Shot Clock

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Dolph Schayes and some teammates scrimmaged in a small, stuffy high school gym exactly 50 years ago. The short workout helped rescue the NBA and transform professional basketball from a chesslike contest into a fast-paced, gravity-defying game.

"I remember we were all huffing and puffing," the 76-year-old Hall of Famer said. "It was summer, so we were out of shape anyway. It certainly changed the tempo of play. It was all running. No standing around. It made the game more fun to play."

It was Aug. 10, 1954, and a group of team owners and governing board members in the fledgling National Basketball Association — Danny Biasone, Red Auerbach, Ned Irish, Eddie Gottlieb and Clair Bee — sat in the bleachers at Vocational High School in downtown Syracuse and watched as the 20-minute pickup game was played with a 24-second shot clock. (Read full AP story)