Of their three-game 7 clashes during the 60s, the finals were the most entertaining of the clashes, and also had the most drama to it. After years of falling to the Celtics, was meant to be a full changing of the guard. They were the top team in the west and despite struggles in the playoffs, the Lakers advanced to the finals. Despite the overwhelming odds that favored the Lakers, the series went back and forth.
After falling down the Celtics won the next two games, then after being down , they forced a game 7. The game itself was close, and as we know, the Celtics won it However, it was all the factors that surrounded the game itself that adds a lot to the lore of this game. He had also planned the USC marching band to play a song after the win and had planned out the order of interviews after the win.
Word of these arrangements was circulated in the Celtics locker room and led to Bill Russell infamously telling Jerry West that the ballons would be staying up in the rafters. Stay up they did as the Celtics pulled out the win. However, that does not end the crazy stories that the finals gave us. Chamberlain had checkout earlier due to an injury but moments later told Van Breda Kolff that he was ready to return, but the Lakers coach refused to put the superstar big man back in the game.
West averaged 38 points per game and had a triple-double in game 7, despite being on the losing team, he was awarded the Finals MVP award. This end of this series marked a change for the NBA as a whole. The Celtics dynasty that had ruled the decade ended after this, as Russell retired from the team. Whereas for the Lakers this disappointing loss led them to continue to make moves for the team to get over the hump, which would all come together in , where they would win the title.
The impact of this game cannot be understated in terms of the long term impact that it eventually had on recent NBA history. The devastating loss by the Thunder in this series ultimately led to the departure of Kevin Durant and eventually in , the official end of an era in Oklahoma City.
However, before all that transpired there was this series. The Warriors finished the season and broke almost every team record one could think of.
The only thing that could complete the dream season would be a championship, but before that came their ultimate challenge of the Oklahoma City Thunder. When the two teams met in the Western Conference Finals that year, many presumed it to be the de facto champion. The Thunder, coming off beating a win Spurs team and years of playoff runs being derailed by injuries took what seemed to be a commanding series lead and were on their way to a finals rematch against LeBron James.
From there, the script unfolded as we saw it. The Warriors re-established home court in game 5, Klay Thompson won game 6 for them, and Stephen Curry showed why he was named unanimous MVP that year with 36 points in the closeout game 7. The Thunder, led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, were unable to close the series out for three straight games, highlighted by the fact that the Warriors went from trailing by six points at the half in that game 7, to leading by 11 going into the final quarter.
For the Warriors, this series seemingly showed that they were destined to win the title that year. At the time they were the tenth team at the time to comeback down and win the series, and were the first team to do that in a conference finals series since the Celtics.
For the Thunder, this loss ultimately ended their run as a western power. This game 7 loss, and another one that happened a few weeks later would prove to alter the NBA for the next couple of seasons. No LA Laker team had ever three-peated before, so this Laker team had the chance to add a brand new chapter to the history books to the franchise.
Coming off their dominating playoff run, many expected them to be the favorites to repeat again, but that task was easier said than done.
The team did not dominate the regular season as they had in year past, for the first time in the three year run they had, they failed to clinch homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. Despite this, the team easily advanced past the first two rounds into the Western Conference Finals to face the Sacramento Kings, a team that had failed to beat them in both the and playoffs. James Harden Devin Booker Anthony Davis LeBron James Trae Young Jimmy Butler Joel Embiid Carmelo Anthony Damian Lillard Giannis Antetokounmpo Fred VanVleet Amar'e Stoudemire Tom Chambers Dwyane Wade Stephen Curry Kyrie Irving Sometimes even the greatest players in the NBA have off days.
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NBA players make mistakes like the rest of us, but there are times when things go too far. Here are 5 of the most despicable acts committed by NBA players. Team Sports. American Football. Individual Sports. Competitive Cycling. Martial Arts. Competitive Swimming. He missed 10 out of his last 11 shots and was just from the line in the fourth quarter. T-Mac put up seven points in the first, 21 in the second, 24 in the third, and 10 in the fourth. Garnett stepped it up big time in the T-Wolves' first Game 7 in franchise history.
His 20 defensive rebounds tied an NBA playoff record. Minnesota won the game over the Kings, advancing to play the Lakers. LeBron did just about anything you could expect, but the Cavs still came up short in Game 7, losing to the Celtics.
Paul Pierce and James went back and forth all night, and while James was better statistically, the Celtics pulled it out. Say what you want about LeBron, but this was an epic Game 7 performance, even in a loss. The box-score was too tough to find, but Elmore Smith owns the NBA record to this date for blocks in a game. He had 17 on October 28, On April 3, , Gill's triple-double propelled the Nets to an over the Heat.
His 11 steals are an NBA record, and an incredible accomplishment. You might not think this should be above some plus point games, but Gill's game was more atypical. In a win over the Clippers, Spreewell set the record which Ben Gordon has since tied for most three-pointers made without a miss nine.
Despite falling to the Lakers, Stockton had an otherworldly performance. His 24 assists tied a playoff record. He stole the ball twice in the last 64 seconds to nearly lead the Jazz to victory, but Michael Cooper hit a game-winner with seven seconds left to hand L.
Baylor led the Lakers to a win over the Knicks. His 71 points were an NBA record at the time, until Wilt surpassed him a year later.
He went off for 27 points on for shooting in the first quarter, finishing with this solid stat-line. The game was a shootout win for the Suns over the Warriors. Why is that such a big deal? Kobe made an NBA-record 12 three-pointers of The record was later tied by Donyell Marshall, though. He also scored 20 points in a win over Bill Russell's Celtics. Only five players in history have scored more points in a game. But Jordan just missed out on the point club, and just missed out on the top here.
And for the record, his 18 rebounds were also a career high. This was MJ's best statistical game ever. He sat out the last five minutes of the win, which gave the Sixers a series lead over the Raptors, They eventually won in seven. Toronto knew what was coming after Game 2, but still couldn't stop "The Answer" from topping himself. Down to the Mavs and trailing in the fourth quarter, Wade scored 15 fourth-quarter points to lead the Heat to a combeack win.
They closed the game on a run, swinging the momentum into their favor. Miami eventually won it all in six.
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