October 16
PORTLAND - The Blazers opened their inaugural season with a 115-112 victory over fellow expansion team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. A crowd of 4,273 sounded like 10,000 as the home team mounted a late drive to pull out the win.
The NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy was an honored guest along with Oregon Governor Tom McCall. |
The first point scored for the home team was a free throw by Jim Barnett at the 9:18 mark, with the first Field Goal coming with 8:25 remaining by Ron Knight. The Blazers first lead happened when Ed Manning tapped in a rebound to put Portland ahead 37-35.
Entering the final quarter, Portland was behind by 5 points and eventually falling behind by 8 before mounting the comeback to record the win. Jim Barnett led all scorers with 31 points while LeRoy Ellis pulled down 22 rebounds. The rebound total still stands as a Blazer record against Cleveland in regulation play. https://www.kerryeggers.com/stories/fifty-years-ago-the-blazers-got-it-all-started-with-a-victory-over-the-cavs |
Below are screen shots of the first game. On left, is Jim Barnett shooting jumper while Geoff Petrie drives on the right.
October 18
PORTLAND - The Blazers suffered their first loss of the young season with a 133-115 drubbing by the famed Boston Celtics. John Havlicek led the Celtics with a triple-double of 38 points. 14 rebounds and 13 assists. Dave Cowens, the rookie center for the Celtics had a game high 20 rebounds along with 18 points. Cowens has grabbed 20 or more rebounds in 3 of his first 4 games as a rookie. He would grab 20 or more 13 times his rookie season and would average 15.0 rebounds and 17 points his rookies season.
|
Don Nelson added 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the victors. The 133 point total for Boston would be their highest regulation total ever against the Blazers. During a double-overtime game in 1992, the Celtics scored 152 points against Portland
Jim Barnett again led the Blazers with 26 points, with Geoff Petrie a bucket behind with 24 points. Reserve Ed Manning led the Blazers with 14 rebounds as the Blazers were out rebounded for the second game in a row.
Jim Barnett again led the Blazers with 26 points, with Geoff Petrie a bucket behind with 24 points. Reserve Ed Manning led the Blazers with 14 rebounds as the Blazers were out rebounded for the second game in a row.
October 20
PORTLAND - The Blazers bounced back from their first loss with a 120-98 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeRoy Ellis and Geoff Petrie led the Blazers with 21 points each, with Ellis adding 13 rebounds. Ed Manning had the game high 14 rebounds. Stan McKenzie extended his Free Throw streak to 23 consecutive successful attempts by going 11-11 today.
Prior to the game, the Blazers acquired Shaler Halimon from the Chicago Bulls |
October 22
PORTLAND - The Portland Trail Blazers traded Dorie Murrey today to the Baltimore Bullets in exchange for a 1971 2nd round draft pick in coming NBA draft. Murrey played a total of 20 minutes in two games with the Blazers. He scored 11 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Murreys' playing time was limited behind center LeRoy Ellis and Dale Schlueter and at the forward position behind Ed Manning and newly acquired Shaler Halimon. Murrey was a 4th year veteran of the NBA when the Blazersacquired him from the #SeattleSuperSonics in the Expansion Draft, is expected to back up the Bullets All-Star center Wes Unseld.
The Blazers also activated Bill Stricker from the inactive list. Stricker first came to Portland for a tryout during the preseason games but the Bullets did not release him until today. Stricker dressed and was sitting on the bench all 3 games but didn't play despite many fans chanting "We want Stricker" in the Blazers recent 120-98 victory over the Cavaliers
Sports Illustrated is in Portland and is looking to have a story about the Blazers in a coming issue.
Murrey During his six-year NBA career Murrey averaged 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 357 career games.
The Blazers also activated Bill Stricker from the inactive list. Stricker first came to Portland for a tryout during the preseason games but the Bullets did not release him until today. Stricker dressed and was sitting on the bench all 3 games but didn't play despite many fans chanting "We want Stricker" in the Blazers recent 120-98 victory over the Cavaliers
Sports Illustrated is in Portland and is looking to have a story about the Blazers in a coming issue.
Murrey During his six-year NBA career Murrey averaged 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 357 career games.
October 23
SEATTLE - The game between #Portland and #Seattle is the first of 192 games between the Northwest rivals before the Sonics move and become the Oklahoma City Thunder. Over the 38 years, the Sonics would lead the series 98-94 with the Blazers finishing with a 13 season series, losing 15, and tying 10 times against the Sonics.
#KPTV now a FOX 12 Oregon station traveled to Seattle to televise the Blazers 141-111 loss to the #SuperSonics. Lenny Wilkens recorded 19 assists with Don Smith pulling down 21 rebounds in the rout but the biggest news from this game was the Sonics loss of All-Star Bob Rule. With under 3 minutes remaining in the half, Rule and Blazers center Dale Schlueter bumped each other on a rebound, with Schlueter getting the foul but Rule getting a ruptured achilles once he landed. Rule missed the rest of the 1970/71 season. |
Until this injury, Rule had been averaging 31 points and 11 rebounds this season and 24 points and 10.5 rebounds in his 3 year career. Rule would play 3 more seasons but was never close to what he had been. Rule recently passed away at the age of 75.
