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Memorial Day weekend flashback: Blazers beat Sixers in Game 3 of 1977 NBA Finals

By Matt George Moore

(Original Caption) Jack Ramsey, Portland Trail Blazers' coach.
(Original Caption) Jack Ramsey, Portland Trail Blazers' coach. /
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En route to their one and only NBA title, the Portland Trail Blazers faced the Philadelphia 76ers on May 29, 1977. The Blazers were down 0-2 in the series. They wouldn’t lose again.

The final seven days of May 1977 were pretty eventful for pop culture aficionados and NBA fans — particularly Portland Trail Blazers fans.

On May 25 of that year, a little film called “Star Wars” opened in theaters, launching a franchise that continues to attract audiences worldwide more than 40 years later.

And then on May 27, visitors to Disneyland were able to take a ride through a galaxy not so far, far away as the park debuted its newest attraction: Space Mountain.

And finally, the following Monday, May 30, was Memorial Day.

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But sandwiched in between all those events: Games 2 and 3 of the 1977 NBA Finals between the Trail Blazers and the Philadelphia 76ers.

NBA Finals Game 2

The Sixers beat the Trail Blazers in both games 1 and 2 of the championship series that year, but it was that second match-up that’s entered Rip City lore. Despite the loss, Blazers fans often point to that game as the turning point of the series.

Why?

Maurice Lucas, that’s why.

As we wrote in a recent recap of Blazers All-Stars:

"Lucas, who played college ball at Marquette, made the first of three consecutive NBA All-Star teams during the Blazers’ championship season of 1976-1977. Lucas was nicknamed “The Enforcer,” primarily due to an altercation with the 76ers’ Darryl Dawkins in Game 2 of the NBA Finals that season."

Here’s what that altercation looked like on vintage video:

Blazers fans look back on that fracas and Lucas’ role in it as a series changer.

And indeed, at least in hindsight, that label is apt.

Especially since the Blazers, led by head coach Jack Ramsey, would not lose again.

NBA Finals Game 3

The Blazers would win the next four games of the series to claim their first and only NBA title.

And it started with a thorough 129-107 thumping of the Sixers in Game 3 the day before Memorial Day at, fittingly, Portland’s Memorial Coliseum.

Actually, it started before it started, as recounted by The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Joe Freeman:

"During pregame introductions of Game 3, after Blazers fans unrelentingly booed Dawkins, Lucas was introduced before a sellout Memorial Coliseum crowd. But instead of jogging to stand next to his teammates, as was common practice, Lucas trotted toward the 76ers’ bench to stand face-to-face with a stunned Dawkins. Some in the crowd gasped and Philadelphia players backed away from the two hulking men, no doubt because they expected another brouhaha. But instead of raising his fists, Lucas reached for Dawkins’ right hand, squeezed hard and said: “No hard feelings.” Dawkins was frozen."

Lucas and the Blazers

Lucas would score 27 points and grab 12 rebounds in Game 3. He also had five assists and three steals. Dawkins, meanwhile, was mostly a nonfactor; he would score just six points on 2/7 shooting.

Portland also got a monster game from Finals MVP Bill Walton (20 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists, four blocks, two steals). Plus, the three other starters all scored in double figures: Johnny Davis (18 points); Bob Gross (19 points); and Lionel Hollins (15 points). They also got 13 points from Lloyd Neal off the bench.

Julius Erving had 28 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the 76ers, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a motivated Blazers team.

Next: Best of the Season, Part XII: Dame Time in Phoenix

Portland would go on to win games 4, 5 and 6, capping their championship season on June 5 with a 109-107 victory.

It’s getting to be a long time ago, and it certainly seems far, far away — but the Blazers 1977 championship may not have happened without an eventful couple of games during Memorial Day weekend.