David Robinson Scores 71; Wins NBA Scoring Title

On April 24, 1993, On the final day of the regular season for the NBA, David Robinson, "The Admiral," of the San Antonio Spurs and Shaquille O'Neal, then on the Orlando Magic, were virtually tied as scoring leaders on the season, as their respected teams ended the year on a Sunday.

With Robinson's Spurs on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers, his game would conclude just as O'Neal's would begin; fearing that O'Neal would simply aim to outscore him, Robinson's teammates did everything they could to get him the ball.



When it was all said done, Robinson scored a remarkable 71 points -- joining Wilt Chamberlain, David Thompson, and Elgin Baylor as the only players to reach the 70s -- as his Spurs won 112-97. Robinson shot 26-41 from the field, made 18-25 free throws, and even knocked down a three-point shot.

His teammates deferred to him on every possession and even fouled down the stretch just to get him more shot attempts. Shaquille O'Neal needed 68 points to win back the scoring title, but he finished with a quiet 32.

In the final total, Robinson finished with 29.8 points per game, while Shaq ended with a 29.3 average.

 Members of the Orlando Magic cried foul, particularly head coach Brian Hill, who called it a "farce that's bad for basketball." "We certainly wanted Shaquille to win the scoring title," Hill said.

"But we didn't make a mockery of the game like they did in Los Angeles -- I hear the Clippers just let David score whenever he wanted ... We played a game tonight -- it wasn't a mockery."



Spurs coach John Lucas defended the point total, as did Robinson himself. "It is a lot of work going after those points," he said. "The Clippers didn't want me to get it. They were bumping and grinding and double-teaming me. That's the hardest I've ever had to work for some points."

Maravich Nets 68 Points

On Feb. 25, 1977, “Pistol” Pete Maravich, while playing for the New Orleans Jazz, scores a career-high 68 points against the New York Knicks, giving him the eighth-highest single game score total in history to that point.

New Orleans Jazz guard Pete Maravich (right) in a game against the New York Knicks.

Maravich fouled out with a minute to play and missed the opportunity to score 70-points, a feat that only Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain had accomplished to that day. It was also the most points a guard had scored in a single game to that day.

Maravich was a good playing in the NBA, but basketball critics never thought he amounted to the player he was in college at LSU, however Maravich had a 24.2 point per game average in the NBA.

Though Maravich was known for his no-look passes and crazy shot attempts, the 68-point game was the highlight of his pro-career.

Auerbach Gets Win 1,000

On Jan. 12, 1966, legendary Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach won the 1,000^th game of this coaching career. This total counts playoff games. Auerbach is often credited with building the NBA dynasty in Boston. He won nine championships with the team. Which is the second most for a head coach all time only behind Phil Jackson who won 12 with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers.

Auerbach also emphasized the need for role players like Frank Ramsey and John Havlicek, who became one of the first legitimate sixth men in NBA history, a role later succeeded in by Don Nelson.

Auerbach's recipe proved devastating to the opposition.

From 1957 to 1966, the Celtics won nine of ten NBA championships.

This included eight consecutive championships—which is the longest championship streak in North American sports—and beat the Los Angeles Lakers of Hall-of-Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West six times in the NBA Finals. Perhaps most notably, this also included denying perennial scoring and rebounding champion Wilt Chamberlain a title during Auerbach's coaching reign.

Auerbach is remembered as a pioneer of modern basketball, redefining basketball as a game dominated by team play and defense and for introducing the fast break as a potent offensive weapon.

He groomed many players who went on to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Additionally, Auerbach was vital in breaking down color barriers in the NBA. He made history by drafting the first African-American NBA player, Chuck Cooper in 1950, and introduced the first African-American starting five in 1964.

Famous for his polarizing nature, he was well known for smoking a cigar when he thought a victory was assured, a habit that became, for many, "the ultimate symbol of victory" during his Boston tenure.

In 1967, the NBA Coach of the Year award, which he had won in 1965, was named the "Red Auerbach Trophy," and Auerbach was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969.

In 1980, he was named the greatest coach in the history of the NBA by the Professional Basketball Writers Association of America, and was NBA executive of the year in 1981.

In addition, Auerbach was voted one of the NBA 10 Greatest Coaches in history, was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and is honored with a retired number 2 jersey in the TD Garden, the home of the Boston Celtics.

Bryant, Jamison Score 50

On Dec. 6, 2000, Antawn Jamison of the Golden State Warriors and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers each score 51 points in the game. It marked only the third time in NBA history that opposing players have scored at least 50 in a game. The previous time that happened was 38 years ago when Wilt Chamberlain scored 63 points and Elgin Baylor scored 50-points as the Bucks and Lakers played.

Jamison also scored 51 points in the game prior to the one he and Bryant both scored over 50.

While Antawn Jamison has gone on to be a NBA journeyman, Kobe Bryant has lit up the record books. Currently he is ranked fourth all-time in the NBA, with 31, 617 points. Bryant joins just four other players to score over 31,000 points in the NBA as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan are above him, and Wilt Chamberlain is behind him.

With Bryant on the comeback trail right now, he could possibly pass Jordan this year to take sole possession of third place in the NBA’s All-Time scoring leader list.