After spending a dollar apiece on tickets, Gary Johnson and Erik Kellner got their money's worth.
Through a haze of cigarette smoke at the Cow Palace, the San Ramon High School seniors watched the first NBA game played on the West Coast and made memories that have lasted a lifetime.
The Warriors, who were still playing in Philadelphia, had nothing to do with that game on Jan. 11, 1959. Rather, a standing-room-only crowd of 13,652 cheered loudly as the Boston Celtics won an overtime thriller over the Minneapolis Lakers, 109-106, in what was essentially an audition as the Lakers pondered a move to San Francisco.