October 28, 1977
PORTLAND — A mere 145 days have passed since these two teams last met in Portland’s Memorial Coliseum on that sunny June 5th to play the sixth game of the 1977 Finals. The winner then was the winner now as the Blazers pulled out a 98-94 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in a nationally televised game by CBS but this time Larry Steele was on the floor and not on the bench. Steele came off the Blazers bench this evening and scored 10 points in the second half as the Blazers came back in the fourth quarter to move to 4-1 on the young season. “Larry was great,” said Blazer center Bill Walton. “It’s so nice to have fellows come in off the bench with positive attitudes.” |
The Sixers opened the game running their fast-break at Portland with much success as the Philadelphia jumped to early leads before settling to a 27-23 first quarter margin. The Sixers continued to curtail the Blazers fast-break adding to their lead in the second quarter to move ahead 49-44 at halftime. “I think we both stopped each other’s breaks tonight,” said Philadelphia coach Gene Shue. “It wasn’t the kind of game a lot of people expected to see.” The teams played even in the third quarter as Philadelphia kept their five point lead at 73-68 going into the final quarter.
The Sixers only played eight players this evening with Doug Collins leading all scorers with 29 points. McGinnis had 18 points but continued to have shooting issues as he did during last years NBA Finals as he shot 4-14. McGinnis scored 10 points from the free throw line and grabbed 13 rebounds. Darryl Dawkins scored 13 points, gathered 12 rebounds and blocked six shots, prompting Walton to note his improvement from last season. Julius Erving came off the due to a stomach bug to score 10 points.
Bill Walton led the Blazers with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five block shots and Lionel Hollins added 18 points. Gross and Lucas each added 13 points and Steele had 14 points off the bench. “As always, someone from our bench played a big role,” said Blazer coach Jack Ramsey. “Larry did a super job for us.” The win is the 11th straight home victory for the Blazers, dating back to last season and the playoffs.
Bill Walton led the Blazers with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five block shots and Lionel Hollins added 18 points. Gross and Lucas each added 13 points and Steele had 14 points off the bench. “As always, someone from our bench played a big role,” said Blazer coach Jack Ramsey. “Larry did a super job for us.” The win is the 11th straight home victory for the Blazers, dating back to last season and the playoffs.
October 26, 1977
DENVER - The Blazers came into Denver on a high similar to when they arrived for Game 1 of the semi-finals last year, which was a Blazer victory, but today they left with a 111-108 loss to the Nuggets thanks to newly acquired Bryan Taylor. Taylor hit a 15-footer with 1:08 to give Denver a 107-104 lead before hitting two free throws with 11 seconds remaining to ice the home win. “The jumper felt good when it left my hand,” said Taylor. “There was no question in my mind on the free throws. I had plenty of confidence.” The loss moves the Blazers to 3-1 on the young season. Portland opened todays game unlike the previous three with quick leads to quiet the Nuggets fans, jumping to a 20-13 lead before Denver reeled off 19 straight points to get to a 32-20 lead, eventually getting to a 47-29 lead late in the second quarter. “We can’t let that happen,” said Blazer coach Jack Ramsey. “It’s just too tough a spot to put yourself in.” The Blazers found their own mini streak to close the gap to 56-48 at halftime. The teams played pretty even in the second half with the Blazers actually regaining the lead late with just under four minutes remaining after a 15-1 run, giving the Blazers a 102-98 lead with 3:20 remaining. David Thompson soon hit on a three-point play to pull the Nuggets to 102-101 before Dave Twardzik made two free throws to give the Blazers their last run. Dan Issel returned a rebound after two Thompson free throws to move Denver to a 105-104 lead before Taylor made his clutch shot. The best the Blazers could do was pull within a point twice more before the final free throws by Taylor provided the final margin. |
The Nuggets were led by Thompson with 24 points, 10 from the free throw line, while Bobby Jones added 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Bobby Wilkerson added 14 points and seven rebounds as well. Taylor ended the game with 12 points and said after the game, “Before I even moved to Denver, they told me they wanted me to be their leader down the stretch. I think tonight I did some of the things they expected of me.”
