FanPost

The First Season: Game 13

December 12, 1946

Nearly a month ago in Philadelphia, on November 14, the Washington Capitols lost a nail biter to the Warriors 66-63. Red Auerbach's Caps had yet to lose again, and after ten consecutive wins, were back in town for the rematch. As hot as they were, they still hadn't caught the New York Knicks, winners of 13 of their last 14, in the Eastern Division. Washington, now at 12-3 on the year, were led by forwards Bones McKinney and former Santa Clara star, Bob Feerick, who had been out of the lineup in the previous meeting. John Mahnken, Irv Torgoff, and Buddy O'Grady rounded out the lineup.

Home from their three-game road trip, the Warriors were beginning to click, having won four of their last five, the last a convincing romp over the woeful Toronto Huskies. Joe Fulks continued to be the star of the team, but coach Eddie Gottlieb thought the team's recent surge was due to improved play from center Art Hillhouse. Accompanying Fulks and Hillhouse in the lineup were Howie Dallmar, George Senesky, and Angelo Musi.

Following an undercard matchup between the Philadelphia Sphas and the legendary African-American barnstormers, the New York Renaissance (a 48-41 win for the Rens - more on the Rens and Sphas in a forthcoming post), a record Warriors home crowd of 7,160 settled in to see the battle against the Capitols. In what was becoming a recurring theme, the playing conditions were the story more than the play of the teams. From the start, condensation on the floor made a travesty of the game. Players found it impossible to cut, stop, or drive inside effectively, and the match devolved into a perimeter shooting contest with both McKinney and Fulks getting into early foul trouble because of all the slipping and sliding.

The Capitols had the best of it early on with superior marksmanship and jumped out to a 32-20 halftime lead. But with McKinney riding the bench with four fouls, Dallmar, Fulks, and Pete Rosenberg slowly brought the Warriors back into the contest. A 17-5 Philadelphia run in third quarter closed the deficit to two. That was as good as it would get, though. Auerbach sent McKinney back into the game to start the fourth quarter and, along with Johnny Norlander, restored Washington's command of the game. After Fulks fouled out with four minutes to go it was essentially over and the Warriors fell, 64-49.

The Capitols had now won eleven straight and climbed to within a half-game of the Knicks. The Warriors receded to 7-6, a distant third in the division, but still out of reach of the bottom-feeders so far. Typically, Fulks led all scorers with 17. Freddie Scolari paced the Caps with 15.

Box

December 12, 2011
Philadelphia Arena
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance 7,160

Capitols 64, Warriors 49

Washington scoring

Freddie Scolari 15p
John Mahnken 13p
Bones McKinney 13p
Johnny Norlander 13p
Bob Feerick 5p
Irv Torgoff 5p
Buddy O'Grady
Marty Passaglia

Philadelphia scoring

Joe Fulks 17p
Howie Dallmar 11p
Art Hillhouse 9p
Pete Rosenberg 7p
Angelo Musi 3p
Jerry Fleishman 2p
Matt Guokas
John Murphy
Jerry Rullo
George Senesky
Fred Sheffield

This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!