After this round, we still have another week or so of action left to play out. We've clearly established a pecking order at this point though, with two teams having already punched their tickets to the Elimination Stage. On the flip side, five teams are already playing for nothing more than pride, having been mathematically eliminated from contention.
To further our advance, Groups C and H are finishing off the back end of a doubleheader, while Groups E and G are back in action after having yesterday off. Group E concludes a home-and-home series in this round. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get started.
Group C
The second meeting between these teams was similar to the first: an overtime matchup with the Spurs victorious. They shouldn't have needed overtime though; Tim Duncan split a pair of free throws with two seconds left, and Glen Rice buried a three at the buzzer to force the extra session. Tony Parker took over in the extra session to give San Antonio its eighth win. Parker finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, , though it was the Tim Duncan Show otherwise as he exploded for 34 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks, and Radoslav Nesterovic finished with six points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks for the Spurs. Shaquille O'Neal had 30 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks to lead the Lakers, Kobe Bryant added 24 points and seven rebounds, and Ron Harper chipped in 12 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
'12 Miami Heat 111, @ '56 Philadelphia Warriors 99
Miami is guaranteed to finish no worse than third in Group C after they exploded for 40 third quarter points to turn around an eight point halftime deficit. Dwyane Wade had 25 points, five rebounds, and four blocks to lead the Heat, LeBron James added 18 points, seven rebounds, and 10 assists, Chris Bosh chipped in 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Norris Cole scored 17 points off the bench. Paul Arizin paced the Warriors with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Neil Johnston finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, and Joe Graboski chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds.
'08 Boston Celtics 113, @ '68 Pittsburgh Pipers 83
Boston gets a step closer to punching its ticket onward after holding Pittsburgh to 37.4 percent shooting and a 1-8 day from beyond the arc. Ray Allen had 23 points to pace the Celtics, Kevin Garnett put up 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Paul Pierce finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and eight assists. Connie Hawkins paced the Pipers with 28 points and 16 rebounds, Charlie Williams scored 14 points, and Ira Harge chipped in eight points and 10 rebounds.
@ '75 Kentucky Colonels 118, '81 Boston Celtics 117
Artis Gilmore buried a fadeaway at the buzzer to give Kentucky its fourth win of the tournament, get itself out of the basement, and continue to put off elimination. Gilmore finished with 26 points, 15 rebounds, and six blocks, Louie Dampier added 25 points and seven assists, and Dan Issel chipped in 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Colonels. Larry Bird paced the Celtics with 19 points, 18 rebounds, and six assists, Robert Parish notched 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Kevin McHale picked up 14 points and six blocks off the bench.
Group E
@ '77 Portland Trail Blazers 125, '71 Utah Stars 106
Make it a sweep for the Blazers, who grab their ninth win behind a 52.9 percent shooting day from the floor, including a 6-14 day from beyond the arc. Maurice Lucas led the way with 20 points and 12 rebounds for Portland, Bill Walton added 14 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, and four blocks, and Lionel Hollins added 16 points and five rebounds. Red Robbins led the Stars with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Zelmo Beaty added 17 points and 18 rebounds and Willie Wise chipped in 10 and 11.
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We broke multiple tournament scoring records with this one. The fourth quarter alone saw multiple momentum swings and culminated with Bill Russell hitting a go-ahead floater with 33 seconds to go. The two teams traded misses, and Magic Johnson hit a jumper at the buzzer to force the extra session. The overtime was just as thrilling, as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hit a scoop shot with 10 seconds to go to put the Lakers up one, but Bob Cousy buried a three with three seconds to go to give the Celtics the lead, and Kareem missed the fadeaway at the buzzer that allowed the Celtics to avoid elimination. Cousy scored 35 points and added seven assists in the win, Bill Russell recorded 22 points and 20 rebounds, and Bill Sharman scored 20 points for Boston. Magic finished with a triple-double of 38 points, 14 rebounds, and 18 assists for Los Angeles, Kareem added 38 points, 15 rebounds, and six blocks, and Jamaal Wilkes chipped in 25 points and seven rebounds.
'15 Golden State Warriors 115, @ '61 Boston Celtics 94
The Warriors move into a tie with the still idle '92 Bulls, once again going deep into their bench, but giving their Big Three more minutes and resting some of their small forwards. Steph Curry had 22 points and six assists to lead Golden State to its tenth win, Draymond Green added 17 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists, and Klay Thompson chipped in 14, five, and six. Bob Cousy scored 25 points to pace Boston, Bill Russell added six points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks, and Tommy Heinsohn chipped in 14 points and five rebounds.
@ '69 Boston Celtics 102, '53 Minneapolis Lakers 83
The Lakers have won two more games than they did in the first two Tournaments of Champions combined, but nonetheless find themselves eliminated from contention. John Havlicek paced the Celtics with 22 points and nine rebounds, Sam Jones scored 18 points, Bailey Howell added 13 points and eight rebounds, and Bill Russell contributed six points, 22 rebounds, and five blocks. George Mikan went out with 14 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, and four blocks and Vern Mikkelsen chipped in 25 points and six rebounds for Minneapolis.
