Sports Then and Now

Lebron James punctuated the series victory for the Heat over Paul Pierce and the Celtics.

For the last time in the 2011 NBA season, the Boston Celtics failed to close out a game they had in their grasps.

Lebron James and Dwayne Wade finally conquered their biggest test from the heavily stacked Eastern Conference Wednesday night in a 97-87 win over the Celtics to move forward to the Eastern Conference Finals series.

Lebron scored the final 10 points of the fourth quarter on his way to sending the veteran Boston team packing for the summer. While playing against the struggling Paul Pierce, five fouls entering the fourth quarter, James had space he normally wouldn’t to attack the rim and change direction at will. Pierce was forced to play off the athletic big man and allowed James to control the pace on the offensive end of the court en route to two consecutive dagger threes in the final minutes. Without their attacking captain, the C’s went scoreless for the last 4:15 of regulation as the Heat went on a 16-0 run to finish the original Boston Big 3 that has controlled the East for the last three years. Read the rest of this entry →

Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game on March 2, 1962.

Given his larger than life personality and talent, it is very possible that were he playing in today’s modern media era, Wilt Chamberlain would dwarf Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade, Shaq and the rest both on and off the court.

At 7-foot-1, Chamberlain was a scoring machine like no other. For much of his career, scoring as many as 50 or 60 points in a game wasn’t a “special” night, it was a routine. During the 1961-62 season, Chamberlain averaged 50.4 points per game and became the only NBA player to top 4,000 points in a season.

In fact, his career scoring average of 30.1 points is actually a point and a half higher than the 2010-11 average of the NBA’s current leading scorer (Kevin Durant averaging 28.5 ppg).

It was 49 years ago today that Chamberlain had his finest offensive night and one that will certainly never be duplicated.

As a member of the Philadelphia Warriors, Chamberlain scored 100 points on March 2, 1962 against the New York Knicks in a game played at Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The late season game wasn’t expected to be overly exciting and in fact there is no known video from the game. There is a radio broadcast that I have included below.

Chamberlain scored 41 points in the first half, which wasn’t overly exciting considering he had topped 60 points 17 times already during the season and 32 times in his three year NBA career.

However, Warriors coach Frank McGuire instructed his players to keep feeding Chamberlain the ball during the second half and the points started to pile up.

As he neared 100 points, the Knicks started fouling the other Warrior players to keep Chamberlain from getting the ball. The Warriors then started fouling the Knicks to slow down the game and give Chamberlain more chances.

He finally reached 100 points in the final minute and the game was halted for nine minutes as fans ran onto the court to celebrate Chamberlain’s milestone.

What made Chamberlain’s 100 point game possible was his uncanny free throw shooting for that game. Chamberlain converted 28 of 32 foul shots (.875), which is far greater than his career average of .511 from the line. He also connected on 36 of 63 field goal attempts in the 169-147 victory.

Below are some audio and video clips that remember Chamberlain and his record setting night:
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Jerry Sloan spent years leading superstar guards, including Jeff Hornacek and John Stockton...

When Jerry Sloan took over the reins of the Utah Jazz on December 9, 1988, Ronald Reagan was President of the United States, the television classic Seinfeld was still months from hitting the airwaves and surfing the web was a term still years from having a meaning.

In the NBA, Michael Jordan was coming off his first MVP season, but was still two and a half years away from winning his first NBA Championship. Magic Johnson and the Lakers were trying (unsuccessfully it would turn out) for an NBA three-peat and 40 players who would be on NBA rosters in 2011 weren’t yet born.

Much changed in the ensuing 23 seasons, but the one constant in the NBA was that Sloan would be on the sidelines for the Jazz and that Utah would have a hard-working team built on fundamentals and a team philosophy.

Before announcing his resignation on Thursday, Sloan was the longest tenured coach with one organization in any of the four major professional sports. During his time leading the Jazz, the NBA had 245 coaching changes, including 13 alone by the Los Angeles Clippers. Read the rest of this entry →

Garnett's energy was outstanding in his return from injury Monday night.

