Mar. 29, 1964 - The virtuosity of Oscar Robertson overcame Jerry Lucas’s ailing back and a tough, valiant effort by the Philadelphia 76ers and led the Cincinnati Royals to a 130-124 triumph tonight that gave the Royals the Eastern Division semifinals playoff series, 3-2. Thus the Royals not only earned a crack at the Boston Celtics in a long-awaited best-of-seven final series but played their own Easter bunny in dumping another $10,000 into their playoff nest egg. That’s the least they can earn in the division finals.
The Royals owed this one to Oscar, although Arlen Bockhorn, Tom Hawkins, Wayne Embry and Lucas himself, who played despite a sore lower back, contributed heavily to the victory. Throughout the series, the Royals had been waiting for Oscar to really break out, and he saved it for just when it was needed — the final half of the clinching game. In the second half, he poured in 26 of his game-high 32 points, not missing any of nine shots he took from the field and making all eight of his free throws. In other words, he didn’t miss the basket once. In addition, he was all over the court, stealing the ball, assisting teammates, and dribbling out time.
The Royals shot a sensational 56% from the field — and had to against a Philadelphia club primed for an upset and sharp itself. The 76ers shot 48%, and Johnny Kerr (31 points), Chet Walker (27), and Paul Neumann (22) came through with superb efforts.
For a crowd of 7,913 at Cincinnati Gardens, this brilliantly fought battle was a fitting end to a well-contested series. The Royals fought through an 80-game regular season to get homecourt advantage if the series went the whole way, and in the end it made the difference. The Royals won all three at Cincinnati, the 76ers two at Philadelphia.
When assessing the Royals’ chances against the Celtics, coach Jack McMahon was blunt: “Our chances are good if Lucas is at top form. He has to be jumping at his peak.”
McMahon figures the Royals can shoot and run with the Celtics, but if Boston’s Bill Russell has complete domination of the boards, the Celts’ fast break may prove unstoppable.
