October 18, 1974: The Chicago Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks, 120-115 in overtime at the Chicago Stadium. John Drew of the defeated Hawks led all scorers. But the real story came from a former Golden State Warriors star, making his debut for the Bulls: Nate Thurmond scored 22 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, had 13 assists, and blocked 12 shots.
Previously, there had been "triple-doubles" in NBA games: Double figures, 10 or more, in points, assists and steals. This was the first official "quadruple-double."
It wasn't really the first, for one simple season: Nobody recorded blocked shots as an official statistic until the 1973-74 season -- the 1st season since 1958-59 without Wilt Chamberlain playing in the NBA. Coincidence is what the incurious believe in.
(In 1968, Chamberlain had a game in which he reached double figures in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals -- a quintuple-double. That was found in a review of a game shown on television. As far as is known, it's the only such game in NBA history.)
A native of Akron, Ohio, Thurmond starred at Bowling Green University, before being drafted by the San Francisco Warriors in 1963. In 1971, they moved across San Francisco Bay, to Oakland, becoming the Golden State Warriors. He was a 7-time NBA All-Star, and helped the Warriors reach the NBA Finals in 1964 and 1967.
Only 3 other players have ever recorded an official quadruple-double. Alvin Robertson of the San Antonio Spurs did it on February 18, 1986, with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals; Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets on March 29, 1990, with 18 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and 11 blocks; and David Robinson of the Spurs on February 17, 1994, with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocks. Unlike Thurmond, those 3 men did not need overtime to do it.
Thurmond is 1 of 5 players to average at least 15 rebounds per game for his career, along with Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Bob Pettit and Jerry Lucas. Those are also the only 5 players to average at least 20 rebounds per game during a season, and he did it twice: 21.3 in 1966-67, and 22.0 in 1967-68.
Along with Chamberlain, Russell and Lucas, he's 1 of 4 players to grab 40 or more rebounds in a game: 42, against the Detroit Pistons, on November 9, 1965 -- the night of the big New York City blackout. And on February 28, 1965, against the Baltimore Bullets, he set an NBA record with 18 rebounds in a single quarter. Chamberlain, first a teammate and then an opponent, called him the toughest opponent he ever faced.
Unfortunately, luck was not on his side: For the 1974-75 season, he was traded to the Chicago Bulls, and that would be the season the Warriors won their 1st NBA title since 1956, when they were in Philadelphia. He played 2 more seasons, for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and helped them reach the 1976 Eastern Conference Finals, a Playoff run known as "The Miracle of Richfield."
He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, and both the Dubs and the Cavs retired his Number 42. He was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams. He died in 2016, at the age of 75, having lived just long enough to have been invited to participate in the NBA Championship parades for the 2015 Warriors and the 2016 Cavaliers.
*
October 18, 1974 was a Friday. There were 6 other games in the NBA that night:
* The Buffalo Braves beat the Boston Celtics, 126-119 at the Boston Garden. Ernie DiGregorio, the Providence College star, and the previous season's NBA Rookie of the Year, scored 33 points in this game.
A lot of white NBA fans were hoping he would become the next Pete Maravich. But he was never this good again. Like Maravich, he would end his career with the Celtics before they started winning titles again, and Larry Bird became the player that such fans hoped both Pistol Pete and Ernie D would be.
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the New Orleans Jazz, 112-99 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. This was the 1st-ever regular-season game of the team that became the Utah Jazz in 1979. Maravich, previously with the Atlanta Hawks, and having played in Louisiana with Louisiana State University, scored 15 points. But Steve Mix scored 33 for the Sixers.
* The Houston Rockets beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 106-101 at the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.
* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors, 105-90 at The Forum, outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Gail Goodrich scored 34 points.
* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 131-129... in 4 overtimes at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Austin Carr scored 34 in defeat for the Cavs.
* And the Detroit Pistons beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 100-95 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.
There were 4 games played in the ABA:
* The New York Nets beat the Utah Stars, 105-89 at the Nassau Coliseum.
* The Kentucky Colonels beat the Denver Nuggets, 117-99 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.
* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Indiana Pacers, 129-121 in double overtime at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. James Silas scored 40 points. This was the Pacers' 1st game there, and they would play there until 1999.
* And the Memphis Sounds beat the Spirits of St. Louis, 97-92 at the St. Louis Arena.
The World Series was won the night before, with the Oakland Athletics beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in 5 games. There was 1 game in the NHL: The Atlanta Flames beat the Kansas City Scouts, 4-2 at The Omni in Atlanta. And there were 4 games in the WHA:
* The Toronto Toros beat the Indianapolis Racers, 3-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-0 at the Winnipeg Arena.
* The Phoenix Roadrunners beat the Houston Aeros, 6-4 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
* And the Chicago Cougars beat the Vancouver Blazers, 2-1 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.
No comments:
Post a Comment