The best Game 7s in NBA Finals history

[Stone Cold is Bout It, Bout It]

 
 It has been a long time since we've had a Game 7 in the NBA Finals like the one coming up Thursday night. Not since 1994 to be exact.

Other professional sports don't usually go through similar droughts. The NHL Stanley Cup finals went the distance in 2004, when Tampa Bay defeated Calgary. In 2003, it was the same story, as the Devils drank from the Cup after defeating the Mighty Ducks in seven.
Major League Baseball played a seven-game World Series in 2002, when the Angels defeated the Giants. The year before that Mariano Rivera couldn't protect a ninth-inning lead in Game 7 and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Yankees. Also in 2001, the Avalanche outlasted the Devils in yet another Stanley Cup finals that went the distance. I could go on (like the 1997 World Series), but you get the idea.

Still, there have been 15 NBA Finals that have gone the full seven games. The following comprise the best Game 7s in NBA finals history.

But don't look for any Michael Jordan memories here. Jordan was so good that he won six NBA championships without ever being extended to a seventh game.

1. April 13,1957 — Boston defeated St. Louis 125-123 (Two OTs)

This was probably the greatest seven-game series in NBA history. It was certainly the best NBA Finals. The 1981 Eastern Conference finals between Philadelphia and Boston stake a claim for the greatest playoff series of all time, as does the 2002 Western Conference finals between Los Angeles and Sacramento. The 1957 finals featured two games that went to double-overtime (including Game 7). In the seventh game, there were 38 lead changes and 28 ties. The Hawks' Bob Pettit was a stud, scoring 39 points and pulling down 19 rebounds. Tom Heinsohn scored 37 points for the Celtics. In the second overtime, Boston's Frank Ramsey's hot hand led the Celtics to their first (of many) NBA championships.


2. May 5, 1969 — Boston defeated Los Angeles 108-106

Although the Celtics had defeated the Lakers in the NBA Finals in 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966 and 1968, the 1969 series was destined to go Lakers' way. For the first time, the deciding seventh game would be played in L.A. Jerry West did his part, scoring 42 points (the record for scoring in a Game 7). The Celtics won their 11th championship in 13 seasons, however, in Bill Russell's final game. In a bizarre coaching decision, the Lakers' coach Butch van Breda Kolff kept his superstar center, Wilt Chamberlain, on the bench for the final four minutes of the contest. After the game, van Breda Kolff said, "We were playing well without him."


3. May 8, 1970 — New York defeated Los Angeles 113-99

This was the game in which an injured Willis Reed hit a couple of shots early to inspire his team. When Reed limped out before the game to warm up, the Madison Square Garden crowd erupted in what has become one of the most famous moments in NBA history. Walt Frazier scored 36 points and dished out 19 assists. Chamberlain scored 21 points and pulled down 24 rebounds, but it wasn't nearly enough. The Lakers were never in this game, and lost in the finals for the seventh time in nine years.


4. June 21, 1988 — Los Angeles defeated Detroit 108-105

 
James Worthy led the Lakers to a 108-105 victory over Detroit in the seventh game, as Los Angeles became the first team to repeat as champs since Boston in 1969. This game was a bitter pill to swallow for Pistons guard Isiah Thomas, who used the defeat to spur back-to-back championship runs for Detroit the next two seasons. The Pistons led 3-2 after five games, but the Lakers won the final two contests in L.A. Thomas, on a severely sprained ankle, scored 25 points in the third quarter of Game 6. That remains the finals record for points in a quarter.


5. May 12, 1974 — Boston defeated Milwaukee 102-87

I remember reading Kareem Abdul Jabbar's 1983 book Giant Steps. He said in the book that the officiating in the 1974 finals was very poor, because ref Richie Powers allowed the Celtics' Dave Cowens to dive on Kareem's back for rebounds and defensive pressure. The box scores show Richie Powers was the referee in the first, third, fifth, and seventh games. Boston won all four of those games. Milwaukee won the three games when Powers didn't suit up.

Here's what happened. In Game 6, the Bucks evened the series with a 102-101 double-overtime victory where Abdul Jabbar dominated Cowens and won the game with a sky-hook. Celtics coach Tom Heinsohn needed to change his strategy for Game 7. When I interviewed Heinsohn a few years ago about the game, he told me this: "We played Abdul Jabbar man-up the first six games. Our strategy was to cut down his angles. They won Game 6 on a Friday night and the final game was on Sunday. I decided we would double the big fellow. We used Paul Silas. Cornell Warner was the player we doubled off of. And it worked. We got up by 17, and it was never really a game. It really was against my belief to double-team, though." Cowens — with help from Silas — shut down Kareem, holding him without a field goal attempt during one 18-minute stretch.


6. April 18, 1962 — Boston defeated Los Angeles 110-107 (OT)

This seventh game went to overtime. Boston led most of the way, but with 1:14 left, the Lakers cut the lead to four points. Frank Selvy made two hoops to tie the game. Selvy actually missed a potential game (and series) winner with three seconds left in regulation. Elgin Baylor scored 41 points but missed six free throws in the game. Following the bitter defeat, Baylor had to report to his army duties at Fort Lewis, Washington.


7. April 10, 1955 — Syracuse defeated Ft. Wayne 92-91

After a fight in the sixth game between Syracuse's Wally Osterkorn and Fort Wayne's Don Meineke that brought fans onto the court (police had to quell the disturbance), both players were in the starting lineup for Game 7. Dolph Schayes hit a free throw with 1:20 remaining to give Syracuse a 91-90 lead. George Yardley tied the game with a free throw. George King then made a free throw with 12 seconds left and stole the ball to clinch the Syracuse championship.


8. June 22, 1994 — Houston defeated New York 90-84

 
Everyone remembers John Starks missing all 10 of his 3-point field goal attempts, and missing 16 of his 18 shots. But Knicks superstar Patrick Ewing missed 10 of his 17 shots, and scored just 17 points. Hakeem Olajuwon finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds.


9. April 21, 1951 Rochester defeated New York 79-75

Bob Davies hit two free throws in the final minute to give the Rochester Royals the NBA title over the Knicks, 79-75. The Knicks fell behind in the series 3-0, but won the next three games to force a deciding seventh game. Rochester took a big lead early, but the Knicks closed the game, led by Connie Simmons. Red Holzman (who would have a large part in Knicks titles two decades later) hit a long set shot before the half for the Royals. Why this game is important: Royals coach Les Harrison influenced Holzman, who influenced Phil Jackson.


10. June 12, 1984 Boston defeated Los Angeles 111-102

The Celtics had never lost to the Lakers, though Pat Riley's team was confident going into the Finals. But Magic Johnson threw away a crucial pass in the final seconds of Game 4 with the game tied. In Game 7, at Boston Garden, Johnson shot poorly (5-14), and turned the ball over seven times. The story following the game was that Magic disappeared into the shower for so long, that people became concerned for him. The Lakers would go on and win three of the next four championships.


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