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1978 NBA Finals

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1978 Finals
TeamCoachWins
Washington Bullets Dick Motta 4
Seattle SuperSonics Lenny Wilkens 3
DatesMay 21 – June 7
MVPWes Unseld
(Washington Bullets)
Hall of FamersSuperSonics:
Dennis Johnson (2010)
Bullets:
Elvin Hayes (1990)
Wes Unseld (1988)
Coaches:
Lenny Wilkens (1989, player/1998, coach)
Officials:
Darell Garretson (2016)
Earl Strom (1995)
Eastern finalsBullets defeat 76ers, 4–2
Western finalsSuperSonics defeat Nuggets, 4–2
{{{league}}} finals

The 1978 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1977–78 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. The series featured the Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics against the Eastern Conference champion Washington Bullets. The Bullets defeated the SuperSonics in seven games to win the NBA championship. Bullets power forward/center Wes Unseld was named MVP of the series. Before the Cleveland Cavaliers' Game 7 win at Golden State in the 2016 NBA Finals, this was the last time a road team had won Game 7 in the NBA Finals.

Background

The Seattle SuperSonics had a disappointing start to the season, going 5–17 to begin with. Bob Hopkins, who replaced former Boston Celtics center Bill Russell as coach, was fired and Lenny Wilkens returned for a second tour of duty. The Sonics were led by center Jack Sikma, forwards Fred Brown, Paul Silas and John Johnson, and guards Dennis Johnson and Gus Williams. With Wilkens' experience being a key factor, the Sonics turned their season around, finishing with 47 wins and the fourth seed in the West. In the playoffs, they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-game miniseries, then upset the top-seeded and defending champion Portland Trail Blazers (who lost center Bill Walton in the second game of the series) in six games, before announcing their finals debut with a six-game win over the Denver Nuggets.

The Washington Bullets franchise made the Finals twice before in the 1970s, but were swept on both occasions, first by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971 when they were still in Baltimore, and then by the Cinderella Golden State Warriors in 1975. The Bullets kept some of the personnel from that 1975 team, including All-Stars Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes, but Dick Motta was now in his second year of coaching duty. The Bullets struggled with injuries during the season, but managed to finish with 44 wins, good for the third seed in the East. In the playoffs, the Bullets disposed the Atlanta Hawks in a two-game first round series, then ousted the San Antonio Spurs in six games, before making the finals again with a six-game win over the defending Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers.

Road to the Finals

Main article: 1978 NBA Playoffs
Seattle SuperSonics (Western Conference Champion) Washington Bullets (Eastern Conference Champion)
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Portland Trail Blazers 58 24 .707 –
2 y-Denver Nuggets 48 34 .585 10
3 x-Phoenix Suns 49 33 .598 9
4 x-Seattle SuperSonics 47 35 .573 11
5 x-Los Angeles Lakers 45 37 .549 13
6 x-Milwaukee Bucks 44 38 .537 14
7 Golden State Warriors 43 39 .524 15
8 Chicago Bulls 40 42 .488 18
9 Detroit Pistons 38 44 .463 20
10 Indiana Pacers 31 51 .378 27
11 Kansas City Kings 31 51 .378 27
4th seed in the West, 6th best league record 		Regular season
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Philadelphia 76ers 55 27 .671 –
2 y-San Antonio Spurs 52 30 .634 3
3 x-Washington Bullets 44 38 .537 11
4 x-Cleveland Cavaliers 43 39 .524 12
5 x-New York Knicks 43 39 .524 12
6 x-Atlanta Hawks 41 41 .500 14
7 New Orleans Jazz 39 43 .476 16
8 Boston Celtics 32 50 .390 23
9 Houston Rockets 28 54 .341 27
10 Buffalo Braves 27 55 .329 28
11 New Jersey Nets 24 58 .293 31
3rd seed in the East, 9th best league record
Defeated the (5) Los Angeles Lakers, 2–1 First Round Defeated the (6) Atlanta Hawks, 2–0
Defeated the (1) Portland Trail Blazers, 4–2 Conference Semifinals Defeated the (2) San Antonio Spurs, 4–2
Defeated the (2) Denver Nuggets, 4–2 Conference Finals Defeated the (1) Philadelphia 76ers, 4–2

Regular season series

Washington won the regular season series 3–1.

