We started July with 72 teams fighting to be one of 32 that would get to play beyond the end of this week. Half of our groups finish play today, with three spots in the Elimination Stage that will be claimed through these 16 games.
The schedule has Groups B and E, who just finished home-and-home series yesterday, back on the floor today to close out their schedules, while Groups C and H join them after having yesterday off to round it out. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Time to head courtside.
Group C
The Colonels finish 7-9 and got the help they needed to steal the fourth and final spot in the Elimination Stage, while the Warriors lock into a 5-11 record and eighth place in Group C. Kentucky shot 51.6 percent from the floor and forced 21 turnovers in the victory. Dan Issel put up 25 points and 11 rebounds, Artis Gilmore added 16 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks, and Bird Averitt chipped in 19 points and five assists for the Colonels. Paul Arizin led Philly with 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists, Neil Johnston logged 14 points and six rebounds, and Joe Graboski finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
@ '81 Boston Celtics 106, '00 Los Angeles Lakers 94
Boston got the win it needed, but didn't get help as both they and the Lakers find themselves on the outside of the Elimination Stage looking in. The Lakers shot just 38.3 percent for the game and were badly outrebounded as both teams finish with a 7-9 mark. Larry Bird led the way with 25 points, 15 rebounds, and four steals, Nate Archibald notched 17 points and seven assists, and Robert Parish chipped in 10 points and 15 rebounds for the Celtics. Shaquille O'Neal paced the Lakers with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, Kobe Bryant added 20 points, six assists, and four steals, and Ron Harper finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
'99 San Antonio Spurs 101, @ '08 Boston Celtics 96
The Spurs finish at 6-10 and in seventh place in Group C, while the Celtics had already locked up second place in the group, though the loss puts them into a pretty big log jam when it comes time to seed everyone. San Antonio missed 11 free throws, but got 34 points and 15 rebounds out of Tim Duncan, 10 points and 12 assists from Avery Johnson, and David Robinson put up 15 points and seven rebounds. Ray Allen scored 18 points to pace the Celtics, Kevin Garnett added 17 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, and Paul Pierce recorded 16 points and five rebounds.
'05 San Antonio Spurs 98, @ '12 Miami Heat 79
The Spurs hand Miami only its second loss of the tournament and drop their odds of taking the #1 overall seed in the Elimination Stage after allowing just 12 fourth quarter points. Tim Duncan led the way with 22 points, 18 rebounds, and four blocks, Tony Parker had 12 points and eight assists, and Robert Horry added eight points and six rebounds off the bench for San Antonio. LeBron James paced Miami with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals, Chris Bosh notched 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade chipped in 12 and six.
Group H
'80 Los Angeles Lakers 117, @ '73 New York Knicks 108
The Lakers end the Knicks' dream of crashing the Elimination Stage and clinch third place in the process with an eight man rotation. Jamaal Wilkes put up 29 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, Norm Nixon added 28 points, five rebounds, and 12 assists, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar finished with 27 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocks. Walt Frazier scored 19 points for New York, Bill Bradley added 17 points and eight assists, Willis Reed chipped in 15 points and nine rebounds, and Earl Monroe finished with 18 points, five rebounds, six assists, and four steals.
The Spurs grab the fourth and final spot in the Elimination Stage after holding Boston to just 33.7 percent shooting and finishing just under 50 percent at their offensive end in improving to 9-7. Tony Parker went off for 27 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, Tim Duncan added 21 points and 17 rebounds, and David Robinson finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio. Bill Sharman scored 19 points, Bob Cousy notched 17 points and nine assists, and Bill Russell finished with nine points and 20 rebounds for the Celtics, who end the tournament with a 5-11 record.
'94 Houston Rockets 110, @ '57 Boston Celtics 105
Both teams went to their bench for longer stretches with nothing to play for other than pride, and the Rockets overcame a 12 point halftime deficit to capture their seventh win of the tournament. Hakeem Olajuwon had a great all-around game with 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four blocks, and four steals, Otis Thorpe put up 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Robert Horry notched 18 points and seven rebounds for Houston. Bob Cousy paced the 1-15 Celtics with 24 points and seven rebounds, Bill Russell added 18 points and eight rebounds, and Tommy Heinsohn logged 10 points and 10 rebounds.
'13 Miami Heat 109, @ '10 Los Angeles Lakers 100
The Heat have likely wrapped up the top overall seed in the Elimination Stage with a 14-2 record and strong point differential after shooting 50 percent from the floor, including 7-17 from beyond the arc while the Lakers finish at 8-8, good for fifth in the group. LeBron James led Miami with 29 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists, Dwyane Wade added 20 points and nine rebounds, and Chris Bosh chipped in 18 points and seven rebounds. Kobe Bryant paced the Lakers with 23 points, six rebounds, and nine assists, Andrew Bynum logged 14 points and nine rebounds, and Ron Artest finished with 14 and eight.
