The NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions is winding down a little bit. We began in May with 74 teams, starting with the ABA champions sorting themselves out. In June, we narrowed that field of 74 down to 72. Today, just 49 teams remain alive. Some eliminated teams will play once or twice in the next couple days, just to close out the schedule, but the rest are fighting to be one of the top 32 teams remaining.
Today, we have Group F returning from a two day break, while Groups B, D and E were off yesterday after playing the day before. Those three groups are all playing the final home-and-home series of the tournament. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Here's our results.
Group B
@ '74 New York Nets 128, '73 Indiana Pacers 108
The Nets are locked into last place, but they finally put together a great game to grab win number three on the tournament. They shot 52.3 percent for the game and forced 25 Indiana turnovers as the Pacers find themselves eliminated from contention. Julius Erving went off for 22 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists, and four steals, John Williamson scored 21 points, Larry Kenon added 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Billy Paultz chipped in 15 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks for New York. George McGinnis led the Pacers with 28 points and 16 rebounds, Mel Daniels added 18 and nine, and Freddie Lewis finished with 15 points and seven assists.
'87 Los Angeles Lakers 116, @ '93 Chicago Bulls 83
The Lakers lock up the #2 seed after jumping ahead by double digits just four and a half minutes into the contest and leading by 22 after one quarter, while the Bulls drop their eighth game and find themselves eliminated from contention. Magic Johnson led Los Angeles with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, James Worthy had 20 points and eight rebounds, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar finished with eight point, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Michael Jordan was held to 17 points, while Horace Grant logged 12 points and 10 rebounds and Scottie Pippen added 10 and seven for Chicago.
The Lakers come up with a huge win to clinch the final Group B berth in the Elimination Stage and at the same time eliminate the '93 Bulls, the '69 Oakland Oaks and the '75 Golden State Warriors. LA hit 54.2 percent of its shots, forced 19 Detroit turnovers, and held the Pistons under 40 percent shooting to hand them their second loss. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the way with 22 points, five rebounds, and six blocks, Magic Johnson had 14 points, five rebounds, and 11 assists, and James Worthy chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers. Isiah Thomas paced the Pistons with 22 points, six rebounds, and five assists, Joe Dumars scored 17 points, and Dennis Rodman finished with 10 points and 17 rebounds.
@ '75 Golden State Warriors 128, '70 New York Knicks 104
This game winds up meaning nothing to both teams as the Warriors are out and the Knicks are moving on, but the Warriors shot 52.6 percent from the floor, including 10-18 from beyond the arc to finish Group Play at 7-9. Rick Barry had 26 points, six rebounds, and four steals, Jamaal Wilkes put up 27 points and seven rebounds, Charles Johnson scored 22 points, and Clifford Ray chipped in eight points and 16 rebounds for Golden State. Willis Reed paced New York with 23 points and 13 rebounds, Walt Frazier had 18 points and nine assists, and Dick Barnett scored 15 points.
Group F
The Pistons finish their schedule at 9-7 and are all but guaranteed a berth in the Elimination Stage as one of last year's semifinalists finds itself on the brink of elimination. Mark Aguirre hit a go-ahead shot with just under two minutes to go and dominated the glass in the victory. Isiah Thomas went off for 28 points and eight assists, Bill Laimbeer had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Dennis Rodman added 16 points and 21 rebounds, and Joe Dumars finished with 16 points and seven assists for Detroit. Robert Parish notched 21 points and eight rebounds for Boston, Larry Bird added 17 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, and Kevin McHale chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds.
@ '79 Seattle Supersonics 115, '01 Los Angeles Lakers 106
Seattle, despite getting to the line 43 times and forcing 19 Laker turnovers en route to their seventh win of the tournament, is eliminated from contention thanks to '89 Detroit's win. Gus Williams went off for 28 points and six rebounds, Jack Sikma had 13 points and 17 rebounds, John Johnson scored 18 points, and Lonnie Shelton chipped in 17 points and six rebounds for the Sonics. They spoiled a 32 point, 19 rebound night for Shaquille O'Neal, while Kobe Bryant scored 27 points and Derek Fisher finished with 11 points, six assists, and four steals for Los Angeles. The Lakers have clinched a berth in the Elimination Stage due to tiebreakers despite the loss.
@ '98 Chicago Bulls 107, '04 Detroit Pistons 97
The Pistons are eliminated from contention with the combinated of their '89 counterparts winning and their own setback in the Windy City, but the Bulls also find themselves eliminated from contention with the other results factored in. Chicago dominated the boards and hit just shy of 50 percent of their shots to grab its eighth win and stay in the mix going into the final round. Michael Jordan went off for 31 points and 10 rebounds in the win, Scottie Pippen scored 16 points, Ron Harper added 11 points and eight assists, and Luc Longley chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds for the Bulls. Chauncey Billups had 23 points and eight assists to pace Detroit, Rip Hamilton put up 16 points and seven rebounds, and Rasheed Wallace added 13 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals.
