the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996, where the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Florida Panthers in four games to bring Denver its first major sports championship. UFC 1, the first event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, was held there in 1993. Another notable event at McNichols took place on December 13, 1983, when the Nuggets hosted the Detroit Pistons in a regular season contest. Nugget players Kiki Vandeweghe and Alex English scored 51 and 47 points respectively, while Piston Isiah Thomas also scored 47 points, with teammate John Long scoring 41 in a 186-184 triple-overtime Detroit win over the Nuggets. The game, still to date, is the highest-scoring game in NBA history, and also holds the record for the most players to score 40 or more points in a single game. However, the game was not televised in the Denver area (instead being shown back to the Detroit market, via WKBD-TV) and was attended by just over 9,300 people. This game has since been broadcast on NBA TV and ESPN Classic. Concerts The opening event at McNichols Sports Arena was a concert by Lawrence Welk on August 22, 1975. The group Heart performed their rendition of "Unchained Melody" at the arena in 1980. "Unchained Melody" was included on their highly successful double LP Greatest Hits/Live released November 1980. The Grateful Dead made a stop here on their Fall Southwest Tour on October 9, 1977. Elvis Presley performed a sold-out concert here on April 23, 1976. Elton John performed here for two consecutive nights, October 5 and October 6, 1975 as part of the "West of the Rockies" tour. Paul McCartney and Wings performed here for one night June 7, 1976 The Bee Gees played here on July 2, 1979, as part of their highly successful Spirits Having Flown Tour. The band KISS performed at McNichols on November 4, 1979, as part of their Dynasty Tour. This was the last tour featuring original drummer Peter Criss until 1996. Rolling Stones guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood performed as The New Barbarians at the arena in 1979. REO Speedwagon's concert from 1981 was performed here, as MTV's first ever live concert. Electric Light Orchestra performed here September 27, 1981 during the Time Tour. The arena played host to Amnesty International's A Conspiracy of Hope Benefit Concert on June 8, 1986. The show was headlined by U2 and Sting and also featured Bryan Adams,