Mar. 22, 1964 - The Royals got a key second-quarter lift from their bench, the usual heroics from Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas and romped past Philadelphia, 127-102, this afternoon at Cincinnati Gardens in a fight-marred opening game of the NBA Eastern Division semifinal playoffs.
Except for the first quarter and the first half of the second period, the Royals’ dominance was complete, with Robertson tossing in 31 points and registering 16 assists and Lucas duplicating his 25 points with that many rebounds.
Shortly before the half, some jostling between Robertson and the 76ers’ Paul Neumann erupted into a brief fracas. Oscar, trying to get his arm free from a clutching Neumann, finally threw an elbow in anger. The two squared off, and both benches, including a furious Dolph Schayes, Philadelphia’s head coach, came storming onto the court. Order was soon restored, and nobody was ejected.
“All I can say about this game is that the Cincinnati defense was simply marvelous,” commented Schayes as he hurried from the Gardens with his team for an early flight back to Philadelphia. “The job they did on Hal Greer was outstanding. They weren’t necessarily blocking his shots, but they were making him shoot high, and it cut down his effectiveness.”
Jerry Lucas was all smiles, commenting: “It was a little rough in there. Whenever we play Philadelphia, something seems to happen.”
Cincinnati coach Jack McMahon had no comment about the officiating after the game although he had plenty to say during the game. When warned by Sid Borgia that “a technical is plenty costly in the playoffs,” McMahon snapped back: “Don’t tell me. I know it. They’ve cost me money already.”
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