"Moses and the Doctor": A Dual Biography of the ABA Duo Who Led the 76ers to the 1983 NBA Title
Luke Epplin's Moses and the Doctor: Two Men, One Championship, and the Birth of Modern Basketball (Grand Central Publishing, 367 pages, $30) is a dual biography tracing the initially parallel but ultimately intersecting careers of two of the greatest basketball players of all-time: Julius Erving and Moses Malone each started their professional basketball careers in the ABA before joining forces to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to the 1983 NBA title in one of the most dominant championship seasons in NBA history. Epplin did not interview Malone (who passed away in 2015), but he spoke with Erving and with many players who played with and against Erving and Malone.
If you classify Erving and Malone as basketball superheroes, it must be said that their "origin stories" were very different: Erving was a New York city kid with a flashy playing style yet he was lightly recruited as a high schooler, while Malone was a kid from a small Virginia town whose playing style was brutally direct and who was one of the most highly recruited high schoolers of all-time.
It may be almost inconceivable to younger readers that a player as fantastically gifted and as spectacular to watch as Erving was so unheralded, but it is important to remember that when he finished high school he was a 6-3 "tweener" built like a guard but with the jumping ability and rebounding prowess necessary to play forward. Erving made a name for himself not only at the University of Massachusetts but also at Rucker Park and as the MVP of the U.S. Olympic Development Tour after not making the 40 man roster and only joining the team because one of the originally selected players got hurt.
Malone was heavily recruited by many colleges after his dominant high school career, and he initially committed to the University of Maryland before signing a huge (for that era) five year deal for approximately $1 million to play for the ABA's Utah Stars. Erving was the biggest star in the ABA--if not all of pro basketball--at that time: he won the 1974 ABA regular season MVP, the 1974 ABA Playoff MVP, and the 1974 ABA scoring title (27.4 ppg), while Malone spent the 1974 season as a high school senior in Petersburg, Virginia.
Erving and Malone first faced each other in the first game of Malone's rookie season as Erving's defending ABA champion New York Nets defeated Malone's Utah Stars, 105-89 on October 18, 1974.
Here is a UPI photo of Erving and Malone from that game:
Erving scored a game-high 27 points, snared 10 rebounds, dished for seven assists, and swiped a game-high five steals, while Malone had 19 points and 11 rebounds. This game was a rematch of the 1974 ABA Finals, which the Nets won 4-1. Asked after the game what he thought of Malone--the first player to jump directly from high school to pro basketball--Erving replied simply, "I believe."
In 1974-75, Erving finished second in the ABA in scoring (27.9 ppg), eighth in rebounding (10.9 rpg), seventh in assists (5.5 apg), fourth in steals (2.2 spg), fourth in blocked shots (1.9 bpg), and sixth in three point field goal percentage (.333). He won the second of his three consecutive ABA regular season MVPs (this time sharing the honor with another future teammate, George McGinnis).
Malone enjoyed a successful rookie season, averaging 18.8 ppg while ranking fourth in the ABA in rebounding (14.6 rpg), first in offensive rebounding (5.5 orpg), third in field goal percentage (.571), and 10th in blocked shots (1.5 bpg). He made the All-Star team, and he finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting behind Marvin Barnes and Bobby Jones, a fellow future Hall of Famer who was the NBA's inaugural Sixth Man of the Year in 1982-83 while teaming with Malone and Erving on Philadelphia's championship team.
In 1975-76, Erving had one of the greatest all-around seasons in pro basketball history, winning his third ABA scoring title (29.3 ppg) while ranking third in the ABA in steals (2.5 spg), fifth in rebounding (11.0 rpg), seventh in
assists (5.0 apg), and seventh in blocked shots (1.9 bpg). Erving won his third ABA regular season MVP, and he was selected to the ABA's All-Defensive Team. Michael Jordan
later received a lot of publicity--and one Defensive Player of the Year
award--after notching back to back seasons with 200-plus steals and
100-plus blocked shots, but in 1975-76 Erving tallied 207 steals and 160
blocked shots to become the first 200-100 player. Erving, Jordan,
Scottie Pippen and Hakeem Olajuwon are the only players to record at
least 200 steals and 100 blocked shots in a season since those numbers
have been officially tracked (1972-73 in the ABA, 1973-74 in the NBA);
Erving and Olajuwon are the only players who have had both a 200-100
season and a 100-200 season (Erving had 190 steals and 204 blocked shots
in 1973-74, narrowly missing becoming the only member of the 200-200
club).
