PORTLAND — The second largest crowd in the Blazers history watched a rookie lead the local heroes to a 108-92 victory over the Denver Nuggets to clinch the best-of-seven series 4 games to 2. Johnny Davis, the rookie from University of Dayton, started in place of the injured Dave Twardzik and tied his career-high of 25 points in the win. Blazer coach Jack Ramsey didn’t decide to start Davis until just before game time saying, “I was toying with the idea of starting (Larry) Steele, but I decided on Davis after conferring with (assistant coach) Jack McKinney and Bill Walton. The idea was to go with a quicker lineup.” Davis had only played 59 minutes in the previous eight playoff games, played 39 this evening and only missed four of his 14 shots from the field. With the quick lineup that Ramsey anticipated, the Blazers jumped on the Nuggets 13-2 in under five minutes of play, much to the delight of the 12,924 on hand, second largest crowd in Blazers history. They continued scoring, getting to a 33-16 lead after one quarter when Lionel Hollins hit a shot from the half-court line before the buzzer sounded. “I watched the clock as I came up court,” said Hollins, who scored on a similar shot in Game 3. “I just let it go when it was time. I’ve got my touch on that on.” The teams each scored 29 points in the second quarter allowing the Blazers to maintain their advantage to be ahead 62-45 at halftime. The Blazers continued their hot shooting as they shot 62% from the field in the first half with Davis leading the team in scoring with 13 points. Portland opened the third quarter continuing to attack the Nuggets and built a 24-point lead at the quarter break with an 88-64 lead, eventually getting to a 25 point lead early in the fourth quarter before Denver finally made a run. “I’ve been waiting for us to play our game in this series and tonight we did it.” said Ramsey. The Nuggets were able to close to 96-85 with three minutes remaining. A free throw by Maurice Lucas and a stuff by Davis erased any chance of a comeback by the Nuggets. |
David Thompson led the Nuggets in scoring with 17 points, but he struggled with his shooting, going 6-14 from the field and 5-12 from the free throw line. “They (Portland) were running guys at me all night,” said Thompson. “I only took 14 shots tonight. Normally in a big game I would take twice that many. But the shots weren’t there tonight. They just kept running guys at me.” Dan Issel added 14 points and nine rebounds with his backup, Marvin Webster adding 13 points and 16 rebounds. Ted McClain and Paul Silas, both starters until the lineup changes in Game 5, scored 10 points each off the bench with McClain adding seven assists. The Nuggets again out rebounded the Blazers 53-42 and also shot 18 more free throws than the Blazers. The Nuggets, however only shot 24-47 from the free throw line. When informed of that stat, Nugget coach Larry Brown shot back, “Great, that’s a little better than 50 per cent.”
Besides leading the team with 25 points, Davis also led the Blazers with four steals. Hollins added 21 points and passed for six assists. Larry Steele, who Ramsey almost started, scored 14 points and was a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. “Steele had a fine game.” said Ramsey. “I’ve been telling him to keep at it and I had a hunch this might be Larry’s game.” Walton and Lucas each scored 12 points with Walton grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing nine assists while Lucas grabbed 10 rebounds. “Everybody was ready to play tonight,” said Walton. “I think that our poor performance Sunday (114-105 overtime loss) had a lot to do with that.” |
The victory assured each Blazer another $43,750 in playoff bonus money, bringing the total earned per player to $112,500. For now though, Portland must wait for the Los Angeles Lakers / Golden State Warriors series to end, which is currently tied at 3-3. Game 7 will be played on May 4. If the Lakers win, the Blazers will have to travel to Los Angeles for the first two games to be played May 6 and May 8 If Golden State wins, the Blazers will host the first two games on the same dates. Tickets for the two Portland games will go on sale tomorrow morning at 9:30 at Memorial Coliseum and other Blazer ticket outlets.
