Dec. 21, 1962 - Coach Harry Gallatin of the St. Louis Hawks had the last laugh on Hot Rod Hundley tonight, but it was through no fault of the Lakers’ Elgin Baylor. Baylor played a phenomenal game, but Gallatin’s fired-up Hawks battled their way to a 105-100 victory over the crippled Lakers to end a 7-game winning streak and cut the Lakers’ Western Division lead to 3-and-a-half games. From the outset, it was clear that Gallatin’s lashing out at Hundley for “making a travesty” of Wednesday’s runaway victory with comic antics had paid rich dividends, and Bob Pettit and company were primed for an all-out effort. A Los Angeles Sports Arena crowd of 8,332 pleaded, roared, and ranted, and coach Fred Schaus even brought in ailing Jerry West for the last five minutes, but the dogged Hawks, especially Pettit and Len Wilkens, were not to be denied. Pettit’s brilliant shooting and Wilkens’ ball-stealing overshadowed Baylor’s tremendous effort.
