October 16, 1976 - Moses Leads Blazers To 129-114 Win In Final PreSeason Game
Moses Malone made his case to stay with the Blazers. Of course he could have also made his case that some other team should want him as he scored 24 points and 12 rebounds in the Blazers 129-114 victory in Oakland over the Seattle SuperSonics. It’s been no secret that the Blazers drafted the 6-10 center with the thought of trading him but Jack Ramsey might be having second thoughts. “Moses played extremely well, the best he has played. This is the first time he has gone out there and really done well. We’ll have to give Moses more thought, no question about that” Sonic coach Bill Russell added “He looks like a pretty good player to me. He played in our earlier game with Portland and I didn’t even know it.” Bill Walton added that Malone did a great job but added “He didn’t do anything tonight that he hasn’t been doing in practice.” The Blazers finished their preseason with a 5-3 record, the best in the clubs seven seasons. |
October 15, 1976 - Blazers Fall To Lakers
The Blazers fell to the Los Angeles Lakers 115-110 dropping their exhibition record to 4-3, as Cazzie Russell led the Lakers with 26 points and Mack Calvin added 20 off the bench. Tied after the first quarter, the Blazers committed many of their 32 turnovers in the second and third quarter. Behind 82-67 with just over three minutes left in the 3rd quarter, the Blazers mounted a comeback eventually pulling into a tie at 87 with 9:29 remaining before the Lakers were able to regroup and pull away. Twice the Blazers pulled within a point bit they could not take the lead.
Bill Walton led the Blazers with 26 points and 14 rebounds while Maurice Lucas added 21 points and 10 boards.
Bill Walton led the Blazers with 26 points and 14 rebounds while Maurice Lucas added 21 points and 10 boards.
October 10, 1976 - Blazers Start Strong, Secure Victory On Ron Lee Night
The last time Bill Walton played at The Pit in Eugene, Ron Lee and the Ducks pulled off a huge upset, described by Sports Illustrated as The Lost Weekend. Tonight, the Blazers center amassed 26 points and 15 rebounds in the 106-94 victory over the Phoenix Suns. All five Blazers starters were active right from the tip as they ripped off the first 13 points and never looked back. Coach Jack Ramsey credited the defense for the 2nd game in a row. “Our early defense and rebounding were excellent. We jumped into a big lead right at the start and the defense and rebounding did it.” Bob Gross, Maurice Lucas and Moses Malone helped Walton on the boards as they combined for 32 rebounds and 39 points When Ron Lee, the rookie with Phoenix who’s number was retired beforehand, entered the game the Blazers were already ahead 20-6. Lee ended up as the Suns leading scorer with 17 points. When he scored his first basket, the capacity crowd of 10,500 roared approval. During the pregame ceremony, a congratulatory telegram from President Ford was read |
October 8, 1976 - Blazers Bounce Back Against Nuggets
The Blazers finally had the game that they have been looking for defeating the Denver Nuggets 121-101. Just two days after falling to these same Nuggets by 18 points, the Blazers were able to put together a defensive scheme that Jack Ramsey said feeds the offense. “Our defense set things up tonight. You can’t get the offense going that way unless the defense set’s it up”
Eight Blazers scored in double digits led by Bill Walton and Maurice Lucas with 19 and 18 points respectively. David Thompson, who led the Nuggets with 18 points, provided much excitement for the 7,718 attendees when he shattered the glass backboard with a dunk. Glass sprayed all over the key area as the rim dangled precariously. Thompson suffered cuts upon his face and body from the flying glass and while not serious, he did not return to the game. “I’m okay (but) I just had bits of glass inside my uniform and some penetrated the skin.” It took 34 minutes for the Memorial Coliseum crew to replace the board before the game could resume. The Blazers will next play the Phoenix Suns in Eugene. The Suns drafted Univ. of Oregon player Ron Lee in the recent NBA draft. It will be Ron Lee Day in Eugene. |
October 6, 1976 - Blazers Lose In Denver
