Just nine days remain for teams to try to make it to the Elimination Stage, and almost every berth is still up for grabs at this point.We have four teams with an opportunity to clinch a spot today, while three others need to win today to stave off elimination. In addition, one group can be won outright today, which would be the first of the tournament.
On today's slate, Groups B and F are doing the day on, day off thing with a return to action, while Groups A and D hopefully enjoyed two days to recover in preparation for today's tilts. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Here's our results as we kick off the final quarter of Group Play.
Group F
The '84 Celtics roared out to a 43-21 lead after one quarter, but this one was not destined to be a blowout. The '86 team trailed by 22 early in the fourth quarter, but a 14-2 run closed the gap, and they even tied the game on a three from '86 Larry Bird with one second left, but his '84 self one-upped him with a wide open left wing jumper at the buzzer to win the game. '84 Bird finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds, '84 Robert Parish finished with 22 and 14, '84 Kevin McHale chipped in 11 and 11, and Gerald Henderson recorded 16 points and five assists off the bench for the '84 Celtics. '86 Bird finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, '86 Dennis Johnson notched 14 points and seven assists, and '86 McHale contributed 22 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks.
'68 Boston Celtics 108, @ '04 Detroit Pistons 103
The Celtics all but clinch an Elimination Stage berth with a nice road win where they held the Pistons to 2-15 from deep. John Havlicek led the way with 23 points, five rebounds, and five assists, Bill Russell added 15 points and 18 rebounds, Sam Jones chipped in 19 and five, and Bailey Howell finished with 16 and eight for Boston. Detroit got 21 points and seven assists from Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton added 13 and seven, and Rasheed Wallace chipped in 12 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks.
@ '89 Detroit Pistons 100, '52 Minneapolis Lakers 90
The Lakers turned the ball over 22 times in the face of a relentless Detroit defense as the Pistons get back to .500, but have two byes left in the final four rounds of games. Joe Dumars scored 19 points for Detroit, Isiah Thomas had 17 points and seven assists, Dennis Rodman added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Mark Aguirre chipped in 15 points and six rebounds. Vern Mikkelsen led the Lakers with game-high 21 points and 13 rebounds, George Mikan added 17 and 11, and Slater Martin chipped in 13 points and five assists.
'98 Chicago Bulls 119, @ '79 Seattle Supersonics 114
Scottie Pippen put the Bulls ahead for good with four minutes to go in the game to give them their fifth win and a crucial one with time running out. Chicago forced 18 turnovers to combat a decent shooting day from Seattle and an advantage at the free throw line. Michael Jordan led the Bulls with 30 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, Scottie Pipen added 19, five, and nine, Toni Kukoc broke out with 22, eight, and six, and Ron Harper finished with 20, six, and seven. Gus Williams paced the Sonics with 21 points and eight assists, Jack Sikma added 18 points, 19 rebounds, and five assists, and Lonnie Shelton contributed 16 points and eight rebounds.
Group A
@ '95 Houston Rockets 104, '74 Boston Celtics 81
Houston keeps pace with the group leaders and remains just half a game back of the fourth and final spot from Group A while at the same time eliminating the Celtics from contention and preventing a pair of teams from clinching berths in the Elimination Stage for now. Hakeem Olajuwon led the Rockets with 23 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists, Otis Thorpe added 11 points and 11 rebounds, Clyde Drexler chipped in 16 and six, and Kenny Smith logged 15 points and five assists. Jo Jo White scored 22 points to lead the Boston attack, Dave Cowens recorded 10 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists, and Paul Silas finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.
@ '06 Miami Heat 106, '91 Chicago Bulls 82
The Heat shot 55.3 percent from the floor and held the Bulls to 36.2 percent in a huge win that releases the Bulls' grip on second place. Shaquille O'Neal had 24 points and seven rebounds, Udonis Haslem broke out with 21 and 11, Dwyane Wade chipped in 18 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, and Alonzo Mourning contributed 12 points and six rebounds off the bench for Miami. They spoiled a 28 point, nine rebound night for Michael Jordan, while Scottie Pippen added 16 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, and Craig Hodges scored 10 points off the bench for Chicago.
The Spurs leapfrog the Bulls for second place and thanks to Houston's win, eliminates the Pacers from contention as well. San Antonio went deeper into its rotation for this one and still got a 10-28 performance from beyond the arc as well as a solid performance on the boards. Kawhi Leonard had 14 points and 12 rebounds in 27 minutes for the Spurs, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili each scored 15 points, and Patty Mills scored 13 points off the bench. Mel Daniels led Indiana with 20 points and 15 rebounds, Roger A. Brown added 17 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, and Bob Netolicky and Freddie Lewis each scored 16 points.
Philly got to the line 32 time and hit 28 of them, and destroyed the Lakers on the glass to make the top of the group standings really tight. Julius Erving had a vintage performance with 27 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists, Moses Malone added 25 points and 19 rebounds, and Andrew Toney chipped in 13 points and five assists for the Sixers. Jerry West led the Lakers with 26 points and six assists, Wilt Chamberlain logged 18 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks, and Jim McMillian had 11 points, six rebounds, and five blocks.
