Belt game 997 · February 4, 1959
New York Knicks take the belt
New York Knicks beat Boston Celtics 129–126 on the road to start reign 455 of the NBA belt, the 57th for the franchise.
Boston Celtics had held it since January 31, 1959, with 2 defenses over 4 days.
New York Knicks held it for 3 days and 1 defense, then lost it to Boston Celtics on February 7, 1959.
455Reign number
57Team's reign
1Defenses
3Days held
Box score
New York Knicks
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richie Guerin | 46 | 39 | 15 | 5 | — | — | 15-23 | — | 9-10 |
| Willie Naulls | 43 | 24 | 21 | 0 | — | — | 9-24 | — | 6-6 |
| Ken Sears | 35 | 23 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 6-15 | — | 11-11 |
| Charlie Tyra | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 7-8 | — | 0-0 |
| Carl Braun | 23 | 11 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 4-9 | — | 3-4 |
| Frank Selvy | 25 | 9 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 1-7 | — | 7-11 |
| Mike Farmer | 35 | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 3-15 | — | 0-0 |
| Ray Felix | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 1-1 | — | 1-1 |
| Jack George | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0-1 | — | 0-0 |
| Pete Brennan | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0-1 | — | 0-1 |
Boston Celtics
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Russell | 43 | 22 | 26 | 0 | — | — | 8-17 | — | 6-8 |
| Frank Ramsey | 34 | 22 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 10-22 | — | 2-3 |
| Bill Sharman | 35 | 20 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 8-20 | — | 4-4 |
| Sam Jones | 23 | 16 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 8-15 | — | 0-0 |
| Jim Loscutoff | 21 | 16 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 7-15 | — | 2-2 |
| Bob Cousy | 38 | 16 | 4 | 13 | — | — | 7-20 | — | 2-4 |
| Tom Heinsohn | 41 | 12 | 14 | 7 | — | — | 4-14 | — | 4-5 |
| Gene Conley | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1-3 | — | 0-0 |
Player box scores: Historical NBA Data and Player Box Scores by Eoin Moore (CC0).