April 9
From Hoopedia
- 1928 - Hall of Famer Paul Arizin (right), who played in ten NBA All-Star Games in his ten-year career and led the league in scoring twice, is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- 1958 - Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks makes 19 free throws in his team’s 102-100 Game 5 victory over Boston. Pettit sets an NBA Finals record for most free throws made in one game that would be broken by Shaquille O'Neal on June 9, 2000.
- 1959— The Boston Celtics beat the Minneapolis Lakers, 118-113, in Minneapolis in Game 4 of the 1959 NBA Finals to complete the first sweep in Finals history and capture their first of eight consecutive NBA Championships.
- 1975 - The Philippine Basketball Association, Asia's first professional league, begins play with a double-header. Marisawa-Noritake beats Concepcion-Carrier, 101-98, in the opener, and Toyota edges out U/Tex, 105-101, in the nightcap.
- 1978 - George Gervin (right) of the San Antonio Spurs edged David Thompson of the Denver Nuggets for the NBA scoring title on the last day of the season. Thompson scores 73 points (including a record 31 in one quarter), only to watch Gervin score 63 (including a new NBA record 33 in one quarter). Gervin wins the title by the slightest of margins: 27.22 to 27.15 PPG.
- 1990 - The Phoenix Suns sink an NBA record 61 free throws (out of 80 attempts) in beating the Utah Jazz, 119-115, in overtime.
- 2002 - In defeating the Washington Wizards, 101-88, the New Jersey Nets win their first division title since joining the NBA in 1976 and set an NBA franchise mark with their 50th victory. The Nets won 58 games in 1974-75 as a member of the American Basketball Association.