Blazers Nuggets Game 6 May 2, 1977 Final 830 Of Game And Post Game
https://soundcloud.com/ooduys951/blazers-nuggets-game-6-may-2-1977-final-830-of-game-and-post-game
Blazers Nuggets Game 6 May 2, 1977 Final 830 Of Game And Post Game
https://soundcloud.com/ooduys951/blazers-nuggets-game-6-may-2-1977-final-830-of-game-and-post-game
May 1, 1977
DENVER — Down 3-1 and facing elimination, Denver Nuggets coach Larry made a lineup change, moving All-Star David Thompson back to his customary forward position and inserting Jim Price and Mack Calvin at guards. It took overtime but at least for this evening, the change was good for the Nuggets in their 114-105 victory over the Blazers. “Maybe we still have something left,” said Brown. “At least it’ll be fun to see what happens. Portland has only lost six games at home all season, but we had chances there twice in this series and I think we can win there.” Portland started the game by hitting their first two baskets to jump to a 4-0 lead but the Nuggets turned the game around rather quick when reserve Willie Wise came off the bench and poured in six points to lead the Nuggets to a 27-20 lead after the first quarter. Thompson continued to hit from all over the court, getting 18 points in the first half to help the Nuggets to a 54-48 halftime lead. The Blazers did themselves no favors shooting 43% from the free throw line, 6-15, while the Nuggets hit 9 of 11 shots. Denver continued to pull away from the Blazers, twice getting to a 12-point lead, but not before the Blazers lost guard Dave Twardzik to an ankle injury with 8:17 left in the third quarter. Larry Steele and rookie Johnny Davis filled in for Twardzik, each scoring four points in the quarter as the Blazers fought back to 83-77 going into the fourth quarter. The Nuggets were able to get back to a 10-point lead at 81-91 before the Blazers started hitting shots that had eluded them, outscoring the Nuggets 15-6 over the next three minutes to get to within a point at 96-97 with 2:49 remaining. The Nuggets countered with two quick buckets to get to 101-96 with 1:42 left. Brown said afterwards, “We didn’t do anything with the ball late in the fourth quarter. I could see the first game of the series (a 101-100 Blazer victory) being repeated.” The Blazers came up with two clean steals leading to four points from Lionel Hollins and a Bill Walton free throw to tie the game at 101-101 with 28 seconds left in regulation. After a Denver turnover, Portland set up a play for Hollins to run off a high pick for a shot, similar to the game-winning shot he hit in Game 3 against the Chicago Bulls. This time, the shot bounced off the rim and the teams headed to overtime. “It was the shot we wanted, a good shot,” said Ramsey. Hollins added, “I just didn’t put it down.” |
The Nuggets hit their first three baskets in overtime to jump to a 107-101 lead after only 1:09 had elapsed and the Blazers called timeout. “We just made three bad plays at the start of overtime,” said Ramsey. The Blazers did score twice after their timeout to get to 107-105 but the Nuggets, led by Dan Issel who scored nine points in overtime, held on to stop the Blazers from scoring again.
The Nuggets were led by Thompson, who scored 31 points, grabbed six rebounds and passed for six assists. Issel added 23 points and grabbed 18 rebounds while Price passed for 11 assists and scored 13 points. Wise, besides the six points in the opening quarter, ended the game with 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Marvin Webster backed up Issel and scored 10 points and added 10 rebounds coming off the bench. “Webster was sensational,” said Brown. The Nuggets out rebounded the Blazers 62-54, and scored 11 more free throws than the Blazers. Denver was 26-36 from the line while the Blazers shot 15-29 from the line.
The Nuggets were led by Thompson, who scored 31 points, grabbed six rebounds and passed for six assists. Issel added 23 points and grabbed 18 rebounds while Price passed for 11 assists and scored 13 points. Wise, besides the six points in the opening quarter, ended the game with 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Marvin Webster backed up Issel and scored 10 points and added 10 rebounds coming off the bench. “Webster was sensational,” said Brown. The Nuggets out rebounded the Blazers 62-54, and scored 11 more free throws than the Blazers. Denver was 26-36 from the line while the Blazers shot 15-29 from the line.
Hollins led the Blazers with 19 points and passed for seven assists, but had a bad shooting night, going 9-20 from the field and 1 of 6 from the free throw line. Maurice Lucas ended the game with a triple-double but not one he would care to remember as he scored 18 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and led the team with 10 turnovers. Walton had 15 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out with 31-seconds remaining in overtime. For the game, the Blazers shot 42% from the field and 51% from the free throw line. “We played hard, but our over-all game was not crisp,” said Ramsey. “We can be a lot more productive.”
