NBA Finals bring back strong memories of Sixers

THE NBA FINALS began Thursday night with the Golden State Warriors winning a thriller in overtime over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Finals can often be incredibly memorizing and a great spectacle.

As I watched Steph Curry and the Warriors battle King James, my thoughts drifted back to the last two times the 76ers played in the NBA Finals: 1983 and 2001. The excitement throughout the region was palpable. The city paid rapt attention to every game, every play, every triumph, and every loss. It was great theater and it bonded all of us, as only sports can.

So I decided to go back and review the Sixers' triumphant tour through the 1983 Finals and their gallant, but unsuccessful battle in 2001. In both, the Sixers played the second-most storied franchise in NBA history, the Los Angeles Lakers (the Boston Celtics are clearly No. 1). In 1983, they stunned LA and the basketball world with a four-game sweep, which gave them a 12-1 record for the playoffs (just missing Moses Malone's promise of "fo," "fo, "fo!"). In 2001, the Sixers played the defending champ Lakers, who had entered the Finals with a 19-game winning streak, including 11 straight in the early rounds of the playoffs. LA fans were so confident, they chanted "Sweep" before Game 1, but the Sixers stunningly won the opener in overtime. But they were outmatched in talent and depth and were plagued by injury, and only the coaching brilliance of Larry Brown and the incredible skill and passion of Allen Iverson allowed them to put up such a good fight.

To understand the magnitude of going 12-1 in postseason play and sweeping the Lakers, consider that Los Angeles had a starting five of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Jackson, Jamaal Wilkes, Michael Cooper and Norm Nixon, with Kurt Rambis coming off the bench.

Game 1: The opener set the tone for the series with Malone dominating the great Abdul-Jabbar. Moses has 27 points and 18 rebounds and ruled the glass, holding Abdul-Jabbar to only four rebounds. The Sixers' lineup was equally talented, with Julius Erving, Bobby Jones, Andrew Toney and Maurice Cheeks, and Clint Richardson coming off the bench. Toney, Erving and Malone scored 20 or more points each in a 113-107 win.

Game 2: The Sixers won again on their home court, 103-93. Abdul-Jabbar again was limited to only four rebounds, all on the defensive glass. Moses led the Sixers with 24 points and 12 boards. The Sixers won easily, even though Doctor J shot 6-for-17 from the floor.

Game 3: The Sixers blasted the Lakers, 111-94, in front of LA's incredulous fans. Moses again was the star of the game, with 28 points and 19 rebounds, although Abdul-Jabbar fought back in front of the home crowd with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Again, Doctor J and Toney supported Moses, with 21 points each, and Bobby Jones registered 17 in only 26 minutes.

Game 4: The Lakers played their best game of the series and led, 93-82, going into the last period. But Malone would not let the Sixers lose. He grabbed 10 rebounds in the fourth period alone (finished with 23 rebounds and 24 points) and Erving, who hadn't played well, led the Sixers down the stretch. First, he stole a crosscourt pass from Abdul-Jabbar and drove for a dunk that tied the game, 106-106, with two minutes left. Then, after Johnson hit one of two free throws for the Lakers, Erving took a fastbreak pass from Cheeks and scored a three-point play that put the 76ers up by 109-107 with 59 seconds remaining. For a finishing touch, he then hit a jumper from the top of the key that put Sixers ahead by three with 24 seconds. The Sixers went on to win, 115-108, and longtime fans will never forget Cheeks going down unmolested for a game-ending dunk. The story of this game, as it was throughout the entire series, was Malone's dominance on the boards. Abdul-Jabbar came up with only seven defensive rebounds in the finale. Malone was named MVP by acclimation. This unquestionably was the greatest achievement in franchise history.

Game 1: No one thought the Sixers had a snowball's chance in hell against the Shaquille O'Neil/Kobe Bryant-led Lakers, who had been undefeated in the earlier rounds of the playoffs. But Iverson had other ideas. He dominated, scoring 48 points. The Sixers blew out to a 73-58 lead midway through the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Lakers used Tyronn Lue to guard Iverson. Lue held him to only three additional points in regulation. The game went into overtime and the Lakers looked as if they would extend their winning streak to 20 when they scored the first five points, but the Sixers scored 13 of the games final 15 points, including seven by AI. None of us will ever forget the most memorable part when, in overtime, AI hit a corner jump shot and emphatically stepped over the fallen Lue. The Sixers prevailed, 107-101, even in the face of a 44 points, 20 rebound effort by Shaq.

Game 2: The Sixers almost gave the Lakers' fans heart failure by playing a good first half, which resulted in LA leading by only two. The Lakers started the second half with fire in their eyes and built a 13-point lead with 6:38 remaining in the game. The never-say-die Sixers' 13-3 run to close the gap to three points with 2:25 remaining. Robert Horry hit key buckets to extend the Lakers' lead to eight to wrap up a 98-89 win. Iverson was held to 23 points and Shaq was again dominating, scoring 28 points and grabbing 20 rebounds.

Game 3: The series shifted to Philadelphia, where fans greeted hometown hero Bryant with derisive cheers and boos. The game was tight down to the wire, although the Sixers trailed from the beginning of the second quarter on. AI missed a three pointer with 38 seconds left, but 11 seconds later, Lue fouled him on a three-point attempt and he made all three free throws to cut the Lakers' lead to 92-91. Horry made two foul shots to build the Lakers lead back to three. The Sixers took their final timeout. AI drove to the basket, but missed a high arching shot over the outstretched arm of Bryant, and that was their last chance. Two fouls shots by Horry made the final score 96-91. Shaq had 30 points and Kobe added 32. AI again was brilliant with 35 points and 12 rebounds.

Game 4: The Lakers looked all but unbeatable, crushing the Sixers, 100-86. The Lakers' first-half surge was led by Shaq, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds by halftime, to build a 14-point lead. The no-quit Sixers finally made a move early in the fourth quarter and went on an 11-0 to cut the deficit to 77-70 but that was the last hurrah.

Game 5: It became apparent early that the Lakers were intent on ending this series in Philadelphia. They blew out to a big lead and dominated from almost the opening tip to the end, a 108-96 win. The Sixers' only answer again came from AI, who scored 37 points, but it wasn't enough. Iverson left the game for good with 40 seconds left, getting a standing ovation and hearing "M-V-P" from the fans, grateful for his incredible effort.

This trip down memory lane begs the question: Will any of us get to see the Sixers in the NBA Finals again? The optimist in me says yes. With Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, D'Angelo Russell and Dario Saric on board in the coming years might may well lead us back to the Promised Land. It sure would be fun to see!

Twitter: @GovEdRendell