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1951

Clarence “Foots” Walker is born in Southampton, New York. He was an All-American at Southampton High School and inducted into the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.

1957

NCAA All-American James Bailey is born in Dublin, Georgia.

1978

Jamaal Magloire is born in Toronto, Canada. In 2004, he became the first Canadian-born All-Star in NBA history.

1979

Bill Fitch resigns as head coach of the Cavaliers after nine seasons. At the time, he was the only head coach in the franchise’s history, having accepted the position for their inaugural season in ’70-’71. Just two days later, Fitch was hired as head coach of the Celtics.

1988

In an electrifying battle of elite point guards, Utah’s John Stockton has the better stats (29 points and 20 assists) but Magic Johnson (23 points and 16 assists) gets to advance, as the Lakers defeat the Jazz 109-98 in game seven of the Western Conference Semifinals.

1992

Don Nelson of the Warriors is named NBA Coach of the Year for the ’91-’92 season, becoming the first ever three-time recipient of the award (a mark since matched by Pat Riley and Gregg Popovich).

1993

Larry Brown resigns as head coach of the Clippers, less than two years into his four year contract, reportedly due to differences with star player Danny Manning.

1994

Karl Malone finishes with 31 points and 14 rebounds as the Jazz defeat the Nuggets 91-81 in game seven of the Western Conference Semifinals. It breaks a streak of six consecutive “do-or-die” victories for the #8 seed Nuggets, who had upset the SuperSonics in the first round with three straight wins after falling behind 2-0, and had won won three straight against the Jazz after falling behind 3-0.

With a 104-94 victory over the Suns in game seven of the Western Conference Semifinals, the Rockets become the first team in NBA history to win a best-of-seven playoff series after losing the first two games at home.

1995

A classic Eastern Conference Semifinals series comes down to a nail-biting conclusion in the winner-take-all game seven, with Patrick Ewing missing a game-tying lay-up at the buzzer, as the Pacers defeat the Knicks 97-95.

1996

In the highest rated NBA game in cable television history, over eight million viewers tune in to TNT to watch the Bulls defeat the Magic 93-88 in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals.

2000

For the third straight year, the Heat are eliminated on their home court in a winner-take-all playoff game against the Knicks, as New York defeats Miami 83-82 in game seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

2006

A Cavaliers upset attempt runs out of gas as the Pistons prevail 79-61 in a winner-take-all game seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. LeBron James finishes with 27 points and eight rebounds but his Cleveland teammates shoot a collective 9-of-41 (21.9%) from the field.

2012

In what would end up being his final postseason performance, Kobe Bryant scores 41 points as the Lakers lose 106-90 to the Thunder in game five of the Western Conference Semifinals. Russell Westbrook scores 28 points for the Thunder, who advance to the Conference Finals for the second consecutive year. Bryant would later sit out the 2013 postseason with a knee injury, followed by the Lakers missing the playoffs in the final three seasons before his retirement.

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