Erving was even more dominant during the 1976 playoffs, leading the ABA in
playoff scoring (34.7 ppg) for the fourth time in
his five year career while also ranking second in rebounding (12.6 rpg),
third in blocked shots (2.0 bpg), third in steals (1.9 spg) and sixth in
assists (4.9 apg). He shot .533 from the field--the best playoff field
goal percentage of his 16 season career--and .804 from the free throw
line.
Erving led the Nets to the ABA's last championship as the Nets beat the powerful Denver Nuggets in six games, and he was the easy choice for ABA Playoff MVP honors after setting ABA Finals
records for points (226) and scoring average (37.7 ppg, the fourth
highest pro basketball Finals average at that time and still sixth on
the all-time list). Michael Jordan holds the all-time Finals scoring
record (41.0 ppg in six games in 1993), followed by Rick Barry (40.8 ppg
in six games in 1967), Elgin Baylor (40.6 ppg in seven games in 1962),
Shaquille O'Neal (38.0 ppg in six games in 2000) and Jerry West (37.9
ppg in seven games in 1969). Erving shot 79-134 from the field (.590)
and 66-84 from the free throw line (.786) in the 1976 ABA Finals.
The cash-strapped Stars sold Malone to the Spirits of St. Louis early in the 1975-76 season. Malone averaged 14.3 ppg and 9.6 rpg for the Spirits of St. Louis, with various injuries limiting him to just 43 games. The team went 35-49, did not make the playoffs, and was not included in the ABA-NBA merger, although the team's owners received a settlement package that proved to be very lucrative. After the 1975-76 season, four ABA teams joined the NBA: Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets, and San Antonio Spurs. The cash-strapped Nets traded Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers in a $6 million deal, with roughly half of that money going to the Nets and the other half going to Erving as part of a six year contract.
Erving made the All-NBA First Team in 1977 and from 1980-82, and he won
the 1981 NBA regular season MVP--becoming the first non-center to earn
that honor since Oscar Robertson in 1964--but during that era a team had to have a Hall of Fame center to win the NBA title. Erving's 76ers had the NBA's best cumulative regular season record from 1976-77--1981-82, and during that six season span Erving led the team to three NBA Finals and five Eastern Conference Finals, but most of those playoff runs ended in losses to teams led by a Hall of Fame center: Bill Walton's Portland Trail Blazers (1977 NBA Finals), the Elvin Hayes/Wes Unseld Washington Bullets (1978 Eastern Conference Finals), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's L.A. Lakers (1980 NBA Finals), Robert Parish's Boston Celtics (1981 Eastern Conference Finals), and Abdul-Jabbar's Lakers (1982 NBA Finals). Parish was not the Celtics' best player, but the 7-0 center was an important part of a huge frontcourt featuring fellow Hall of Famers Larry Bird (6-9) and Kevin McHale (6-10) plus Cedric Maxwell (the 6-8 winner of the 1981 NBA Finals MVP) and Rick Robey (6-11).
While Erving was immediately a big star in the NBA, Malone's ascent took a little longer. After the ABA-NBA merger, the Portland Trail Blazers selected Malone in the ABA dispersal draft of players who were not on the rosters of the four ABA teams that joined the NBA. Portland already had Bill Walton, so the Trail Blazers sent Malone to the Buffalo Braves for a first round draft pick that later became Rick Robey. The Braves then traded Malone for two first round picks, one of which became Wesley Cox and the other of which became Michael Ray Richardson.
Malone averaged 13.2 ppg and 13.1 rpg (third in the league) in 1976-77. He did not make the All-Star Team or the All-NBA Team, but he finished sixth in MVP voting behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Pete Maravich, Bob Lanier, and Julius Erving. Erving's 76ers defeated Malone's Rockets in the Eastern Conference Finals, 4-2 (yes, Houston was in the Eastern Conference). Erving averaged a series-high 28.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and a team-high 6.0 apg while shooting .570 from the field and .800 from the free throw line (the NBA did not use the three point shot until 1979-80). Malone ranked third on the Rockets in scoring (18.0 ppg) with shooting splits of .467/.691, and he led both teams in rebounding (17.2 rpg).