Group B
@ '87 Los Angeles Lakers 122, '73 Indiana Pacers 116
Byron Scott was fouled on a tip with 43 seconds to go, made it, and drained the free throw to complete LA's comeback. Magic Johnson was a big part of it with 37 points, eight rebounds, and 13 assists for the Lakers, James Worthy had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and A.C. Green each put up 16 and nine. They spoiled a 34 point, 18 rebound night for George McGinnis, while Mel Daniels had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Billy Keller chipped in 17 points, five rebounds, and eight assists for the Pacers.
Somewhere, champagne is being popped as the Pistons are finally dealt their first loss of the tournament. Chicago outrebounded them 60-44 and only committed nine turnovers to grab its seventh win. Michael Jordan led the way with 22 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists, Scottie Pippen added 19, five, and five, and Horace Grant finished with 15 points and 17 rebounds for the Bulls. Isiah Thomas had 27 points and five assists to lead the Pistons, Bill Laimbeer added 15 points and 15 rebounds, and Mark Aguirre scored 16 points.
'70 New York Knicks 124, @ '69 Oakland Oaks 115
The Knicks move into a tie for fourth place and deal a major blow to the Oaks, who may not get to see the light of the Elimination Stage. New York forced 19 turnovers and shot 39 free throws to Oakland's 19. Willis Reed led the way with 19 points, 14 rebounds, and seven blocks, Walt Frazier added 21 points, six rebounds, and seven assists, Dick Barnett scored 21 points, and Dave DeBusschere chipped in 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Knicks. Warren Jabali paced the Oaks with 21 points and nine rebounds, Rick Barry added 19 and seven, Ira Harge posted 12 and 12, and Jim Eakins finished with 11 and 13.
'75 Golden State Warriors 113, @ '85 Los Angeles Lakers 104
The Lakers drop into a tie with the Knicks for the fourth and final spot from Group B in the Elimination Stage after coughing the ball up 23 times and surrendering a 6-14 day from beyond the arc. Rick Barry dropped 35 points and five assists to lead the Warriors, '75 Jamaal Wilkes added 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Clifford Ray chipped in 19 points and 10 rebounds. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar paced Los Angeles with 34 points and 10 rebounds, Magic Johnson added 14 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, and Byron Scott logged 17 points and five rebounds.
Group D
@ '07 San Antonio Spurs 112, '62 Boston Celtics 91
San Antonio grabs its ninth win of the tournament after winning the rebounding battle and holding the Celtics to just a hair over 40 percent shooting for the game. Tim Duncan put up a near triple-double of 25 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists, Tony Parker added 20, nine, and seven, and Manu Ginobili chipped in 17, seven, and five for the Spurs. Bill Russell had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Frank Ramsey put up 15 points and five rebounds off the bench, and Tommy Heinsohn recorded 12 points and six rebounds for Boston.
'88 Los Angeles Lakers 127, @ '76 Boston Celtics 115
The Lakers shot 50 percent from the floor and got to the line 49 times compared to Boston's 17 to grab their sixth win and put themselves in reasonable shape to steal a Group D berth. Magic Johnson had a triple-double of 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, Byron Scott scored 19 points, James Worthy added 17 points and six rebounds, and Mychal Thompson came off the bench to put up 14 points and nine rebounds for Los Angeles. Jo Jo White scored a game-high 33 points to pace the Celtics, Charlie Scott added 23 points and eight assists, John Havlicek chipped in 22 points and five assists, and Dave Cowens finished with 14 points and 17 rebounds.
The Bulls held Cleveland to just eight fourth quarter points, including the final 6:09 without a basket to keep the Cavs from clinching and staying a game ahead of the '88 Lakers, who hold the head to head tiebreaker over them. Michael Jordan was sufficiently motivated, dropping 42 points, nine rebounds, and six assists for Chicago, while Scottie Pippen added 17 points and five rebounds, and Dennis Rodman pulled down 18 rebounds. LeBron James had a solid game with 22 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, Kyrie Irving had 17 points and 10 assists, and Kevin Love chipped in 11 points and 11 rebounds for Cleveland.
'63 Boston Celtics 102, @ '09 Los Angeles Lakers 86
The Celtics pull a huge upset to force a tie for the fourth and final spot from Group D in the Elimination Stage after outscoring the Lakers 33-16 in the fourth quarter. Bill Russell had a field day with 21 points, 28 rebounds, and five blocks, Sam Jones added 22 points and eight rebounds, Clyde Lovellette had 10 points, five rebounds, and four blocks off the bench, and Tommy Heinsohn chipped in 12 points and five rebounds for Boston. Kobe Bryant scored 23 points to pace the Lakers, Andrew Bynum added 16 points and six rebounds, and Pau Gasol chipped in 12 points and 16 rebounds.
No comments:
Post a Comment