Sixers fail to Blaze a title trail

With the addition of ABA stars Julius Erving, George McGinnis and Caldwell Jones, and the infusion of draft picks Doug Collins, Darryl Dawkins, Lloyd Free and Joe Bryant, the Sixers had one of the deepest teams in the league, won 50 games and disposed of the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets in the playoffs.

All they had to do was beat the upstart Portland Trail Blazers, led by the big Dead head Bill Walton, ABA refugee Maurice Lucas and a bunch of role players cleverly managed by coach Jack Ramsay.

On paper, the series was a no-contest. But they played this series on hardwood, and there lied the rub.

What the Sixers underestimated was the resolve of the young Blazers squad. While Walton was the center of everything on the court, Lucas was Portland's true leader.

As Walton recalled, Lucas, after arriving in Portland in August 1976, invited him and guard Herm Gilliam out for dinner at a popular seafood restaurant in town. After some conversation inside, the trio began to break up.

"Mo said, 'Oh, by the way, we're going to win the championship,' " Walton remembered. " 'We're going to win the championship and we're going to win it this year.'

"I said, 'OK, Maurice, whatever you say. Let's go do it.' "

The Sixers won Game 1 easily, helped by the Trail Blazers' 34 turnovers, and were ahead comfortably in Game 2 when a fight between Dawkins and Lucas broke out. It was a mess. Dawkins swung at Lucas and hit Collins instead; Collins was cut and needed four stitches.

The fight caught the Blazers' attention.

"That fight was a major factor," Walton told ESPN. "We were on the ropes. We were just not playing good basketball. Then Maurice stood tall and said, 'Look, no one is messing with my team.' "

The Sixers still won the game, 107-89.

The Blazers' Lionel Hollins, however, thought the Sixers were getting a bit overconfident.

"They were talking about a sweep," Hollins said. "Their fans were talking about a sweep. They really thought they had us."

The series went to Portland for Game 3, and the Pacific Northwest was pumped.

When the Blazers' flight touched down in Portland, they were greeted by a huge throng.

"We were greeted by tens of thousands - endless multitude- of Blazermaniacs," remembered Walton, "even though we were down 0-2 and it was the middle of the night . . . it was absolutely mind-boggling."

"Then we had an unbelievable practice before Game 3," said Hollins, "In Game 4, we blew them out. Then we went back to Philly and blew them out again. And with each quarter, we gained more confidence."

Before Game 3, Lucas extended a handshake to Dawkins and then went out and scored 27 points as the Blazers blew out the Sixers, 129-107.

Game 4 was worse. Hollins and Lucas combined for 49 points in a 130-98 embarrassment.

In Game 5, Erving went for 37 points, but Bob Gross, a thorn in the Sixers' side throughout the series with his defense on McGinnis and his timely scoring, went for 25, Lucas had 20 and the Blazers took the series lead, 3-2.

The Blazers were looking unstoppable. Their passing, defense and teamwork were driving the Sixers nuts. And their confidence was as high as Mount Hood. The Sixers had no answer. Erving was doing his damndest, slamming on Walton and putting in another 40 points in Game 6.

McGinnis, who struggled throughout the series, had 28 points in Game 6, but his missed jumper at the end of regulation didn't find the net and the Sixers, in their first NBA Finals since winning the championship in 1967, fell, 109-107.

They owed us one.