Winning the league’s leading scorer title in the last game of the regular season is very rarely necessary. Even if this year, there is still a very close duel with Joel Embiid (30.4 points) who has a small lead ahead of Giannis Antetokounmpo (29.9).
We obviously remember the fight between Shaquille O’Neal and David Robinson in 1994, with the second’s 71 points. Sixteen years earlier, in 1978, George Gervin and David Thompson, Michael Jordan’s idol, fought a battle on the same day, but 1,600 kilometers apart.
David Thompson on the basics of a 100-point game
On the morning of April 9, 1978, David Thompson was behind George Gervin in the ranking of the best scorers of the season. The Nuggets player averages 26.2 points against 26.8 for the Spurs winger. In the afternoon, he must face the Pistons in front of only 3,482 people but as the Nuggets have already qualified for the playoffs, it is not yet certain to be aligned, although he has only 16 points from delay on “The Iceman”.
“‘Do you want to play,’ coach Larry Brown asked me. Since the result didn’t matter, he wanted to give me a chance to play for the top scorer trophy. If I was on fire, then Gervin would have to come get me.he says in his book Skywalkerin remarks reported by Hang Time.
David Thompson is playing and he’s motivated like never before. He returned his first eight shots, 13/14 in total, and finished his first quarter with 32 points.
It’s a new NBA record, ahead of Wilt Chamberlain’s 31 points in his 100-point game in March 1962. With 21 more points in the second quarter, the Nuggets outfielder comes to the break with 53 points to 20 /23 at the shoot! The (few) spectators then begin to dream of seeing Wilt Chamberlain’s record fall.
“You could read it on the faces of the Detroit players. None wanted to see me give them 100 points. After all, I was only 1.92m and I was on fire like never before. I felt like Superman on steroids. »
An NBA record that only lasts a few minutes!
In the second half, he calms down with only 20 units at 8/15 to shoot. In total, this gives 73 points, the fourth highest total in history for a player behind the 81 points of Kobe Bryant in 2006 and of course the 100 points of Wilt Chamberlain (who also made a performance at 78 points and two at 73 dots).
An unreal performance that boosts his average points to 27.15 units per game. David Thompson can now wait for George Gervin’s game against Utah at home, quietly, because his one-season rival needs to score 58 points to regain control.
Only when he gets home, he turns on the radio, the match has already started for a few minutes…
George Gervin has already made the difference with 20 points in the first quarter and 33 in the second! David Thompson’s record only lasted a few minutes… After 33 minutes of play, the Spurs star scored 63 points. A performance, again unimaginable, motivated by the match of his rival.
“I was sleeping at the hotel when a journalist came to see me to tell me that Thompson had scored 73 points. I simply replied ‘That’s good’ and went back to bed. Later some Spurs players told me they were going to help me (to win the race). My teammates loved me. »
George Gervin was there when David Robinson scored 71 points
He finished the season averaging 27.2 points and won his first of four scoring titles on the craziest scoring night in NBA history. The gap between the two players will be the tightest in history with a difference of 0.0695 points!
Sixteen years later, George Gervin will be assistant in San Antonio the evening when David Robinson will register 71 points to deprive Shaquille O’Neal of this title. The pivot of the Spurs had finished with 0.4418 points ahead of that of the Magic (29.7875 against 29.3456). Decidedly, the “finger roll” gentleman had a knack for spoiling the evenings of the great scorers. But always with elegance and in memorable moments.
