Game 7 Information Guide
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GAME 7 GAME 7 INFORMATION GUIDE 1 CONTENTS Game 7: Did You Know?............................................................... 3 Team Records ............................................................................. 5 Player Appearances .................................................................... 6 Coach Appearances .................................................................... 7 Team Highs ................................................................................. 8 Player Highs ................................................................................ 9 Career Leaders ............................................................................ 12 All-Time Triple-Doubles ............................................................... 15 Memorable Game 7s .................................................................... 16 Game 7s By Team ........................................................................ 21 Game 7s By Season ..................................................................... 31 “No one leaves Game 7 the same person they were before the tip. Not the fans, not the coaching staff and certainly not the players. There’s always a certain amount of basketball soul left on the court.” - Justin Tinsley, The Undefeated Statistical support provided by Elias Sports Bureau, the official statistician of the NBA. All statistics and records are through the 2020 NBA Playoffs. All photos are from NBAE via Getty Images. 2 GAME 7: DID YOU KNOW? • There have been 139 Game 7s in NBA history. 2016 NBA Finals • Home teams have a record of 108-31 (.777) in Game 7s. • Every active NBA franchise has played at least one Game 7. • There have been 19 Game 7s in the NBA Finals, with home teams holding a 15-4 record. The most recent Game 7 in the NBA Finals came in 2016, when the Cleveland Cavaliers defeat- ed the host Golden State Warriors to become the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the Finals. • The first Game 7 in NBA history took place on April 6, 1948, when the Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State War- riors) defeated the St. Louis Bombers 85-46 in the Semifinals. • Bill Russell won all 10 Game 7s in which he played, the most victories without a loss for a player. • Ten players have recorded a triple-double in a Game 7: Jerry West, Larry Bird, James Worthy, Scottie Pippen, Russell Westbrook (two), Rajon Rondo (two), Blake Griffin, LeBron James, Nikola Jokić (two) and Chris Paul. • The NBA record for most points by a player in a Game 7 is 47, shared by the Boston Celtics’ Sam Jones (1963 Eastern Division Finals against the Cincinnati Royals) and the Atlanta Hawks’ Dominique Wilkins (1988 East- ern Conference Semifinals against Boston). • The record for most points by a player in Game 7 of the NBA Finals is 42, by the Los Angeles Lakers’ Jerry West against the Boston Celtics in 1969. • Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers has served as a head coach in a record 14 Game 7s. Pat Riley (11) and Larry Brown (10) rank second and third, respectively, in most Game 7s coached. • Red Auerbach won all eight of his Game 7s as a head coach, the most victories without a loss for a head coach. • LeBron James has scored the most total points in Game 7s with 279 – one more than Jerry West. (James has appeared in eight Game 7s and West played in nine.) • The first Game 7 in the NBA Finals took place in 1951, when the Rochester Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) defeated the New York Knicks 79-75. In that series, New York lost the first three games before winning the next three games to force a Game 7. 3 GAME 7: DID YOU KNOW? • In addition to the New York Knicks in the 1951 NBA Finals, two other teams have rallied from a 3-0 series defi- cit to force a Game 7: the Denver Nuggets against the Utah Jazz in the 1994 Western Conference Semifinals and the Portland Trail Blazers against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2003 Western Conference First Round. • Ray Allen played in a record 11 Game 7s. Paul Pierce and Bill Russell are tied for the second-most Game 7s played with 10 each. • The first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs had five Game 7s, a record for any round in a season. A record three Game 7s were played on one day. • The record for most Game 7s in a single season is five, which happened in 1994, 2014 and 2016. • The Boston Celtics have played a record 33 Game 7s – or 24% of all Game 7s in NBA history. Boston has a 24-9 record (.727) in Game 7s. • The Los Angeles Lakers have a 16-8 record (.667) in Game 7s – 15-1 at home and 1-7 on the road. The Lakers’ one road victory in Game 7 came in overtime against the Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Western Conference Finals. 