Just 16 games remain to be played for this stage of the tournament. Some of these games mean absolutely nothing; both participants have been eliminated and only pride is on the line. Others are important for group standings, which could mean the difference between home court advantage in the first round and having to start the Elimination Stage on the road. Some teams are locked into a place in their respective group and are hoping to improve their record and land home court advantage in a later round. For others, their spot in that stage has not been established, and a win today is an absolute necessity to keep the dream alive.
Finishing out Group Play today will be Groups F and G, coming off of one day off, while Groups A and D enjoy being a day fresher. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's close out this round!
Group A
@ '74 Boston Celtics 102, '06 Miami Heat 94
With neither team playing for anything in the group standings, both teams opted to start bench guys, but the Celtics didn't have as deep a team and played many of their starters a few minutes. Even so, Boston shot 53.7 percent from the floor and overcame a 13 point deficit after one quarter to finish the tournament at 4-12. Phil Hankinson made his first career start and shone with 21 points and 11 rebounds, Hank Finkel had 12 points and six rebounds, and Jo Jo White came off the bench to score 16 points for the Celtics. Antoine Walker and Derek Anderson each scored 16 points for Miami, while Alonzo Mourning had 12 points, six rebounds, and five blocks, and Jason Kapono scored 11 points.
@ '65 Boston Celtics 113, '70 Indiana Pacers 99
The Pacers led by as many as 16 with about five minutes left in the third quarter, but Boston closed the frame on a 14-4 run to narrow the gap and took the lead for good midway through the fourth quarter to grab their first win and guarantee that no one would go winless in this year's Tournament of Champions. The Celtics got to the line 43 times and shot 47.7 percent from the floor while holding Indiana under 40 percent. Bill Russell was magnificent with a quadruple-nickel of 15 points, 26 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks, Sam Jones had 20 points and six assists, and Tommy Heinsohn chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds for the Celtics. Mel Daniels paced Indiana with 21 points and 16 rebounds, Bob Netolicky added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Roger A. Brown finished with 19 and seven.
@ '91 Chicago Bulls 110, '83 Philadelphia 76ers 100
Last year's runner-up jumped out to a 37-19 lead after one quarter to grab its 11th win and take advantage of the Spurs' win to steal the Group A title after forcing 21 turnovers on defense. They also got angry Michael Jordan, as he went off for 35 points and five assists, Scottie Pippen added 17 points and nine rebounds, and Horace Grant chipped in 16 and 11 for the Bulls. Julius Erving led the Sixers with 14 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists, Moses Malone had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Maurice Cheeks and Andrew Toney each scored 12 more points for Philadelphia, who finishes at 11-5 and in second place.
Tony Parker scored eight points in the final 47 seconds, starting with a game-tying three, then a go-ahead jumper with 24 seconds left, and he went 3-4 at the line the rest of the way to ice the contest, though San Antonio still finishes in fourth place. Parker finished with 20 points and five assists, Tim Duncan had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Kawhi Leonard added 15 and seven, and Tiago Splitter finished with 10 and 10 for San Antonio. Parker's heroics foiled a 34 point, five rebound, six assist night for Jerry West, while Jim McMillian added 20 points and eight rebounds, Gail Goodrich put up 27 points and five assists, and Wilt Chamberlain finished with nine points, 16 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks for the Lakers, who close Group Play at 11-5 and in third place.
Group D
Chicago closes Group Play on a six game winning streak, peaking at the right time and coming all the way back to clinch the #2 seed coming out of Group D. They scored 46 points in the final quarter to cement their dominance. Michael Jordan annihilated the Boston defense to the tune of 42 points and five assists, Scottie Pippen added 19 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, Steve Kerr hit four threes to help hit 20 points off the bench, and Dennis Rodman logged five points, 25 rebounds, and five assists for the Bulls. Bill Russell had 16 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Celtics, Frank Ramsey added 12 and six off the bench, and John Havlicek finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
@ '16 Cleveland Cavaliers 97, '88 Los Angeles Lakers 85
The Cavs clinch first place in Group D and eliminate the Lakers from contention after forcing 21 turnovers and going 12-35 from beyond the arc for their 12th win. Kevin Love had 24 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists, LeBron James added 20, 11, and six, Kyrie Irving scored 19 points, and J.R. Smith poured in 13 points for Cleveland. Magic Johnson had 19 points and seven assists to pace Los Angeles, A.C. Green added 10 points and eight rebounds, Byron Scott chipped in 14 and five, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pulled down 16 rebounds, but was held to just four points on 2-8 shooting.
'62 Boston Celtics 113, @ '76 Boston Celtics 104
The '62 Celtics got to the line 42 times to overcome a 22 turnover night and grab its sixth win of the tournament. Tommy Heinsohn went off for 27 points and eight rebounds to pace the '62 team, Bill Russell added 14 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocks, Satch Sander chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, and Bob Cousy finished with 12 points and 11 assists. Dave Cowens paced '76 Boston with 24 points and 16 rebounds, John Havlicek added 21 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, Paul Silas had 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Jo Jo White chipped in 14 points and seven assists.
