assists with 8.2 per game. 1974 NBA Rookie of the Year DiGregorio earned the first of two NBA free throw percentage championships (90.2%) and led the NBA in assists (8.2). That season DiGregorio set the NBA single-game rookie assists record (25), which still stands as unbroken (tied by Nate McMillan). Jim McMillan would finish fifth in the NBA in minutes played (3322) and tenth in free throw percentage (85.8%). He also finished second on the Braves in scoring (18.6). Heard went on to rank in the top ten in rebounds (11.7, 10th) and blocked shots (2.8, 6th) that season. Randy Smith, who was third on the team in scoring with a 15.5 average, finished third in the league in steals (2.5/game). October–November In his October 9, 1973 NBA debut against the Houston Rockets, Ernie DiGregorio had 14 assists. DiGregrorio had 17 points but it was a 25-foot basket with two seconds left in overtime by McAdoo, who had 31 points and 21 rebounds, that earned the Braves a 107–105 victory. An October 30 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics gave the Braves a half game lead over the Celtics in the Atlantic Division with a 6–4 record. The Braves only won one of their next nine games. It came on November 14 when McAdoo set the franchise single game rebound record with 28 against the Atlanta Hawks. That night, he also scored 31 points for the fourth game in a row. Two weeks later on November 28, the Braves lost when Pete Maravich, who entered the game in the second quarter and posted 42 points off the bench, led the Atlanta Hawks over the Braves by 130–106. December–January The Braves' December 12 game against the Celtics was played in Providence, Rhode Island, making it a homecoming game for DiGregorio, the former Providence Friar. The Braves lost for the 20th consecutive time to the Celtics that night. Following a December 30 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Braves fell to a 16–22 record at the end of 1973 but began the New Year with a season high seven-game winning streak. Heard set a career high with 22 rebounds in game five of the streak on January 8. The fifth game of the streak set a new franchise record for consecutive wins and gave the team 21 wins, which matched their total of the prior season. The resulting 23–22 record following the