Bob Gross led the Blazers with 22 points with Dave Twardzik adding 17 points. Maurice Lucas struggled during the game with tight muscles in his back shooting 3-10 from the field and scored only 12 points but grabbed nine rebounds. Bill Walton scored 11, grabbed 13 rebounds and swatted six shots.
The Blazers return home to face the Philadelphia 76ers in a nationally televised game on CBS on October 28.
Bob Gross led the Blazers with 22 points with Dave Twardzik adding 17 points. Maurice Lucas struggled during the game with tight muscles in his back shooting 3-10 from the field and scored only 12 points but grabbed nine rebounds. Bill Walton scored 11, grabbed 13 rebounds and swatted six shots.
The Blazers return home to face the Philadelphia 76ers in a nationally televised game on CBS on October 28.
October 25, 1977
PORTLAND - The Buffalo Braves team that Jack Ramsey once coached in Portland were considered to be a potential NBA title contender. Two seasons later, nearly all the players have been scattered to the NBA winds with only Randy Smith still in the blue road uniforms that suffered a 107-85 loss to the Blazers before another sellout crowd of 12,666. The win was a team effort as the Blazers spotted the Braves the early lead in the first half before making their run in the third quarter. |
“We had good shots,” said Ramsey about the first half when both teams shot under 40%, adding, “we didn’t make as many as we usually make.” Ramsey made sure to compliment the Braves as well citing their “good defense, good rebounding and good ball movement.” For the Blazers team he currently coaches though, Ramsey wasn’t worried about sloppy play but made sure to make good use of his bench with 11 of the 12 Blazers playing 10 minutes or more and all twelve players scoring. “We got a lot of help from our bench,” he said.
Both teams played even for the first quarter, 20-20, and Buffalo was able to maintain a slight edge leading at the half 39-36. “The ball is not going to bounce one teams way all the time,” said Bill Walton referring to the teams second half play. “We rebounded better and we started to get better shots.” When the Braves John Shumate scored on a three-point play to start the third quarter, making the score 42-36, the Blazers finally found their shot. Within minutes, Dave Twardzik hit two quick baskets, one to tie the score at 44-44 and another to put the Blazers ahead to stay at 46-44 and they were on their way to record 39 points in the quarter. Buffalo was led by Billy Knight who scored 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Shumate scored 14 for the Braves along with seven rebounds. Gary Brokaw had 16 points off the bench while Smith added 12 points, though eight of those came late in the fourth quarter with the game out of hand. All eleven of the Braves players scored as well, but four of the five bench players did not record more than two points. For the Blazers, Maurice Lucas scored 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Walton added 16 points, 12 rebounds, eight blocks and five steals. As did the Braves, only two other Blazers scored in double digits with Lloyd Neal and Johnny Davis scoring 12 and 10 points respectively. The Blazers bench outscored the Braves 42-26 and out rebounded them 24-13. The Blazers, 3-0 for the first time since the 1973/74 season, will travel to Denver to play the Nuggets tomorrow evening in a game that will be televised back to Portland on KPTV |
October 22, 1977
PORTLAND - Lionel Hollins provided the firepower the Blazers needed to keep the game close in the first half before exploding in the final quarter of the 130-115 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the Blazers home opener. “Lionel had a super game,” said Blazer coach Jack Ramsey. “We needed it. San Antonio played excellent basketball, especially for the first one and half quarters.” Hollins scored 20 points in the first half and attributed the slow start, similar to the Seattle game last night, as the other teams coming out “charged up” adding that the Blazers need to start the games with better play. Assistant coach Jack McKinney agrees, saying “We played kind of sloppy at the start both at Seattle and tonight.” |
The sellout crowd of 12,666 gave the Blazers a standing ovation before the game as NBA Commissioner Larry O’Brien handed out Championship rings but when the Spurs and George Gervin opened to quick leads, the crowd became a little nervous. The Spurs scored 18 straight points in the first quarter to get
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to a 30-18 lead before Portland closed the gap to 32-24. San Antonio continued to hold a double digit lead at 48-35 halfway through the second quarter before Hollins went to work, scoring 10 points in the last five minutes to get the Blazers to a 59-55 halftime lead.
