Another Chapter In The Philadelphia Story

The Sixers cut the deficit to nine in the fourth quarter, with Erving and McGinnis on the bench. The final score was 123-108 Bullets. Hayes, who seemed to be in there only when Washington needed him, outrebounded McGinnis 12-7 and though they each scored 16, Big E clearly got the best of Big Mac. Dandridge outscored Erving 30 to 12 and Grevey had it over Collins 21 to 15.

"I know what," said Mix after the game. "If we try any more of that bleeping one-on-one stuff we could lose by 40 on Sunday."

It wasn't quite that bad, though the Sixers were blown out again in Landover 121-105. The script was slightly different. Philadelphia started Game 4 playing tough, with McGinnis defending Hayes harder and smarter than he had previously and Erving scoring 10 straight Philadelphia points. This helped account for a 48-37 Sixer lead two-thirds of the way through the second quarter. The 76ers should have taken the 11 points and caught the Amtrak back home.

With 4:11 left in the half, the Bullets went to work, scoring 17 points to the Sixers' zip. Hayes had 11 of those, jamming and jumping, spinning and boarding, scattering bodies like bowling pins. "I could feel the game ripping open," said Motta. "I was watching them earlier," said Hayes. "They were winning but the confidence was not there." At the half the Bullets were up 54-48 and were never behind again. As the game wound down, Hayes, who finished with 35 points and 19 rebounds, even began making Waltonesque circles over his head—a sure sign of a champion.

"We should all be talking," said Free in the Sixer locker room. "To each other. Not having arguments. Running hard in practice. They run hard in practice. But now I guess it's too late. Of course, if we turn this thing around we're all great again." But no one was giving the Sixers much chance of becoming the third team in NBA history to do that, not even the Sixers, as Free had intimated earlier.

Before the series moved to Washington, Free, who styles himself All World, was standing in front of the Free Throw, his Philadelphia sporting-goods store, when a fan came bounding up to him. "World, my man," he said. "Don't forget, baby. You owe us one."

"Hey," said Free. "You're talkin' about what the Doc said. I don't owe you nothin'."

Hey there, Doc. Are you going to owe them two?