After missing nine games with a calf strain, the return of Kevin Garnett gave Boston the spark it needed to run past the remade Orlando Magic 109-106 Monday night.

The Celtics seemed to lack much intensity in their previous four games, but there was no question KG had returned to the floor in Monday night’s thrilling victory over the Orlando Magic.

On a critical Magic possession with 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the C’s holding a three-point lead, Garnett’s rotation on a Jameer Nelson pick led to a game-sealing steal to extend the C’s win streak to three. KG produced 19 points over 31 minutes while adding two steals, two assists, and a team-high eight rebounds. In his first game back, Garnett had a performance reminiscent of what he looks like when he’s healthy. Garnett crashed the boards, looked excellent on rotations, and was money from mid-range.

His game brought an extra level that produces more than statistics though. His all around energy and intensity on the defensive end brought another gear to everyone on the floor with him. Ray Allen was able to find open shots, Rajon Rondo penetrated the lane with ease, and Shaq had a quality outing regardless of being in foul trouble most of the night.

The men in green shot 60 percent from the field on a night where the second unit failed to find a rhythm. Boston’s stifling defense led to 13 turnovers, only allowed 26 points in the paint, and held the Magic to just under 46 percent shooting. Rondo recorded yet another double-double with 10 points and 13 assists, followed by Ray Allen who went 8 of 11 for 26 points over a team-high 39 minutes. Read the rest of this entry →

The team's average margin of victory has been 12.5 over the streak, but Pierces jumper late gave the Celtics a closer win.

On November 22nd, the Boston Celtics started their winning streak with a lopsided win over the Atlanta Hawks. Over a month later, the C’s still have not lost.

Coach Doc Rivers has an interesting take on this stretch in an interview with WEEI radio this morning: “I know it sounds crazy but it’s a strange streak in many ways. As a staff I can tell you we’re not looking at it at all. We’re so focused on the next game and who is going to play and how we’re going to get a decent practice. In some ways every streak is a joy, but I don’t know if we’ve enjoyed this one as much because of all the other things.”

Doc’s right in many ways. During this streak, the Celtics have battled injuries just as much as the opponent. At times, the team has only had eight healthy bodies to practice, which makes it hard for the squad to refine their game. Shaq O’Neal, Jermaine O’Neal, Rajon Rondo, Delonte West, and others have missed significant chunks over the past month which has really tested the depth of this team.

Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Danny Ainge spent much of the offseason compiling a strong bench in an effort to lengthen the playing rotation to ensure less playing time for his starters. The idea was good, but the result has not gone quite as planned. Due to numerous injuries, the Celtics’ Big Three have been carrying the load.

Playing their best basketball in years, the Big Three has led this 14 game charge. Each of the savvy veterans is playing like they’re in their prime and have truly adjusted to whoever is on the court with them better than ever. Doc Rivers preaches togetherness and it has never been more apparent than this month stretch. Read the rest of this entry →

Kobe Bryant scored a team-high 20 points to lead the Lakers to their sixth win during a seven game road trip.

The defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers landed their fifth straight win after they rallied from an early deficit to beat the Toronto Raptors 120-110 to complete a grueling seven game road trip.

LA failed to get the upper hand in the early exchanges as the Canadian side took a six point lead after the first period at the Air Canada Centre.

However, those following the “Livescores” note that the Lakers dominated the second quarter in which they scored 29 points, almost doubling the score of their opponents.

After that period the Lakers never looked like giving up the lead and with some good performances on the bench they looked strong in the second half.

Andrew Bynum is starting to put in the type of performances that impressed many before his offseason operation on a knee injury.

LA’s guard Kobe Bryant was his side’s top points scorer as he notched up 20 points and will undoubtedly get the headlines.

However the Spaniard, Pau Gasol, picked up 19 points of his own and aided with four assists. Lakers head coach Phil Jackson was pleased with his squad’s victory as they recorded their seventh win against the Raptors in their last eight meetings. Read the rest of this entry →