Brian Abate

I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, rooting for the Rangers, Yankees, Giants, and Knicks. When my dream of playing shortstop for the Yankees fell short, I started writing about sports instead. I'm a proud graduate of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

225 Posts

Patrick Ewing tied a Finals record with eight blocked shots on this date in 1994

Patrick Ewing dominated the Houston Rockets on both ends of the court. He led the New York Knicks to a 91-84 victory at Madison...

The Warriors clinched the NBA Finals five years ago today

The Golden State Warriors clinched the 2015 NBA Finals with a 105-97 road victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6. The Warriors were excellent...

The Spurs got revenge on the Heat and clinched their fifth title on this date in 2014

The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Miami Heat 104-87 at home in Game 5 to win their fifth championship. One year earlier, the Spurs lost...

The Rockets became the first six seed to win the NBA Finals on this date 25 years ago

The Houston Rockets completed a sweep of the Orlando Magic with a 113-101 at home in Game 4 on this date in 1995. Hakeem Olajuwon...

The Suns defeated the Bulls in triple overtime in Game 3 of the Finals on this date in 1993

The Phoenix Suns won a crucial road game in Chicago 129-121 in triple overtime. The victory cut the Bulls lead in the series to...

The Celtics defeated the Lakers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on this date in 1984

The Boston Celtics defeated their rivals the Los Angeles Lakers 111-102. They clinched the title at home in front of a raucous crowd at...

Derek Fisher’s clutch shooting burned the Magic in the NBA Finals on this date in 2009

Derek Fisher's clutch 3-pointers lifted the Los Angeles Lakers to a 99-91 road victory in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The win gave...

The Knicks became the first eight seed to make it to the NBA Finals on this date in 1999

The New York Knicks won 90-82 at home in Game 6 to advance to the NBA Finals. In doing so, they eliminated their rivals,...

Michael Jordan outdueled Charles Barkley in a Finals thriller on this date in 1993

Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley both put on a show in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. It was the Chicago Bulls who came...

Magic Johnson’s clutch hook shot lifted the Lakers past the Celtics in game 4 of the Finals on this date in 1987

Magic Johnson's go-ahead hook shot with two seconds remaining lifted the Los Angeles Lakers to a 107-106 road win against the Boston Celtics. The...

Magic Johnson secured a triple double to help the Lakers clinch the NBA Finals on this date in 1982

Magic Johnson's excellent all-around performance led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 114-104 home victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. The game gave the Lakers...

Larry Bird led the Celtics past the Lakers in a burning hot Boston Garden on this date in 1984

Larry Bird helped the Boston Celtics to a 121-103 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The victory...

Larry Bird’s triple double clinched the NBA Finals for the Celtics on this date in 1986

Larry Bird's great performance led the Boston Celtics to a 114-97 home victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of the NBA Finals....

The Bulls held the Jazz to 54 points in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on this date in 1998

The Bulls shutdown the Utah Jazz at home in Chicago. They won 96-54 to take a 2-1 series lead. This was one of the most...

Allen Iverson stunned the Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on this date in 2001

Allen Iverson led the Philadelphia 76ers to a shocking 107-101 overtime victory at the Los Angeles Lakers. He finished with 48 points, six assists, five...