Twardzik was diagnosed with sprained lateral ligaments in his right ankle after he was taken to the local hospital where X-rays showed no break. His status for tomorrows Game 6 is listed as doubtful according to the Blazers team doctor, Robert Cook. Game 6 will be tomorrow at the Portland Memorial Coliseum after CBS-TV dictated a schedule change from May 4 to May 2. Game 7 if necessary will be in Denver on May 4 instead of the previously scheduled May 6. |
PORTLAND — In the deciding game of the Chicago series, 2nd-year forward Bob Gross came through with a career-high 26 points. This evening, Gross had one point less but proved just as pivotal in the Blazers 105-96 victory over the Denver Nuggets, giving the Blazers a 3-1 advantage. “That’s the best game I’ve seen Bobby play,” said Blazer coach Jack Ramsey. “He played excellent in the Chicago series, but this was just a super, super game for him.” Gross, who shot 7-10 from the field, said “ I think it was one of my best games but I as if I’ve played some other good games where I was’t involved with scoring as much.” Game 5 will be in Denver on May 1.
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Gross broke a 4-4 tie and with a record-crowd of 12,930 cheering for the home team, the Blazers were off and running, getting to an 11 point lead at one point in the first quarter before settling for a 32-24 lead going into the second quarter and then 54-46 halftime lead. The Blazers continued to score, getting to a 71-56 lead with 6:07 remaining in the third quarter before the Nuggets, led by reserve Mack Calvin, stormed their way back to within 78-76 going into the final quarter. “I hate to say it, but we just weren’t getting any calls at that point,” said Blazer guard Lionel Hollins, who scored eight points in the third quarter. “We had a couple of traveling calls and a few fouls go against us. They were in the penalty and they kept making their free throws.” The Nuggets continued to hit shots in the fourth quarter as well, staying within a bucket of the Blazers for the first half of the final quarter. When Calvin hit a jumper to pull the Nuggets within 88-86 with just over five minutes left, Gross answered with a basket of his own before Lloyd Neal connected on a three-point play to push the Blazers to a 93-86 lead. When Dave Twardzik hit a lay-in off a Hollins pass to give the Blazers a 97-88 lead with 2:43 left, the game was effectively over as the Nuggets struggled to get closer than eight points the rest of the way. The Nuggets David Thompson, who scored 40 points in the Game 3 loss for the Nuggets, was held to just 16 points this evening, missing 12 shots from the field. “I don’t think they (Denver) were getting him the ball as much,” said Ramsey. “Calvin was having a good game, so that meant there weren’t as many chances of Thompson.” Calvin ended the game leading all scorers with 28 points in his 21 minutes off the bench, hitting 12-13 from the free throw line. Bobby Jones and Paul Silas each had nine rebounds. Dan Issel had 17 points and six rebounds. |
Besides leading the Blazers with 25 points, Gross added seven rebounds and six assists. Gross, who scored 20 or more points only six times during the season, has twice over 20 points in the seven playoff games. Hollins ended the game with 18 points and Lucas added 17 points. Bill Walton only scored 11 points but added 11 rebounds and five blocks shots.
Today also marked the return regular referees as they made their first appearance of the 1977 NBA playoffs after a 14-day strike and the calls were noticed by the players. “NBA officials just know the game better,” said Hollins. “When you get a call you know its a pro call and not a high school or college call.”
Today also marked the return regular referees as they made their first appearance of the 1977 NBA playoffs after a 14-day strike and the calls were noticed by the players. “NBA officials just know the game better,” said Hollins. “When you get a call you know its a pro call and not a high school or college call.”
PORTLAND — At the start of the series, Denver coach Larry Brown moved two players to the bench, attempting to bolster his reserves, and the move earned a split in the first two games played in Denver. This evening though, the Blazers bench proved superior in their 110-106 victory. The win gives the Blazers a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series. “Our bench won this one by getting the lead back for us.” said Blazers coach Jack Ramsey, speaking of Lloyd Neal, Robin Jones, Wally Walker, and Herm Gilliam. “Lloyd and Wally really did a job for us on the boards. We must have a good bench if we’re going to have a chance to win the championship.”
