Feb. 17, 1964 - The Cincinnati Royals raced to their 12th straight victory tonight, outlasting the San Francisco Warriors, 129-113, before 11,595 at the Cleveland Arena. It took a great team effort by the Ohio club to overcome the individual efforts of Wilt Chamberlain, San Francisco’s 7-1 scoring ace. The Stilt, who had 20 points at the half, finished with 52, scoring repeatedly with fadeaway jump shots the Royals could not stop. Oscar Robertson, a doubtful starter because of a pulled thigh muscle suffered in yesterday’s victory over Philadelphia, also finished strong, clicking for 45 points. Cincinnati blew sizable margins in both the second and third quarters before finally taking charge in the last period.
It was one of the largest turnouts in the history of the Arena, and the biggest cheers went to Jerry Lucas. The former Ohio State star was brilliant as a passer and rebounder. The final Cincinnati surge tonight which sewed up the victory was led by Tom Hawkins. He tallied 10 points in the final seven minutes. A standing-room crowd of 11,595 turned out for the rare appearance of NBA teams in Cleveland.
The Royals remain in second place in the Eastern division, 1½ games behind the Celtics. The Warriors’ loss, coupled with the St. Louis Hawks’ 115-110 victory over the Baltimore Bullets tonight, cut the San Franciscans’ Western division lead over St. Louis to just a half game.
