March 31, 1978
March 29, 1978
March 28, 1978
PORTLAND — The Blazers greeted the retiring John Havlicek with gifts before the game and as a final parting gift, a 104-92 win for the Celtics. The loss is the fourth straight for the Blazers and their eighth in their last 10 games. “A sweet win for us,” said Boston coach Tom “Satch" Sanders. Bill Walton warmed up prior to the game but decided that he couldn’t play after Dr. Robert Cook diagnosed bursitis in his left foot. “His right foot felt well enough,” said Blazer coach Jack Ramsay referring to Walton’s surgically repaired foot. “The left ankle was the problem which kept him out today.” The Blazers just completed a three-game road trip without a win, go back on the road for another three-game trip tomorrow, starting tomorrow at Phoenix.
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March 26, 1978
PHILADELPHIA — The Blazers entered Philadelphia a shell of the team that competed here last June and it showed in their 116-100 loss to the Sixers, though not before the a valiant effort was made by the current version of the Blazers. “You have to give them credit,” said Sixers coach Billy Cunningham. “But it was tough for our guys to be up for this one.” With the loss, the lead the Blazers have over Philadelphia for the best record in the NBA is now 2 1/2 games after being up 9 1/2 games on February 28 when the Blazers were 50-10. The Blazers are now 55-19 while the Sixers are 52-21.
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March 24, 1978
DETROIT — The defending NBA Champions left Milwaukee last night with only six players that played last June available to play today against the Detroit Pistons, and an active roster of seven players. In order to meet the NBA minimum of eight players, the Blazers signed and had a uniform present for center Dale Schlueter prior to their 107-95 loss. “We can win with the people we have, but we have to play veery well to do it.” said Blazer coach Jack Ramsay. The people Ramsay refers to are three players that have been waived out of the NBA this season in Willie Norwood, Schlueter and Jacky Dorsey, who was signed today and will join Portland for their nationally televised game against Philadelphia 76ers in two days.
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March 23, 1978
MILWAUKEE — Another frontline player has fallen for the defending NBA Champions as the Blazers lost 116-109 to the Milwaukee Bucks. Bob Gross, who has had a nagging ankle injury over the last few games, “heard a crack” as the first quarter came to an end. Gross limped off the court and was taken directly to the hospital where a stress fracture was confirmed. Gross, who had 3 shots during halftime of the Seattle game two nights, also had 3 more shots prior to the Bucks game and is expected to be out six weeks. Gross will travel back to Portland tomorrow while the Blazers move to Detroit tomorrow.
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March 21, 1978
PORTLAND — The Blazers not only clinched their first ever Pacific Division title with a tremendous come-from behind 102-96 defeat of the Seattle Sonics, they secured the team of finishing with home court advantage in the Western Conference playoffs. “We played a much more aggressive game and we executed better in the second half,” said Blazer coach Jack Ramsay. The Blazers used a 25-5 run in the final quarter, sparked by Bob Gross who took 3 shots to his left ankle at halftime in order to play the second half. “I couldn’t jump or cut,” said Gross regarding his play in the first half. “There’s a shooting pain up the leg but there’s no swelling.” Gross played 14 minutes in the second half to lead Portland to their 55th win of the season.
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March 18, 1978
March 17, 1978
March 14, 1978
March 12, 1978
BUFFALO — For only the second time this season, the Blazers lost back-to-back games, this time with a 96-90 loss to the struggling Buffalo Braves. The Blazers had been averaging 110 points per game this season prior to the last four road games, three of which resulted in a loss, but have had issues scoring of late. “On this trip we’ve had that problem (scoring),” said Blazer coach Jack Ramsay. “We had very few fast breaks and that is about one-third of our offense.” With Bill Walton and Lloyd Neal out, the Blazers have lost two players that combined for over 29 points and 18 rebounds per game, which greatly helped the fast break Ramsay speaks of. The Blazers return home to play the New Orleans Jazz on March 14.
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Soon though, Randy Smith hit a jumper from the key to put Buffalo back up 87-86. That basket was an historic shot in Brave history as Smith became the first player in franchise history to score 10,000 points for the team. After that basket, Buffalo’s Larry McNeill scored the next four points before Bob Gross hit a jumper to pull Portland to within three points at 91-88. The Blazers made an attempt to regain the lead but missed shots and a crucial foul on Gross allowed the Braves to get to the victory.
Smith, in his seventh season, led all scorers with 27 points and finished the game with exactly 10,000 career points. He also dished out a season high 10 assists for Buffalo and pulled down seven rebounds. |
These photos are from the Buffalo Braves FaceBook page
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Larry McNeill, the runner-up last season in the NBA Dunk contest, finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. Mike Glenn and Marvin Barnes each finished with 16 points, with Barnes also grabbing nine rebounds. Glenn also dished for six assists. Seen Nater finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Brave coach Cotton Fitzsimmons wasn’t sympathetic to the Blazers recent injury plight, saying “I don’t want to read tomorrow about how Walton and Neal were out. I’ve got a guy (Billy Knight) over at the hospital recovering from surgery and a little fellow (Nate Archibald) who hasn’t played at all this season.” Asked what he wanted to see, he said, “That we beat the champions and that we played better.”
