Game #1 @Philadelphia

The 76’ers jumped out to an early 23-12 lead behind the hot shooting of Andrew Toney, who was 5-9 from the field in the 1st quarter, and Clint Richardson. The pair each scored 10 points in the 1st stanza. L.A. was also suffered a blow when Norm Nixon separated his shoulder in a collision with Andrew Toney at the 9:23 mark of the 1st quarter. Nixon would comeback though. L.A. would rally in the 2nd quarter behind Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jamaal Wilkes to take the lead. Philadelphia stayed close in the 2nd quarter because of Moses Malone and his 10 point, 8 rebound quarter; much of it against Mark Landsberger who replaced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when he picked up his 3rd foul. Magic Johnson also picked up his 3rd foul in the 2nd at the 5:15 mark. Michael Cooper stepped in and ran the show. Julius Erving made only 3 of 11 1st half shots. Philly was trailing 64-62 early in the 3rd when they went on an 8-0 run to take the lead for good. L.A. would shoot only 35% in the 3rd. Nixon scored 17 points in the 2nd half to keep L.A. in it but they could never catch up. Philadelphia led 100-88 midway through the 4th quarter and never let L.A. back. Abdul-Jabbar was shut down by Malone in the 2nd half; in fact, he did not grab a rebound in the 2nd half. L.A. was playing without Bob McAdoo (thigh injury) and James Worthy (broken leg).

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Game #2 @Philadelphia

L.A. controlled the lead in the 1st half behind the scoring of Kareem and Jamaal Wilkes. They were also bolstered by the return of Bob McAdoo who provided a spark off the bench on defense and on the glass in the 1st half. Philadelphia climbed back into the lead behind a big 3rd period from Maurice Cheeks whose scoring and passing led to all but 6 3rd quarter point for the Sixers. L.A. tried to fight back and looked to be in good shape early in the 4th. Philadelphia was leading 83-79 with 7:58 left but Moses Malone had just picked up his 5th personal foul. In addition, his normal back up Clemon Johnson was out with an urinary infection. 76’ers coach Billy Cunningham had to turn to Earl “The Twirl” Cureton. Cureton delivered. He played the next 5:34 and scored 2 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and came up with 2 steals. Perhaps most importantly, he held Kareem in check. Cureton’s hook shot at the 4:26 mark gave Philly a 91-85 lead. Malone would check back in with 2:24 to play and the lead at 95-87. He would make 5 free throws down the stretch while L.A. could muster only 2 desperation 3-pointers by McAdoo. In the decisive 4th quarter, Philadelphia outrebounded L.A. 15-9 and forced 8 turnovers. 

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Game #3 @Los Angeles

L.A. returned to the Forum and it looked like Showtime returned as well. L.A. raced to a 11-point 1st quarter lead. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also held Moses Malone without a bucket in the quarter as well. The Lakers extended the lead to 40-25 midway through the 2nd period. Then Dr. J and Moses began to exert themselves. The Sixers went on a 20-7 run to close within 47-45 late in the half. In the 3rd quarter, Philadelphia continued to press but L.A. held tight at the charity stripe. The Lakers would make only 2 field goals in the 3rd but make 16 of 19 free throws. Bob McAdoo made 2 hoops to start the 4th and give L.A. a 76-72 lead. It was all 76’ers after that. They started with a 14-0 run that gave them a 86-76 lead. The run was a true team effort consisting of 2 hoops by Bobby Jones and Andrew Toney with 1 each from Erving, Malone and Maurice Cheeks. Malone would score 8 straight points to hold off any Laker run and give Philly a 96-86 lead with 2:18 to play. L.A. made only 12 of 40 field goal attempts in the 2nd half.Norm Nixon had to leave the game after hurting his knee. He also needed 4 stitches in his chin.

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Game #4 @Los Angeles

L.A. had to try and stave off elimination without Norm Nixon or Bob McAdoo who were out with their injuries. It looked like they would do so as they raced to a 17-point 2nd quarter lead. Kareem held Moses to only 9 points and 7 rebounds in the 1st half while scoring 17 of his own. Philadelphia started to comeback in the 2nd half and closed the gap to 82-78 late in the 3rd period. It looked like L.A. would survive the challenge when they closed the 3rd with a 11-4 run to lead by 11. However, the 4th period was all 76’ers. Moses, who would score 15 points and grab 16 boards in the 2nd half, led the charge. However, it was Dr. J who closed the door. Sensing his 1st NBA title, he made the biggest plays. With L.A. leading 106-104, The Doctor stole the ball from Kareem and dunked it home to tie the game at 106. Following a Laker free throw, Erving converted a 3-point play to give the 76’ers a 109-107 lead with 59 seconds left. After a steal, Dr. J then nailed a 1-handed runner over Magic from the top of the key to make it 111-107 with 24 seconds left.

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