Game #1 @Philadelphia

With the Lakers coming off a 12-day layoff, the 76’ers seemed to be in control of the 1st game until a 2nd half avalanche buried them. L.A. committed 16 turnovers in the 1st half as Philly built an 11-point halftime lead. Julius Erving and Andrew Toney both had huge 1st quarters. The Doctor scored 6 of their first 8 points and Toney tallied 10 in the period. Philadelphia stretched their lead to 15 points in the 3rd quarter (83-68). L.A. coach Pat Riley then switched to their zone trap defense and the Lakers responded with a 40-9 run over an 11-minute stretch of the 3rd and 4th quarters. The tsunami started with a 19-2 run that gave L.A. their first lead at 87-85 with 1:49 left in the 3rd period. Jamaal Wilkes who scored 16 points in the 3rd period led their surge; 14 of them came off offensive rebounds or fastbreaks. Both Erving & Toney would run dry. Dr. J would score only 7 points in the games final 22 minutes while Toney would score only 1 bucket after the 1st quarter until the closing minutes of the game when the outcome had been decided. The win was L.A.’s 9th straight playoff win; a NBA record.

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Game #2 @Philadelphia

In a replay of the 1st game, Philadelphia again built a 15 point 3rd quarter. This time, however, there would be no collapse as L.A. would come no closer than 8 points in the 4th quarter. Riley switched Magic Johnson to guard Dr. J but it did not pay dividends. The Sixers grabbed 28 offensive rebounds and converted them into 50 points. They were aided by a trio of reserves; Mike Bantom, Clint Richardson and Earl Cureton. Cureton came in during the 2nd quarter when Darryl Dawkins and Caldwell Jones were in foul trouble. He held Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to 4 points in the last 5 minutes of the quarter as Philly maintained their lead. Andrew Toney started slow (1-8 FG in 1st half) but hit his first 4 shots of the 3rd to help Philadelphia break it open. Bantom held Jamaal Wilkes to 9 points after replacing Bobby Jones who suffered a hip pointer. 

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Game #3 @Los Angeles

The Lakers survived some foul trouble for Kareem and some sizzling shooting by Andrew Toney to bury Philadelphia and take a 2-1 lead in the series. Abdul-Jabbar was limited to 10 minutes in the 1st half due to foul trouble but L.A. still managed to hold a double digit lead throughout. L.A. held Philadelphia to only 3 points in the last 3:04 of the 1st quarter as they raced to a 12 point lead. Dr. J had to leave the game for awhile to have a broken bridge repaired. Toney kept Philadelphia from being blown out with 14 2nd quarter points. Michael Cooper hit a 3-point shot at the 1st half buzzer to give L.A. a 60-48 lead. The Lakers then outscored the 76’ers 17-4 in the first 5:30 of the 3rd quarter to break the game open. L.A. led 77-52 after the run and coasted the rest of the way. Norm Nixon hit 8 of 16 shots and scored 21 points in the 2nd half after a slow start.

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Game #4 @Los Angeles

The Lakers again raced to a big early lead in the Forum as they again controlled the game and moved to a 3-1 series lead. Philadelphia rallied in the 2nd quarter and took a 38-36 lead when the momentum turned. Dr. J came up with a steal and went in to convert but Magic drew a charge. L.A. then went on an 18-2 tear that was capped by a Jamaal Wilkes layup that made it 54-40 in favor of the Lakers. L.A. would remain in control and still led 87-71 early in the 4th quarter. The Sixers made an 8-2 run to close the gap to 89-80 but L.A. answered and was up 96-84. Dr. J then scored 6 straight for Philadelphia but Wilkes and Michael Cooper answered to make it 100-90 L.A. with 5:42 to play. L.A. was leading 105-98 with 3 minutes left when 2 crucial 76’er turnovers sealed their fate.

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Game #5 @Philadelphia

Philadelphia stayed alive with a dominating blowout in the Spectrum. They just owned the court in every facet in this game. Kareem scored only 6 points; his lowest total since the infamous Kent Benson game in 1977. Billy Cunningham employed his own “zone trap” to help spur the rout. Abdul-Jabbar picked up 2 fouls in the games first 1:36 and then picked up his 4th less than 4 minutes into the 3rd period. Philadelphia survived 7 1st quarter turnovers mainly because they were forcing L.A. into just as many turnovers. Philadelphia, unlike L.A., was also converting those turnovers into points. For the game, Philly scored 28 points off turnovers while L.A. had only 4. Dr. J was 0-7 in the game’s first 22 minutes but scored 23 points (on 8-9 FG shooting) in the final 26 minutes. Philadelphia made 37 of 51 2nd half shots and scored 81 points while committing only 3 turnovers. L.A. made only 1 of its first 12 shots as Philadelphia took a 7-point lead in the 1st quarter. L.A. would rally as they hit 24 of 35 shots to tie the game at 70 in the 3rd. The 76’ers would outscore them by an unbelievable 65-32 count the rest of the way.

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Game #6 @Los Angeles

As per the pattern at the Forum, L.A. took command early. This time however, Philadelphia would not go quietly into the night. After forging a double digit lead in the 2nd quarter, L.A. would have it sliced to a single point in the 3rd quarter on a Bobby Jones short jump shot. Philadelphia could not get over the top though. With the score L.A. 76 Philly 75, McAdoo blocked Dr. J twice in a row to preserve the lead. It was 80-79 L.A. late in the 3rd when Michael Cooper forced 3 straight Sixer turnovers that lead to a 6-0 run (Magic 2 FT, Kareem 2 FT and a McAdoo jumper). After an Andrew Toney 18-footer, L.A. was leading 103-100 with less than 4 minutes to play when Kareem converted an offensive rebound into a 3-point play to make it 106-100. After a Maurice Cheeks’ miss, Bob McAdoo grabbed the board, which led a Jamaal Wilkes breakaway hoop that made it an 8 point game and slam the door.

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