The Rockets missed the playoffs in 1978, lost in the first round in 1979, and were swept by the Boston Celtics in the second round in 1980. Erving's 76ers beat the Celtics 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Rockets moved to the Western Conference for the 1980-81 season, and they reached the NBA Finals after going just 40-42 during the regular season. After the Celtics came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics defeated the Rockets 4-2 in the 1981 NBA Finals. The Rockets lost in the first round in 1982, while the 76ers beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the Lakers in the NBA Finals.
By 1982, Erving had a 12-6 playoff series record with the 76ers with three Eastern Conference titles but no NBA titles, and Malone had a 5-5 playoff series record with the Rockets with one Western Conference title but no NBA titles. Malone had won two regular season MVPs (1979, 1982) and led the league in rebounding three times.
The Rockets were disinclined to give Malone a market value contract after the 1981-82 season, so they traded him to the 76ers for Caldwell Jones plus a first round draft pick that later became Rodney McCray. Erving now had the Hall of Fame center that was a prerequisite for winning an NBA title, and Malone now had enough perimeter talent around him to avoid losing in the playoffs or even missing the playoffs altogether.
The Malone-Erving duo teamed with Hall of Fame point guard Maurice Cheeks, Hall of Fame forward Bobby Jones, and guard Andrew Toney (who had Hall of Fame level talent but had his career cut short by foot injuries) to form one of the most dominant single season teams in pro basketball history. The 76ers set a record by starting the season 50-7, and they were threatening to become the first team to win 70 regular season games before late season injuries to Malone and Erving slowed the team to a "mere" 65-17. Neither Malone nor Erving were fully healthy during the playoffs, but the 76ers still set a record by going 12-1 in the postseason, including a 4-0 NBA Finals sweep of the Lakers. The 76ers outrebounded the Lakers 192-171 in the NBA Finals, with Malone grabbing more rebounds (72, 18.0 rpg) than any other two players in the series. Erving ranked second in the series with 34 rebounds (8.5 rpg); in the 1982 NBA Finals, the Lakers outrebounded the 76ers, 284-250, with Erving leading the 76ers with 49 (8.2 rpg), which was not enough to offset the efforts of Magic Johnson (65, 10.8 rpg) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (46, 7.7 rpg).
It is tantalizing to wonder what might have been if Erving and Malone had teamed up earlier and stayed together longer; they were only teammates for four seasons. The duo posted a 5-2 playoff series record, including wins in the 1983 Eastern Conference Finals and 1983 NBA Finals. Their 1984 title defense ended in a shocking first round loss to the New Jersey Nets, and then in 1985 they stormed through the first two rounds of the playoffs with a 7-1 record to reach the Eastern Conference Finals before losing 4-1 to the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics. In 1986, the 76ers finished third in the Eastern Conference standings, but their championship hopes were dashed after Malone suffered a right orbital blowout fracture that prevented him from participating in the playoffs; the 76ers beat the Bullets 3-2 in the first round before falling to the Milwaukee Bucks 4-3 in the second round. While it does not seem likely that the 76ers would have won the championship even if Malone had played in the 1986 playoffs, they would almost certainly have defeated the Bucks and at least had an opportunity to battle the dominant Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After the 1985-86 season, the 76ers traded Malone, Terry Catledge, and two draft picks to the Bullets for Jeff Ruland and Cliff Robinson, a deal that turned out disastrously for the 76ers when injuries forced Ruland to retire after playing just five games with the 76ers (he made a brief comeback to the NBA for the 1992 and 1993 seasons). Malone made the All-Star team in each of the first three seasons after the trade.
Erving played one season after the Malone trade before retiring. The 76ers had the NBA's best cumulative regular season record during the
first 10 seasons after Erving joined the team before falling to second
place behind the L.A. Lakers after Erving's 11th (and final) NBA
campaign.