Series summary

Game Date Home Team Result Road Team
Game 1 May 21 Seattle 106–102 Washington
Game 2 May 25 Washington 106–98 Seattle
Game 3 May 28 Washington 92–93 Seattle
Game 4 May 30 Seattle 116–120 (OT) Washington
Game 5 June 2 Seattle 98–94 Washington
Game 6 June 4 Washington 117–82 Seattle
Game 7 June 7 Seattle 99–105 Washington

Bullets win series 4-3

Game 1

May 21
12:00 p.m. PDT
Washington Bullets 102, Seattle SuperSonics 106
Scoring by quarter: 31–25, 27–24, 26–24, 18–33
Pts: Grevey 27
Rebs: Hayes 9
Asts: Henderson 7		 Pts: Brown 30
Rebs: Webster 14
Asts: Johnson 5
Seattle leads the series, 1–0
Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle
Attendance: 14,098
Referees:
  • No. 10 Darell Garretson
  • No. 17 Ed Rush

The Bullets, behind Kevin Grevey's 27 and Elvin Hayes's 21 points, held a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter at the Seattle Center Coliseum. But, the Sonics staged a comeback in front of the home crowd, led by "instant offense" guard Fred Brown. Brown scored 16 points in the last nine minutes to finish with 32 and give the SuperSonics the win.[1]

Game 2

May 25
9:00 p.m. EDT
Seattle SuperSonics 98, Washington Bullets 106
Scoring by quarter: 16–29, 36–27, 19–24, 27–26
Pts: Williams 24
Rebs: Webster 12
Asts: Johnson, Silas, Williams 4		 Pts: Dandridge 34
Rebs: Unseld 15
Asts: Henderson, Unseld 5
Series tied, 1–1
Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Attendance: 19,035
Referees:
  • No. 7 Joe Gushue
  • No. 11 Jake O'Donnell

In an unusual 1-2-2-1-1 scheduling format, the next two games were played at the Capital Centre, the Bullets' home floor. Wes Unseld defended inside on Marvin Webster and Jack Sikma, pulled down 15 rebounds, and handed out five assists. This work enabled Bob Dandridge to score 34 points and Elvin Hayes 25 as the Bullets evened the series, winning their first NBA Finals game following nine consecutive losses.[2]

Game 3

May 28
1:30 p.m. EDT
Seattle SuperSonics 93, Washington Bullets 92
Scoring by quarter: 24–24, 25–23, 20–20, 24–25
Pts: Webster, Williams 20
Rebs: Silas 14
Asts: Brown, Johnson, Sikma, Webster, Williams 2		 Pts: Hayes 29
Rebs: Hayes 20
Asts: Dandridge 6
Seattle leads the series, 2–1
Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Attendance: 19,035
Referees:
  • No. 12 Earl Strom
  • No. 9 John Vanak

Dennis Johnson was superb on defense, blocking seven shots and holding Kevin Grevey to 1-for-14 shooting. Paul Silas, the SuperSonics' veteran leader off the bench, helped shut down the Bullets' big men.