'09 Los Angeles Lakers 122, @ '78 Washington Bullets 104
The Lakers have no need for the tiebreaker as they grab their ninth win of the tournament and clinch the fourth and final Elimination Stage berth from the group while burying Washington in the basement with a ruthless 52.2 percent shooting day. Kobe Bryant led the way with 25 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, Pau Gasol added 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Andrew Bynum finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks for Los Angeles. Elvin Hayes put up 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Bullets, while Bob Dandridge added 18 and six, Mitch Kupchak contributed 12 and 10 off the bench, and Phil Chenier scored 15 points.
Group F
The two teams went back and forth in the final quarter, with Michael Jordan hitting the game-tying bucket with just under a minute to go, and both teams went scoreless for the rest of regulation, though Jordan did miss a couple free throws prior to that tying basket that could have changed the outcome. Boston never trailed in the extra session, and used a 9-2 run late to put the game away. Larry Bird had a triple-double of 28 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists to pace the Celtics, Robert Parish had 21 points and 18 rebounds, and Kevin McHale finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks. Michael Jordan led the Bulls with 24 points, nine rebounds, and five steals, Scottie Pippen notched 20, eight, and four, Luc Longley added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Toni Kukoc contributed 21 and eight. Nonetheless, the Celtics are eliminated from contention thanks to the '01 Lakers' victory.
'79 Seattle Supersonics 130, @ '52 Minneapolis Lakers 87
Seattle went deeper into its bench and started its non-starters, and still shot 57.8 percent from the floor and annihilated Minneapolis on the boards to finish Group Play at .500. Lonnie Shelton had 18 points and 14 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench, Tom Lagarde had 12 points and 10 rebounds, Freddie Brown scored 20 points, and Gus Williams scored 21 off the bench for the Sonics. Vern Mikkelsen paced the Lakers with 31 points and eight rebounds, George Mikan added 10 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, and James Pollard finished with seven points and 10 rebounds.
'01 Los Angeles Lakers 113, @ '68 Boston Celtics 103
The Lakers clinch the #2 seed with their 10th win after shooting 52.3 percent from the floor, including an 8-16 day from beyond the arc. Kobe Bryant scored 27 points, Shaquille O'Neal went off for 20 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists, Horace Grant had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Derek Fisher finished with 16 points, six assists, and four steals for Los Angeles. Bill Russell had 18 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists, Bailey Howell logged 19 points and 10 rebounds, and John Havlicek contributed 10 points, five rebounds, and 11 assists for the Celtics, who finish in fourth place in the group.
@ '84 Boston Celtics 105, '04 Detroit Pistons 76
The Celtics didn't need this win for group purposes, but they improve their Elimination Stage seeding by picking up win number 12. Boston held Detroit to just 35.4 percent shooting, won the rebounding battle, and forced 22 turnovers while hitting 23 of their 26 free throws. Larry Bird led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds, Cedric Maxwell added 10 and 12, Robert Parish had 15 and 11 and Kevin McHale chipped in 14 and 10 for the Celtics. Rasheed Wallace paced the Pistons with 11 points and six rebounds, Tayshaun Prince added 11 and five, and Chauncey Billups recorded 10 points, five rebounds, and eight assists.
Group G
@ '67 Philadelphia 76ers 119, '66 Boston Celtics 100
The Sixers eliminate the Celtics from contention after holding them to 32 percent shooting and benefiting from 16 missed free throws to close out Group Play at 6-10. Wilt Chamberlain had a quadruple-nickel of 21 points, 20 rebounds, five assists, and six blocks, Billy Cunningham added 22 points and 14 rebounds off the bench, Luke Jackson added 12 and 11, and Hal Greer and Chet Walker each scored 19 points for Philadelphia. Bill Russell paced the Celtics with six points, 20 rebounds, and six assists, Sam Jones added 17 points and five rebounds, John Havlicek scored 18 points, and John Thompson chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
The Nets held the Lakers to 38.1 percent shooting from the floor and leapfrog them into third place thanks to a tiebreaker while the Lakers drop to fourth place. Julius Erving went off for 28 points and 11 rebounds, Swen Nater added 14 and 12, Rich Jones dropped 14 and six off the bench, and Brian Taylor and John Williamson each scored 14 points for New York. Kobe Bryant led Los Angeles with 17 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, Shaquille O'Neal added 17 and eight, and Derek Fisher scored 12 points.
@ '11 Dallas Mavericks 115, '64 Boston Celtics 98
The Mavericks clinch the #2 seed out of Group G with a 50.6 percent shooting day, including an 8-19 day from beyond the arc, while relegating the Celtics to last place in the group. Dirk Nowitzki had 25 points and five rebounds, Jason Terry scored 16 points, and Caron Butler, JJ Barea, and DeShawn Stevenson each scored 10 points for Dallas. Sam Jones had 19 points and six rebounds to lead Boston, John Havlicek added 17 and five, and Bill Russell finished with 11 points and 18 rebounds.
'92 Chicago Bulls 108, @ '72 Indiana Pacers 92
The Bulls close out Group Play with their 13th win by doubling up the Pacers on free throws and hitting seven of 20 threes while forcing 17 turnovers and holding Indiana to a 2-11 performance from downtown. Michael Jordan had a quadruple-nickel of 28 points, six rebounds, six assists, and five steals, Scottie Pippen added 21 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, Luc Longley logged 15 points and five rebounds, and Toni Kukoc scored 12 points for Chicago. The Pacers got 25 points and 18 rebounds out of Mel Daniels, while George McGinnis added 16 and six off the bench and Roger A. Brown chipped in 15 points and five assists.
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