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The Nuggets opened the game looking to gain back the home court advantage they lost in Game 1 when they jumped to an early seven point lead at 10-3. The Blazers were able to regroup and get to a 28-25 quarter lead. Both teams ended the quarter shooting 52% from the field and the hot shooting continued into the next 12 minutes. David Thompson kept the Nuggets in the game by scoring 21 in the first half, but Bill Walton and Maurice Lucas combined for 29 points as the Blazers maintained their edge, pushing to a 54-48 halftime lead.
The Blazers needed that cushion as the Nuggets scored the first six points of the third quarter to tie the game at 54-54, the first of three ties in the quarter. The teams traded baskets as the teams traded leads 18 times in the third quarter alone. The turning point came with 2:48 remaining in the third and the Nuggets ahead 78-75 after Byron Beck hit two free throws. Neal, Jones, Walker, and Gilliam joined Lionel Hollins and over the next four minutes, going in to the fourth quarter, the Blazers outscored the Nuggets 11-4 as all four subs scored, blocked shots, stole passes and harassed the Nuggets before Ramsey returned the starters back. “The Portland bench played well,” said Denver coach Brown. “I looked down and Walton and Maurice were just sitting there, resting.”
The Blazers needed that cushion as the Nuggets scored the first six points of the third quarter to tie the game at 54-54, the first of three ties in the quarter. The teams traded baskets as the teams traded leads 18 times in the third quarter alone. The turning point came with 2:48 remaining in the third and the Nuggets ahead 78-75 after Byron Beck hit two free throws. Neal, Jones, Walker, and Gilliam joined Lionel Hollins and over the next four minutes, going in to the fourth quarter, the Blazers outscored the Nuggets 11-4 as all four subs scored, blocked shots, stole passes and harassed the Nuggets before Ramsey returned the starters back. “The Portland bench played well,” said Denver coach Brown. “I looked down and Walton and Maurice were just sitting there, resting.”
Lionel Hollins ended the third quarter with a heave from half-court as time expired and the crowd of 12,736 jumped in excitement as the Blazers again took the lead at 81-80. “I I lost track of time and didn’t know the quarter was about to end,” said Hollins. “I heard the crowd hollering for me to shoot, so I let it go.”
When Walton, Lucas, Bob Gross returned, the Blazers continued to push to a 97-87 lead with under five minutes to go before Lucas was called for his sixth foul and went to the bench. Denver made a couple of minor attempts to take the lead, closing to 99-96 when Ted McClain hit a jumper from the corner but the Blazers pushed back to a 105-96 lead with under three minutes remaining. Again Denver made a push to close to 107-106 when McClain again brought the Nuggets to within a points with 21 seconds left. Jim Price fouled Gilliam with 15 seconds on the clock but Gilliam could only convert on one shot, giving Denver a chance when Issel rebounded the missed throw. McClain made an excellent pass to Price under the basket but he was unable to handle the pass and Walton was able to corral the ball forward to Dave Twardzik who fed Gilliam to make the final bucket with six-seconds left to set the final score. |
David Thompson led all scorers with 40 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Thompson was a perfect 8-8 from the line in his 40 minutes. Bobby Jones was next with 17 points, eight in the third quarter, and had nine rebounds and five assists. Dan Issel, who had 36 in Game 2, was held to 14 points and gathered nine rebounds. Overall, Denver out rebounded the Blazers 49 to 47 and had three more assist at 23-20. Brown commented after the game, “A super series. Good, clean basketball. Every game has been a classic. It’s the way basketball is supposed to be played.”
Maurice Lucas had 27 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter, making 9 of 15 from the field and 9-11 from the line. Walton was right behind with 26 points, 13 rebounds five assists and five blocks. Twardzik scored 13 points, getting four points from the line in the final minutes to help seal the win. The bench players of Neal (five points), Gilliam (seven points), Jones (four) and Walker (six) totaled 22 points and scored nine points in the critical stretch of the late third quarter and early fourth. Walker added four rebounds before fouling out.