Malone played one season for the 76ers as a backup center (1993-94) before retiring after the 1994-95 season. His playoff series record after being traded to the Bullets was 0-4, and his career playoff series record was 10-12. Erving's career playoff series record was 24-13, including 18-10 with the 76ers.
When two superstars play together, egos often get in the way, but that did not happen with Erving and Malone. After Malone joined the 76ers, he publicly declared, "This is Doc's team. I'm just here to help." Malone was the more dominant player by that stage of their careers, and he won the regular season MVP and the NBA Finals MVP in 1983--but the 33 year old Erving was no slouch: he finished fifth in regular season MVP voting, and he joined Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Sidney Moncrief on the All-NBA First Team. Erving was the oldest player on the All-NBA First Team by five years, and the only player on the All-NBA Second Team who was older than Erving was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was 36.
Epplin notes that Malone's willingness and eagerness to embrace not just Erving but all of his teammates is exemplified by the fact that Malone refused the 76ers' offer to retire his
jersey until the team agreed to put the names of every one of his 76ers'
teammates--not just his teammates from the 1983 championship team--on
the banner honoring him. Erving and Malone were the team's superstars,
but they won as a team, and Erving and Malone were two of the most
team-first superstars ever. It is impossible to imagine either of them demanding
to be given "respect" on a personal level to detract from a
team-first approach the way that Lebron James did after the L.A. Lakers
won the 2020 "bubble" title.
I wrote about Malone's jersey retirement:
For a variety of reasons that fall outside the scope of this article, it
is difficult to determine which basketball team is the greatest team
ever but Philadelphia's 1983 championship team takes a back seat to no single season squad in pro basketball history; that does not mean that they are definitely the best, but it means you cannot point to a single team that is clearly better.
Malone was the dominant force on that dominant team, along with the
incomparable Erving, and it is fitting that the 76ers honored not only
Malone's greatness but that they did so in keeping with his wish to
recognize all of his teammates as well.
Epplin concludes that the impact that Erving, Malone, and the ABA had on pro basketball history was as great as it was underrated:
The open-floor game and in-air improvisations that had struck basketball fundamentalists as heretical soon became as commonplace as bounce passes. Even so, as of this writing, the NBA has yet to incorporate ABA statistics into its record books. As a result, the ABA remains stuck in a liminal state, remembered more as a colorful curiosity than as a cradle for so much of what has elevated pro basketball into a worldwide phenomenon.
Yet the popular narrative about Johnson and Bird resuscitating a faltering league is incomplete without mention of the ABA and two of its signature players who merged their divergent talents in the NBA to disrupt the decade-long dominance of the Lakers and the Celtics on a team as bold as its boast of sweeping the playoffs. The legacy of the ABA lives on through the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers, a testament to the beauty and the guts of a league that made the game modern.
I have spent more than 25 years insisting that the NBA should officially count ABA statistics, and I hope that Epplin's book brings renewed attention to the shameful way that the NBA minimizes ABA history, ABA statistics, and the greatness of ABA players.
Labels: Andrew Toney, Billy Cunningham, Bobby Jones, Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A. Lakers, Magic Johnson, Maurice Cheeks, Moses Malone, Pat Williams, Philadelphia 76ers
posted by David Friedman @ 9:58 PM
Anunoby Game-Winning Tip-In Caps Largest Comeback in NBA Finals History as Knicks Take 3-1 Lead Over Spurs
Depending on your perspective, game four of the NBA Finals either featured the greatest comeback or the greatest collapse in NBA Finals history; the San Antonio Spurs led the New York Knicks 81-52 with 9:40 remaining in the third quarter, but OG Anunoby's tip-in of Jalen Brunson's missed three pointer with 1.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winning shot as the Knicks prevailed 107-106 to take a 3-1 series lead. The Knicks accomplished the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, and the largest halftime comeback in NBA playoff history. This series has repeatedly featured wild momentum swings--with double digit leads repeatedly being built and squandered by both teams--but at the end the games have consistently been close, and this is just the second NBA Finals with multiple games decided by just
one point, with the first being the 1975 Finals when Rick Barry's Golden State Warriors swept the Washington Bullets.
