by: Wayne Thompson

Nov. 5, 1976. That's the night that the NBA's powerhouse Philadelphia 76ers, led by Julius Erving and George McGinnis, first collided with a young, upstsart Portland team that was entering its seventh NBA season in a state of uncertainty: New coach, new owner and seven new players.

The Blazers were too young, too inexperienced and too new to one another to make much noise that year, most critics believed.

The pundits began to have second thoughts, though, after the Blazers demolished the Sixers that night, handing them their worse loss of the season -- a 146-104 drubbing ignited by a 41-24 first quarter blitz.

That game may not have been the turning point of the championship season, but it was the game, according to Bill Walton, in which the Blazers discovered one of their weapons -- a relentless, pressing defense.

Walton dominated the Sixers with a game-high 26 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists. All of a sudden, Blazers' boxscores were being seriously read all across America. -- By Wayne Thompson.