Today's schedule features the conclusion of back to backs by Groups C and H, while Groups A and B are back in action following yesterday's off day. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get to the action.
Group A
@ '95 Houston Rockets 102, '83 Philadelphia 76ers 81
The two teams had identical total field goal percentages, a tournament first, but the Rockets hit nine of 27 threes while Philly went 0-7 as Houston leapfrogs the Sixers for fourth place. Hakeem Olajuwon had 14 points, five rebounds, and six assists to pace the Rockets, Kenny Smith scored 15 points, Otis Thorpe had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Clyde Drexler finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. They spoiled a 23 point, 20 rebound night for Moses Malone, while Julius Erving added 12 points, five rebounds, and six assists for Philadelphia.
The Pacers find themselves on the brink of elimination after surrendering a 54.4 percent shooting day and sending Los Angeles to the line 38 times. Wilt Chamberlain had 13 points and 19 rebounds to pace the first place Lakers, Jerry West notched 23 points and seven assists, Gail Goodrich scored 21 points, and Happy Hairston chipped in 16 points and 11 rebounds. Freddie Lewis had 17 points to pace Indiana, Mel Daniels recorded 15 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks, and Bob Netolicky chipped in 14 points and 13 rebounds.
@ '14 San Antonio Spurs 108, '06 Miami Heat 98
San Antonio moves into a tie with idle Chicago for second place behind a 36-15 second quarter advantage to put this one away early. Tim Duncan had 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Spurs to win number eight, Tony Parker scored 17 points, and Tiago Splitter chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds. Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 26 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists, Shaquille O'Neal had 18 points and five rebounds, James Posey chipped in 13 points, and Udonis Haslem finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.
'74 Boston Celtics 103, @ '65 Boston Celtics 89
The '74 Celtics stay alive thanks to the doormat of Group A and the only team without a win to date. '65 Boston shot just 34.6 percent and only got to the line 11 times compared to their counterparts' 31. Dave Cowens had 15 points and a game-high 24 rebounds to lead the '74 Celtics to the win, while Jo Jo White added 23 points and six assists, '74 John Havlicek chipped in 22 points and five rebounds, and Paul Silas contributed 21 points and 17 rebounds. Bill Russell led the '65 team with 16 points, 21 rebounds, and four blocks, Sam Jones scored 23 points, and '65 Havlicek finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
Group H
'10 Los Angeles Lakers 106, @ '73 New York Knicks 89
Los Angeles wore the Knicks down and turne da two point lead going into the fourth quarter slowly but surely into a dominant win. Kobe Bryant went off for 30 points and five rebounds, Pau Gasol added 21 and 12, Andrew Bynum chipped in 16 and 11, and Lamar Odom came off the bench with 11 and 12 for the Lakers. Earl Monroe paced New York with 16 points, Bill Bradley and Phil Jackson each scored 13 points, and Walt Frazier finished with seven points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh came in for the first time with 1:44 left to play and the Heat up 16, so they clearly weren't needed in the second game of a back to back for the first place Heat. Miami's bench held Boston to 34.6 percent shooting and won the rebounding battle to overcome a 23 turnover day and eliminate the Celtics from contention. Mike Miller had 16 points and five rebounds for the Heat, Shane Battier added 12 and six, Udonis Haslem had nine and seven, and Mario Chalmers scored nine points. Bill Russell paced the Celtics with 13 points and 14 rebounds, Bill Sharman and Frank Ramsey each scored 12 points, Bob Cousy had 10 points and seven assists, and Tommy Heinsohn finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
@ '71 Milwaukee Bucks 116, '03 San Antonio Spurs 106
Milwaukee pulls off the huge home win to throw a monkey wrench into the group standings two thirds of the way through. San Antonio turned the ball over 17 times and allowed Milwaukee to shoot 50 percent from the floor in just their third loss of the tournament. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the way for the Bucks with 28 points and 11 rebounds, Bob Dandridge added 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists, and Jon McGlocklin scored 14 points in the win. Tim Duncan finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, and five assists to pace the Spurs, Tony Parker scored 23 points, and David Robinson finished with six points and nine rebounds.
