Only 32 teams will get to play meaningful basketball beyond the end of this coming week, and space is running out. The next six days are vital for the 47 teams still fighting to grab a spot in the Elimination Stage.
Today, Groups C and F are finishing off two straight days of games, while Groups A and G are coming off of a Saturday off day. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's head courtside for the action.
Group G
'72 Indiana Pacers 132, @ '67 Philadelphia 76ers 120
This was a meaningless game in the grand scheme of things, but the Pacers get the pride of the sweep with their sixth win of the tournament. Billy Keller scored 23 points to lead Indiana, Bob Netolicky added 21 points and nine rebounds, Roger A. Brown poured in 21 points, and Mel Daniels finished with 20 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocks. Billy Cunningham scored 23 points off the bench to pace the Sixers, Luke Jackson added 25 points and seven rebounds, and Wilt Chamberlain finished with 15 points, 19 rebounds, nine assists, and five blocks.
@ '97 Chicago Bulls 105, '76 New York Nets 90
Chicago claims a berth in the Elimination Stage after overcoming a seven point halftime deficit to grab their 11th win while knocking the Nets' lead for the final spot to half a game. Michael Jordan led the Bulls with 30 points, five rebounds, and six assists, Toni Kukoc added 16, six, and seven, Brian Williams scored 15 points off the bench, and Dennis Rodman chipped in six points and a game-high 18 rebounds. Rich Jones notched 18 points and nine assists off the bench to pace New York, Julius Erving added 14 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks, and Ted McClain chipped in 10 points and four steals off the Nets bench.
Dallas picks up its 10th win of the tournament and moves temporarily ahead of the Lakers for second place, but doesn't lock up a berth in the Elimination Stage quite yet. The Mavs shot 51.1 percent from the floor and drained 10 of their 21 threes while Los Angeles only managed an 8-23 day. Jason Kidd caught fire and hit five of six from beyond the arc to finish with 17 points and nine assists, Dirk Nowitzki added 22 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists, and Tyson Chandler chipped in 17 and six for Dallas. Kobe Bryant scored 30 points for the Lakers in the loss, while Shaquille O'Neal added 24 points and 13 rebounds and Rick Fox chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds.
'64 Boston Celtics 127, @ '58 St. Louis Hawks 119
The Celtics move out of the basement and half a game ahead of the Hawks for eighth place in the group. Seven Celtics reached double figures in this one, led by 24 points and seven rebounds by Sam Jones, while Satch Sanders added 20 and seven, and Bill Russell finished with 19 points, 32 rebounds, six assists, and four blocks. Bob Pettit paced St. Louis with 23 points and 21 rebounds, Cliff Hagan added 22 and 13, and Jack McMahon contributed 19 points and five assists.
Group A
'95 Houston Rockets 111, @ '72 Los Angeles Lakers 100
The Rockets opened the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run to turn a three point lead into an 11 point edge, and they maintained that lead over the last eight minutes to grab their 10th win and keep LA's champagne on ice. Hakeem Olajuwon had 26 points and 12 rebounds to pace Houston, Clyde Drexler added 17 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists, and Otis Thorpe chipped in 15 points and 11 rebounds. Wilt Chamberlain had 14 points and 21 rebounds for the Lakers, Gail Goodrich scored 27 points, Happy Hairston added 10 points and 20 rebounds, and Jerry West chipped in 21 points and five assists.
@ '83 Philadelphia 76ers 106, '14 San Antonio Spurs 102
The Sixers grab a huge win, their 10th of the tournament, and make it a four-way tie for first place in Group A after Maurice Cheeks scored the go-ahead basket with 1:17 to play. Cheeks finished with 14 points and 13 assists, Moses Malone had 21 points and 22 rebounds, Andrew Toney scored 20 points, and Julius Erving added 16 points and 10 rebounds of Philly. Tim Duncan paced the Spurs with 16 points and 12 rebounds, Kawhi Leonard added 15 and nine, and Manu Ginobili scored 19 points off the bench.
The Bulls blew a 10 point lead going into the fourth quarter, but Michael Jordan was able to drain a runner from six feet to tie the game with 14 seconds to go. That was too much time, however, as Roger A. Brown buried a turnaround jumper at the buzzer to give the Pacers a spoiler win. Brown finished with 21 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, Bob Netolicky added 22 points and nine rebounds, and Mel Daniels finished with 17 points, 19 rebounds, and six blocks for Indiana. Michael Jordan paced Chicago with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and four steals, Scottie Pippen had a near triple-double of 20 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists, and Horace Grant chipped in 19 points and 14 rebounds.
@ '06 Miami Heat 116, '65 Boston Celtics 103
Miami grabs its sixth win and keeps the Celtics winless on the tournament after forcing 19 turnovers and shooting 51.7 percent from the floor. Shaquille O'Neal had a throwback performance with 27 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks, Jason Williams had 20 points and eight assists, Gary Payton scored 17 points off the bench, Udonis Haslem logged 13 points and 15 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade finished with 14 points, six rebounds, and six assists to overcome a nine turnover day. Tommy Heinsohn scored 21 points, Sam Jones had 20, and Bill Russell finished with nine points, 29 rebounds, and four blocks for Boston.
