San Antonio – In the summer of 1978, the Washington Bullets faced the same scenario that confronts the Detroit Pistons tonight: playing Game 7 in the NBA Finals on the road.
Fifteen times the Finals advanced to Game 7 before tonight. Only three times did the road team win. Those Bullets were the last to do it, defeating Seattle. The Pistons will try to do it tonight against the San Antonio Spurs at the SBC Center.
“There is really nothing to say,” Mitch Kupchak, a former Bullets forward and now the Los Angeles Lakers’ general manager, said Wednesday. “Nothing to practice. A perfectly acceptable ploy for coaches is not to say much.”
After being down 3-2 in the 1978 Finals to Seattle, Washington forced a deciding contest with a dominating 117-82 Game 6 victory. Despite being a 4 1/2-point underdog in Game 7, the Bullets claimed the NBA title with a 105-99 win in Seattle. Kupchak had a late three-point play that helped seal the victory.
“I really believe Seattle was in a tough position,” he said. “They really didn’t give it their best in Washington (in Game 6). We beat them by 30 points. That gave us the psychological confidence going to Game 7 in Seattle.”
Like that Bullets squad, the Pistons were on the brink of elimination Tuesday entering Game 6 in San Antonio. But defending champion Detroit responded with a 95-86 win to force tonight’s Game 7. The win also swung the momentum back Detroit’s way.
The Spurs haven’t played a Game 7 in the playoffs this year and have yet to lose consecutive home games this season. The Pistons recovered from a 3-2 deficit to win at Miami in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said the past may be intriguing, but it has no bearing tonight.
“This is Game 7 and no team has ever lost Game 6 and 7 and this and that, but there has not even been a Game 7 since ’94 or whatever,” Billups said. “I don’t really believe in all that kind of stuff, but I do think the pressure is on them. We know what we need to do when we step between those lines. We’re not thinking about the Miami series or San Antonio not having played in a game like this. … Hopefully, we just go out there and play like we did last time, be poised and get a win.
“All (the statistics) don’t count in the playoffs. You can look it up all you want to. As a player on that court, you don’t think nothing about no statistics.”
Don’t expect the Spurs to, either. San Antonio forward Robert Horry played for the 1994 champion Houston Rockets, the last team to win a Finals Game 7. But Horry doesn’t plan on telling motivational stories to the Spurs.
“There’s no need,” Horry said. “These guys are all professionals. They know what they need to do. … Basically, it’s all mental now. It’s going to be up to each person to be ready for this game.”
Mention of the 1978 Bullets brought back good memories for Kupchak.
“It’s rare that there’s a Game 7,” Kupchak said. “If you’re a basketball fan at this level, it’s really as good as it gets. Whether it’s the second or the third round, it’s meaningful, but when you have a Game 7 in the Finals it doesn’t get any better.”
Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