'80 Los Angeles Lakers 124, @ '59 Boston Celtics 108
The Lakers move into a tie for second with the Spurs, though San Antonio still holds the tiebreaker. Los Angeles shot 54.7 percent from the floor en route to their seventh win while holding the Celtics to an even 40 percent shooting. Jamaal Wilkes had 26 points to pace the LA attack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar notched 12 points, seven rebounds, and eight blocks, and Magic Johnson finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and four steals. Bob Cousy scored 23 points for Boston, Tommy Heinsohn added 21 points and nine rebounds, and Bill Russell finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Group B
@ '70 New York Knicks 117, '73 Indiana Pacers 87
New York jumped out to a 20-9 lead halfway through the opening quarter and never looked back to move into a tie for fourth place with the idle '85 Lakers. Willis Reed led the way with 22 points, 17 rebounds, and four blocks for the Knicks, Dave DeBusschere added 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Walt Frazier chipped in 13 and seven. George McGinnis had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the Pacers, Mel Daniels chipped in 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Roger A. Brown finished with 12 and six.
@ '90 Detroit Pistons 118, '75 Golden State Warriors 86
The Pistons make it 10 in a row to start the tournament and maintain their lead atop the group standings after hitting 54.9 percent of their shots and holding Golden State to 38.1 percent. Dennis Rodman led Detroit with 20 points and 15 rebounds, Mark Aguirre scored 19 points, Bill Laimbeer had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Vinnie Johnson poured in 18 points off the bench. Rick Barry led the Warriors with 16 points and five assists, Jeff Mullins scored 13 off the bench, and Clifford Ray finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Oakland falls back to .500 with both byes left as a log jam appears to be forming in the middle of Group B. The Oaks had no answer for Magic Johnson, who finished with a triple-double of 33 points, 12 rebounds, and 15 assists, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar added 24 points and 12 rebounds, James Worthy chipped in 18 and six, and A.C. Green scored 17 points for Los Angeles. Rick Barry paced Oakland with 28 points, Doug Moe added 23 points and seven assists off the bench, and Warren Jabali finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
'93 Chicago Bulls 100, @ '74 New York Nets 91
The Bulls missed 13 free throws, but forced 19 Net turnovers and hit four of seven threes to get back to .500 and make it four teams at an even mark two thirds of the way through. Michael Jordan had 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals to pace Chicago, Horace Grant added 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Scottie Pippen recorded 13 points and seven rebounds. Larry Kenon paced New York with 22 points and 12 rebounds, Julius Erving added 21 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, and Billy Paultz finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.
Group C
'99 San Antonio Spurs 123, @ '56 Philadelphia Warriors 104
Philly turned the ball over 19 times as the Spurs caught up with them at 4-7 for the tournament. Antonio Daniels had a breakout game with 21 points off the bench, Tim Duncan added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and David Robinson chipped in 12 and 12 for the Spurs. Neil Johnston led the Warriors with 17 points and 11 rebounds, Jack George had 16 points and five assists, Paul Arizin notched 15 points and seven rebounds, and Joe Graboski finished with 12 and seven.
Manu Ginobili tallied a three point play with 1:14 left, but Connie Hawkins drained a three on the ensuing possession, and Charlie Williams converted a three point play of his own off a steal from Tony Parker to give the Pipers the win, their fourth, and creating an even bigger log jam below the cut line in Group C. Hawkins finished with 12 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists for Pittsburgh, Williams had 24 points and six rebounds, and Chico Vaughn scored 22 points. Tony Parker finished with 28 points and seven assists to pace San Antonio, Tim Duncan chipped in 17 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists, and Malik Rose scored 14 points off the Spurs' bench.
'12 Miami Heat 108, @ '75 Kentucky Colonels 105
The Colonels drop to dead last after coughing up the lead with 9:21 to play and being unable to get it back the rest of the way. Dwyane Wade made that go-ahead bucket for two of his game-high 35 points, LeBron James added 19 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, Chris Bosh chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds, and Mike Miller was perfect from the floor with 11 points off the Miami bench. Dan Issel led the Colonels with 25 points and nine rebounds, Wil Jones added 19 and 10, and Artis Gilmore finished with 13 points, 24 rebounds, and five blocks.
@ '81 Boston Celtics 96, '08 Boston Celtics 91
The host Celtics pull the upset and jump to fifth place after holding their guests from the future to 15 third quarter points and forcing 20 turnovers. Nate Archibald scored 16 points to pace the '81 Celtics, Larry Bird added 15 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, and Robert Parish finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks. Paul Pierce scored 19 points and pulled down five rebounds for '08 Boston, Ray Allen scored 18 points, and Kevin Garnett finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.
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