Today's Date in NBA History

(Boulder-CO) Today's date is December 8th, and on this day:

'61- Larry Costello of the Syracuse Nationals scored 32 straight points without missing -- 13 field goals and six free throws -- as Syracuse lost 123-111 at Boston.

'61- Wilt Chamberlain scored 78 points, the second highest scoring performance in NBA history, in the Philadelphia Warriors’ 151-147 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in three overtimes.

'89- Jack Sikma, playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, grabbed his 10,000th career rebound, becoming only the 18th player in league history at the time to accomplish that feat.

'92- Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins set an NBA record for most free throws made in a game without a miss, as he went 23-for-23 from the FT line in the Hawks’ 123-114 win over visiting Chicago.

'98- The NBA announced the cancellation of the 1999 NBA All-Star Weekend, including the 49th Annual NBA All-Star Game scheduled for February 14 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia. This is the first time that the annual event had been cancelled. The cancellation was due to a labor dispute between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.

'99- Houston Rockets forward Charles Barkley’s storied career came to an end in Philadelphia, when he attempted to block a shot by the Sixers’ Tyrone Hill. Barkley, who scored 23,755 points (13th in NBA history) and grabbed 12,545 rebounds (14th in NBA history), tore the left quadriceps tendon away from the kneecap in the first quarter of Houston's 83-73 loss to Philadelphia. After the game, Barkley held a news conference and paid tribute to former teammates Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney and Bobby Jones, who Barkley said initiated him in the ways of the NBA in his early years with the 76ers. Barkley would return to play token minutes in the last game of the regular season, which would then be the final game of his career.

'00- Hakeem Olajuwon passed the 26,000-point plateau for his career in a 111-98 loss to Sacramento, becoming only the fifth NBA player to record 26,000 career points and 13,000 career rebounds. Olajuwon joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone and Elvin Hayes.

'00- Shaquille O’Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers broke a 40-year-old NBA record when he missed all 11 of his free throw attempts against Seattle. Wilt Chamberlain missed all 10 of his free throw attempts against Detroit on November 4, 1960.

Enjoy your day!