2002 Western Conference Finals 4 GAME 7: TEAM RECORDS OVERALL HOME ROAD TEAM W L PCT W L PCT W L PCT Atlanta Hawks 4 9 .308 4 0 1.000 0 9 .000 Boston Celtics 24 9 .727 20 5 .800 4 4 .500 Brooklyn Nets 1 2 .333 0 1 .000 1 1 .500 Charlotte Hornets 0 2 .000 0 0 --- 0 2 .000 Chicago Bulls 4 6 .400 3 0 1.000 1 6 .143 Cleveland Cavaliers 5 2 .714 3 0 1.000 2 2 .500 Dallas Mavericks 4 2 .667 3 0 1.000 1 2 .333 Denver Nuggets 4 3 .571 3 1 .750 1 2 .333 Detroit Pistons 5 5 .500 4 0 1.000 1 5 .167 Golden State Warriors 5 5 .500 3 2 .600 2 3 .400 Houston Rockets 7 5 .583 5 2 .714 2 3 .400 Indiana Pacers 3 6 .333 1 0 1.000 2 6 .250 LA Clippers 3 5 .375 2 2 .500 1 3 .250 Los Angeles Lakers 16 8 .667 15 1 .938 1 7 .125 Memphis Grizzlies 0 3 .000 0 1 .000 0 2 .000 Miami Heat 6 4 .600 6 2 .750 0 2 .000 Milwaukee Bucks 2 8 .200 2 1 .667 0 7 .000 Minnesota Timberwolves 1 0 1.000 1 0 1.000 0 0 --- New Orleans Pelicans 0 2 .000 0 1 .000 0 1 .000 New York Knicks 7 8 .467 5 2 .714 2 6 .250 Oklahoma City Thunder 6 5 .545 6 1 .857 0 4 .000 Orlando Magic 2 1 .667 1 0 1.000 1 1 .500 Philadelphia 76ers 6 10 .375 5 1 .833 1 9 .100 Phoenix Suns 4 5 .444 3 2 .600 1 3 .250 Portland Trail Blazers 2 2 .500 1 0 1.000 1 2 .333 Sacramento Kings 2 4 .333 1 1 .500 1 3 .250 San Antonio Spurs 4 7 .364 3 2 .600 1 5 .167 Toronto Raptors 3 3 .500 3 2 .600 0 1 .000 Utah Jazz 3 3 .500 1 0 1.000 2 3 .400 Washington Wizards 6 4 .600 4 0 1.000 2 4 .333 St. Louis Bombers (inactive) 0 1 .000 0 1 .000 0 0 --- TOTALS 139 139 .500 108 31 .777 31 108 .223 Note: Teams listed may have played in different cities or had different names for some Game 7s played. 5 GAME 7: PLAYER APPEARANCES MOST GAME 7s PLAYED Ray Allen PLAYER G Ray Allen 11 Paul Pierce 10 Bill Russell 10 Danny Ainge 9 Elgin Baylor 9 Wilt Chamberlain 9 Robert Horry 9 Dennis Johnson 9 Joe Johnson 9 Sam Jones 9 Robert Parish 9 Wes Unseld 9 Jerry West 9 MOST GAME 7s WON MOST GAME 7s WON WITHOUT LOSS PLAYER W Bill Russell 10 PLAYER W Sam Jones 9 Bill Russell 10 Ray Allen 7 Sam Jones 9 Tom Heinsohn 7 Tom Heinsohn 7 Robert Horry 7 Bob Cousy 6 Dennis Johnson 7 Derek Fisher 6 Danny Ainge 6 K.C. Jones 6 Larry Bird 6 Frank Ramsey 6 Sam Cassell 6 Raja Bell 5 Bob Cousy 6 Jim Loscutoff 5 Derek Fisher 6 Satch Sanders 5 John Havlicek 6 LeBron James 6 K.C. Jones 6 Kevin McHale 6 Robert Parish 6 Frank Ramsey 6 Wes Unseld 6 6 GAME 7: COACH APPEARANCES MOST GAME 7s COACHED Doc Rivers COACH G Doc Rivers 14 Pat Riley 11 Larry Brown 10 Phil Jackson 9 Red Auerbach 8 K.C. Jones 8 George Karl 7 Dick Motta 7 Don Nelson 7 Gregg Popovich 7 MOST GAME 7s WON COACH W Red Auerbach 8 Larry Brown 6 Phil Jackson 6 K.C. Jones 6 Red Auerbach Pat Riley 6 Doc Rivers 6 Red Holzman 4 Dick Motta 4 Erik Spoelstra 4 Rudy Tomjanovich 4 MOST GAME 7s WON WITHOUT LOSS COACH W Red Auerbach 8 Tyronn Lue 3 Avery Johnson 2 Johnny Kundla 2 Bill Russell 2 Flip Saunders 2 7 GAME 7: TEAM HIGHS MOST BY A TEAM IN A GAME 7 CATEGORY TOTAL TEAM DATE ROUND Points 142 Boston Celtics (vs. Cincinnati Royals) April 10, 1963 Division Finals Field Goals 54 Los Angeles Lakers (vs. Phoenix Suns) April 9, 1970 Division Semifinals 17 Houston Rockets (vs. Oklahoma City Thunder) Sept. 2, 2020 First Round Three-Point Field Goals 17 Golden State Warriors (vs. Oklahoma City Thunder) May 30, 2016 Conference Finals Free Throws 57 Phoenix Suns (vs. Seattle SuperSonics) June 5, 1993 Conference Finals Rebounds 89 Boston Celtics (vs. Syracuse Nationals) April 1, 1959 Division Finals Assists 44 Los Angeles Lakers (vs. Phoenix Suns) April 9, 1970 Division Semifinals Steals 19 Los Angeles Lakers (vs. Golden State Warriors) May 4, 1977 Conference Semifinals Blocks 15 Philadelphia 76ers (vs. Milwaukee Bucks) April 19, 1981 Conference Semifinals MOST BY A TEAM IN NBA FINALS GAME 7 CATEGORY TOTAL TEAM DATE Points 125 Boston Celtics (vs. St. Louis Hawks, 2OT) April 13, 1957 Field Goals 50 Boston Celtics (vs. St. Louis Hawks) April 9, 1960 Three-Point 15 Golden State Warriors (vs. Cleveland Cavaliers) June 19, 2016 Field Goals Free Throws 45 St.