'84 Boston Celtics 101, @ '52 Minneapolis Lakers 78
The Celtics win Group F on the back of a 51.2 percent shooting day while forcing 20 turnovers against the last place Lakers. Kevin McHale had 21 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Boston, Larry Bird added 18 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, and Robert Parish chipped in 18 points and nine rebounds. James Pollard paced Minneapolis with 18 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists, George Mikan added 14 points and 17 rebounds, and Vern Mikkelsen contributed 17 and five.
Group D
'88 Los Angeles Lakers 136, @ '63 Boston Celtics 108
The Lakers put up 46 fourth quarter points and shot 57.6 percent for the game in picking up their eighth win of the tournament and moving into position for clinching the final Group D berth in the Elimination Stage. Byron Scott led the Lakers' attack with 28 points, Magic Johnson added a triple-double of 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 17 assists, James Worthy chipped in 22, nine, and five, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar logged 22 minutes, 11 rebounds, and four blocks. Bill Russell was held to 11 points and 13 rebounds, Bob Cousy scored 18 points, and Sam and K.C. Jones each scored 13 points for Boston, who is eliminated from contention.
The Bulls forced 21 turnovers, dominated the boards, and held Boston to 38.9 percent shooting as they grab their 10th win and guarantee a finish of no worse than third place in Group D with a shot at the title still in play. Michael Jordan went off for 37 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, Toni Kukoc added 21 points and six rebounds off the bench, Scottie Pippen chipped in 19 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, and Dennis Rodman finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds for Chicago. Bill Russell paced the Celtics with 15 points and 12 rebounds, Bob Cousy added 15 points and six assists, and Satch Sanders chipped in 11 points and nine assists, as Boston is eliminated from contention.
'09 Los Angeles Lakers 115, @ '76 Boston Celtics 98
The Lakers keep pace and force a fateful final round to determine the final team to advance while the Celtics get officially eliminated from contention. Los Angeles led by 20 after one quarter and finished 8-21 from beyond the arc to grab their eighth win. Pau Gasol logged 22 points and 13 rebounds, Kobe Bryant added 21 and 10, and Andrew Bynum had 13 and five for the Lakers. Dave Cowens led the Celtics with 22 points and 17 rebounds, Jo Jo White scored 14 points, and Paul Silas chipped in 10 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists.
@ '07 San Antonio Spurs 110, '78 Washington Bullets 98
San Antonio finishes with an 11-5 mark and, depending on next round's results, could wind up as Group D champions. San Antonio hit 28 of 30 free throws to come away with the solid victory, as Tim Duncan recorded 26 points and 14 rebounds, Tony Parker logged 21 points, five rebounds, and nine assists, and Manu Ginobili added 16 points and six assists. Bob Dandridge led the Bullets with 22 points and five assists, Elvin Hayes added 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Wes Unseld finished with five points and 17 rebounds.
Group E
'77 Portland Trail Blazers 95, @ '53 Minneapolis Lakers 85
The Blazers remain in third place after holding the Lakers to 32.4 percent shooting, though foul trouble that led to 48 Minneapolis free throws made this closer than you'd expect. Bob Gross led Portland with 23 points, Maurice Lucas had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Bill Walton chipped in 15 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocks. James Pollard led the Lakers with 17 points and seven rebounds, George Mikan added 14 and seven, Slater Martin chipped in 13 points and six assists, and Vern Mikkelsen contributed nine points and 15 rebounds.
The Bulls even up the head to head matchup and secure the tiebreaker going into the final round after forcing 21 turnovers and surviving a 12-31 day from beyond the arc. Michael Jordan led Chicago with 29 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists, Scottie Pippen added 28 points and 14 rebounds, and Bill Cartwright finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Steph Curry had 25 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists, but coughed up the ball seven times, Klay Thompson scored 24 points, Draymond Green had 10 points and nine rebounds, and Harrison Barnes added 12 and seven for the Warriors.
@ '61 Boston Celtics 121, '60 Boston Celtics 96
Both Boston teams started bench guys in this largely meaningless game, with the hosts forcing 20 turnovers and holding their visiting counterparts to 36.5 percent shooting. '61 Bill Russell had 14 points and 18 rebounds off the bench for his Boston team, '61 Bill Sharman scored 18 points, and '61 Gene Conley had 15 points and 12 rebounds in his first Tournament of Champions start. '60 Sam Jones scored 16 points off the bench for his Celtics, '60 Frank Ramsey scored 15 points, and John Richter added 10 points and 13 rebounds in his first career start.
@ '82 Los Angeles Lakers 131, '71 Utah Stars 115
The Lakers forced 17 turnovers and shot 49.1 percent from the floor to keep pace with the Blazers and maintain a shot at jumping up to third place in the group. Jamaal Wilkes broke out with 31 points and nine rebounds to lead Los Angeles, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar added 19 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks, Mitch Kupchak logged 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Magic Johnson finished with 14 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Donnie Freeman scored 31 points to lead the Stars, while Willie Wise added 14 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists, Glen Combs scored 14 points, and Red Robbins contributed nine points and 13 rebounds.
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