THIS DATE IN NBA HISTORY

APRIL 12

1954 — The Minneapolis Lakers became the first team to win three NBA titles in a row by defeating the Syracuse Nationals 87-80 in Game 7 of the 1954 NBA Finals.

1958 — Bob Pettit poured in 50 points as the St. Louis Hawks, who missed the championship by a whisker a year earlier, beat the Boston Celtics 110-109 in Game 6 of the 1958 NBA Finals to dethrone the Celtics as NBA champions.

1994 — Denver’s Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf stretched his consecutive free throw streak to 53, during the Nuggets’ 107-102 home loss to Phoenix. Earlier in the 1993-94 season, Abdul-Rauf also compiled consecutive FT streaks of 81 and 57, making him only the second player in NBA history (along with Bill Sharman) to have three FT streaks of 50 or more in the same season.

1996 — Indiana’s Reggie Miller hits 6-of-11 attempts from 3-point range during the Pacers’ 111-101 road win at Orlando, becoming the second NBA player to reach 1,200 career 33-pointers

2001 — The NBA Board of Governors approved four rules changes recommended by a select committee on playing rules. The rules changes provided for included the elimination of illegal defense guidelines, the institution of a defensive three seconds call, a reduction of the time to advance the ball into the frontcourt from 10 to eight seconds and a relaxation of the rules against handchecking. All changes were scheduled to go into effect for the 2001-02 season.

2015 — Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder scores 54 points in a 116-104 loss to the Indiana Pacers.