Group C
@ '99 San Antonio Spurs 100, '56 Philadelphia Warriors 86
The Warriors hit three of their four three point attempts, but committed 22 turnovers and shot just 41 percent from the floor compared to San Antonio's 51.2 percent, and with that Philadelphia has been eliminated from contention. Tim Duncan led the way with 22 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks, Sean Elliott added 19 points and five rebounds, and David Robinson finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Spurs. Paul Arizin paced Philly with 23 points and eight rebounds, Neil Johnston chipped in 16 and 10, and Jack George scored 13 points.
The Spurs shot 54.3 percent from the floor and hit an astounding eight of their 11 three point attempts to clinch a berth in the Elimination Stage while simultaneously eliminating the Pipers from contention. Tony Parker led the way with 30 points, nine assists, and five steals, Manu Ginobili added 27 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, Radoslav Nesterovic chipped in 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Tim Duncan finished with nine points, 12 rebounds, and six blocks for San Antonio. Connie Hawkins paced Pittsburgh with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, Charlie Williams scored 17 points, and Chico Vaughn put in 11.
@ '12 Miami Heat 111, '75 Kentucky Colonels 98
The Colonels are guaranteed a losing record, while the Heat find themselves one win away from claiming the Group C title. Miami forced 24 turnovers and hit nine of their 20 threes to pull away for win number 13, the first team to reach that milestone this year. Dwyane Wade led the way with 26 points and eight rebounds, LeBron James logged 23 points, five rebounds, and nine assists, and Chris Bosh and Mario Chalmers each scored 14 points for the Heat. They spoiled a 29 point, 14 rebound night for Artis Gilmore, while Dan Issel added 16 and seven and Louie Dampier scored 10 points for Kentucky.
@ '08 Boston Celtics 109, '81 Boston Celtics 91
The hosts scored 38 first quarter points to jump out to a 12 point lead they would not relinquish as the '08 Celtics keep pace with the group leaders, while their '81 counterparts drop out of fourth place thanks to the tiebreaker with the 2000 Lakers. Paul Pierce scored 20 points for '08 Boston, Kendrick Perkins added 16 points and 11 rebounds, Kevin Garnett chipped in 14 and seven, and Ray Allen contributed 14 and six. Larry Bird led the '81 team with 18 points and 15 rebounds, Robert Parish added 14 and 12, and Nate Archibald finished with six points and 10 assists.
Group F
@ '98 Chicago Bulls 101, '86 Boston Celtics 86
Neither team topped 40 percent shooting, but the Bulls only turned the ball over eight times while forcing 18 and hit 13 of their 14 free throws to climb back to .500 and stay alive for the Elimination Stage. Scottie Pippen led the way with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals, Michael Jordan added 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Ron Harper scored 16 points to pace Chicago. Larry Bird had 24 points and 14 rebounds for Boston, while Kevin McHale added 13 and nine, Danny Ainge scored 12 points, and Robert Parish logged six points, 10 rebounds, and six blocks.
@ '79 Seattle Supersonics 95, '52 Minneapolis Lakers 89
The Lakers were already locked in the basement of Group F, but they failed to play eliminator today after missing 11 free throws, including a couple in the final minute that could have turned the tide. John Johnson had a great game for Seattle with 24 points and 14 rebounds, Freddie Brown added 14 points and four steals off the bench, and Dennis Johnson scored 10 points for the Sonics. George Mikan paced Minneapolis with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and four steals, James Pollard added 15 points and six rebounds, Vern Mikkelsen put up 14 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals, and Myer Skoog scored 14 points.
The Lakers spoil Boston's clinching party and leapfrog the '86 Celtics into a tie for second place in Group F despite a subpar day at the free throw line, but winning the rebounding battle and shooting just over 50 percent certainly helps. Shaquille O'Neal went off for 34 points and 18 rebounds, Kobe Bryant added 23 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, and Rick Fox and Horace Grant each scored 14 points for Los Angeles. Bailey Howell scored 27 points to pace the Celtics, John Havlicek added 21 points and six assists, and Bill Russell finished with eight points and 14 rebounds.
'84 Boston Celtics 101, @ '04 Detroit Pistons 77
The Celtics are the first Group F team to clinch a berth in the Elimination Stage after holding Detroit to 33.3 percent shooting and dominating the glass, while the Pistons had an awful day at the free throw line and drop into a tie for seventh place. Larry Bird had a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, Robert Parish added 21 points, 12 rebounds, and four steals, and Kevin McHale chipped in 18 points and 12 rebounds for Boston. Ben Wallace led the Pistons with 16 points, 15 rebounds, and six blocks while Tayshaun Prince and Mehmet Okur each scored 12 points.
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