Game 3 can be seen on Youtube at the link below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULEaXHoVMWA
Maurice Lucas had 27 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter, making 9 of 15 from the field and 9-11 from the line. Walton was right behind with 26 points, 13 rebounds five assists and five blocks. Twardzik scored 13 points, getting four points from the line in the final minutes to help seal the win. The bench players of Neal (five points), Gilliam (seven points), Jones (four) and Walker (six) totaled 22 points and scored nine points in the critical stretch of the late third quarter and early fourth. Walker added four rebounds before fouling out.
Game 3 can be seen on Youtube at the link below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULEaXHoVMWA
DENVER — The Blazers did everything they believed would give them their second win against the Denver Nuggets in the best-of-seven series but substitute referees Richie Jackson and Joe Crawford became more influential in determining the outcome of the 121-110 loss for the Blazers. “The less said the better the officiating,” said Blazer coach Jack Ramsey. “We got too deep in foul trouble too early. There was a dramatic difference in the foul and free throw totals, but I’m not allowed to say anything about the officials.” Ramsey was not only referencing the Blazers 34 fouls to the Nuggets 21 but the home team shooting 39 free throws, making 31 while the Blazers made only 12 free throws on 15 attempts. The Nuggets center Dan Issel shot as many free throws as the Blazers team did. “They (officials) were giving him (Issel) everything on his drives and that made it so we couldn’t defend him in our normal way,” said Ramsey. The Blazers opened the game riding high from their 101-100 win two nights ago, and jumped on the Nuggets quick, jumping to a 16-6 lead before settling into a 30-24 lead after the first quarter. Soon though the foul calls started to pile up. Lionel Hollins was the first Blazer to get his third foul in the second quarter, but then Bill Walton followed. Bob Gross and Dave Twardzik soon were whistled for their third fouls as well and the Nuggets moved in front midway through the quarter before settling to a 52-51 halftime lead. The Blazers, despite continued foul trouble with their starters, attempted to stay even with the Nuggets, trailing only 81-85 after three quarters. The Blazers continued to play close with the Nuggets, despite Walton fouling out with 7:36 left in the final quarter, tying the game at 102-102 when Maurice Lucas scored a three-point play with four minutes remaining. Hollins scored an 18-footer with 2:49 left to pull the Blazers within 106-104. That would the closest the Blazers would get as the Nuggets outscored the Blazers 10-4 over the next 90 seconds. Issel led all scorers with 36 points and grabbed eight rebounds. “We have a rep that we’re not physical,” said Issel, but added “We stayed with them. We weren’t intimidated by their style of play.” Bobby Jones added 19 points, five rebounds and seven assists while the third member of the Nugget front line, Paul Silas, led the Nuggets with nine rebounds and tallied 13 points. David Thompson added 18 points in his second game starting at guard. The Nuggets out-rebounded the Blazers 43-38 and both teams passed for 35 assists. |
Maurice Lucas led the Blazers in scoring with 29 points, shooting 13 of 17 from the field, and grabbed nine rebounds. Hollins had 20 points despite playing with five fouls in the fourth quarter while Walton had 19 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists before fouling out. Gross had 10 points and five assists before also fouling out. Twardzik also finished the game with five fouls but added 14 points. No bench player scored more than the six points for the Blazers that rookies Johnny Davis and Wally Walker did. Walker was whistled for five fouls as well in 11 minutes.
The teams are scheduled to play in Portland for the next two game on April 24 and 26.
The teams are scheduled to play in Portland for the next two game on April 24 and 26.
April 20, 1977
DENVER — With time winding down, Dan Issel playing tight defense and 17,995 fans screaming their help, Maurice Lucas decided to take the game into his own hands. He backed his way to within eight feet before he spun quickly around Issel to bank in what proved to be the game winning shot with 11 seconds remaining to give the Blazers a 101-100 victory in the opening game of the best-of-seven series. “I was looking for Dave (Twardzik) at the top of the key,” said Lucas. “When he wasn’t there, I just went on-on-one to get the best shot I could get.”
