NBA Finals: History Liked San Antonio’s Game 6 Chances; Not So Much Game 7
By Phil Watson
Wes Unseld was the Finals MVP the last time a road team won Game 7. (Wikimedia Commons photo)
Going into Game 6 of the NBA Finals, history said the chances for the San Antonio Spurs claiming their fifth title were good—in the 2-3-2 era (since 1985), seven of the 10 teams that had won Game 5 of the Finals when the series was tied 2-2 had gone on to win the championship.
But after the Spurs couldn’t close the deal despite a five-point lead in the final 30 seconds of Game 6 on Tuesday, June 18, history hates their chances of capturing their first title since 2007.
There have been 17 Game 7s in NBA Finals history. The road team has won just three of those and all of them happened within a 10-year span at a time when the talent levels in professional basketball might have been more watered down than at any point in history.
From 1967-76, the American Basketball Association was in operation, spreading the talent distribution. During that same period, the NBA expanded from 10 teams in 1966-67 to 17 by 1974-75. This also came at a time when international players were all but non-existent in professional basketball in the U.S.
The first Game 7 in NBA Finals history was played in 1951 and on April 21, the host Rochester Royals dropped the New York Knicks 79-75.
Home teams won the first eight Game 7s in the NBA Finals. The first road team to win a Game 7 was in 1969, when the Boston Celtics won the last of their 11 championships with Bill Russell in the middle. The Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers at the Great Western Forum 108-106 behind 26 points by John Havlicek, offsetting a 42-point explosion from Jerry West, the only player from a losing side ever named Finals MVP. Dude averaged 37.9 points and 7.4 assists in the Finals, so it’s hardly his fault the Lakers couldn’t get it done.
Here’s the fourth quarter of Game 7 in 1969, when the Celtics squandered a 15-point lead heading into the period and had to hang on for the two-point victory.
The next road team to win a Game 7 was also the Celtics, this time in 1974 when they beat the Milwaukee Bucks at the MECCA Arena 102-87. Dave Cowens had 28 points and 14 rebounds in the clincher for Boston and Finals MVP Havlicek chipped in with 16 and nine, respectively.
Enjoy some more old-school highlights:
The last time a road team won Game 7 of the NBA Finals was in 1978, when the Washington Bullets beat the Seattle SuperSonics at the Seattle Center Coliseum 105-99. Six Bullets scored in double figures, led by 19 points each by Bob Dandridge and Charles Johnson while Finals MVP Wes Unseld scored 15 points. It’s worth noting that Unseld is the only Finals MVP who didn’t average double-figure scoring in the series—Unseld averaged nine points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game against Seattle in the 1978 Finals.
Here’s some highlights from 1978 Game 7, because who can get enough of short shorts, big hair and Dick Motta’s leisure suit?
Home teams are currently on a five-game winning streak in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
The last Game 7 in the Finals was three years ago, when the Lakers beat the Celtics 83-79 to win the title. The only other NBA Finals Game 7 of the 21st century was in 2005, when the Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons 81-74.
Two Game 7s have gone to overtime, both won by home teams. In 1957, the Celtics beat the St. Louis Hawks 125-123 in double overtime and in 1962, the Celtics needed one OT to down the Lakers 110-107.
The most lopsided Game 7 in NBA Finals history was played in 1960, when the Celtics drubbed the Hawks, who were still playing in St. Louis in those days, 122-103.