The Spurs were able to come back in the third quarter, outscoring the Blazers by six points to get to a 90-88 lead entering the final quarter before the Blazers scored the first eight points of the final quarter, never looking back after that. Hollins continued to score, adding 12 points in the quarter, pushing the Blazers to their largest lead at 122-102 with 3:06. “I was pleased we played well when we were behind,” said Ramsey. “I also was pleased that everyone contributed to the win. That’s the way we did it last year.”
The Spurs were able to come back in the third quarter, outscoring the Blazers by six points to get to a 90-88 lead entering the final quarter before the Blazers scored the first eight points of the final quarter, never looking back after that. Hollins continued to score, adding 12 points in the quarter, pushing the Blazers to their largest lead at 122-102 with 3:06. “I was pleased we played well when we were behind,” said Ramsey. “I also was pleased that everyone contributed to the win. That’s the way we did it last year.”
George Gervin led the Spurs with 26 points and eight assists. “He is an excellent offensive player,” said Ramsey. “ He seemingly always gets the shot he wants and he seems never to take a bad shot.” The Spurs exhibited an even scoring load after Gervin with Larry Kenon recorded 17 points while four other Spurs (Mark Oberdine, Bill Paultz, and Louie Dampier) scored 16 points. The Spurs bench outscored the Blazers bench 38-27.
All five Blazer starters scored in double figures with Hollins finishing the game with 36 points while Maurice Lucas added 20 points. Bob Gross bounced back from a two-point game versus Seattle with 17 points this evening and added eight assists while Bill Walton added 14 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. Dave Twardzik, the final starter, finished with 14 points and seven assists. Lloyd Neal came off the Blazers bench to score nine points. |
October 21, 1977
SEATTLE - The home team Sonics, guided by their new coach Bob Hopkins, jumped out to quick leads against the defending NBA Champion before finally falling 106-99 in the Blazers season opener. “For all the difficulties, it was a good win,” said Portland coach Jack Ramsey. “Seattle executed its offense and played well.” The Sonics loss to the Blazers this evening is the first time Portland defeated Seattle in a season opener after three previous season opening victories in 1971, 1972, and 1975. |
Seattle, led by Bruce Seals, jumped to an early lead as they closed out the first quarter with a 27-20 and continued to build to a 40-28 lead mid-way thru the second quarter. Seals had scored 16 points to that point while being defended by starter Bob Gross before Larry Steele and Lloyd Neal tried their hand trying to stop Seals before Ramsey put second year forward Wally Walker in the game. “Wally played Seals well last year,” said Ramsey. Walker was able to hold Seals scoreless for the rest of the half while scoring six points, leading Portland to get within four points, 43-47, by halftime. “Coach just told me to go in and keep moving.” Ramsey spoke highly of Walker after the game saying, “All he needs is experience. If he played on a lesser team he would have started last year.”
The Blazers tied the game at 49-49 after Dave Twardzik break-away three minutes into the third quarter and finally took the lead at 64-62 when Bill Walton hit a lefthand hook with 4:35 remaining in the quarter. Portland continued to pull away, twice getting to a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter as many of the 12,156 attendees made their way to the exits
Seals finished the game with 28 points and secured five rebounds while Fred Brown scored 18 points. Three Sonics, Paul Silas, Slick Watts and Mike Green, finished with 11 points. Hopkins, who spent the previous three seasons as an Assistant Coach with the Sonics under Bill Russell, took a loss in his opening game as a head coach. Seven Blazers scored in double figures with Maurice Lucas leading the way with 24 points with Walton adding 18 points. Walton secured 13 rebounds with Lucas one behind at 12 boards. Walker finished with 12 points off the bench with Lloyd Neal and Johnny Davis, who celebrated his 22nd birthday today, scored 13 and 10 points respectively off the bench. The Blazers as a team assisted on 20 of their 35 field goals. The Blazers play their home opener tomorrow against the San Antonio Spurs at 8pm with the game to be also available at Paramount Theater via Closed Circuit, becoming the first NBA to telecast games this way. NBA Commissioner Larry O’Brien is expected to attend and award the Blazers with their Championship rings. |