The Denver Nuggets showed the Blazers why they won 39 of their 42 home games during the final ABA season last year with a convincing 114-96 victory. The Blazer led 24-23 after rookie Johnny Davis hit a free throw with 31 seconds to go in the first quarter. After that, the Nuggets took over with coach Larry Brown able to use all 13 players, none playing more than the 25 minutes than David Thompson or Ralph Simpson each played. Thompson led the Nuggets with 15 points while Simpson had 10 points. The Nuggets use a running style that is similar to what Jack Ramsey is trying to implement with the Blazers, but at this time the Nuggets have a much better grasp of the system. Bill Walton led the Blazers with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Maurice Lucas and Dave Twardzik each added 16 points. The loss drops the Blazers to 2-2. The Nuggets will make their first visit to Portland in two days. |
October 5, 1976 - Blazers Lose Squeaker To Warriors In Corvallis
Before a crowd of 4,200 at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, the Blazers lost their first exhibition game 104-103 against the Golden State Warriors. Until Rick Barry stepped to the free throw line twice in the final minute, the Blazers had a chance. Barry hit his first two free throws with 45 seconds remaining, putting the Warriors ahead 102-101. After Bill Walton put Portland ahead with 28 seconds left, Barry again stepped to the line after a Bob Gross foul to set the final margin. The Blazers will play the Denver Nuggets tomorrow. The game will be televised back to Portland by KPTV-12 |
October 2, 1976 - Blazers Improve to 2-0 With Victory In Seattle
The Blazers showed enough poise down the stretch in their 96-92 victory before a rowdy crowd of 14,098 in Seattle. Heroics were everywhere late in the fourth quarter as first Lionel Hollins hit a couple long range jumpers. Soon after Bob Gross, who had 13 points off the bench, tied the game at 81-81 with 6:10 to go and Bill Walton put the Blazers in front with under two minutes before Seattle tied the game at 90-90 with 1:40 to go. Herm Gilliam gave the Blazers the lead for good and Hollins followed with a dunk off a steal to make it 94-90 with 15 seconds to go.
Bill Walton lead the Blazers with 18 points. Former Blazer LaRue Martin saw only 4 minutes of action but scored 2 points and had a rebound. The Blazers are now 2-0 in the exhibition season and will play the Golden State Warriors in Corvallis in 3 days |
September 30, 1976 - Blazers Open Exhibition Season With 114-110 Victory
Maurice Lucas made his presence known with an impressive debut in the Blazers 114-110 exhibition victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. With the Blazers behind 110-109 and 14 seconds remaining, Lucas took the inbound pass from Dave Twardzik, charged down the lane and stuffed the ball with his left hand, drawing the 6th and final foul from Kareem Abdul-Jabber, then added the free throw to make it 112-110. Bill Walton added the final margin after being fouled in the back court.
Jack Ramsey was not unhappy with the opener though the team made more mistakes than he would have liked. “Most of the turnovers were the result of being overanxious.” The Blazers finished with 34 turnovers but forced the Lakers into 30. |
July 20, 1976 - Final Pre-Season Schedule Announced
9/30 - vs LA Lakers at Memorial Coliseum
Golden State vs Seattle in first game
10/2 - LA Lakers at Seattle
10/5 - vs Golden State at Corvallis
10/6 - at Denver Nuggets
10/8 - vs Denver Nuggets at Memorial Coliseum
10/10 - vs Phoenix at Eugene
Ron Lee returning to Eugene as a Sun
10/15 - at Los Angeles
10/16 - vs Seattle SuperSonics at Oakland
Golden State vs Seattle in first game
10/2 - LA Lakers at Seattle
10/5 - vs Golden State at Corvallis
10/6 - at Denver Nuggets
10/8 - vs Denver Nuggets at Memorial Coliseum
10/10 - vs Phoenix at Eugene
Ron Lee returning to Eugene as a Sun
10/15 - at Los Angeles
10/16 - vs Seattle SuperSonics at Oakland
July 9 - The Blazers updated the schedule from 2 days ago with opponents announced
9/30 - vs LA Lakers at Memorial Coliseum
Golden State vs Seattle in first game
10/2 - LA Lakers at Seattle
10/6 - at Denver Nuggets
10/8 - vs Denver Nuggets at Memorial Coliseum
10/15 - vs Seattle SuperSonics at Los Angeles
10/16 - vs Seattles SuperSonics at Oakland
9/30 - vs LA Lakers at Memorial Coliseum
Golden State vs Seattle in first game
10/2 - LA Lakers at Seattle
10/6 - at Denver Nuggets
10/8 - vs Denver Nuggets at Memorial Coliseum
10/15 - vs Seattle SuperSonics at Los Angeles
10/16 - vs Seattles SuperSonics at Oakland
July 7 - The Blazers announced a tentative preseason schedule
9/30 - vs Los Angeles Lakers at MC
(double header with Golden State vs Seattle in first game)
10/2 at Seattle (double header — no opponent announced)
10/6 vs Denver Nuggets at MC
10/8 at Denver Nuggets
these games were announced prior to merger
10/15 at Los Angeles (double header — no opponent announced)
10/16 at Oakland (double header — no opponent announced)
An update will be announced when specific opponents are arranged.