Mar. 19, 1963 - The Nationals pulled away from tiring Cincinnati in the final quarter of a brutally fought struggle tonight in Syracuse and registered a key 123-120 victory in the first game of their NBA Eastern Division playoff series. Hal Greer (pictured), whose rivalry with Oscar Robertson goes back to their college days, managed to outclass the Big O tonight by scoring a game high of 32 points, 16 of them in the final quarter, when the Nats made their getaway before a cheering crowd of 4,335. Oscar got 29 points to lead his team, but only 10 of them came in the second half, when the Royals fell flat. Greer, the Royals' major nemesis down the stretch, hit a pair of jump shots in the fourth quarter to give the Nats a 106-103 advantage, and they never surrendered that lead. The Royals were exhausted, while Coach Alex Hannum of the deeper Syracuse team had fresh troops. The second game of the best-of-five series will be played in Cincinnati Thursday night.
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