Day in the NBA - March 6, 1955

Milwaukee Hawks     84
Minneapolis Lakers  93

Player of the Game   
Vern Mikkelsen (Min) - 24 pts, 7 rebs




Ft. Wayne Pistons   96
Boston Celtics     106

Player of the Game:
Bob Cousy (Bos) - 32 pts, 5 assists





Philadelphia Warriors  82
Syracuse Nationals     84

Player of the Game:
Dolph Shayes (Syr) - 21 pts, 14 rebs




Rochester Royals      81
NY Knicks            106

Player of the Game:
Harry Gallatin (NY) - 27 pts, 15 rebs

Gene Peterson tribute series, Part 3

March 19, 1991 - Rockets (40-24) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (21-42)
The Rockets were on fire from the start of this game shooting 55% in the first half. They kept right on rolling in the second half for a 119-99 win. Buck Johnson (yes, Buck Johnson!) led the Rockets with 25. Olajuwon scored 23 while Kenny Smith and Otis Thorpe added 20 each. Tony Campbell led the T-Wolves with 25, but he made only 9 of 31 shots.

April 15, 1992 - Rockets (42-37) at Utah Jazz (52-27)
Neither team set the world on the fire in this contest, but the Rockets did just enough to pull off a 95-90 upset on the road. Olajuwon led the way with 29 points and 15 rebounds. Kenny Smith also had a good game for the Rockets scoring 12 points and dishing out 9 assists. Karl Malone led the Jazz with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Jeff Malone added another 21 for the Jazz and John Stockton had 13 assists for the Flops, er Jazz.


December 26, 1992 - Nuggets (7-16) at Rockets (13-9)
The Rockets shoot only 40.3% at home as the Nuggets run away with a 94-79 win. Olajuwon led the Rockets as usual, but made only 9 of 24 shots. The Nuggets were led by Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf's 20 and Reggie Williams' 18. Dikembe Mutombo grabbed 15 rebounds for the Nuggets.

February 6, 1994 - T-Wolves (14-29) at Rockets (32-11)
The Rockets weren't challenged much by the T-Wolves who were playing without Isaiah Rider. They held the T-Wolves to 37.2% shooting while out-rebounding them 55-37. The Rockets also shot 18 more free throws. Olajuwon scored 19 while grabbing 19 boards. Doug West scored 20 for the T-Wolves, but he got little support from his teammates. Rockets win 93-69.

Gene Peterson tribute series, Part 2

April 6, 1983 - Rockets (13-63) at Dallas (36-40)
Mark Aguirre scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Jay Vincent added 21 points and 8 rebounds in a 120-94 Maverick mauling of the lowly Rockets. Bring on Ralph Sampson already!

December 13, 1983 - Rockets (8-14) vs Phoenix (8-14)
The Rockets trailed most of the way, but dominate the 4th quarter outscoring the Suns 39-23 for the 126-114 victory. Lew Lloyd led all scorers with 27 while James Edwards led the Suns with 25.

March 26, 1985 - Rockets (40-29) vs KC Kings (29-43)
The first game of the Hakeem Olajuwon era was a thrilling one. With 25 lead changes, 13 ties, and no team ever leading by more than 6, this one came down to the wire. Lew Lloyd threaded a needle and found John Lucas for an open shot that gave the Rockets a 113-111 lead with 7 seconds left. Larry Drew's potential tying shot with one second left was blocked by Rodney McCray. Ralph Sampson led the Rockets with 28 while Eddie Johnson led all scorers with 31.

February 6, 1986 - Rockets (33-15) vs Lakers (36-11)
This was an exciting game. James Worthy scored off a nice pass from Byron Scott to give the Lakers a 114-113 lead with 26 seconds left. Hakeem Olajuwon answered with a bucket to give the Rockets a 115-114 lead. Magic Johnson then found Michael Cooper open and Cooper drained the shot with just 2.5 seconds left. The Lakers win 116-115. Worthy led the Lakers with 26. Despite first half foul troubles, Olajuwon led the Rockets with 26.

January 29, 1987 Rockets (22-20) vs Milwaukee (27-18)
Despite early foul trouble for Ralph Sampson and late foul trouble for Hakeem Olajuwon, the Rockets win 117-116. The real surprise here was Allen Leavell scoring 19. He also dished out 5 assists.

Olajuwon led the Rockets with 25 points. Terry Cummings led the Bucks with 28, but Jack Sikma had the best overall performance for either team with 24 points and 19 rebounds.

March 15, 1988 Rockets (36-24) vs. LA Clippers (11-47)
The ides of March did not bode well for the lowly Clippers. The Rockets out shot them 50.5% to 34.5% and out rebounded them 69-28 for a 118-69 win The Rockets had more offensive rebounds than the Clippers had defensive rebounds. Joe Barry Carroll led the Rockets with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Hakeem Olajuwon hardly broke a sweat as he played only 16 minutes in the rout.

November 15, 1988 Rockets (4-2) vs New York Knicks (4-2)
The Rockets trailed by as many as 16 in the first half, but dominated the second half for 114-107 win. They out-rebounded the Knicks 59-40 and shot 38 free throws to the Knicks 20. After a slow start, Olajuwon led the Rockets with 27 points and 18 rebounds while Otis Thorpe added 20 points and 8 rebounds. Patrick Ewing got in early foul trouble and scored only 13 for the Knicks. Gerald Wilkins led the Knicks with 22 points and Johnny Newman added 20.

