Today's Date in NBA History

(Boulder-CO) Today's date is April 15th, and on this day:

'65- John Havlicek’s steal might be the most famous play in NBA history. It came with five seconds left and the Boston Celtics clinging to a precarious 110-109 lead over the 76ers in Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals. As Philadelphia’s Hal Greer got set to inbound the ball from the baseline under his own basket, Havlicek peeked over his shoulder. Anticipating a lob pass, Havlicek tipped the ball to teammate Sam Jones, who dribbled out the clock as the fans at Boston Garden—and Celtics broadcaster Johnny Most—went into a frenzy. “Havlicek stole the ball! It’s all over! It’s all over!” bellowed Most as the Celtics won en route to their seventh of eight consecutive NBA titles.

'80- A Playoff record crowd of 40,172 turned out at the Kingdome in Seattle only to see the Sonics lose to Milwaukee 108-97 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals. The attendance record would last eight years, before being surpassed by Detroit at the Pontiac Silverdome on June 16, 1988, when 41,732 fans turned out to watch the Pistons defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 104-94 in Game 5 of the Finals.

'84- John Lucas of San Antonio handed out 14 assists in the second quarter, an NBA record for one period, as the Spurs defeated Denver 157-154. Lucas finished with 24 assists for the game.

'89- Phoenix retired the #44 jersey of Paul Westphal, who averaged 20.6 ppg in six seasons with the Suns. He was named the team’s head coach for the 1992-93 season, leading them into the NBA Finals against Chicago.

'91- By dropping a 112-94 decision to Minnesota at the Target Center, the Sacramento Kings set an NBA record for most consecutive road losses with 35. Losses at Utah and Portland extended the streak to 37 at the conclusion of the 1990-91 season, and the Kings lost six more road games at the start of the 1991-92, season, before the streak ended at 43 games.

'91- Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers handed out 19 assists in a 112-106 win over Dallas at the Great Western Forum, allowing him to move into the top spot on the NBA’s all-time assist list--ahead of Oscar Robertson--with 9,898. John Stockton of Utah eventually surpassed both men to become the NBA’s all-time assists leader.

'92- Atlanta’s Maurice Cheeks collected four steals in the Hawks’ 95-94 win over New York at the Omni, and those four thefts moved him past Julius Erving as the all-time leader (ABA/NBA combined) in steals with 2,274. John Stockton of the Utah Jazz eventually surpassed Cheeks to become the NBA’s all-time steals leader.

'95- Miami’s Glen Rice made 20-of-27 field goal attempts, including seven three-pointers, and finished the game with a franchise-record 56 points, leading the Heat to a 123-117 home win over Orlando.

'95- Tom Chambers of Utah scored 15 points in the Jazz’ 105-83 victory over the visiting LA Clippers, becoming the 20th player in NBA history to surpass 20,000 career points. With teammate Karl Malone having reached the 20,000-point plateau against Cleveland on January 20, 1995, Utah became the first team in NBA history to have two players reach 20,000 career points during the same season.

'01- Eddie Gill of the New Jersey Nets scored the eight millionth point in NBA history when he converted a layup with 10:37 remaining in a 95-88 loss to Boston at the FleetCenter.

'01- Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz played his 1,271st career game, all in a Jazz uniform, to pass John Havlicek and move into second place for the most games played with one team. Malone trailed only teammate John Stockton, who passed Havlicek’s long-standing record earlier in the 2000-01 season.

Enjoy your day!