Brunson scored a game-high 36 points on 12-25 field goal shooting while dishing for a game-high tying seven assists, grabbing five rebounds, and swiping a team-high three steals in a game-high 44 minutes. Anunoby had 33 points on 10-15 field goal shooting, including 7-9 from three point range. His blocked shot on De'Aaron Fox' layup attempt with 11.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter gave the Knicks the opportunity to take the lead and win the game. Karl-Anthony Towns was the Knicks' only other double figure scorer with 13 points plus a team-high 10 rebounds and a game-high +17 plus/minus numbe. Special mention must be made of reserve guard Jose Alvarado, the Knicks' fourth leading scorer with eight points on 3-4 field goal shooting in 16 minutes. Alvarado tied Brunson and Josh Hart (six points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals) for the team's second best plus/minus number (+11). Alvarado scored all of his points in the fourth quarter when he took the place of the ineffective Mikal Bridges, shooting 3-3 from the field while leading the team with three assists. In the fourth quarter, Brunson (nine points), Anunoby (eight points), and Alvarado (eight points) combined to outscore the Spurs by themselves.
Victor Wembanyama scored a team-high 24 points and corralled a game-high 13 rebounds, but he shot just 9-25 from the field, including 2-8 from three point range. As the Spurs collapsed in the second half, Wembanyama had just eight points on 3-14 field goal shooting. Dylan Harper contributed 21 points off of the bench with a team-high +12 plus/minus number. Fox added 18 points on 6-16 field goal shooting while passing for a game-high tying seven assists. Stephon Castle had 13 points, five rebounds, and five assists, but he shot just 2-7 from the field.
Saying that a game was a "tale of two halves" is an old cliche, but that is a precise description of this game.
The first half tale saw the Spurs leading 76-49 after shooting 28-47 (.595) from the field and committing just two turnovers while holding the Knicks to 15-37 (.405) field goal
shooting with seven turnovers. The Spurs shot 14-26 (.538) from beyond
the arc while setting NBA Finals records for most three pointers in a
half and biggest halftime lead by a visiting team (which was also the third biggest
halftime lead by any NBA Finals team). Four Spurs scored at least 13 first half points: Victor Wembanyama (16), Dylan Harper
(15), Devin Vassell (15), and De'Aaron Fox (13). Brunson led the Knicks with 19 points
and Anunoby added 14 points, but the other three New York starters had
just 14 points while seven New York reserves combined to score two
points.
The second half tale was even more improbable than the Spurs' first half dominance, as the Knicks outscored the Spurs 58-30 while shooting 21-41 (.512) from the field and limiting the Spurs to 8-39 (.205 field goal shooting). The Spurs shot 3-17 (.176) from beyond the arc in perhaps the ultimate example of why high volume three point shooting is a high variance style of play; although "stat gurus" praise high volume three point shooting as the paragon of supposedly efficient offensive play, the reality is that teams that rely too heavily on three point shooting make themselves susceptible to long scoring droughts, particularly in the playoffs against tough-minded defensive teams. Charles Barkley of ABC/ESPN called the Spurs' second half three point barrage some of the dumbest basketball that he has seen in the 40-plus years that he has been involved with the NBA. Barkley is prone to hyperbole, but considering what was at stake and the fact that the Spurs have a 7-4 player who is supposed to be the future of the league, it is not extreme to suggest that the Spurs should have at least considered the option of slowing down, feeding the ball to Wembanyama in the paint (or at least inside the three point arc), and forcing the Knicks to guard him possession after possession. It cannot be emphasized enough that when the Spurs built their huge first half lead they outscored the Knicks in the paint 24-18, which indicates that the Spurs attacked the paint and then created rhythm three point shots by collapsing the defense. This is in marked contrast to the second half, when the Knicks outscored the Spurs in the paint 16-4.
This game provides a great example of why teams should not get frustrated by officiating or stop playing hard even when everything seems to be falling apart. Towns, who is often prone to collect fouls at an alarming rate, had two fouls in the first 1:02 of the game, resulting in him missing most of the first quarter. His second foul was initially whistled against Wembanyama, but then after a coach's challenge it was determined that Towns had committed an offensive foul on his drive to the hoop by hooking Wembanyama. The Spurs were already up 5-2 when Towns was replaced by Mitchell Robinson, and then the Spurs went on a 7-0 run to take a 12-2 lead. The Spurs were up by as much as 21 points in the first quarter, and were on top 41-22 entering the second quarter.
