Rex Chapman went from a bad playoff run with the
Heat in '96 to an immortal run with the Suns in '97.
Heat in '96 to an immortal run with the Suns in '97.
The Miami Heat Index's "Murdered You on Your Own Shit" Award Series: NBA Playoffs Edition continues with the 20 best performances on the road by NBA players in the last 20 years. Part One began the countdown with the players ranked 16-20. Part Two keeps it going with the players ranked 11-15.
HipHopSite.com’s excellent “Murdered You On Your Own Shit” Awards inspired a new series of articles at the Miami Heat Index. The first article, Did the King Murder Wade On His Own Team focused on whether LeBron James outplayed Dwyane Wade on his own team last season. This article will focus on players that went on the road and murdered the other team on their own court in front of their own crowd and on the biggest stage: the playoffs.
In the last 20 years, 21 players have murdered the other team on their own court by scoring 40+ points on the road in an NBA playoff game, according to basketball-reference.com. The "Murdered You On Your Own Shit" Award Series: NBA Playoffs Edition ranked players by the number of 40-point games on the road. All ties went to the player with the higher Win Score per 48 Minutes average. See the article Simple Models of Player Performance by sports economist David Berri for more information on Win Score.
And the next five awards go to...
15. Rex Chapman
One murder: At Seattle Supersonics on April 25, 1997
In 1996, Chapman started at guard for a Miami Heat team that got swept out the first round of the playoffs by the greatest team of all-time, the ‘96 Chicago Bulls, to the tune of 23 points per game. The Heat renounced their rights to Chapman’s contract in the off-season.
A year later, he and the seventh-seed Phoenix Suns went into Game 1 of the playoffs against the Sonics and Chapman made it rain in Seattle. He set an NBA record by dropping nine three-pointers in Key Arena on his way to scoring 42 points with 75 percent shooting efficiency. If only he could have put together that kind of performance a year earlier against the Bulls!
The Suns pushed the Sonics to the brink of elimination but they got blown out by 24 in the decisive Game 5 at Seattle. As much as Chapman shot them into series in Game 1, Kevin Johnson shot them out of it in Game 5 by going 8-27 from the floor.
14. Paul Pierce
HipHopSite.com’s excellent “Murdered You On Your Own Shit” Awards inspired a new series of articles at the Miami Heat Index. The first article, Did the King Murder Wade On His Own Team focused on whether LeBron James outplayed Dwyane Wade on his own team last season. This article will focus on players that went on the road and murdered the other team on their own court in front of their own crowd and on the biggest stage: the playoffs.
In the last 20 years, 21 players have murdered the other team on their own court by scoring 40+ points on the road in an NBA playoff game, according to basketball-reference.com. The "Murdered You On Your Own Shit" Award Series: NBA Playoffs Edition ranked players by the number of 40-point games on the road. All ties went to the player with the higher Win Score per 48 Minutes average. See the article Simple Models of Player Performance by sports economist David Berri for more information on Win Score.
And the next five awards go to...
15. Rex Chapman
One murder: At Seattle Supersonics on April 25, 1997
A year later, he and the seventh-seed Phoenix Suns went into Game 1 of the playoffs against the Sonics and Chapman made it rain in Seattle. He set an NBA record by dropping nine three-pointers in Key Arena on his way to scoring 42 points with 75 percent shooting efficiency. If only he could have put together that kind of performance a year earlier against the Bulls!
The Suns pushed the Sonics to the brink of elimination but they got blown out by 24 in the decisive Game 5 at Seattle. As much as Chapman shot them into series in Game 1, Kevin Johnson shot them out of it in Game 5 by going 8-27 from the floor.
14. Paul Pierce
One murder: At Indiana Pacers on April 19, 2003
This may be the shortest murder of the list. Pierce shot 4-19 through three quarters at Conseco Fieldhouse and the Celtics trailed by 13 with 7:30 left in the game. Pierce scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and 42 points for the game with 40 percent shooting efficiency, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Pierce posted the worst shooting percentage of anyone that murdered a team on their own floor in the last 20 years, but he balanced it out by shooting 21-21 from the line to set an NBA record. The sixth-seed Celtics went on to upset the third-seed Pacers in six games to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals where they were swept by Jason Kidd and the New Jersey Nets.
13. Chris Mullin
This may be the shortest murder of the list. Pierce shot 4-19 through three quarters at Conseco Fieldhouse and the Celtics trailed by 13 with 7:30 left in the game. Pierce scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and 42 points for the game with 40 percent shooting efficiency, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Pierce posted the worst shooting percentage of anyone that murdered a team on their own floor in the last 20 years, but he balanced it out by shooting 21-21 from the line to set an NBA record. The sixth-seed Celtics went on to upset the third-seed Pacers in six games to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals where they were swept by Jason Kidd and the New Jersey Nets.
