Both benches cleared, including the coaches, as everyone rushed to the floor. Gross' teammate, Maurice Lucas eventually ended up slapping Dawkins from behind. Lucas and Dawkins were ejected from the game, and Dawkins' teammate, Doug Collins, had to receive four stitches after he caught a missed punch by Dawkins. With the series moving to Portland for Game Three, the Blazers realized that they had to win both games to get back into the series.
However, before the game even started, Maurice Lucas, who was ejected from Game Two walked over to the 76ers bench and shook hands with Darryl Dawkins, hoping they could keep the past behind them. The Blazers finally looked like the team that they were in the regular season, as the offense starting to take charge. Perhaps the biggest moment of the game was when Gross attempted an alley-oop pass to Bill Walton, and the latter was able to tip it in over Dawkins, who knocked Walton to the floor.
The Sixers then threw the ball in bounds, but was stolen by Dave Twardzik, who immediately found Walton, who had just gotten up, for an alley-oop dunk. Walton almost had a triple-double in the game, as he finished it with 20 points, 18 rebounds, and 9 assists.
All five Blazers starters scored at least 15 points in the game. The Blazers, now realizing that they now had a great shot at winning both games in Portland, started Game Four off on a run to start the game. They never looked back, even when their star player, Bill Walton, was forced to the bench due to foul trouble in the third quarter. With Walton on the bench, Portland outscored the 76ers, and their lead ballooned to Philadelphia would outscore the Blazers in the fourth by nine points, but it was not enough, as the Blazers easily handled the 76ers, Walton played just 26 minutes in the win, but certainly filled the stat sheet.
He scored 12 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, dished out seven assists, and blocked four shots. The 76ers' Julius Erving scored 24 points, but the other four starters scored the exact same amount. That's more than likely what led to such a dominant performance by the Blazers.
With the series tied , the series was headed back to Philadelphia for Game Five. The 76ers felt comfortable, even though they had lost the last two games. They had won every game at home during the postseason and thought they would down the Blazers easily.
The 76ers spent most of the first half fouling the Blazers, racking up 22 at halftime. Both teams were in the 40s at half, something that really hadn't happened in the series thus far.
However, the Blazers would go on to score 40 points in the third quarter. At one point, with the Blazers holding on to just a one-point lead, they would go on a run to enter the last period leading by Julius Erving kept the Sixers in the game in the fourth quarter, as he helped trim the lead to five points with left in the game. Bob Gross was the leading scorer for the Blazers with 25 points.
Walton went on a rebounding frenzy, grabbing 24 rebounds and scoring 14 points. He also helped hold Philadelphia's center, Caldwell Jones, scoreless.
Milwaukee Boston Detroit Cleveland Portland Houston Phoenix Memphis Herm Gilliam. Bob Gross.
Lionel Hollins. Arizona State. Robin Jones. Saint Louis. Maurice Lucas. Clyde Mayes. Furman University. Lloyd Neal. Tennessee State. Larry Steele. Dave Twardzik. Old Dominion. Wally Walker. Bill Walton. Every player off the bench gave the team something positive, and the Blazers took the NBA Championship on June 5.
The city of Portland exulted in its happiness on a sunny Sunday afternoon after the last game. The next day, more than a quarter million Blazer fans filled Broadway, and the caravan of open cars containing the coaches and players had to inch its way along through the crowd.
Younger spectators climbed street lamps, office windows were filled with well-wishers throwing streamers and confetti, and the throng pressed in, hoping to touch hands with the players. The Blazers were a better team in the season. But Walton developed foot pains, diagnosed as a neuroma between two of his toes.
At the All-Star Game break, team doctor Robert Cook recommended surgery, a procedure that he anticipated would relieve the problem and keep Walton out of action for only about two weeks. Walton had the surgery, his discomfort continued, and he was sidelined for the rest of the regular season. In the first game of the playoffs against Seattle, he suffered a stress fracture in his foot and was finished for the season. Seattle won the series, Gross, Neal, and Twardzik suffered injuries that minimized their effectiveness.
Lucas, Gross, and Hollins were unable to reach contractual agreements; and Davis, Calhoun, Gilliam, Walker, and Jones were eventually traded.
The championship Blazers were no more. Over the next eight years, with Ramsey as coach, Inman attempted to re-tool a championship team with a number of good players acquired through the NBA Draft and trades. The Blazers were always competitive, but they were not of championship caliber. All of those players were eventually traded or joined other teams through free agency. Changes also occurred in the Portland front office. Weinberg brought Jon Spoelstra on board to run the business end of the franchise in Portland and added Harley Frankel to his Los Angeles staff.
In the process, Inman was nudged out and took on a similar position with the Milwaukee Bucks. In the summer of , Mike Schuler was named coach, and Ramsey took the head coaching job with the Indiana Pacers.
That fall, Spoelstra was named general manager, and a year later Glickman was elevated to team president. Weinberg sold the team to billionaire computer magnate Paul Allen in In the spring of , Buckwalter had made deals that affected the Blazers in the present and future.
He then made a trade that brought Steve Johnson to the team, and picked up Drazen Petrovic in the draft. Portland improved to a record in —and Schuler earned Coach of the Year honors—and had a record in , but the Blazers were ousted from the playoffs in the first round both seasons.
The team struggled the next year, Schuler was replaced by assistant Rick Adelman in February l Portland squeezed into the playoffs that year but was swept in the first round by the Lakers. The following season, , Geoff Petrie became general manager, and the Blazers finished The Blazers had a better record the following season, , but lost to the Lakers in the Conference Finals. The team had scrambled to the pinnacle of success, but was unable to get over the top.
In the next two seasons, the Blazers were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round. In the spring of , Adelman—who has the best winning percentage. Carlesimo, and Bob Whittsit took over for Petrie.
From to , with Whittsit as general manager, the Blazers frequently traded draft choices for veteran personnel. In the process, Portland acquired a number of players with troubled pasts. From to , no player drafted played a significant role with the team; and in and , Portland had no draft picks at all.
It was not until that Portland selected a player— Zach Randolph—who had a positive impact on the team.
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