Belt game 560 · December 20, 1953
Syracuse Nationals take the belt
Syracuse Nationals beat Minneapolis Lakers 81–76 at home to start reign 249 of the NBA belt, the 17th for the franchise.
Minneapolis Lakers had held it since December 19, 1953, with 0 defenses over 1 day.
Syracuse Nationals held it for 5 days and 1 defense, then lost it to New York Knicks on December 25, 1953.
249Reign number
17Team's reign
1Defenses
5Days held
Box score
Syracuse Nationals
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolph Schayes | 28 | 16 | 10 | 3 | — | — | 5-11 | — | 6-6 |
| Billy Gabor | 14 | 13 | 0 | 3 | — | — | 6-10 | — | 1-2 |
| Bill Kenville | 28 | 11 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 3-6 | — | 5-8 |
| Paul Seymour | 35 | 9 | 2 | 6 | — | — | 2-7 | — | 5-5 |
| George King | 36 | 9 | 4 | 7 | — | — | 4-12 | — | 1-4 |
| Wally Osterkorn | 35 | 8 | 7 | 2 | — | — | 3-12 | — | 2-7 |
| Jim Neal | 36 | 8 | 10 | 2 | — | — | 1-8 | — | 6-9 |
| Earl Lloyd | 31 | 7 | 8 | 1 | — | — | 2-8 | — | 3-4 |
| Bob Lavoy | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0-2 | — | 0-0 |
Minneapolis Lakers
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slater Martin | 40 | 17 | 1 | 4 | — | — | 6-15 | — | 5-6 |
| George Mikan | 32 | 16 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 6-18 | — | 4-6 |
| Vern Mikkelsen | 19 | 15 | 7 | 3 | — | — | 5-13 | — | 5-9 |
| Frank Saul | 27 | 13 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 4-10 | — | 5-5 |
| Dick Schnittker | 31 | 4 | 1 | 5 | — | — | 2-5 | — | 0-3 |
| Bob Harrison | 21 | 4 | 2 | 3 | — | — | 1-5 | — | 2-2 |
| Clyde Lovellette | 16 | 3 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 1-5 | — | 1-1 |
| Jim Holstein | 12 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 1-7 | — | 0-0 |
| Jim Pollard | 29 | 2 | 6 | 3 | — | — | 1-8 | — | 0-1 |
| Whitey Skoog | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 0-1 | — | 0-1 |
Player box scores: Historical NBA Data and Player Box Scores by Eoin Moore (CC0).