New York coach Mike Brown shuffled 12 players into the game in the first half as the Knicks dealt with foul trouble and struggled to find a five man unit that could be effective at either end of the court, but the Spurs still won the second quarter, 35-27.
It was not immediately apparent in the third quarter how drastically this game would shift. Nearly four minutes into the quarter, the Spurs were still up 81-59. The Spurs' lead fluctuated between 16 and 20 points for most of the third quarter before Brunson's feed to Robinson for a dunk cut the margin to 87-72 at the 2:43 mark. Vassell answered with a three pointer to nudge the lead back up to 18, but Anunoby closed the third quarter scoring with a trey to trim the deficit to 90-75 entering the final stanza. Coming back from 29 points down in the NBA Finals sounds impossible, but erasing a 15 point lead in the fourth quarter is quite doable, particularly considering that the Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first game of the second round after trailing by 22 points with 7:52 left in the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Spurs nearly pulled off a collective "Harden" (referring to when a player--usually Harden--has more turnovers than field goals made), shooting 4-19 (.211) from the field while committing four turnovers. The Spurs still led 104-97 with 3:31 to go after Wembanyama made a jump shot, but the Knicks went on an 8-0 run in the next 2:09 to take their first lead of the game on a Brunson floater. Castle's two free throws put the Spurs up 106-105 with 30.3 seconds remaining, and it still seemed possible that the Knicks' huge comeback would be for naught. Brunson missed a floater in the lane with 16.1 seconds remaining, and Fox pushed the ball up the court after snaring the rebound. Fox could have held on to the ball to run the clock down and force the Knicks to foul him, but instead he attempted a layup with 11.1 seconds remaining. He later explained that his idea was to put the Spurs up by three points so that the Knicks would need a three pointer just to tie the game. Anunoby's chase down block gave the Knicks one last chance. Alvarado advanced the ball past midcourt before the Knicks called timeout. After the timeout, Anunoby inbounded the ball to Brunson and cut hard to the hoop. Brunson's three point shot looked good but was just off, and then Anunoby made the tip-in that will be replayed for decades (particularly if the Knicks win the championship). The Spurs called time out to advance the ball but were not even able to get off a shot in the final 1.2 seconds.
After steamrolling the Knicks 41-22 in the first quarter, the Spurs got trampled 32-16 in the fourth quarter. The NBA is often a first quarter league--a point that I have repeatedly made, and that ABC/ESPN play by play announcer Mike Breen mentioned early in the third quarter--but in this game the fourth quarter proved to be decisive.
Casual fans may not understand how long an NBA game is, or how long a playoff series is. This comeback was unprecedented, but in general a 48 minute game provides plenty of time for a comeback, and an NBA best out of seven series is far different from a 40 minute NCAA tournament game in which the better team can go cold for five or 10 minutes and be eliminated by an inferior team. In the 2026 NBA Finals, the Spurs have had big runs, often seemed to have the much-talked about "momentum," and enjoyed a lead in the final two minutes of all four games, but now they trail 3-1 and face a daunting task to defeat a resilient Knicks team that never loses faith and never quits. The Spurs have the most talented player in the series, but they have not figured out how to consistently exploit Wembanyama's height, reach, agility, and shooting touch; meanwhile, in game four the Knicks did a masterful job of utilizing matchups and switches to drag Wembanyama out of the paint on defense to clear driving lanes for scores in the paint and for kick out passes for open three pointers.
Labels: Dylan Harper, Jalen Brunson, Jose Alvarado, Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks, OG Anunoby, San Antonio Spurs, Stephon Castle, Victor Wembanyama
posted by David Friedman @ 3:22 AM
Put Away the Brooms, New York: Spurs Win Game Three, End the Knicks' Sweep Dreams
For the third straight game, the San Antonio Spurs took a double digit first quarter lead versus the New York Knicks, but this time the Spurs did not collapse in the fourth quarter's final moments and they posted a 115-111 win to cut the Knicks' NBA Finals lead to 2-1. The Knicks--whose 13 game playoff winning streak ended--dreamed of sweeping their way to their first NBA title since 1973, but now the Spurs are one win away from reclaiming homecourt advantage.
