Robinson Scores 71 !!!
There had been a couple of highlight games in David Robinson's
career :
* The quadruple double effort against the Detroit Pistons, on
February 17, 1994. Robinson registered 34 points, 10
rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocked shots to register just the
fourth quadruple double in NBA history. Nate Thurmond, Alvin
Robertson and Hakeem Olajuwon (Then know as Akeem)
registered the previous three.
* His 52 point outburst against the Charlotte Hornets.
* His 12 block shot game against Denver in 1990.
* A 24 rebound effort against the Portland Trail Blazers.
* Any one of his 14 career triple-double games.
But if you ask Robinson which game is the most memorable
game of his life, he would tell you it is the 71 point game he
registered on the final day of the 1994 season against the Los
Angeles Clippers.
Going into the game, David Robinson trail Shaquille O'Neal by
three points to win the scoring title. But by the end of the day, he
won the scoring title with 36 extra points.
He joins three other Hall-of-Fame players as one of only four
players to score 70 or more points in one game, the other three
players are Wilt Chamberlain (100, 78 in two occasion, 73 ,71, 70),
David Thompson (73 points on the final day of the season, but
unfortunately for him, still lost the scoring title to George Gervin
after "Iceman' scored 63 points the same evening) and Elgin Baylor
(72).
The following is a brief description by David Robinson on his
most memorable game, published in the February, 1994 issue (Vol.
23 No.4) of Basketball Digest.
By David Robinson:
" Generally, I don't get wrapped up in individual
accomplishments. Most times, my primary focus is on the team. I
just try to win games and not worry about personal goals. I don't
like getting too much hype.
One time, however, there was an opportunity to win the NBA
scoring title, and I capitalized on it - with lots of help from my
teammates, of course.
It came on the final day of the 1994 regular season. At the
time, I was locked in a close duel with Shaquille O'Neal of the
Orlando Magic for the scoring championship.
Going into out final games, he was ahead by a fraction of a
point. I needed to outscore O'Neal by four points to win the title.
San Antonio was playing on the road against the Los Angeles
Clippers while Orlando was at home against the New Jersey Nets
later that day.
Our game was meaningless for both clubs. We were in the
playoffs, and the Clippers were not. Its only significance was its
affect on the scoring race.
One thing that was special for me that day was the fact that my
brother, Charles, was at the game and sitting on our bench. He was
in the Air Force stationed at Biloxi, Mississippi, but was in Los
Angeles at the time. Charles is a very good basketball player. He
played at the Naval Academy, like I did, and practices with us
occasionally.
Our coach John Lucas, was more fired up about the game than
I was. He had said the previous day that since there was nothing
else to accomplish during the regular season, it was fair for me to
go for the scoring title.
My teammates also were rooting for me, which was a nice
position to be put in for a change. Usually, it's the opposite. Most
often, I'm concerned with what they're doing.
From the opening tip, I was hot. In fact, I scored the Spurs' first
18, accounting for all but two of our 20 first quarter points. Once my
teammates realized that I had such a hot hand, they kept looking
for me, trying to get me the ball.
The Clippers, of course, were trying hard to stop me. They
were fighting, clawing, bumping, grinding, and double- and
triple-teaming me to try and keep me from scoring. I had the
scratches and bruises to show for it. In fact, I went to the foul line
25 times that night. That's a remarkable number under any
circumstances.
In the second quarter, my production slowed considerably. I
was not in sync and scored only six points. Still, I had 24 by the
half.
My teammates were confident I was going to finish with at least
50 points. They knew I was capable of scoring as much as 35 or 40
in a half, possibly more. I had reached the half century mark easily
a few times that season and figured that if I scored 50 or 55, I
would win the title. Everyone knows that Shaq is capable of scoring
a lot of points, but I figured about 50 would be safe.
I wasn't thinking much about Shaq, though. I was just
concerned about playing my game and getting done what I had to
do.
