Most post season game played without reaching the finals (Horford breaks out of slump, Millsap new owner of this record)
June 6, 2022 – Horford broke his futility streak by helping the 2022 Boston Celtics reach the NBA Finals with five points and 14 rebounds in his 141st game. Before this game, Horford holds the distinction of playing the most playoffs games without reaching the finals at 140.
Boston won Game 7 win against the Miami Heat, 100-96, on May 29, 2022. Horford averaged 12.3 points and 9.3 rebounds throughout the postseason so far.
The closest the 35-year-old has come to a finals appearance were when the Hawks lost in the Eastern Conference finals in 2015, then the Celtics lost in the Eastern Conference finals in 2017 and 2018.
Paul Millsap is now the new owner of this futility record.
130 – Paul Millsap
120 – Joe Johnson and Steve Nash
110 – Terry Cummings
108 – Paul George
Players recording at least 15 points, 15 assists, 0 turnovers in a playoff game
Since the league started tracking individual turnovers during the 1977-78 season, there were only seven times a 15+ points, 15+ assists and 0 turnovers output had been recorded in a playoff game. Chris Paul owns three of them, with four others recording one each. He is also did the trick with three different teams in three different decades, making this record almost next to impossible to break.
3x – Chris Paul:
(1) 24 points, 15 assists, 0 turnovers; New Orleans Hornets v Dallas Mavericks, Game 5 2008 West First Round. [Paul added 11 rebounds and 2 steals to his numbers. This is the second triple-double in NBA Playoffs history while putting up 15+ points, 15+ assists and 0 turnovers. The Hornets win 99-94 to close out the series, 4-1.]
(2) 21 points, 16 assists, 0 turnovers; Los Angeles Clippers, Game 3 2014 West Conference Semis. [Paul also had 3 steals in the game. OKC Thunder won the contest and went on to take out the Clippers 4-2 after six games.]
(3) 17 points, 15 assist outing with zero turnovers; Phoenix Suns v Denver Nuggets Game 2 Western Conference semifinals [The Suns routed the Nuggets and went on to advance by a sweep.]
1 each:
Magic Johnson: 21 points, 17 assists, 0 turnovers; Los Angeles Lakers v Golden State Warriors Game 1 1991 Western Conference Semifinals. [Johnson also had 10 rebounds and three steals to be the first to record a triple double among those in this list. The Lakers finish off the Run TMC-led squad 4-1.]
Jason Kidd: 19 points, 16 assists, and zero turnovers. Phoenix Suns v Sacramento Kings Game 3 2001 best-of-five Western Conference first-round. [Kidd added 4 rebounds and 3 steals to his effort but the Kings went on to win the game as well as the series, 3-1.]
Norm Nixon: 21 points, 19 assists and zero turnovers. LA Lakers v Seattle Supersonics Game 4 of the 1979 Western Conference Semifinals. [The Lakers lost to the eventual NBA champion in this game as well as the series, 4-1.]
Johnny Moore: 24 points, 17 assists and zero turnovers. San Antonio Spurs v Denver Nuggets. Game 1 1983 Western Conference Semifinals, [Moore is one of the few who almost recorded a quadruple double, tallying 26 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists, and 9 steals on January 8, 1985. The Spurs won the game and would go on to win the series 4-1.]
Opposing players scoring 40+ points in Game 7
Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo unintentionally added their names to a list of NBA playoff greats when they carried the scoring for their respective teams in one of the most entertaining Game 7s in playoff history, a game where every possession could seemingly decide the outcome of the game.
Durant and Antetokounmpo became only the third pair of rivals to ever score 40 or more in a Game 7 playoff game. Antetokounmpo now has a chance to join a pair of Celtic greats who won and went on to become part of a champion team. As of press time, Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 1 of the Eastern Finals to a streaking Atlanta Hawks. Here are the pairs how have done this feat:
1. 40 – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks and 48 – Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets, 2021 Eastern Semis. [Bucks won on the road, 115 -111 in overtime]
2. 41 – Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics and 45 – LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers, 2008 Eastern Semis. [Celtics won at home 97 – 92 and proceeded to win the championship over LA Lakers]
3. 47 – Sam Jones, Boston Celtics and Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals, 43, 1963 Eastern Division Finals [Celtics won at home, 142 – 131 and proceeded to win championship over LA Lakers]
By: ARMANDO BOLISLIS