The Knicks outrebounded the Spurs 46-37, but the Spurs countered by committing just eight turnovers while the Knicks had 13 turnovers. The Knicks only had two more fouls than the Spurs (23-21) but the timing of fouls is important: the Spurs got into the bonus early enough to earn 32 free throw attempts compared to 22 free throw attempts for the Knicks, and the Spurs made 25 free throws while the Knicks made 18 free throws.
In his postgame remarks, New York coach Mike Brown emphasized that the Spurs "played great" and that he does not often complain about officiating, but he pointed out that in the second half the Spurs attempted 24 free throws while the Knicks attempted eight free throws. Calling out officiating and free throw disparities is a time-honored NBA coaching tradition, particularly during the playoffs, but suffice it to say that the Knicks would be better served figuring out how to not fall behind early in each game, before foul trouble or free throws are relevant. However, I don't blame Brown for complaining; every coach does it not only because they think that it works but because it also generates an "us against them" mentality in the locker room by taking the focus off of what the players could have done better.
My main issue with the game three officiating echoes an observation made by ABC/ESPN commentators Richard Jefferson and Tim Legler: the officials let a lot of contact go early in the game only to then call things more closely later in the game, leaving players to rightly wonder why the same stuff that they got away with in the first quarter was whistled later in the game. I have played a lot of basketball, and I believe that it is a player's obligation to adapt to how the officials decide to call the game--but once the officials set the tone then the officials should be consistent throughout the game. I don't want to make this whole recap about officiating, so I will conclude this portion of my analysis by doing something I rarely do: agree with Draymond Green, who said during ESPN's postgame show that the officials generally favor the more aggressive team, and in game three the Spurs were the aggressor from the start of the game.
Victor Wembanyama scored a game-high tying 32 points on 11-18 field goal shooting while also grabbing eight rebounds, dishing for six assists, blocking three shots, snaring two steals, and committing just one turnover. He was selective and efficient (2-4) from beyond the arc. Wembanyama is the second youngest player to have at least 30 points, at least five rebounds, and at least five assists in an NBA Finals game, trailing only Magic Johnson, who accomplished the feat in the 1980 NBA Finals as a 20 year old rookie en route to leading the L.A. Lakers to the NBA title while winning the NBA Finals MVP. Stephon Castle added 23 points on 8-14 field goal shooting along with five rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Dylan Harper shot just 5-18 from the field, but he made a significant impact off of the bench with 13 points, a game-high tying nine rebounds, four assists, and no turnovers in 32 minutes. De'Aaron Fox had 12 points on 4-14 field goal shooting, but he made his impact felt with a game-high eight assists and two blocked shots. Julian Champagnie (12 points, three assists) and Devin Vassell (11 points, four rebounds) made solid contributions.
Jalen Brunson had a game-high tying 32 points on 11-25 field goal shooting with five rebounds, five assists, and a game-high five turnovers. OG Anunoby scored 28 points while shooting 9-13 from the field, and he had five rebounds and two blocked shots. Josh Hart had another excellent all-around game: 16 points, game-high tying nine rebounds, five assists. Karl-Anthony Towns--the best player in the series through the first two games--had 11 points, eight rebounds, and just one assist. During much of the Knicks' winning streak, they ran their offense through Towns as a distributor who also contributed timely baskets. In this game he only had 10 field goal attempts, so he was not involved enough in the offense as either a scorer or a playmaker. Jordan Clarkson provided a spark with 10 points in 13 minutes off of the bench, but that type of contribution is only noticed during a win and tends to be overlooked in a loss.
Although both teams made runs throughout the game, the Spurs set the overall tone early, reinforcing an important point: the NBA is often called a fourth quarter league, but it is really a first quarter league because in the first quarter the winning team can identify and exploit matchup advantages that will work throughout the game. Wembanyama had nine points on 4-4 field goal shooting in the first five minutes of the game, and he did all of that work in close proximity to the hoop. Yes, he can make three pointers, but he is most effective when he attacks the hoop as his first option. Defensively, the Spurs positioned Wembanyama so that he spent most of his time protecting the paint, with a secondary responsibility of closing out to shooters on the baseline, instead of assigning him to chase Towns around the perimeter. The Spurs led by as much as 12 in the first quarter, and they were ahead 33-22 heading into the second quarter.