Bob Gross led the Blazers with 18 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Tom Owens added 14 points, 11 rebounds and passed for seven assists. Dunn was the only other Blazer to get double-digits in scoring with 12 points and a career-high nine rebounds. “There weren’t many bright spots today, but Dunn’s play was one,” said Blazer assistant coach Jack McKinney. “He did a fine job, especially his defense on Smith in the second half. Randy only had six points in the second half.” Maurice Lucas, still struggling with a wrist injury, scored nine points on 2-16 shooting and could only grab five rebounds. Lionel Hollins, Johnny Davis, and Dave Twardzik each had eight points. |
March 10, 1978
ATLANTA — For only the twelfth time this year, the Blazers lost a road game, this one being a 105-114 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The Blazers had significant trouble with the Hawks defense, tallying only 13 assists for the game, the Blazers lowest all season. “We’re not going to win many games with 13 assists,” said Blazer coach Jack Ramsay. The loss gives the Blazers a road record of 21-12 and an overall 53-13 record.
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The teams played tight for the first 10 minutes and when Tom Owens hit a short jumper, he tied the game at 22-22. Soon though, the Hawks were off on a 10-4 run to end the quarter up 32-26, led by Charlie Criss who scored 16 points in the first half before settling for a 60-50 halftime lead. As the teams headed to the locker rooms, Jack Ramsay was talking with referees Don Murphy and Hubert Evans. Hawk coach Hubie Brown shouted at Ramsay “So that’s the way you win.” Ramsay waved his arm in disgust at Brown. Brown downplayed the injuries for the Blazers, noting the Blazers “are 5-3 without Walton so we did a job.” The Hawks scored the first eight points to start the third quarter, stretching the 10-point advantage to 18 in a matter of minutes. Eddie Johnson scored 15 points for the Hawks in the third quarter as Atlanta soon had a 92-73 advantage to close out the third. The Hawks largest lead was 23 points in the final quarter before the Blazer reserves made a late rally to make the final score a little more respectable.
The win moves the Hawks to 33-35 and into the playoff picture for the Eastern Conference. “I think our chances are good,” said Tom McMillen, who led the Hawks with 20 points and 13 rebounds. “We have 14 games left and it is going to be like a 14-game season for us.” Eddie Johnson finished the game with 19 points while Criss finished with 18 points and seven assists. Former Blazer Steve Hawes added 17 points and grabbed six rebounds. John Drew, who has averaged over 27 points in the previous six games with the Blazers, finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. “He (Drew) is probably the best baseline driver in the league, and we took that away from him,” said Blazer assistant coach Jack McKinney. “But we leet the other guys kill us.”
The Blazers were led by Johnny Davis and his season-high 23 points. “We should have executed better, that was the main problem,” said Davis. Maurice Lucas, still suffering with a hand injury, added 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Tom Owens and Lionel Hollins were the only other Blazers to score double digits, each finishing with 10 points. Owens added nine rebounds with Hollins grabbing six. Of the Blazers 13 assists, Owens passed for five while Davis had two. The Blazers move on to Buffalo to play the Braves on March 12, in a game that was originally scheduled for CBS but has been scrubbed televising the game due to the Blazers injuries.
The win moves the Hawks to 33-35 and into the playoff picture for the Eastern Conference. “I think our chances are good,” said Tom McMillen, who led the Hawks with 20 points and 13 rebounds. “We have 14 games left and it is going to be like a 14-game season for us.” Eddie Johnson finished the game with 19 points while Criss finished with 18 points and seven assists. Former Blazer Steve Hawes added 17 points and grabbed six rebounds. John Drew, who has averaged over 27 points in the previous six games with the Blazers, finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. “He (Drew) is probably the best baseline driver in the league, and we took that away from him,” said Blazer assistant coach Jack McKinney. “But we leet the other guys kill us.”
The Blazers were led by Johnny Davis and his season-high 23 points. “We should have executed better, that was the main problem,” said Davis. Maurice Lucas, still suffering with a hand injury, added 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Tom Owens and Lionel Hollins were the only other Blazers to score double digits, each finishing with 10 points. Owens added nine rebounds with Hollins grabbing six. Of the Blazers 13 assists, Owens passed for five while Davis had two. The Blazers move on to Buffalo to play the Braves on March 12, in a game that was originally scheduled for CBS but has been scrubbed televising the game due to the Blazers injuries.