This Day in NBA Sports History: May 21, 1986-2021

The best of this day in NBA sports history. May 21. Ja Morant sends Stephen Curry home, Chris Webber goes to Sacramento, the most viewed game, Dikembe Mutombo’s Game 7 record, Don Nelson named Coach of the Year, and 15 consecutive wins. What happened on this day in NBA history?

May 21, 2021

With consecutive jumpers made by Ja Morant in the final 48 seconds of overtime, the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Golden State Warriors 117-112 in the State Farm NBA Play-In Tournament to clinch the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. Memphis advanced to the postseason for the first time in four years to face top-seeded Utah in the first round. Curry finished with 39 points and six 3-pointers, but also had 7 of the team’s 21 turnovers.

May 21, 1998

The Sacramento Kings make a trade with the Washington Wizards for Chris Webber. Sacramento sent veterans Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe to Washington. This trade made the Kings a championship team. Webber became a cornerstone of the franchise. He was 25 years old when he played his first game as a King and made four All-Star appearances with Sacramento.

May 21, 1996

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Tony Kukoc, Dennis Rodman, and the Orlando Magic with Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway, and Horace Grant (injured) drew an 8.6 rating and a 13.8 share on TNT. Chicago’s home win over Orlando, 93-88, had nearly 8.2 million people tuning in. It was the most-watched NBA game in cable television history.

May 21, 1994

Dikembe Mutombo blocked two shots to give him an NBA record 38 for a seven-game playoff series, even in Denver’s 91-81 loss to Utah in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Mutombo obliterated Hakeem Olajuwon’s previous mark of 30, set in 1993 against Seattle.

May 21, 1992

Becoming the first NBA coach to win the award three times, Golden State’s Don Nelson was named the IBM NBA Coach of the Year for guiding the Warriors to a 55-27 record, the second-best mark in franchise history. Nelson also won the Coach of the Year award in Milwaukee in 1983 and 1985.

May 21, 1991

With a 105-97 win over the Detroit Pistons at Chicago Stadium in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Final series, the Chicago Bulls set an NBA playoff record for consecutive wins at home with 15. The Bulls’ postseason home winning streak was broken on June 2, 1991, by the Los Angeles Lakers, with a 93-91 loss in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

May 21, 1986

Ralph Sampson, who teamed with Olajuwon in a “Twin Towers” alignment for the Houston Rockets, made a jumper to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 114-112 at Los Angeles in Game 5 of the 1986 Western Conference Finals. The defending champion Lakers won 62 games during the regular season but missed the NBA Finals for the only time in eight years from 1982 through 1989.