February 3, 1990 Rockets (21-23) at Phoenix Suns (26-16)
The Suns put on a first half passing clinic that led to a lot of easy baskets and a 71-45 half time lead. The Suns shot 65% from the floor in the half while the Rockets shot a lame 41%.

Tom Chambers led the Suns with 30 points and Jeff Hornacek added 18. As usual, the Rockets were led by Olajuwon with 27 points and 18 rebounds. Chambers also had 6 assists, but Kurt Rambis actually led the Suns in assists with 8. Kevin Johnson had 5 assists, but he didn't play that much in the second half. The Suns didn't really need him as they post a 120-97 win.


Rockets record for series: 8-7
Next game: March 19, 1991 vs Timberwolves (21-42). Rockets enter game with a 40-24 record.

1956-57 Celtics vs 1956-57 Hawks

1956-57 Boston Celtics at 1956-57 St. Louis Hawks with Above the Rim.

          1   2   3   4   F
Celtics  27  19  27  19  92
Hawks    23  26  32  23 104

The Hawks really took it to the Celtics in the second half. Bob Petit torched the Celtics for 30 pts, 16 rebs, and 6 blocks. Ed Macauley chipped in 20 points for the Hawks.

Bill Russell scored 19, grabbed 22 rebounds and blocked 3 shots. Bill Sharman also scored 19 for the Celtics.

Gene Peterson tribute series

Rockets' broadcaster Gene Peterson is retiring this season and I'm playing a random game from each of his broadcast seasons. Each team's record at the time of the game is indicated in parentheses.

March 21, 1976 - Rockets (36-35) at Seattle (35-35)
Poor shooting (40%) and 27 turnovers kill the Rockets. Rudy T. had 19 points and 17 rebounds in a 94-115 loss.

January 8, 1977 - Rockets (20-14) at Kansas City (17-20)
Despite shotting 52.3%, the Rockets commit 23 turnovers and send the Kings to the free throw line 48 times as the Kings win 125-104. Rudy T. led the Rockets with 24.

November 12, 1977 - Rockets (5-6) vs Portland (9-1)
Can I finally get a "How Sweet It Is"? Rudy T (31 pts), Calvin Murphy (26 pts) and Moses Malone (22 pts) made 33 of 53 shots (62%) as the Rockets pull off the upset at home by smoking Bill Walton's Trailblazers 131-115.

February 10, 1979 - Rockets (31-23) vs Seattle (34-19)
The Rockets shoot 40% from the floor and lose 107-94

January 18, 1980 - Rockets (22-23) vs Bullets (20-23)
The Rockets led by as many as 21, but had to hang on for a 110-108 win. Mo Malone scored 42 and grabbed 24 rebounds.Elvin Hayes scored 32 for the Bullets.

January 1, 1981- Rockets (16-23) vs Utah (16-22)
The Rockets shoot a sizzling 55.8% from the floor and blow out the Jazz 126-98. Calvin Murphy led the way with 25.

November 24, 1981 - Rockets vs New Jersey
Despite making 19 more free throws than the Nets, the Rockets lose 124-113 thanks to 56.8% shooting by the Nets. Buck Williams scored 34 points for the Nets on 15 for 20 shooting.

Record so far - 3 Wins and 4 Losses.

July 4, 1890 - Players League

The first of 4 double-headers is in the books.

Buffalo (George Haddock) vs Boston {Charlie Radbourne)
King Kelly scores the game winning run in the bottom of the ninth on Joe Quinn's one out single.

              R  H  E
Buffalo Bison 6  8  4
Boston Reds   7  8  4

WP - Bill Daley
LP- G. Haddock

Buffalo (Alex Ferson) vs Boston (Ad Gumpert)
Quinn strikes again with 2 run homer in the third and Kelly's two run eighth inning single give Ad Gumpert all the run support he needed.

        R  H  E
Buffalo 1  5  2
Boston  4  5  1

WP - Gumpert
LP - Ferson

1971 - The Rockets first week in Houston

October 14 vs. Philadelphia

76ers    105
Rockets  108

After letting a 16 point half time lead vanish in the
third quarter, the Rockets outscore the 76ers 34-30
in the fourth.

Stat Leaders
Scoring
Philadelphia - B. Cunningham 29, K. Loughery 16
Houston - E. Hayes 39, S. Lantz 23

Rebounds
Philadelphia - B. Bridges 17
Houston - E. Hayes 17

Assists
Philadelphia - B. Bridges 7
Houston - C. Murphy 5


October 16 at Phoenix

Rockets   88
Suns     102

The Rockets shot a dreadful 36% from the floor.
Elvin Hayes missed his first 10 shots.

Stat Leaders
Scoring
Houston - E. Hayes 20, C. Murphy 19
Phoenix - P. Silas 22, D. Van Arsdale 22

Rebounds
Houston - R. Tomjanovich 17
Phoenix - P. Silas 15

Assists
Houston - E. Hayes 7
Phoenix - C. Haskins 6



October 17 vs Detroit

Pistons  96
Rockets  99

Elvin Hayes scores almost half the Rockets points!

Stat Leaders
Scoring
Detroit - B. Lanier 25, D. Bing 19
Houston - E. Hayes 49, S. Lantz 17

Rebounds
Detroit - B. Lanier 17
Houston - E. Hayes 19

Assists
Detroit - D. Bing 10
Houston - G. Smith 6