Belt game 2,328 · October 13, 1973
Houston Rockets take the belt
Houston Rockets beat New York Knicks 86–85 on the road to start reign 1,019 of the NBA belt, the 5th for the franchise.
New York Knicks had held it since May 3, 1973, with 4 defenses over 163 days.
Houston Rockets held it for 3 days and 0 defenses, then lost it to Philadelphia 76ers on October 16, 1973.
1,019Reign number
5Team's reign
0Defenses
3Days held
Box score
Houston Rockets
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Newlin | 42 | 25 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10-20 | — | 5-7 |
| Calvin Murphy | 30 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7-12 | — | 2-3 |
| Ed Ratleff | 33 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6-9 | — | 3-5 |
| Zaid Abdul-Aziz | 14 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3-6 | — | 2-3 |
| Greg Smith | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2-3 |
| Jack Marin | 36 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4-18 | — | 0-0 |
| Cliff Meely | 37 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3-9 | — | 0-0 |
| Stan McKenzie | 13 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2-4 | — | 0-0 |
| Otto Moore | 34 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2-6 | — | 0-0 |
| E.C. Coleman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | — | 0-0 |
New York Knicks
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave DeBusschere | 43 | 24 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10-21 | — | 4-4 |
| Walt Frazier | 44 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10-19 | — | 1-1 |
| Willis Reed | 34 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4-14 | — | 3-4 |
| Phil Jackson | 20 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4-6 | — | 3-3 |
| Bill Bradley | 39 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4-10 | — | 1-3 |
| Dick Barnett | 13 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2-4 | — | 0-0 |
| Jerry Lucas | 11 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2-5 | — | 0-0 |
| Dean Meminger | 29 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-5 | — | 1-2 |
| John Gianelli | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | — | 0-0 |
| Dennis Bell | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | — | 0-0 |
Player box scores: Historical NBA Data and Player Box Scores by Eoin Moore (CC0).