Oct. 23, 1963 - Scrappy Al Attles (pictured) sparked the San Francisco Warriors to a 99-95 victory over the Hawks tonight at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis in a game marked by Warrior defensive hustle and balanced scoring. Attles finished the game with a patch over his left eye, cut in a skirmish under the Hawks’ basket with big Zelmo Beatty. Harry Gallatin, the Hawks’ coach, almost lost his mind when a foul was called on Beatty and then, in the final minute of play, referee Sid Borgia threw Gallatin out of the arena when he howled about another foul call. The din caused by the Hawks and 6,118 fans didn’t distract the Warriors. Wilt Chamberlain scored 22 points, Attles 19, Guy Rodgers 15, Tom Meschery 14, and rookie Nate Thurmond 12. In the San Francisco dressing room, coach Alex Hannum talked about the changes in the Warriors’ style. “All his life, Wilt has been told he could serve his team best by getting near the basket and waiting for someone to throw the ball to him,” Hannum said. “I haven’t told Wilt not to shoot, I have just asked him to play the game. If he gets an opportunity for a good-percentage shot, he’s certainly supposed to take it. But if he sees a teammate has a better chance, I have asked him to try to get the ball to that man.” “We have worked hard on our defense,” Hannum continued. “Chamberlain will never be a Bill Russell, I know, but Wilt can be quite a headache for an opponent if he is bearing down. And he can put more effort into defense now because I’ve told him he can expect an occasional rest. The 44 minutes Wilt played tonight was more than in either of our two previous games.” Thurmond, the Warriors’ No. 1 draft choice, was praised not only by Hannum but by the club’s alert guard, Rodgers. “Nate’s forte is defense and rebounding, and he has been doing a great job for us,” said Rodgers. “Like Jerry Lucas and other college centers, Thurmond is having trouble learning to shoot from a forward’s usual position, but he has a good 15-foot jump shot he’ll be using before long.” The newest Hawk, guard Richie Guerin, played eight minutes in the second quarter and did not score. Coach Gallatin said more time would be needed to get Guerin accustomed to the plays which most of the Hawks have been working on for more than a year.
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