The Blazer called timeout with 20 seconds remaining after David Thompson hit two free throws to put the Nuggets up 100-99 off a questionable call against Lionel Hollins. “I never touched him,” said Hollins. “But he (referee Mike Eggers) made the call and we came back and won it anyway.” While the Blazers had to play a tough best-of-three series against the Chicago Bulls, the Nuggets were able to rest any nagging injuries and to scout the Blazers. The lay-off didn’t seem to affect the Nuggets initially as Denver was rarely behind in the first half. During a timeout with the Blazers behind 37-33, Bill Walton implored his teammates to tighten up their defense. From that point, the Blazers outscored the Nuggets 17-8 to get to a 50-45 halftime lead. The Blazers continued their running game in the second half, moving to a 77-71 third quarter lead before the Nuggets finally made their run late in the game, moving into the lead with two minutes remaining. Leading 98-95 with 1:23 remaining, Herm Gilliam was called for a foul and put Thompson at the line. Thompson, an 80% shooter at the line, missed both free throws. “If I had made the two free throws, that would have meant the ballgame,” said Thompson alluding to a potential 100-95 Nugget lead. “Who knows what happened? They felt like they were going in.” |
Instead, Lucas rebounded the second miss and the Blazers moved quickly up the court. Twardzik was able to sneak in a layin from the baseline to move the Blazers to within one point, 98-97, and the Nuggets moved up court just as quick. Thompson turned the ball over as he made a pass that sailed out-of-bounds. On the Blazers next possession, Lucas hit a shot after a pass from Hollins with 34 seconds left, putting Portland ahead 99-98, before the questionable Hollins foul put Thompson at the line to get the Nuggets their final lead at 100-99
The Nuggets were led in scoring by Issel, who shot 13 for 23 from the field, on his way to scoring 28 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Thompson, playing guard instead of his usual forward position, scored 26 points. One change that was talked about in the Denver newspapers came to pass as coach Larry Brown moved Willie Wise to the bench to bolster scoring and moved Paul Silas to play defense against Lucas. Wise came off the bench to add 12 points while Silas led the Nuggets with 11 rebounds.
Lucas led the Blazers in scoring with 23 points as well as rebounding with 13 boards. Lucas though shot 11-24 from the field and only attempted two free throws. Bill Walton had 22 points and 12 rebounds and passed for six assists. Bob Gross also had 12 rebounds and added 18 points as he shot 10-11 from the free throw line. Twardzik scored 14 points and was a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line.
The game was televised in Portland by KPTV (Channel 12) KPTV was looking to televise Game 2 as well, but CBS has decided to make it part of a regional broadcast meaning KOIN (Channel 6) will get the game instead. Games 3 and 4 will be in Portland on April 24 and 26 and tentatively are scheduled to be aired via CBS.
The Nuggets were led in scoring by Issel, who shot 13 for 23 from the field, on his way to scoring 28 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Thompson, playing guard instead of his usual forward position, scored 26 points. One change that was talked about in the Denver newspapers came to pass as coach Larry Brown moved Willie Wise to the bench to bolster scoring and moved Paul Silas to play defense against Lucas. Wise came off the bench to add 12 points while Silas led the Nuggets with 11 rebounds.
Lucas led the Blazers in scoring with 23 points as well as rebounding with 13 boards. Lucas though shot 11-24 from the field and only attempted two free throws. Bill Walton had 22 points and 12 rebounds and passed for six assists. Bob Gross also had 12 rebounds and added 18 points as he shot 10-11 from the free throw line. Twardzik scored 14 points and was a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line.
The game was televised in Portland by KPTV (Channel 12) KPTV was looking to televise Game 2 as well, but CBS has decided to make it part of a regional broadcast meaning KOIN (Channel 6) will get the game instead. Games 3 and 4 will be in Portland on April 24 and 26 and tentatively are scheduled to be aired via CBS.
Schedule For Denver Series
Wednesday April 20 @ Denver
Friday April 22 @ Denver
Sunday April 24 @ Portland
Tuesday April 26 @ Portland
* Sunday May 1 @ Denver
* Monday May 2 @ Portland
* Wednesday May 4 @ Denver
* If Necessary
Friday April 22 @ Denver
Sunday April 24 @ Portland
Tuesday April 26 @ Portland
* Sunday May 1 @ Denver
* Monday May 2 @ Portland
* Wednesday May 4 @ Denver
* If Necessary