On today’s date in 1977, Warrior legend Maurice Lucas’ Portland Trail Blazers went down 0-2 in the NBA Finals after losing by 18 points to Doug Collins, Darryl Dawkins, George McGinnis, and Julius Erving’s heavily favored Philadelphia 76ers, 107-89.
Lucas hit seven field goals for 14 points to match Lionel Hollins’ offensive output, which trailed only Bill Walton’s 17 for team-high honors.
Collins and Erving led the Philadelphia scoring attack with 27 and 20 points, respectively.
However, the game is remembered not for its scoring, but for the melee that took place in the closing minutes when Portland’s Bob Gross and Dawkins wrestled each other to the floor for a rebound.
After the play was stopped, Gross and Dawkins squared off briefly, but were quickly separated and, just when it appeared the standoff between the two was settling down, Dawkins charged at Gross and threw a wild left hook.
The punch missed Gross and instead struck Dawkins’ own teammate, Doug Collins, in the right eye.
Dawkins then backpedaled away from Gross, unwittingly moving towards Lucas, who struck Dawkins in the back of the head with a vicious right cross that sent Dawkins sprawling forward.
The two big men then squared off Ali-Frazier-style with Lucas throwing a pair of punches before the two giants were pulled apart by teammates, but the brawl between the teams continued, even spilling into the raucous crowd at one point.
Lucas’ role in the wild fracas earned him an ejection and a $2,500 fine, but solidified his reputation as “The Enforcer” and helped set the tone for the rest of the Finals as the Blazers would reel off an improbable four consecutive victories to clinch Portland’s only NBA title.
