Who Beat the '85-'86 Celtics at the Garden?

It's a well known fact that the '85-'86 Celtics own the record for the best home record in a single NBA season going 40-1 at the Boston Garden en route to an NBA Finals win over the Houston Rockets. So who beat the Celtics on their home floor? That would be the Portland Trail Blazers on December 6th, 1985 by a score of 121-103. So who were these guys? Let's take a look at the eleven Blazers who saw the floor that night:

Jim Paxson - Paxson made two all star teams in his career and actually finished his career in Boston where he played his final 2 1/2 seasons. The 6'6" swingman averaged 14.3 points per game in his career and had 16 points and 5 rebounds in this one.

Photo Credit: http://www.iamatrailblazersfan.com

Clyde Drexler - This would be the first of ten All-Star seasons for "Clyde The Glide". An original Dream Teamer, Drexler was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004 after scoring 22195 points in 16 NBA seasons. Drexler had 19 points, 6 assists and 5 steals in the game.

Photo Credit: http://hoopshabit.com/2013/04/05/top-10-portland-trail-blazers-of-all-time/

Mychal Thompson - Drafted #1 overall by the Blazers in 1978, Thompson was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1978, but was never an All-Star. Thompson joined the Lakers in 1987 at the Trade Deadline to back up Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and play kryptonite to Kevin McHale. As a Laker, Thompson won two NBA Championships. Thompson had 13 points and 6 rebounds in the game.

Photo Credit: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/409162-nba-draft-ranking-the-number-one-picks/page/20

Sam Bowie - Bowie is most famous as being the player the Trail Blazers selected 2nd in the 1984 NBA Draft when they could've had Michael Jordan who went third. The 7'1" Center had his number 31 retired by the University of Kentucky, but he averaged just 10.9 points and 7.5 rebounds in his career. That other guy Jordan won six NBA Championships. Whoops. Bowie had 18 points, a game-high 13 rebounds, 5 assists and blocked three shots.

Photo Credit: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/12/sports/la-sp-sn-sam-bowie-1984-nba-draft-20121212

Darnell Valentine - Portland's starting Point Guard would get traded to the Clippers later during the '85-'86 season. His best all-around season was the previous one where he averaged 11.6 points and 7 assists while shooting a career best 47.3% from the field. Valentine scored just 2 points in the game, but had 7 assists.

Photo Credit: http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/11/trail_blazers_top_40_no_33_dar.html

Steve Colter - Colter was the starting Point Guard for Portland by the end of the '85-'86 season, but was in a Bulls uniform before the next season started. This would be Colter's best season as he averaged 8.7 points, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals. Colter had a monster game off the bench scoring 22 points (12 of them at the free throw line) and dishing out 5 assists while turning the ball over just once in 27 minutes.

Photo Credit: http://www.iamatrailblazersfan.com/MessageBoardRoot/tabid/158/aff/488/aft/3781/afv/topic/Default.aspx

Jerome Kersey - A second round pick in 1984 (46th overall), Kersey was an overachiever sticking around for 17 seasons, and finally winning a ring in 1999 with San Antonio. Primarily a reserve during the '85-'86 campaign, Kersey averaged 8.5 points and 3.7 rebounds. His best season came two years later when he averaged 19.2 points and 8.3 rebounds. Like Colton, Kersey had a monster game off the bench hitting 11 of 15 field goals and finishing with 22 points. He added four rebounds and five steals in just 22 minutes.

Photo Credit: http://kicksoncards.tumblr.com/post/239427983/jerome-kersey-nike-big-nike

Caldwell Jones - One of the legendary Jones brothers, all four of whom starred at Albany State and in the NBA, Caldwell Jones was an ABA All-Star in 1975 and was a 2-time NBA All-Defensive First Team member. Standing 6'11", Jones tallied over 10000 points and 10000 rebounds between the ABA and the NBA. Jones came up with 7 points and grabbed 3 rebounds off the bench.

Photo Credit: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/914567-50-greatest-second-round-nba-draft-picks-of-all-time/page/3

Kenny Carr - A member of the 1976 Gold Medal winning U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team, Carr was drafted sixth overall in 1977. The 6'7" Power Forward averaged 11.6 points and 7.4 rebounds a game in his career, but had just 2 points and 2 rebounds in 9 minutes in this game.

Photo Credit: http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/10/trail_blazers_top_40_no_36_ken.html

Terry Porter - Porter was a two-time All Star for the Trail Blazers and averaged at least 17 points a game for 5 straight seasons at his peak. As a rookie during the '85-'86 season, Porter primarily came off the bench and averaged 7.1 points and 2.5 assists. Now an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Porter missed all three of his shots in this game and turned the ball over three times in nine minutes. He did have two rebounds and two assists.

Photo Credit: http://apacktobenamedlater.blogspot.com/2010/10/2010-upper-deck-basketball-greats-of.html

Ken Johnson - This would be the only season of Johnson's career. He appeared in 64 games off the bench averaging 4.1 points and 3.8 rebounds. The 6'8" Power Forward from Michigan State saw just two minutes of action in this one and did not otherwise figure into the box score.

Photo Credit: http://isportsweb.com/2012/05/17/michigan-state-basketball-all-time-10-best-power-forwards/

Remembering the 1995-96 Bulls

As it becomes more evident that yet another NBA season is going to go by where the Chicago Bulls record of 72 regular season wins won't be matched, I figured we'd take a moment to look back at that team and see who actually beat them.

Loss #1 - Game 6 - Orlando Magic 94 Chicago Bulls 88

Photo Credit: http://hoops-nation.com/community/topic/

Even without the injured Shaquille O'Neal, the defending Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic were a force to be reckoned with. While starting center Jon Koncak (career average of 4.5 points per game) didn't make anyone forget about Shaq, Penny Hardaway scored 36 points and the Magic overcame 24 turnovers to defeat the Bulls in Orlando 94-88. The Bulls shot just 39% from the field and missed nine of nineteen free throws in a losing effort. Despite the absence of Dennis Rodman, the Bulls won the rebounding battle 44-38 and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, but ultimately their poor shooting doomed them, particularly in the third quarter when they scored just 14 points. Michael Jordan led the Bulls with 23 points, Scottie Pippen added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Toni Kukoc scored 16 off the bench. The Bulls would face the Magic three more times during the regular season and again in the Eastern Conference Finals winning all seven match-ups.

Loss #2 - Game 12 - Seattle Supersonics 97 Chicago Bulls 92

Photo Credit: http://www.hoopglobal.com/2013/09/top-10-alley-oops-gary-payton-to-shawn-kemp/

In a Preview of the 1996 NBA Finals, the Bulls took a 64-51 lead into the intermission, but mustered just 28 points in the second half, falling on the road to the Supersonics 97-92. Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp combined to score 51 points on 20 of 29 shooting and Seattle as a team shot 56% from the floor. Michael Jordan led the Bulls with 22 points but hit just 6 of 19 field goals and Scottie Pippen missed 9 of his 11 free throws. Starting center Luc Longley was one of the few bright spots for Chicago on offense as he had a season high 21 points in 28 minutes. Perhaps the toughest match-up for the '95-'96 Bulls, the Sonics would also take two games from Chicago in the NBA Finals before ultimately falling in six.