by: Wayne Thompson

The seven-year-old Blazers had every right to worry about their first-ever appearance in the NBA playoffs. Slowed by injuries to Bill Walton and Lloyd Neal, the Blazers staggered through March with a 7-8 record.

But they caught fire at the right time, winning six straight in April, including a season-ending 145-116 rout of the Lakers, to capture the third-place playoff position in the Western Conference.

Lionel Hollins and Larry Steele, with 27 and 22 points respectively, led the Blazers' frolic over the Lakers, while Walton's 19 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocked shots boosted his bid for league MVP honors.

The hot finish also assured Portland of home court-advantage in the opening round of the playoffs -- a three-game series against another fast closer, the Chicago Bulls, who finished the season with a 20-4 record.

The romp over the Lakers April 9 was a harbinger of this Blazer spring because the Lakers, with the best won-lost record in the NBA, were the only team in the league that the Blazers hadn't beaten.

Walton, who had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocked shots in an April 1 win over Golden State to clinch the playoff berth, sensed the importance of Portland's April resurgence when he said, "Whoever is the healthiest and hottest team is going to win the playoffs. We're healthy now and when we're playing our game and playing good, we can beat anyone."

Indeed, a healthy and confident Blazers team took on the Bulls at Memorial Coliseum April 12 to begin a series that Walton, Maurice Lucas & Co. still say was their greatest obstacle to the title.

With the regular NBA referees on strike, replacement officials made the opener a test of wills. Portland shot only 10 free throws in the game, while the Bulls paraded to the charity stripe 27 times.

With seven minutes to go, the Bulls and Blazers were tied 77-77. Lucas, who had 29 points in the game on 14 of 17 shooting, hit three straight field goals and the Blazers finally pulled away in the closing minutes for a 96-83 win.

Chicago, though, was far from dead. With a record crowd of more than 20,000 at Chicago Stadium, April 15, the Bulls evened the series, 107-104, in a very physical game decided when Chicago's Wilbur Holland hit two free throws in the closing seconds.

The Blazers built a 57-46 lead in the series finale April 17 in Portland, then hung on desperately against the raging Bulls.

Chicago's Jack Marin hit a jumper with 36 seconds remaining to pull Chicago to within two at 100-98. But on the next Portland possession, Lionel Hollins nailed a jumper just before the 24-second clock expired and Portland went on to prevail, 106-98.

After the clincher, Chicago Coach Ed Badger echoed sentiments coming out of the Portland dressing room when he said, "I think the Blazers are going a long ways in the playoffs. I think we were the only team in the Western Conference that could have beaten them."

Next up for Portland: the Midwest champion Denver Nuggets, who had the home court advantage. But the Blazers reclaimed that advantage April 20 in the opening game at Denver, with a 101-100 victory, sealed when Lucas hit a turnaround, 8-foot jumper over Dan Issel with 11 seconds left.

The Blazers lost the second game in Denver, 121-110, on April 22, but held service at home with a 110-106 victory April 24 and a 105-96 win April 26. Both games were decided in the closing minutes -- the kind of finishes that made other NBA title contenders take notice that this brash team from the Pacific Northwest, despite its youth and inexperience, were mentally tough down the stretch of playoff games.

Portland's deep bench was credited with wearing down the Nuggets. Herm Gilliam, Lloyd Neal, Robin Jones and rookie Wally Walker made large contributions in both games at Memorial Coliseum, earning kudos from both coaches after Game 4.

"Our bench won this one for us," said Jack Ramsay after the 105-96 win gave the Blazers a 3-1 series edge. "Give that one to Portland's bench," echoed Denver Coach Larry Brown.

The home sweep victories of the Nuggets allowed the Blazers to finish the month 10-2 and needing just one more win over Denver to move into the Western Conference finals.

Blazermania was on the rise.