extra session. San Antonio then scored the first seven points of overtime, coughed up the lead briefly, but then ended the game on an 8-2 run to grab their fifth win of the tournament. Tim Duncan had 27 points, 12 rebounds, and seven blocks to help lead the way for the Spurs, Tony Parker dropped 34 points and eight assists, and Manu Ginobili chipped in 20 points, six rebounds, and eight assists. They spoiled a 41 point, 17 rebound, four block night by Shaq, while Kobe Bryant added 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, and Glen Rice scored 20 points for the Lakers.
@ '12 Miami Heat 95, '56 Philadelphia Warriors 71
Miami extended its bench against a struggling Warriors team and more than got away with it, holding Philly to 32.1 percent shooting while hitting eight of 22 threes to maintain their grip on first place. LeBron James had 23 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes to lead the Heat, while Dwyane Wade added 16 and six and Chris Bosh logged 13 and six. Neil Johnston managed just 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Warriors, Paul Arizin scored 12 points, and Tom Gola chipped in 11 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
@ '08 Boston Celtics 105, '68 Pittsburgh Pipers 86
Boston outscored Pittsburgh 33-18 in the second quarter to keep pace with the Heat in the group. Kevin Garnett led the way with 24 points and 14 rebounds, Eddie House scored 13 points off the bench, and Rajon Rondo added 11 points and five assists for the Celtics. Connie Hawkins paced the Pipers with 15 points and 14 rebounds, Chico Vaughn scored 13 points, and Ira Harge chipped in eight points and eight rebounds.
'75 Kentucky Colonels 112, @ '81 Boston Celtics 88
Kentucky shot 46 free throws to Boston's 19 and forced 22 turnovers to grab their third win of the tournament and snap a six game losing streak. Artis Gilmore's 21 points and 18 rebounds led the way for the Colonels, while Louie Dampier and Dan Issel each added 16 points, and Jim Bradley chipped in 14 points off the bench. Robert Parish had 19 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Celtics, Larry Bird had 12 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists despite foul trouble, and Kevin McHale added 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Group B
@ '73 Indiana Pacers 127, '75 Golden State Warriors 125
Indiana surrendered 43 first quarter points, but came back to take the lead with 8:18 to go and would not relinquish it, picking up their third win in the process. Seven Pacers reached double figures in scoring, led by 26 points to go with 15 rebounds for George McGinnis. Freddie Lewis had 20 points and seven assists off the bench, Billy Keller chipped in 20 and five, and Mel Daniels finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Rick Barry hit six of his seven threes and dropped 44 points for the Warriors, while Charles Johnson added 28 points and seven rebounds, and Clifford Ray chipped in 14 and nine.
'70 New York Knicks 113, @ '85 Los Angeles Lakers 94
Showtime ground to a halt, committing 25 turnovers at home and dropping a tough one to a Knicks team that now has just three wins on the tournament. Dave DeBusschere had 23 points and eight assists to lead New York, Willis Reed logged 17 points and 13 rebounds, Walt Frazier had a near triple-double of 11 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists, and the Knicks got a boost from 10 points apiece off the bench from Dave Stallworth and John Warren. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 21 points and six rebounds for Los Angeles, while Magic Johnson had 14 points, seven rebounds, and 12 assists, though he did commit eight of the Lakers' turnovers.
'90 Detroit Pistons 124, @ '69 Oakland Oaks 118
If you had the Pistons as the last undefeated team in the Tournament of Champions, congratulations, you need to go to Vegas immediately. They get to 7-0 despite turning the ball over 19 times, though getting to the free throw line more than Oakland may have been a factor. Mark Aguirre made a couple key plays in the final minute to ice the game for Detroit, and he finished with a team-high 27 points, Isiah Thomas had 18 points and 10 assists, John Salley had 15 points, seven rebounds, and four steals, and Bill Laimbeer recorded 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Pistons. Warren Jabali led Oakland with 28 points, Rick Barry added 27 points and 14 rebounds, and Jim Eakins chipped in 18 and nine off the bench.
The Nets were able to close the gap to one point with about a minute to go, but couldn't get over the hump as the Lakers held on for their sixth win of the tournament. The Nets had no answer for Magic Johnson, who went off for 35 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, James Worthy added 23 points and seven assists, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar logged 14 points and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles. Julius Erving led New York with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, John Williamson scored 16 points, Billy Paultz recorded 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Larry Kenon chipped in 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Group H
@ '03 San Antonio Spurs 97, '73 New York Knicks 93
The Spurs went on a 9-0 run as time wound down in the fourth quarter to take a lead, and they hit their free throws to ice the contest and pick up their sixth win. New York had no answer for Tim Duncan, who exploded for 32 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks, and Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Steve Kerr added 10 points apiece for San Antonio. Walt Frazier had 29 points, six rebounds, and four steals to pace the Knicks, Bill Bradley scored 22 points, and and Earl Monroe added 12 points and nine rebounds.
@ '59 Boston Celtics 133, '57 Boston Celtics 123
The '59 Celtics hit five of their eight threes and, after winning just two games combined in the 2013 and 2015 tournaments, have five wins this year. '59 Bob Cousy had 27 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists to lead his Boston team, '59 Bill Sharman added 21, seven, and six, and '59 Bill Russell finished with 20 points, 20 rebounds, and six assists. '57 Sharman had 33 points, five rebounds, and 10 assists for his Celtics, '57 Jim Loscutoff added 18 points and 17 rebounds, and '57 Cousy chipped in 18 points and eight assists.
The Bucks climbed out of the huge log jam to keep pace among teams competing for third in the group behind a 57 percent shooting day. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had a near triple-double of 37 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists, Oscar Robertson broke out with 25 points and eight assists, Jon McGlocklin added 19 points, and Greg Smith chipped in 17 points and 10 assists for Milwaukee. Lamar Odom had 22 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Lakers, Andrew Bynum scored 20 points, Pau Gasol managed 14 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists, and Kobe Bryant logged 15 points, six rebounds, and nine assists.
'13 Miami Heat 98, @ '94 Houston Rockets 86
Miami shot 48.6 percent from the floor and after Houston tied the game early in the fourth quarter, used a 17-4 run to pull away to stay atop the standings. Dwyane Wade got to play hero today with 26 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and four steals, while LeBron James added 21 points, six rebounds, and five assists, and Chris Bosh chipped in 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Heat. Hakeem Olajuwon's 30 points and 18 rebounds weren't enough for the Rockets. Otis Thorpe added 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Robert Horry scored 12 points for Houston.
No comments:
Post a Comment