Belt game 981 · January 6, 1959
New York Knicks take the belt
New York Knicks beat Syracuse Nationals 118–108 at home to start reign 447 of the NBA belt, the 56th for the franchise.
Syracuse Nationals had held it since January 2, 1959, with 1 defense over 4 days.
New York Knicks held it for 1 days and 0 defenses, then lost it to Boston Celtics on January 7, 1959.
447Reign number
56Team's reign
0Defenses
1Days held
Box score
New York Knicks
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Sears | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 8-9 |
| Frank Selvy | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4-7 |
| Ray Felix | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0-0 |
| Willie Naulls | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1-1 |
| Carl Braun | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3-3 |
| Charlie Tyra | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2-3 |
| Richie Guerin | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6-6 |
| Ron Sobie | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2-2 |
| Mike Farmer | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0-0 |
| Guy Sparrow | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0-0 |
Syracuse Nationals
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolph Schayes | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 10-10 |
| Ed Conlin | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2-4 |
| Hal Greer | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6-7 |
| Togo Palazzi | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0-0 |
| Larry Costello | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3-5 |
| Connie Dierking | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1-1 |
| Johnny Kerr | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2-2 |
| Al Bianchi | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1-1 |
| Bob Hopkins | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0-0 |
| George Dempsey | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0-0 | — | 1-1 |
Player box scores: Historical NBA Data and Player Box Scores by Eoin Moore (CC0).