Belt game 2,640 · December 18, 1976
New York Knicks take the belt
New York Knicks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 115–113 at home to start reign 1,169 of the NBA belt, the 116th for the franchise.
Cleveland Cavaliers had held it since December 16, 1976, with 0 defenses over 2 days.
New York Knicks held it for 7 days and 1 defense, then lost it to Philadelphia 76ers on December 25, 1976.
1,169Reign number
116Team's reign
1Defenses
7Days held
Box score
Cleveland Cavaliers
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Cleamons | 48 | 25 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 10-18 | — | 5-5 |
| Campy Russell | 36 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7-21 | — | 7-10 |
| Jim Chones | 32 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8-17 | — | 3-3 |
| Bingo Smith | 31 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7-21 | — | 1-2 |
| Austin Carr | 35 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6-13 | — | 0-0 |
| Jim Brewer | 39 | 10 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5-11 | — | 0-0 |
| Dick Snyder | 17 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2-6 | — | 1-2 |
| Nate Thurmond | 22 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2-4 | — | 0-0 |
| Foots Walker | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-3 | — | 0-0 |
New York Knicks
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer Haywood | 44 | 35 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12-24 | — | 11-16 |
| Bob McAdoo | 44 | 26 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 11-26 | — | 4-4 |
| Walt Frazier | 48 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 12-20 | — | 0-0 |
| Earl Monroe | 46 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4-10 | — | 2-2 |
| Lonnie Shelton | 24 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4-12 | — | 1-2 |
| Jim McMillian | 32 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2-7 | — | 3-5 |
| Butch Beard | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-3 | — | 1-2 |
| Tom McMillen | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-2 | — | 1-2 |
| Dennis Layton | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | — | 0-0 |
| Luther Burden | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-2 | — | 0-0 |
| Phil Jackson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | — | 0-0 |
Player box scores: Historical NBA Data and Player Box Scores by Eoin Moore (CC0).