Marathon Game
On this day in 1951, the Indianapolis Olympians outlasted the Rochester Royals 75-73 in six overtimes, the longest game in NBA history. The scoring by period for each team:
Olympians — 20 / 18 / 19 / 8 / 2 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 4 / 2
Royals — 10 / 23 / 20 / 12 / 2 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 4 / 0
The Royals’ Arnie Risen led all scorers with 26 points. Ralph Beard and Alex Groza shared scoring honors for the Olympians with 17 points apiece. Red Holzman, who would go on to coach the New York Knicks to the only NBA titles in franchise history, recorded a game-high seven assists for the Royals.
Only 19 personal fouls were called in the game, which works out to one every 4.1 minutes of playing time. The league average that season was one personal foul every 1.8 minutes of action.
LeBron Starts Historic Streak
On this day in 2007, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James scored 19 points in a 96-91 win over the New Jersey Nets. It started a streak of 1,125 straight regular-season games (and counting) in which James scored in double figures, the longest such streak in NBA history by 259 games:
1,125 — LeBron James (Jan. 6, 2007–present)
866 — Michael Jordan (March 25, 1986–Dec. 26, 2001)
787 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Dec. 4, 1977–Dec. 2, 1987)
575 — Karl Malone (Dec. 18, 1991–March 26, 1999)
562 — Kevin Durant (March 14, 2009–Feb. 27, 2017)
If you include the postseason, James has the third-longest double-digit scoring streak in NBA history, although he’s closing in on second place:
1,041 — Michael Jordan (March 25, 1986–Dec. 26, 2001)
675 — Karl Malone (Dec. 18, 1991–March 26, 1999)
667 — LeBron James (May 30, 2014–present)
653 — Kevin Durant (March 14, 2009–Feb. 27, 2017)
577 — Moses Malone (Nov. 4, 1978–March 4, 1985)
Wilkens Passes Red
On this day in 1995, the Atlanta Hawks’ Lenny Wilkens won his 939th game as a head coach, passing Red Auerbach for the most regular-season wins in NBA history. Wilkens finished his career with 1,332 wins, which now ranks third on the all-time list:
1,356 — Gregg Popovich
1,335 — Don Nelson
1,332 — Lenny Wilkens
1,221 — Jerry Sloan
1,210 — Pat Riley
Wilkens and Don Nelson are the only head coaches in NBA history to record at least 1,000 wins and 1,000 losses.
Wilkens is one of only five head coaches to hold the position for at least six different NBA franchises:
9 — Larry Brown
6 — Kevin Loughery
6 — Lenny Wilkens
6 — George Karl
6 — Alvin Gentry
Beal Ties Franchise Mark
On this day in 2021, the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal scored 60 points in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Beal tied the franchise single-game record for points held by Gilbert Arenas (Dec. 17, 2006).
It was Beal’s fourth career 50-point game, breaking a tie with Arenas for the most such games in franchise history. He now has five such games:
5 — Bradley Beal
3 — Gilbert Arenas
2 — Bernard King
Beal also tallied seven rebounds and five assists, shooting 20-35 from the field — including 7-10 from 3-point range — and 13-15 from the free throw line.
Pettit Gets Boards
On this day in 1959, the St. Louis Hawks’ Bob Pettit grabbed a career-high and franchise-record 35 rebounds in a 112-95 win over the Minneapolis Lakers. This was actually the second time Pettit recorded 35 rebounds in a game, the first coming on March 2, 1958.
Pettit also scored a game-high 38 points. He’s one of only five players in NBA history to record at least 35 points and 35 rebounds in a game (a total of 39 instances):
Wilt Chamberlain (35 times)
George Mikan
Bob Pettit
Walt Bellamy
Jerry Lucas