as George King sank a free throw to give the Nationals a 92–91 lead in the final seconds. King then stole the inbound pass to clinch the NBA Championship for the Nationals. Coming off their NBA Championship the Nationals struggled during the 1955–56 season, needing a tiebreaker over the Knickerbockers to avoid finishing in last place and make the playoffs with a 35–37 record. In the playoffs, the Nationals stunned the Celtics winning the first-round series in three games by taking the final two games. In the Eastern Finals, the Nationals played solid basketball again as they pushed the Warriors to a decisive fifth game. The Nationals' reign as defending champions ended with a 109–104 loss in Philadelphia. The Nationals got off to a slow start as coach Cervi was fired and replaced by Paul Seymour. Under Seymour, the Nationals rebounded and finished the 1956–57 season in second place with a record of 38–34. In the playoffs, the Nationals had trouble knocking off the defending champion Warriors advancing to the Eastern Finals with two straight wins. The Nationals were swept in three games by the eventual champions, the Celtics. Fort Wayne and Rochester had moved on to Detroit and Cincinnati for the 1957–58 season, leaving the Syracuse Nationals as the last small-town team in the big city NBA. That did not matter on the court as the Nationals held their own finishing in second place with a 41–31 record. In the playoffs, the Nationals fell in the first round as they lost a three-game series to the Philadelphia Warriors. Despite a mediocre 35–37 record for the 1958–59 season the Nationals made the playoffs again by finishing in third place. In the playoffs, the Nationals swept the Knickerbockers in two straight to reach the Eastern Finals, where they lost to the eventual champion Celtics, alternating wins before losing by 5 points in Game 7. Playing in a league now dominated by superstars like Bill Russell of the Celtics, Wilt Chamberlain of the Warriors, Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks and Elgin Baylor of the Lakers, the Nationals held their own posting a solid 45–30 record, while finishing in third place after the 1959–60 regular season. In the playoffs, the Nationals lost a three-game series to Chamberlain and the Warriors. With the Lakers relocating from Minneapolis to Los Angeles before the 1960–61 season, the Syracuse Nationals became the last old NBL