Knowing they were playing a superior team, the Fort Wayne Pistons use holding on to the ball as a stall tactic against the defending champion Minneapolis Lakers, and come out with a 19-18 victory.
The Lakers featured the unstoppable George Mikan, the first “big man” in basketball history, and Detroit coach Murray Mendenhall knew the Pistons could not match up with the Lakers.
Despite taking massive abuse from the onlooking patrons, the Pistons stuck to the strategy, and it would pay off via a Larry Foust layup with six seconds left to give Fort Wayne the win.
Mikan made all four of the Lakers field goals and would score 15 of their 18 points, in the lowest scoring game in NBA history.
The style of play would begin conversations about a shot clock, and four years later, the 24-second clock would be instituted.