Group H
'73 New York Knicks 109, @ '10 Los Angeles Lakers 107
Walt Frazier buried a 13 footer with two seconds left, and Kobe Bryant missed the ensuing fadeaway at the buzzer to give New York its fourth win and deal a major blow to the Lakers' Elimination Stage hopes. Frazier finished with 15 points and 10 assists to lead the Knicks, Bill Bradley scored 17 points, and Dave DeBusschere added 16 points and 13 rebounds. Kobe scored 26 points to lead the Lakers, Lamar Odom chipped in 15 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists off the bench, and Andrew Bynum logged 14 points and 17 rebounds.
'13 Miami Heat 106, @ '57 Boston Celtics 88
The Heat not only advance to the Elimination Stage, they win Group H outright after a 51.7 percent shooting day and a defensive effort forcing 27 turnovers against the cellar dwellers of Group H. LeBron James led the Heat with 28 points and 10 rebounds, Dwyane Wade added 20 points, five rebounds, six assists, and four steals, Chris Bosh notched 19 points and nine rebounds, and Mario Chalmers had a great floor game with five points, eight assists, and six steals. Bill Russell finished with 10 points and 19 rebounds to pace the Celtics, Tommy Heinsohn added 17 points, seven rebounds, and four steals, and Bill Sharman scored 16 points.
San Antonio went over five minutes without scoring to start the fourth quarter, and that stretch doomed them to a tough loss against a surging Bucks team that now finds itself in second place in Group H. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar struck again to the tune of 39 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists, while Oscar Robertson had a great game with 19 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, Jon McGlocklin scored 15 points, and Greg Smith chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee. Tim Duncan paced the Spurs with 29 points and nine rebounds, Tony Parker added 19 points and 10 assists, and Manu Ginobili scored 11 points.
@ '80 Los Angeles Lakers 130, '59 Boston Celtics 119
The Lakers shot 55.1 percent from the floor en route to their eighth win and third place in the group standings. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar exploded for 33 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks, Norm Nixon added 23 points and eight assists, and Jamaal Wilkes chipped in 21 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists for Los Angeles. Bill Russell led the Celtics with 15 points and 18 rebounds, Bob Cousy added 12 points and nine assists, and Bill Sharman scored 19 points.
Group G
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We get our first triple overtime game I think in tournament history with a combined 268 field goal attempts, 91 free throws, and 164 rebounds. Chuck Share converted a go-ahead three point play for St. Louis with 31 seconds to go, but Mel Daniels hit a shot at the buzzer after Bob Pettit missed a pair of free throws that could have avoided this craziness. The Pacers led by seven with just under a minute to go in the first overtime, but struggled at the line to let St. Louis hang around, and Slater Martin buried a three at the buzzer to force a second overtime. Martin buried what appeared to be a game-winning three in the second overtime with one second left, but the Pacers called time out, and Billy Keller drained one at the buzzer to force a third overtime. Roger A. Brown hit a pair of free throws 30 seconds in, and the Pacers wouldn't score again. Martin played 52 minutes and scored 26 points, Ed Macauley put up 28 points and 12 rebounds, Cliff Hagan added 22 and 10 before fouling out, and Bob Pettit finished with 25 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists before he picked up his sixth personal, and Chuck Share contributed 14 points and 19 rebounds for the Hawks. Bob Netolicky played a game-high 56 minutes for the Pacers and finished with 27 points and 26 rebounds, Brown finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and four blocks, and Mel Daniels chipped in 23 points and 12 rebounds.
'02 Los Angeles Lakers 127, @ '64 Boston Celtics 86
The Lakers shot 52.2 percent from the floor to eliminate the '64 Celtics from contention and move into a tie for first place with the idle '97 Bulls. Boston had no answer for Shaquille O'Neal, who exploded for 40 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks, while Kobe Bryant added 14 points, six rebounds, and nine assists, and Derek Fisher scored 16 points for the Lakers. Bill Russell had 12 points and 18 rebounds to pace the Celtics, Tommy Heinsohn added 18 and nine, and Sam Jones chipped in 15 and seven.
@ '11 Dallas Mavericks 120, '66 Boston Celtics 108
Dallas moves within half a game of first place and temporarily knocks the Celtics out of the Elimination Stage picture after forcing 17 Celtics turnovers and only coughing it up six times while shooting an even 50 percent from the floor. Dirk Nowitzki led the way with 23 points, seven rebounds, and five assists for the Mavs, Tyson Chandler chipped in 17 points and eight rebounds, Jason Terry added 10 points and 11 assists, and Caron Butler scored 20 points. Bill Russell paced Boston with 11 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists, and four blocks, John Havlicek scored 16 points, and Sam Jones contributed 11 points and six rebounds.
@ '76 New York Nets 126, '67 Philadelphia 76ers 116
The Nets move into sole possession of fourth place after shooting 51 percent from the floor and forcing 27 turnovers, while the Sixers missed a dozen free throws to find themselves nearing elimination. Julius Erving had a great game with 25 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and four steals, John Williamson added 29 points and six steals, and Kim Hughes finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds for New York. Wilt Chamberlain had a quadruple-nickel with 15 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists, and five blocks, but went 1-5 at the line, while Hal Greer added 19 points and four steals, Wali Jones managed 19 points and five assists, and Chet Walker chipped in 17 points and 11 rebounds.
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