Group B
'93 Chicago Bulls 115, @ '73 Indiana Pacers 102
The Bulls finish the tournament at .500 after shooting over 50 percent from the floor and holding Indiana to a 2-12 day from beyond the arc. Michael Jordan went off for 29 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, Scottie Pippen added 19, 10, and seven, B.J. Armstrong scored 17 points, and Stacey King scored 14 points off the bench for Chicago. George McGinnis led the Pacers with 23 points and 11 rebounds, Mel Daniels logged nine and 19, and Darnell Hillman chipped in 19 and 11 off the bench.
@ '74 New York Nets 134, '69 Oakland Oaks 125
The last place Nets grab one final win before hitting the golf course after the Oaks missed 10 free throws and went 0-5 from beyond the arc, while New York shot over 50 percent in their fourth win. Larry Kenon exploded for 35 points and 14 rebounds, Julius Erving added 32 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, and four blocks, John Roche chipped in 16 points and seven assists off the bench, and Billy Paultz finished with 10 points, 18 rebounds, and five blocks for the Nets. They spoiled a 31 point, 12 rebounds night for Warren Jabali, while Rick Barry added 21 points, six rebounds, and five assists, Gary Bradds chipped in 21 points and five rebounds, and Jim Eakins contributed 10 points and nine rebounds for Oakland.
'87 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fouled out with 2:34 to play, but Mychal Thompson filled in nicely and knocked down the game-winning shot with two seconds left to give his Lakers their 12th victory. Thompson scored 14 points, '87 James Worthy added 23 points and seven rebounds, '87 Byron Scott chipped in 13 points, six rebounds, and seven assists, and '87 Magic Johnson finished with 15, eight, and 15 for '87 Los Angeles. '85 Magic had 18 points and eight assists for his Lakers, Bob McAdoo added 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and '85 Worthy finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. The '85 Lakers do grab an Elimination Stage spot with a tiebreaker over the '93 Bulls.
@ '90 Detroit Pistons 124, '70 New York Knicks 93
Detroit finishes with a 14-2 mark and will be right in the mix for the top overall seed after shooting over 50 percent, dominating the boards, and hitting four of their six threes while dropping the Knicks to .500. Isiah Thomas led the way with 24 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, Mark Aguirre logged 20, eight, and eight, and Joe Dumars finished with 16, seven, and five for the Pistons. New York got 25 points and 17 rebounds for New York, Dave DeBusschere added 15 and five, and Walt Frazier finished with nine points, six rebounds, and seven assists. Despite the loss, the Knicks win the three-way tiebreaker with the '85 Lakers and '93 Bulls and take third place in Group B.
Group E
'77 Portland Trail Blazers 128, @ '69 Boston Celtics 119
The Blazers lock up the #3 seed out of Group E by forcing 19 turnovers and using a 12-2 run midway through the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. Bill Walton went off for 27 points, 18 rebounds, and four blocks, Maurice Lucas added 12 points and nine rebounds, Bob Gross chipped in 16 and seven, and Wally Walker scored 21 points off the bench for Portland. They spoiled a 30 point, nine rebound night for John Havlicek, while Bill Russell put up eight points, 14 rebounds, and six assists, and Bailey Howell recorded 22 points and six rebounds for Boston.
The Bulls clinch the Group E title despite only shooting eight free throws and a 1-11 day from beyond the arc, but they forced 17 turnovers and shot 48.9 percent from the floor to finish 13-3. Michael Jordan put up 26 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, Scottie Pippen added 16 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists, Horace Grant chipped in 10 points and 11 rebounds, and John Paxson contributed 10 points and five assists for Chicago. George Mikan finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, Vern Mikkelsen added 18 and six, and Frank Saul scored 13 points.
'15 Golden State Warriors 104, @ '82 Los Angeles Lakers 86
The Warriors finish as the #2 seed and have the best record among all second place finishers in the tournament as well as the top point differential among all tournament teams by a long shot. They added an 8-21 day from beyond the arc in their final Group Play game and forced 20 turnovers to keep the Lakers in fourth place. Steph Curry led Golden State with 23 points, five rebounds, and eight assists, Klay Thompson scored 14 points, Draymond Green added seven points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, and David Lee finished with 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Norm Nixon scored 16 points to pace the Lakers, Magic Johnson had a triple-double of 10 points, 15 rebounds, and 14 assists, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar logged 14 points and 13 rebounds.
@ '71 Utah Stars 138, '60 Boston Celtics 127
Utah finishes Group Play at .500 after getting to the line 47 times and pulling down 78 rebounds while handing Boston its 11th loss. Red Robbins had 15 points and 21 rebounds, Zelmo Beaty put up 22 and 16, Willie wise added 23 and 11, Donnie Freeman had 23 points, five rebounds, and five assists, and Glen Combs finished with 21 points and five rebounds for the Stars. Bill Russell finished with a quadruple-nickel of 13 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, and five steals, Tommy Heinsohn added 30 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists, and Bob Cousy recorded 21, five, and nine for the Celtics.
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