Utah Stars
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The Anaheim Amigos was an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Anaheim, California, USA. The team began play in the fall of 1967, in the Anaheim Convention Center. The team's colors were orange and black.
The Anaheim Amigos became the Los Angeles Stars in 1968 and played at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena until 1970, at which point the team moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, to become the Utah Stars.
The Utah Stars played at the Salt Palace from 1970 to December 1975 when the team folded during the 1975-1976 ABA season. They won the ABA championship in the 1970-1971 season over the Kentucky Colonels 4 games to 3 and reached the championship again in the 1973 to 1974 season, losing to the New York Nets 4 games to 1.
The Stars are widely considered one of the most successful teams in ABA history. They were also known for having some of the best fan support in the ABA, even up until the team folded in 1975. From 1970-1975 the Stars went an impressive 265-171 (.608), which was the best winning percentage of any team that played more than 1 season in the league. Pro basketball returned to Salt Lake City when the NBA's New Orleans Jazz relocated there in 1979.
ABA Championship
In their first season in Salt Lake City, the Stars dominated their way to a 57-27 record and a 2nd place finish in the Western Division standings, a game behind the Indiana Pacers. In the Western Division Semifinals, the Stars would go on to sweep the Texas Chaparrals and then stunned the Pacers in game 7 of the Western Division Finals, earning a spot in the ABA Championship.
The Stars would face the Kentucky Colonels in the ABA Championship. In game one a near capacity crowd filed into the Salt Palace to watch the Stars defeat Kentucky 136-117. The Stars set an ABA Playoff record by scoring 50 points in the 2nd quarter. In game 2, the series continued its high scoring with the Stars beating Kentucky 138-125. The series shifted to Louisville and Kentucky took game 3 and 4, tying the series up at 2-2. The series then returned back to Salt Lake City, where the Stars beat Kentucky 137-127, taking a 3-2 series lead. The Stars looked to wrap up the ABA Championship with a game 6 victory in Louisville. However Kentucky clawed their way to a 7th game, barely beating the Stars 105-102, sending the series to a decisive 7th game back in Salt Lake City.
With the ABA Championship on the line, an ABA record crowd of 13,260 packed into the Salt Palace to watch game 7 of the 1971 ABA Championship. The game remained close throughout, however the Stars pulled away late, winning the 1971 ABA Championship 131-121. As the game ended, hundreds of Stars fans rushed the court, lifing players onto their shoulders in a jubilant celebration. The actions were a total surprise to Stars officials, as they had not anticipated such a reaction from the fans.
References
External links
Famous Stars
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