The Knicks set a franchise NBA Finals record by pouring in 42 points in the second quarter, with Anunoby (11 points) and Brunson (10 points) doing much of the damage. Brunson's three pointer at the 4:18 mark gave the Knicks their first lead of the game, 50-49. Castle had 11 of the Spurs' 24 second quarter points. The Knicks led 64-57 at halftime, and noted prognosticator Charles Barkley declared during the halftime show that the game was over, joking with Shaquille O'Neal that he would bet his house that the Knicks would win.
The Knicks started the third quarter sloppily with turnovers on their first two possessions leading to six straight San Antonio points on a Champagnie drive, a Champagnie three pointer, and a Champagnie free throw after Brunson was called for a flagrant foul for a reckless close out on Champagnie's trey. The Spurs took their first lead of the second half, 72-71, on a Vassell three pointer with 7:26 left in the third quarter. The rest of the third quarter was closely contested, with the Spurs on top 92-91 heading into the final stanza.
Considering how the previous two games ended, the Knicks must have felt ecstatic about the prospect of yet another game going down to the wire. The Spurs did not lead by more than eight points during the fourth quarter, but they never let the Knicks tie the score; the Knicks had a chance to all but clinch the championship by winning the fourth quarter to win game three, but instead they scored 20 fourth quarter points on 7-27 (.259) field goal shooting. The Spurs shot almost as poorly (6-21, .286) from the field, but they shot 10-10 from the free throw line. Every play that seemed to give the Knicks momentum only served to keep the game close without pushing the Knicks over the top. For example, Wembanyama hit a three pointer to give the Spurs a 103-93 lead and the officials called a foul on Mitchell Robinson to create a four point play opportunity--but the Knicks challenged the call, and the officials correctly ruled that Keldon Johnson had pushed Robinson into Wembanyama, thus wiping out not only Wembanyama's potential free throw attempt but also his three point shot. After Brunson's driving layup cut the Spurs' advantage to 100-95, it looked like the Knicks were in position for another late game rally. The Knicks got as close as 113-111 on Anunoby's three pointer with 9.4 seconds remaining, but Castle calmly answered with two free throws to keep the game out of reach. Brunson led both teams with 12 fourth quarter points on 4-7 field goal shooting, but the Spurs had built just enough of a cushion that his late game heroics did not save the Knicks.
The game to game overreactions by pundits are amusing; perhaps the overheated rhetoric generates clicks or views or ratings, but the reality is that each game in a playoff series has a distinct character and in the long run the team that best exploits matchup advantages will prevail four times. Even though the Knicks won the first two games on the road, it is not like they dominated the Spurs from start to finish; the Knicks overcame a 14 point deficit to win game one, and they won game two after squandering a 14 point lead.
It should be obvious that these teams are closely matched and that each team has the ability to win on the road. The Spurs have the most talented player (Wembanyama) plus a fleet of young and athletic perimeter players who are harassing Brunson into a low field goal percentage much like they harassed two-time regular season MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into a low field goal percentage in the Western Conference Finals. The Knicks have more playoff experience, a versatile big man (Towns) who is capable of challenging Wembanyama at both ends of the court, and a crafty lead guard (Brunson) who rises to the occasion in close games.
Instead of reasoned analysis of matchup advantages, offensive sets, and defensive schemes, we will now spend the next two days hearing about how the Knicks are in trouble, are lucky that they are not down 3-0, and are being outcoached, outhustled, and/or outdone in terms of the vaunted "in game adjustments"--and the people making those bold pronouncements will be the same ones who declared before game three that the Knicks are on the verge of sweeping the series. It is a lot easier to ride emotional waves than to analyze what is happening while it is happening.
Labels: De'Aaron Fox, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks, OG Anunoby, San Antonio Spurs, Stephon Castle, Victor Wembanyama
posted by David Friedman @ 2:56 AM
