After a couple days of rest, the eight teams that have won their first two games are back on the court today to continue their quests at playing the minimum number of games to win the consolation title.
So for these four games, the results actually played out such that tiebreakers aren't needed for this round. Home court advantage goes to the higher seeded team, which is based on placing in groups from Group Play. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Here's our results.
Hakeem Olajuwon Pod
The top overall seed wins again after shooting 52.2 percent and holding the Pacers to 36.8 percent for the game. The Rockets also hit eight of their 18 threes to make it a blowout and a trip to the quarterfinals. Hakeem Olajuwon had a near quadruple-double of 26 points, 15 rebounds, nine assists, and nine blocks, Clyde Drexler went off for 29 points and 10 rebounds, Kenny Smith had 12 points, six rebounds, and seven assists, and Otis Thorpe finished with 10 points and nine rebounds for Houston. Mel Daniels put up 18 points and 19 rebounds for Indiana, while Bob Netolicky added 18 and 10 and Roger A. Brown finished with 14 points and four blocks.
Magic Johnson Pod
@ (6) '69 Boston Celtics 107, (7) '99 San Antonio Spurs 91
The Celtics used a 36-19 second quarter advantage and forcing 19 turnovers to rock chalk and advance to the quarters. Bailey Howell scored 22 points, John Havlicek added 18 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, Sam Jones put up 16 points and seven rebounds, and Bill Russell finished with six points and 13 rebounds for Boston. David Robinson led the Spurs with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and six blocks, Tim Duncan added 15, 12, and four, and Steve Kerr scored 11 points off the bench.
Larry Bird Pod
Boston shot 50.6 percent from the floor and won the rebounding battle, but the Heat managed to stay close, getting to within three with 40 seconds to play. a Robert Parish layup served as the dagger, and the Celtics went 5-6 at the line after that to seal the win. Larry Bird went off for 32 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, Kevin McHale added 18 points and nine rebounds, and Robert Parish finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, and five assists for the Celtics. Miami got 24 points, seven assists, and four steals out of Dwyane Wade, while Shaquille O'Neal added 16 points and 10 rebounds, Udonis Haslem logged 12 and nine, and Jason Williams scored 14 points.
Kobe Bryant Pod
(6) '94 Houston Rockets 122, @ (5) '93 Chicago Bulls 106
The Rockets outscored the Bulls 35-18 in the third quarter and shot 53.8 percent for the game, including a ridiculous 11-20 clip from downtown to pull the upset and advance to the quarterfinals. Hakeem Olajuwon had 31 points and 12 rebounds, Otis Thorpe had a ridiculous 20 points and 20 rebounds, Vernon Maxwell added 12 points and nine assists, and Richard Petruska scored 11 points in just seven minutes for Houston. Michael Jordan paced Chicago with 25 points and five assists, Scottie Pippen added 23 points and six rebounds, and Horace Grant contributed 18 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocks.
To see the updated bracket, click here.
We have two franchises represented in the winner's bracket at this point, with two iterations apiece of the Rockets and Celtics. Our top two seeds are still undefeated in this bracket, and get #6 seeds in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the four teams that lost today will face yesterday's four winners to narrow the field to eight teams. Check back tomorrow to see who's still standing!
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