The NBA Playoffs are the topic in this edition of Tuesday Trivia.
The answers are below.
If you have any ideas on what you’d like to see as a theme for either of those categories, let me know. Contact me at sportsdr44@hotmail.com.
Questions
1: The Boston Celtics ran off eight consecutive NBA championships, until which team in the 1966-67 season stopped their streak?
2: Which NBA team was the first expansion team to win the NBA Finals?
3: The coach of the 1949 NBA Eastern Conference champions would become much better known for coaching a different team. Who was the coach and which was his first team?
4: In Game 2 of the 1996 NBA Western semifinals the Seattle Super Sonics set an NBA record for most three-pointers made in a playoff game vs. the Houston Rockets. How many did they make?
5: Who attempted the most free throws in a game in the playoffs?
6: Who has the most steals in a playoff game, not a practice, a game?
7: Which player scored the most points in a regulation (one that didn’t go to overtime) NBA playoff game?
8: What is the most points scored by one team in a playoff game?
9: What coach has won the most playoff games?
10: What coach has lost the most playoffs games?
Answers
1: Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers took out Boston in the Eastern Division Finals, four games to one, including a game five win of 140-116 to end the Celtics' run. Wilt Chamberlain with Philadelphia saw to that, averaging almost 22 points per game, along with 29 rebounds in the playoffs. The Finals would be his Philadelphia 76ers against the San Francisco Warriors. The 76ers won it four games to two, but Rick Barry of the Warriors was still the Finals MVP.
2: Baltimore Bullets. The Bullets are also the first defunct team to play in the NBA and win the NBA Finals, doing so in 1948. The first NBA finals were held in 1947 in the league’s first season.
3: Red Auerbach coached the Washington Capitols to the Eastern Conference title. They lost to the Minneapolis Lakers 4-2 in the NBA Finals.
4: Seattle made 20 threes in its 105-101 home win. Nate McMillan made the most with five. The Sonics won the series 4-0.
5: Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers attempted 39 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals vs. Indiana Pacers on June 9, 2000. He made 18 (.462). Shaq was 11-18 from the field as he scored 40 points in L.A.’s 111-104 win. He also had 24 rebounds.
6: Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers had 10 steals vs. Orlando Magic in Game 2 of a first-round series on May 13, 1999. He also scored 33 points. Philly won the game 97-85 and the series 3-1. There was a lockout that season and play didn’t start until Feb. 5 and teams played a condensed 50-game schedule.
7: Wilt Chamberlain scored 56 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in Game 5 of the 1962 Eastern Division semifinals vs. the Syracuse Nationals. He was 22-for-48 from the field and 12-for-22 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed 35 rebounds. The Warriors won the game 121-104 and the series 3-2 but eventually lost to the Boston Celtics 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals.
8: The Boston Celtics defeated the New York Knicks 157-128 in Game 2 of their first round series on April 28, 1990, at Boston Garden. Boston led 74-59 at halftime and outscored New York 83-69 in the second half. Eight players scored in double figures, led by Kevin McHale’s 31. The win gave the Celtics a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. However, the Knicks came back to win the series 3-2, winning the deciding game in Boston.
9: Phil Jackson with 229. He’s also fifth in losses with 104.
10: Gregg Popovich with 114. He’s also third in wins with 170.