I really got rolling in the third period and scored 19 points,
giving me 43 for the game. Even the Clippers' fans were rooting for
me despite the fact that Los Angeles had a good shot at winning
the ballgame, trailing by only four after three quarters.
The fourth quarter was really remarkable. Despite tremendous
pressure from the Clippers' defense, who knew the ball was going
into me most of the time, I scored 28 points. That gave me a total
of 71, a total that put me into some elite company. Only three other
player- Wilt Chamberlain, David Thompson, and Elgin Baylor- had
scored as many as 70 points in an NBA game.
As the game went on, the most enthusiastic person in the
arena was Lucas. John is very excitable, and he was going crazy
on the sidelines. He loved it. He was jumping all around. He told
me I wasn't coming out until I got 60. When I got to 60, he said I
wasn't coming out until I broke George Gervin's team record of 63.
When I did that, he said I wasn't coming out until I got 70.
When it was over, and we got to the locker room, Lucas said I
should have had 80. I had missed a few foul shots an some field
goal attempts. By the end, though, I was tired. I knew I had been to
work that night against a Clippers team that had fouled me hard.
After the game, which we won 112-97, I figured the scoring
race was over. I didn't think Shaq would beat me. He didn't. O'Neal
needed 68 points against the Nets to take back the scoring lead,
but finished with only 32.
I was the scoring champion for the first time in my NBA career,
an honour for which I owe much to my teammates. I couldn't have
done it without them. Their unselfishness was a very positive thing.
It was fun to be a part of such an accomplishment. That's why I
rank that as the most memorable game of my career. As I said, I
don't usually place a high priority on individual accomplishments,
but this was different. "
-As told to Bert Rosenthal
Box Score
April 24, 1994; L.A. Memorial Sports Arena
San Antonio Spurs.......20.....17.....32.....43 - 112
Los Angeles Clippers....19.....16.....32.....30 - 97
Off. Def.
San Antonio Mins FG FGA FT FTA Rebs. Rebs. Asst. PF Blks Stls Pts.
Dennis Rodman 36 4 5 0 0 3 14 3 1 1 1 8
Terry Cummings 22 2 10 1 2 6 6 2 0 0 0 5
David Robinson 44 26 41 18 25 4 10 5 2 2 0 71
Vinny Del Negro 26 1 3 0 0 0 2 6 2 0 4 2
Lloyd Daniels 25 2 7 0 0 0 2 1 2 1 2 4
Negele Knight 24 3 6 0 0 0 0 5 2 1 0 6
Sleepy Floyd 23 1 5 1 4 1 4 0 1 0 0 4
Antoine Carr 24 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 4
J.R. Reid 12 2 6 2 2 3 1 0 2 0 0 6
Jack Haley 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 2
Dale Ellis DNP- Coach's Decision.
Willie Anderson DNP- Coach's Decision.
____________________________________________________________________________
Total 240 44 87 22 33 17 41 28 17 5 8 112
Off. Def.
Los Angeles Mins FG FGA FT FTA Rebs. Rebs. Asst. PF Blks Stls Pts.
Dominique Wilkins 21 6 17 3 4 0 1 2 2 0 1 16
Loy Vaught 25 7 10 2 2 2 2 1 4 0 0 16
Elmore Spencer 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0
Ron Harper 20 2 6 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 1 4
Mark jackson 16 1 6 0 0 2 1 6 0 0 2 2
Bob Martin 20 1 2 0 0 0 4 1 4 2 0 2
Charles Outlaw 27 2 5 0 0 3 3 0 6 3 1 4
Terry Dehere 28 10 17 4 4 2 1 2 0 0 1 26
Gary Grant 14 2 4 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 2 4
Harold Ellis 27 6 15 2 4 1 5 0 5 0 2 14
John Williams 19 1 4 0 0 0 4 2 2 0 2 2
Randy Woods 18 1 9 4 6 2 1 5 3 0 2 7
____________________________________________________________________________
Total 240 39 95 15 20 12 27 23 28 7 14 97
Official: Ed Middleton, Molan Fine, Hue Hollins.
Attendance: 16,005