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/nba/bob-rule-forward-for-original-sonics-team-dies-at-75/?fbclid=IwAR2TOegfzjJXhz-hhEn-Hqwsilicc857tjvcVj1MsRsHp_8AvZgcnYznK04
Game Notes include: Stan McKenzie finally missed a free throw after 21 consecutive attempts. The 141 points is a Sonics record for most points vs the Blazers. The 19 assists by Lenny Wilkens is the most by a Sonic against Portland, though Nate McMillan would tie it in 1989. Both Wilkens and McMillan would eventually be Blazer coaches.
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/nba/bob-rule-forward-for-original-sonics-team-dies-at-75/?fbclid=IwAR2TOegfzjJXhz-hhEn-Hqwsilicc857tjvcVj1MsRsHp_8AvZgcnYznK04
Game Notes include: Stan McKenzie finally missed a free throw after 21 consecutive attempts. The 141 points is a Sonics record for most points vs the Blazers. The 19 assists by Lenny Wilkens is the most by a Sonic against Portland, though Nate McMillan would tie it in 1989. Both Wilkens and McMillan would eventually be Blazer coaches.
October 24
OAKLAND - Jerry Lucas of the San Francisco/ Golden State Warriors grabbed 28 rebounds and chipped in 26 points in the 118-115 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. The rebound total still ranks as the 3rd highest total rebound total by an opponent and is still the best by a Warrior player against Portland. The 78 rebounds by the Warriors is still ranked as the highest by an opponent.
Geoff Petrie gave San Francisco quite a scare as he scored 10 points in the final 44 seconds and finished with a then career-high 38 points.
Trailblazers coach RollandTodd returns to local ground where he played for the #OaklandOaks of the #ABL during the 1962/63 season.
|
October 25
PORTLAND - The Blazers lost another home game to an established team, this time falling 131-116 to the Chicago Bulls. Geoff Petrie again led the Blazers with 26 points while Stan McKenzie, Rick Adelman, and LeRoy Ellis all adding 17 points. Ellis led Portland with 11 rebounds. Portland has a record of 2-4 currently, with both wins against fellow expansion team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. The third expansion team, the Buffalo Braves, come to visit in two days.
Bob Love led the victors with 30 points and grabbed 10 rebound with John Baum adding 20 points. Tom Boerwinkle had a game high 18 rebounds |
October 27
PORTLAND - The Portland Trail Blazers and the #BuffaloBraves meet for the first time in the inaugural season, with the Blazers pulling out a 119-108 victory. The NBA scheduled the Blazers, Braves, and the Cleveland Cavaliersto play each other 12 times each. The Blazers are already 2-0 vs Cleveland and now 1-0 vs Buffalo, Home of the Braves with their second meeting coming in four days hence. In fact, Fred Meyer has an ad in the The Oregonian offering tickets for $1.00 for the coming Braves game.
This game also featured Geoff Petrie and John Hummer meet for the first time since graduating from Princeton University. Hummer finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds while Petrie scored 18 points.
Game Notes: LeRoy Ellis recorded the Blazers first 20/20 game with 25 points and 26 rebounds. The 26 rebounds still stands as a team record for rebounds in a regulation game. Sidney Wicks grabbed 27 rebounds in 1975 in a double-overtime game. Stan McKenzie hit 17 of his 19 Free Throws, a club record for made free throws at the time, and still the third highest.
This game also featured Geoff Petrie and John Hummer meet for the first time since graduating from Princeton University. Hummer finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds while Petrie scored 18 points.
Game Notes: LeRoy Ellis recorded the Blazers first 20/20 game with 25 points and 26 rebounds. The 26 rebounds still stands as a team record for rebounds in a regulation game. Sidney Wicks grabbed 27 rebounds in 1975 in a double-overtime game. Stan McKenzie hit 17 of his 19 Free Throws, a club record for made free throws at the time, and still the third highest.
October 28
October 30
PORTLAND - The Blazers lost another match to the Seattle Supersonics as future NBA Hall-of-Fame player Lenny Wilkens pulled off a triple-double with 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Sonic Rookie Pete Cross, starting in place of injured center Bob Rule, gabbed 22 rebounds in the win. Cross played 6 minutes in the first Blazer/Sonic game in which Rule was injured. He has started the last four games, averaging 10 points and 13 rebounds in four games.
|
October 31
PORTLAND - The Portland Trail Blazers and the #BuffaloBraves played a second game in four days with the Blazers again coming out on top, this time 107-102 behind Jim Barnett's 38 points.
Barnett had an amazing 89-second, 9-point barrage that moved Portland from behind 70-72 to ahead 79-72, including a long 35-foot bomb that swished thru the net as Barnett had already moved back into the defensive end of the court. Rick Adelman passed for 10 assists, becoming the first Blazer to reach double-digits in the assists total. |