Sixers ride long road to 1983 NBA title
The 76ers win their first NBA championship since 1967.
This article originally published in the Daily News on June 1, 1983.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — He sat in the visiting locker room in the Forum last June and wept, the only time in his career he could remember crying after a basketball game.
He asked only to become stronger, and he did. If anyone had the slightest doubt, Doctor J still can fly.
He soared three majestic times in the final 2:02 here last night, on a flight plan that brought the 76ers their first NBA championship since 1967.
They reached a height they never had been able to reach, and when they did, they buried the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, 115-108.
They didn't just win, they swept, becoming the first team since Golden State defeated the Washington Bullets in 1975 to blow through the finals.
They also are the first team in NBA history to lose only one game in the post-season.
''I wanted this team to be remembered," said coach Billy Cunningham, "and now they will be. The players did it."
The players had been here before. They were in the finals for the fourth time since 1977, and in each previous attempt, they had been turned back in six games. Doctor J, among others, had no ring.
Now they do.
"I'm glad we played Los Angeles," said Erving, who scored 21 points, handed out six assists and made the most dramatic steal of his career with 59 seconds remaining, scoring on a breakaway and foul shot that gave his team a 109-107 advantage.
"In my 12 pro seasons, there was only one time I cried after a game, and that was right here last season after the sixth game and the Lakers had the championship. Nothing has ever affected me that way, not even now.
"I'm standing here, feeling so strong, so purposeful, so good because I know - we all know - we came the long way, the hard way. As sweet as this is, I can't take it for granted. I love the moment, but the feelings I have are more than anyone could expect.
"I have nothing but respect and admiration for the people in this room, who stayed together, did what had to be done. Whatever criticism we heard during the season, whatever doubts anyone had, the ones who were with us, were with us. "
They had lost to Portland in six games in '77 after building a 2-0 lead. They had lost to LA in the Spectrum in six games in '80, when Magic Johnson filled in for center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the clincher. And they had lost again to the Lakers last season.
"We saw the flip side first, and it made a difference this time. This team took six years to do this, and even though the characters changed along the way, we still did it better than anyone. "
They were down 16 points in the first half, and trailed by 14 at intermission. But they had been behind in each of the four games against LA.
This time, they were down 11 to start the final quarter. But Erving had said all along, "This was our time," and he held up his end of the bargain. The Sixers scored 22 of the evening's final 30 points, creating a spectacular havoc.
With 2:02 remaining, Erving flicked the ball away from Abdul-Jabbar, raced the length of the court and dunked. He scored again on a breakaway at 0:59, then drilled an 18-foot jumper at 0:24 to give the Sixers a three-point lead.
"The jumper . . . there wasn't time to drive, there wasn't time to swing the ball, so I let it fly. It found its way to the hoop. I didn't find that shot. It found me. "
They will be remembered for their weaponry, for their versatility, for their depth and for their consummate approach to the five-man concept of the sport.
Moses Malone, who was the unanimous winner of Sport Magazine's MVP trophy, scored 24 points and tore down 23 rebounds, his best performance off the boards in the post-season. Andrew Toney converted 11 of 12 free throws, scored 23 and handed out a team-high nine assists. Maurice Cheeks shot 7-for- 10 and scored 20, and Bobby Jones stormed through 25 minutes, shooting 6- for-7, scoring 13 points and making four steals.
"I thought this was a picture-book ending," Cunningham said. "Doc has worked so hard and has come so close, and now it is ours. I can't think of anything else but to enjoy this.
"Tonight was typical of this team all through the playoffs. To come into the locker room at halftime, down the way we were, and have the ability to overcome it, is special. This is all special. These are special people.
"We played 13 in the post-season and won 12. That's something to remember this team by. "
The Lakers got 28 points from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 27 points and 13 assists from Magic Johnson, and 21 points from Jamaal Wilkes, but they played without starting guard Norman Nixon (shoulder separation) and backup forward-center Bob McAdoo (aggravated thigh injury), and even though they finished with a 43-41 rebounding advantage, none of their players had more than seven.
"My hand goes to Doctor J and Billy," said Pat Riley, the Lakers' coach. ''They really deserved the championship. There's no doubt in my mind that Philly had it all going for them. They really had the incentive. They were in control and had confidence. They're a great, great team . . . one of the great teams of all time. By beating us four straight, they deserve to be the champions. Julius cleaned all those skeletons out. "
Riley, Johnson, Nixon and owner Jerry Buss were among the Lakers' contingent to visit the Philadelphia locker room.
"When Harold Katz (the Sixers' owner) went after Moses, I felt it was the right thing for his team," Buss said. "Nothing that has happened would make me change my mind now. Getting Malone didn't help us, but it certainly helped them. This could develop into an interesting series. "
The players rocked the locker room, emptying bottles of Paul Masson and Cordon Rouge champagne that were sent by Shelly Margolis, a neighbor of Cunningham's.
"Nothing I have ever experienced," said Clemon Johnson, "was ever this nice. We are on top. No other basketball team in the world is better than we are. "
Even Bobby Jones permitted himself a whole lot of high fives.
"This is a team in the best sense of the word," Jones said. "We do what we have to do every night. They ran out of things they could do to stop us. "
Malone, meanwhile, had picked up a magnum of Cordon Rouge.
"Let me have some of this, man," he said, splashing more than he consumed.
"I'm so tired, I don't know what to say, except that I feel great. When I wake up tomorrow, I'll feel better.
"I just told myself I had to control the boards down the stretch, and that if I did, we would win. This is the first time I've ever felt this tired.
"I feel a sense of pride. For the players, for the fans, for Doc, for Billy, for the general manager (Pat Williams), for the owner, for the mayor of Philadelphia. But especially for Doc.
"I remember seeing Doc back in the ABA, saw him win two titles there. When I came to this team, it was to win a title with him. I want to be remembered a long time from now as a guy who played on a championship team with Doc. "
And what, somebody asked Malone, did he think the Lakers were feeling?
"The Lakers," he said, "will worry about us next season, too. They might want to put us in a summer league game. "
Malone was his own man in Houston, insulating himself from the public. That didn't change in Philadelphia through the season and the playoffs. Will it now? Will he finally let us get to know him?
“Gonna be hard,” he said. “I’m gonna go to the parade (Thursday), jump up on a float, ride a float, jump on a plane and go home. Moses will be gone. But feeling good. For me, for Doc, for everybody. For the whole city of Philadelphia.”