With 10 seconds remaining and the SuperSonics leading 93-90, Johnson's inbounds pass was stolen by Tom Henderson, who scored to make it 93-92 with five seconds left. Silas then stepped on the baseline trying to make the subsequent inbounds pass, turning the ball over to the Bullets. Bob Dandridge missed at the buzzer, however, and the SuperSonics picked up a victory on the road.[3]

Game 4

May 30
6:00 p.m. PDT
Washington Bullets 120, Seattle SuperSonics 116 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 23–25, 25–31, 30–31, 28–19, Overtime: 14–10
Pts: Dandrigde 23
Rebs: Hayes 13
Asts: Henderson 11		 Pts: Johnson 33
Rebs: Webster 15
Asts: Silas 6
Series tied, 2–2
Kingdome, Seattle
Attendance: 39,457
Referees:
  • No. 14 Jack Madden
  • No. 6 Don Murphy

Game 4 was held in the Seattle Kingdome because the Seattle Center Coliseum was tied up with a mobile-home show. As a result, the Bullets had to contend with a then-record playoff crowd of over 39,000 fans.

The SuperSonics led by 15 with two minutes left in the third quarter. At this point, the Bullet guards, who had been victimized all series by Gus Williams and emerging star Dennis Johnson, started to assert themselves, especially reserves Charles Johnson and Larry Wright.

At the start of the final period, Dennis Johnson was elbowed hard in the ribs and left the game for a short time. With Charles Johnson, Wright, Mitch Kupchak and Bob Dandridge in the lineup, the Bullets stormed back and took a 103-101 lead with about 3½ minutes left in the game. Dennis Johnson then returned and went on a barrage, scoring first to tie the game, blocking a Dandridge shot, getting an offensive rebound, and pushing the Sonics to a 104-103 lead with a foul shot. Johnson would finish with 33 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

Dandridge answered with a three-point play that returned the lead to Washington, 106-104. Seattle got the ball back and tied it with "instant offense" Fred Brown's jumper from "downtown". With two seconds left, Dandridge got a good shot in the lane, only to have Johnson block it, forcing overtime. But then, Charles Johnson became an instant hero by hitting three quick shots in overtime to give the Bullets a 120-116 win. The Bullets had tied the series at two wins apiece.[4]

Game 5

June 2
6:00 p.m. PDT
Washington Bullets 94, Seattle SuperSonics 98
Scoring by quarter: 24–23, 17–29, 26–24, 27–22
Pts: Grevey 22
Rebs: Dandridge 10
Asts: Henderson 6		 Pts: Brown 26
Rebs: Webster 13
Asts: Johnson 7
Seattle leads the series, 3–2
Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle
Attendance: 14,098
Referees:
  • No. 7 Joe Gushue
  • No. 11 Jake O'Donnell

The SuperSonics returned to the Seattle Center Coliseum and eked out a close win. "Downtown" Freddie Brown had 26 points and Dennis Johnson 24 to carry Seattle to a 98-94 win and the series lead. The Bullets lost it at the line, making only 9 of 20 free throws in the second half. Even so, they cut Seattle's 11-point lead to two with less than two minutes to go before Jack Sikma hit three free throws down the stretch.[5]

Game 6

June 4
1:30 p.m. EDT
Seattle SuperSonics 82, Washington Bullets 117
Scoring by quarter: 21–19, 14–28, 26–37, 21–33
Pts: Brown 17
Rebs: Webster 12
Asts: Williams 6		 Pts: Hayes 21
Rebs: Hayes 15
Asts: Ballard 6
Series tied, 3–3
Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Attendance: 19,035
Referees:
  • No. 10 Darell Garretson
  • No. 6 Don Murphy

Game 6, in Washington, was all Bullets, 117-82. With the Washington backcourt continuing to struggle, Bullets coach Dick Motta inserted Greg Ballard at forward and moved Bob Dandridge to guard, a risky move considering Dandridge had played very little guard. Ballard and Dandridge produced a run that gave the Bullets a 12-point lead at the half. Washington scored 70 points in the second half, and the SuperSonics weren't up to that pace. Mitch Kupchak added 19 points, and Ballard had 12 points and 12 rebounds. The 35-point margin of victory was an NBA Finals record that stood until the 1998 NBA Finals Game 3 (96-54, 42 points).[6]

