Feb. 27, 1964 - The tall man leaving the San Francisco Warrior dressing room smiled sympathetically as he spotted the figure on the stairs. “Tough one, coach,” said Wilt Chamberlain.
Hawk coach Harry Gallatin returned the grin. It was the first time all evening he’d been able to smile at anything Wilt did or said. “You’ve played a lot of games, Wilt,” said Gallatin, “but I bet you’ll remember this one a long time.”
Chamberlain nodded. “Guess you’re right, coach,” he replied. “It was a big one.”
One game can’t make or break a division championship drive but this one, a 107-97 victory for San Francisco, left a mark. Chamberlain left a mark.
What did he do? Everything. He scored 40 points. He got 31 rebounds. He blocked shots, harassed St. Louis shooters, and ran at full gallop for 48 minutes. Chamberlain’s coach, Alex Hannum, said: “I think this may have been the greatest game Wilt ever played. The Hawks had a good plan — stay in front of him and make it difficult for us to get the ball to him — and they carried it out well. But this time, Wilt was too much for any defense.” The Hawks are three games behind San Francisco now. The two teams meet again twice next week.
Harry Gallatin, who now much get his team ready for tomorrow night’s game with the third-place Los Angeles Lakers, studied the tall figure of Wilt Chamberlain as the Warrior loped down the hall. “There are one or two other things we could try against him,” said the coach. “But frankly, when he’s playing like that there isn’t much you can do. What a remarkable man.”
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