With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.
For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.
Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:
Heading into the 1984 NBA Playoffs, Julius Erving’s Philadelphia 76ers were the No. 3 team in the Eastern Conference and set to face the hall of famer’s old team, the sixth-seeded New Jersey Nets.
Given the Nets were the No. 4 team in the Atlantic Division — also trailing the New York Knicks and the top-seeded Boston Celtics — and the Sixers were the reigning NBA champions, Philly should have had the upper hand. But Buck Williams, Otis Birdsong and Micheal Ray Richardson didn’t care about rankings when the first-round matchup began on April 18, 1984.
Williams had himself a dominant 25-point, 16 rebound performance, finishing 10-for-14 from the floor and 5-for-7 at the free-throw line. He also blocked three shots and had two steals.
Birdsong was right behind Williams in the scoring column, finishing with 24. Richardson scored 18 points, and he also had nine assists, six rebounds and five steals in New Jersey’s 116-101 win (full box score).
For the Sixers, Erving scored 18 and Moses Malone had 20 points to go with his 11 rebounds in the home loss.