13. Chris Mullin
One murder: At Los Angeles Lakers on May 8, 1991
Run TMC won three games in a row to upset David Robinson and the #2 seed San Antonio Spurs 3-1 in the first round of the 1991 playoffs. The Lakers ended that three-game winning streak with a 10-point win in Game 1 that extended the Warriors 22-year playoff losing streak in Los Angeles. Everything changed in Game 2.
Mullin left blood on the floor of the Great Western Forum as he scored 41 points with 86 percent shooting efficiency. It was the third-best shooting performance of the Murdered You On Your Own Shit Award Series: NBA Playoffs Edition and just enough to overcome Magic Johnson’s 44 points (a career playoff-high), 12 rebounds, nine assists and five turnovers. The Warriors needed every efficient shot Mullin fired in order to overcome a 21-rebound deficit on the glass and 15-shot deficit from the free throw line. Thanks to Mullins’ shooting efficiency and Magic’s turnovers, the Warriors won the other two factors.
Mullin’s shooting kept the game close enough for Rod Higgins and Mario Elie to steal it with two key rebounds and three clutch free throws. The Warriors’ playoff losing streak in Los Angeles was over but so was their playoff run. The Lakers eliminated them in five games.
12. Tony Parker
Run TMC won three games in a row to upset David Robinson and the #2 seed San Antonio Spurs 3-1 in the first round of the 1991 playoffs. The Lakers ended that three-game winning streak with a 10-point win in Game 1 that extended the Warriors 22-year playoff losing streak in Los Angeles. Everything changed in Game 2.
Mullin left blood on the floor of the Great Western Forum as he scored 41 points with 86 percent shooting efficiency. It was the third-best shooting performance of the Murdered You On Your Own Shit Award Series: NBA Playoffs Edition and just enough to overcome Magic Johnson’s 44 points (a career playoff-high), 12 rebounds, nine assists and five turnovers. The Warriors needed every efficient shot Mullin fired in order to overcome a 21-rebound deficit on the glass and 15-shot deficit from the free throw line. Thanks to Mullins’ shooting efficiency and Magic’s turnovers, the Warriors won the other two factors.
Mullin’s shooting kept the game close enough for Rod Higgins and Mario Elie to steal it with two key rebounds and three clutch free throws. The Warriors’ playoff losing streak in Los Angeles was over but so was their playoff run. The Lakers eliminated them in five games.
12. Tony Parker
One murder: At Phoenix Suns on April 25, 2008
If Suns fans thought Steve Nash got beat up by the Spurs in 2007 when he got hip checked by Robert Horry or busted his nose, then they know he got absolutely murdered right in front of them in 2008. Nash got killed by Parker so bad the Suns switched Grant Hill onto him in the second half but it was too late.
Parker scored a career-high 41 points with 67 percent shooting efficiency, 12 assists and five rebounds. He left Nash’s corpse with seven points on eight shots and left the Suns facing elimination from the playoffs. Two games later, the Spurs sent them home for the third time in four years.
11. Ray Allen
If Suns fans thought Steve Nash got beat up by the Spurs in 2007 when he got hip checked by Robert Horry or busted his nose, then they know he got absolutely murdered right in front of them in 2008. Nash got killed by Parker so bad the Suns switched Grant Hill onto him in the second half but it was too late.
Parker scored a career-high 41 points with 67 percent shooting efficiency, 12 assists and five rebounds. He left Nash’s corpse with seven points on eight shots and left the Suns facing elimination from the playoffs. Two games later, the Spurs sent them home for the third time in four years.
11. Ray Allen
One murder: At Sacramento Kings on May 1, 2005
Another edition of the Murdered On Your Own Shit Award Series ends in Sacramento. In the last article, it was Nick Van Exel. This time, Allen put in the wetwork at Arco Arena to bring the Sonics back from a 19-point deficit. The NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers splashed three treys in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback and book a 13-point win.
Allen scored 45 points (15 in the fourth quarter) with 71 percent shooting efficiency, six assists, four steals and two blocks to give the Sonics a 3-1 series lead going back to Seattle. Two nights later, the Kings were eliminated in the first round for the first time since 2000 and they haven’t made it out of the first round since.
Another edition of the Murdered On Your Own Shit Award Series ends in Sacramento. In the last article, it was Nick Van Exel. This time, Allen put in the wetwork at Arco Arena to bring the Sonics back from a 19-point deficit. The NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers splashed three treys in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback and book a 13-point win.
Allen scored 45 points (15 in the fourth quarter) with 71 percent shooting efficiency, six assists, four steals and two blocks to give the Sonics a 3-1 series lead going back to Seattle. Two nights later, the Kings were eliminated in the first round for the first time since 2000 and they haven’t made it out of the first round since.
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