This Week In NBA History, December 29-January 4
December 29, 1979 Houston’s Rick Barry scored 19 points in a 104-100 victory over Philadelphia, becoming only the 15th player at the time to surpass 18,000 career points.
Courtesy of www.goldenstateofmind.com
December 29, 1997 Dallas’ Bubba Wells recorded six fouls in three minutes of a 111-105 loss to Chicago. He broke the 41-year-old NBA record of five minutes set by Dick Farley of the Syracuse Nationals.
December 29, 1999 The late Wilt Chamberlain became the first player to have his number retired by three teams when the Golden State Warriors retired his #13 jersey at halftime of their game against the Philadelphia 76ers. The No. 13 jersey was presented to Barbara Lewis and Yvonne Chamberlain, Wilt’s sisters, and Oliver Chamberlain, his brother. Chamberlain’s number had already been retired by the Philadelphia 76ers, where he was part of the 1967 NBA championship team, and the Los Angeles Lakers, where he was part of the 1972 title team. Chamberlain spent six years with the Warriors organization, averaging 41.5 points and 25.1 rebounds in 429 games.
Courtesy of www.imageslides.com
December 29, 1999 Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown became the 11th coach in NBA history to reach the 700-victory plateau when the 76ers defeated Golden State 97-94 in Oakland.
December 29, 2001Don Nelson became the third coach in league annals to win 1,000 games as his Dallas Mavericks defeated Atlanta 113-97, and Jerry Sloan became the 10th coach in NBA lore to win 800 games when his Utah Jazz downed Philadelphia 89-81. Nelson joined Lenny Wilkens and Pat Riley in the 1,000-victory club.
December 30, 1961 Wilt Chamberlain scored 42 points in a 116-111 loss to Boston, the 14th straight game in which he scored at least 40 points, an NBA record.
December 30, 1971 The Los Angeles Lakers posted a 122-106 victory at Seattle, giving them a perfect 16-0 record for December, the best monthly record in NBA history. It was the Lakers’ second consecutive undefeated month, as they also posted a 14-0 mark in November, during their NBA record 33-game winning streak.
December 30, 1990 Orlando’s Scott Skiles dished off an NBA record 30 assists as the Magic defeated Denver 155-116 at Orlando Arena. Skiles surpassed previous record holder Kevin Porter of New Jersey, who handed out 29 assists in the Nets’ 126-112 win over Houston on February 24, 1978.
Courtesy of GZNBA89 YouTube page
December 30, 1992 The Phoenix Suns defeated Houston 133-110 to finish December with a 14-0 record, tying for the third-best month in NBA history. The Lakers set the NBA record by going 16-0 in December 1971.
December 30, 1996 New York became the fourth NBA franchise to reach 2,000 victories, following a 98-96 home win over New Jersey. The other three NBA teams that had surpassed 2,000 victories are the Celtics, Lakers and 76ers.
December 30, 1997 Chicago’s Michael Jordan scored 33 points to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s mark of 787 consecutive games with at least 10 points.
December 30, 1997 San Antonio’s David Robinson recorded five blocked shots to move into eighth place on the all-time chart ahead of George T. Johnson (2,082).
Courtesy of www.slamonline.com
December 31, 1954 The Fort Wayne Pistons and the Minneapolis Lakers combined to attempt 127 free throws, the most ever in a regulation NBA game. Minneapolis won 103-91.
January 1, 1974 Ernie DiGregorio of Buffalo handed out 25 assists in the Braves’ 120-119 win over Portland, establishing a single-game record for assists by a rookie. Seattle’s Nate McMillan tied DiGregorio’s mark in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers on February 23, 1987.
January 1, 1979 John Y. Brown attended his first game as owner of the Boston Celtics. Brown, the former owner of the Buffalo Braves, and Irving H. Levin, who had owned the Celtics, decided to “trade” franchises in June of 1978. This unprecedented maneuver brought about the eventual relocation of the Buffalo Braves and the name change to the San Diego Clippers before the 1978-79 season.
January 2, 1987 The Indiana Pacers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 116-106 to give Coach Jack Ramsay his 800th NBA victory, at the time one of only two coaches (along with Red Auerbach) to reach that plateau.
January 2, 2000 19,600 fans watched the Miami Heat defeat the Orlando Magic, 111-103 in the first game at the Heat’s new American Airlines Arena.
January 3, 1998Los Angeles Clippers head coach Bill Fitch coached his 2,000th NBA game.
January 4, 1975 The New Orleans Jazz set a then NBA record (for games played with the use of the 24-second shot clock) by scoring only 20 points in the first half of a 111-89 loss at Seattle. The record stood for nearly 25 years before the Los Angeles Clippers scored 19 points in the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 14, 1999.
January 4, 1984 Adrian Dantley tied Wilt Chamberlain’s record for most free throws made in one game by converting 28 free throws (in 29 attempts) in Utah’s 116-111 victory over Houston at Las Vegas.
Courtesy of www.bleacherreport.com
January 4, 1985The Boston Celtics honored Team President Red Auerbach by retiring uniform #2 in ceremonies prior to a game against New York.
January 4, 1992 Boston’s Robert Parish became the fifth player in NBA history (along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mark Eaton, Wayne Rollins and George Johnson) to register 2,000 career blocks during the Celtics’ 100-96 road loss at Minnesota.
Courtesy of www.nba.com
January 4, 2001 Fayetteville, North Carolina was named as the first city to be granted a franchise in the National Basketball Development League, the NBA’s new minor league. The NBA announced the NBDL would begin play in November 2001.
COMMUNITY
