(Boulder-CO) Fell asleep at the wheel for a few days... Here's what went down in the last three days of and in NBA history. Things are returning to the grind around here starting tomorrow. That means the rest of the player report cards, all the trade rumors, what I think the Nuggets need to do by means of The Blueprint: Phase Two, and anything they might do in the meantime.
May 16, 1980 Rookie guard Magic Johnson filled in at center for the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and came up with 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists as the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA title by beating Philadelphia 123-107 in Game 6 of the Finals. Johnson sank all 14 of his free throw attempts to set a Finals record and he was named the Finals MVP. Johnson’s 42 points were the most scored by a rookie in an NBA Finals game.
May 16, 1999 The New York Knicks became only the second eighth-seeded team in NBA playoff history to defeat a number one seed in the playoffs when they defeated the Miami Heat in five games. Seattle was the other eighth-seeded team to advance when they ousted Seattle in 1994.
May 16, 2000 Utah’s Jef Hornacek walked off the court for the final time after the Jazz are eliminated from the postseason by the Portland Trail Blazers. Hornacek, who entered the league as a point guard and ended up one of the game’s best pure shooters, concluded his career after 1,077 career games. He averaged 14.5 points and 4.9 assists per game, with shooting percentages of 49.6% from the field, 40.3% from three-point range and 87.7% from the free throw line.
May 16, 2001 Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers scored 52 points against the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series. Iverson joined Michael Jordan as the only two players ever to score 50 or more points in two games of the same playoff series. Iverson scored 54 points against Toronto in Game 2 of the series.
May 17, 1979 Jack Sikma of Seattle scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the SuperSonics to a 114-110 victory over Phoenix in Game 7 of their Western Conference Finals series, before a crowd of 37,552 at the Kingdome. The Sonics went on to win their only NBA Championship, defeating Washington in five games in the Finals.
May 17, 1988 John Stockton of Utah tied Magic Johnson’s NBA Playoff assist record with 24 in a losing effort (111-109) against Los Angeles in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
May 17, 1993 New York’s Pat Riley was named IBM NBA Coach of the Year, beating out Houston’s Rudy Tomjanovich by a single vote in the closest balloting ever, becoming only the fifth NBA coach to win the award twice. Riley, who led the Knicks to a 60-win season for only the second time in the 47-year history of the franchise, also won the Coach of the Year award with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1990.
May 17, 1995 Jason Kidd of Dallas and Grant Hill of Detroit were named co-winners of the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, marking the first time since 1971--when Boston’s Dave Cowens and Portland’s Geoff Petrie were named co-winners--that two players shared the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy.
May 18, 1975 Rick Barry hit a jumper with 38 seconds remaining to put Game 1 of the NBA Finals out of reach as Golden State defeated Washington 101-95. Barry, the series MVP, continued with dominating performances as the Warriors swept the Bullets 4-0 to take the title.
May 18, 1998 Michael Jordan is named the 1998 NBA Most Valuable Player, earning his fifth MVP honor, tied for the second-most league MVP awards with the legendary Bill Russell. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named NBA MVP a record six times.
Enjoy your day!
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