Game 7

June 7
6:00 p.m. PDT
Washington Bullets 105, Seattle SuperSonics 99
Scoring by quarter: 31–28, 22–17, 26–21, 26–33
Pts: Dandridge, Johnson 19
Rebs: Unseld 9
Asts: Unseld 6		 Pts: Webster 27
Rebs: Webster 19
Asts: Williams 5
Washington wins the series 4–3
Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle
Attendance: 14,098
Referees:
  • No. 14 Jack Madden
  • No. 12 Earl Strom

Dennis Johnson, who before the 1977-78 playoffs was a relatively unknown guard from Pepperdine University, had grown into a star in this series in front of a national TV audience. However, DJ would miss every one of his 14 shots in this game. Fellow guard Gus Williams was a bit more accurate, shooting 4-for-12. SuperSonics big men Marvin Webster scored 27 points and Jack Sikma 21 to take up the slack, and that kept it close.

With 90 seconds left, Seattle whittled the lead from 11 points down to four, but Mitch Kupchak came up with a three-point play. Fred Brown, who finished with 21 points off the bench, hit a short jumper, then Paul Silas got a tip-in to cut it to 101-99. Silas then fouled Wes Unseld, a 55-percent shooter from the line during the playoffs. He hit two free throws, and moments later Washington sealed it with a Bob Dandridge dunk, 105-99.

Charles Johnson and Dandridge each scored 19 points for the Bullets, while Elvin Hayes fouled out with 12 points, a development that brought a couple of needling questions from the writers about his past failures in the playoffs. Unseld would be named Finals MVP.[7]

Player statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
Washington Bullets
Washington Wizards statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG

Broadcasting

Television coverage

Nationwide TV coverage of the 1978 NBA finals was broadcast by CBS Sports, with Brent Musburger (All Games) on play-by-play and Rick Barry (All Games), Steve Jones (Game 1), recently retired John Havlicek (Games 2, 4 and 7), Gus Johnson (Game 3) and Keith Erickson (Games 4 and 5) on color commentary. Locally, the 1978 NBA Finals was broadcast by CBS affiliates: WTOP-TV in Washington, D.C. and KIRO-TV in Seattle, Washington.

National coverage

Nationwide radio coverage of the 1978 NBA Finals was broadcast by Mutual, with Tony Roberts on play-by-play and Hubie Brown on color commentary.

Local market coverage

The flagship stations of each station of each team carried their local play-by-play calls. In Washington, D.C., WTOP-AM carried the series, with Frank Herzog on play-by-play. In Seattle, KOMO–AM, carried the series with Bob Blackburn on play-by-play.

Aftermath

The NBA received much criticism over the fact that the seven-game series was stretched out over eighteen days, presumably for television; it remains the longest (in total number of days) playoff series ever played in any sport. (Even the 1989 World Series, interrupted for ten days by an earthquake, lasted only fifteen days.)

Both teams made it back to the finals the following season, with the Bullets holding home court advantage. That season the Bullets won 54 games while the Sonics won 52. The Bullets eliminated the Atlanta Hawks (4-3) and San Antonio Spurs (4-3) to advance while the Sonics eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers (4-1) and the Phoenix Suns (4-3). The Bullets appeared to have momentum with a Game 1 victory at the Capital Centre, but the Sonics took the next four games to win their only NBA championship.

The next time a road team won a Game 7 in the finals would be in 2016, when the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors at Oakland.

1978 NBA Finals team rosters

Washington Bullets

Seattle SuperSonics

See also

References

  1. ^ "1978 NBA Finals – Game 1". Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  2. ^ "1978 NBA Finals – Game 2". Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  3. ^ "1978 NBA Finals – Game 3". Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  4. ^ "1978 NBA Finals – Game 4". Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  5. ^ "1978 NBA Finals – Game 5". Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  6. ^ "1978 NBA Finals – Game 6". Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  7. ^ "1978 NBA Finals – Game 7". Retrieved 18 October 2016.
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