Today's Date in NBA History

(Boulder-CO) Today's date is June 4th, and on this day:

'76- Boston’s Jo Jo White scored 33 points as the Celtics outlasted Phoenix 128-126 in triple-overtime in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, at the time the longest Finals game ever. Phoenix forward Gar Heard, who set a then Finals record by playing 61 minutes, hit a buzzer-beater to force the third overtime. Phoenix and Chicago went to triple-overtime in Game 3 of the 1993 Finals, a game won by the Suns, 129-121. Kevin Johnson of Phoenix broke Heard’s previous Finals record for minutes played with 62.

'87- The Lakers shot a then NBA Finals record 61.5% from the field and Michael Cooper set what was then a Finals record by sinking six three-point field goals in a 141-122 victory over Boston in Game 2 of their championship series, eventually won by the Lakers in six games. The Lakers field goal percentage remains the second-highest in Finals history, and Cooper’s six treys is tied for second-best in a Finals game. Magic Johnson’s 20 assists were one shy of his own NBA Finals record, and the Lakers’ 44 assists tied the team single-game NBA Finals record set by another Lakers’ team on May 6, 1970.

'95- The Orlando Magic advanced to the NBA Finals in only the sixth year of the franchise with a 105-81 win over visiting Indiana in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Shaquille O’Neal had a game-high 25 points to lead the Magic and Dennis Scott set NBA Playoff records for a seven-game series for the most three-point field goals attempted (65) and the most three-point field goals made (28).

'97- The NBA announced that the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets would play an NBA regular season game in Mexico on December 6, 1997. The event marked the first time the NBA has staged a regular season game in Mexico, which joined Japan as the only two countries outside of the United States and Canada to host an NBA regular season game.

Enjoy your day!