Rick Barry and Golden State stunned the NBA world in winning the 1975 title.
The Game: 1975 Finals, Game 4
The Series Situation: Golden State Warriors lead Washington Bullets, 3-0.
The Set Up: Due to scheduling conflicts, the Warriors were not able to secure their normal home arena for Memorial Day Weekend. So, the Bullets were offered the option of a different format. The 1-2-2-1-1 format is what they chose because they wanted to open the series on their home floor. But the format ended up not being a a factor since the series ended almost as quickly as it began.
The Significance: Rick Barry was the well-deserved MVP of a series that saw the scrappy Warriors battle back from double-digit deficits in Games 1, 2 and 4. Phil Smith scored 20 points off the bench to help spark the comeback win in Game 1. Barry lit the Bullets up for 36 points in Game 2 and 38 in Game 3 at the Cow Palace (subbing for their normal Oakland Coliseum Arena). Warriors coach Al Attles got ejected in the first quarter of Game 4 after going onto the court and initiating a fight with Mike Riordan, whose job it was to guard (and rough up) Barry. Assistant coach Joe Roberts had to finish the game for Attles as Barry kept up his torrid pace, the bench kept coming up big and the undersized Jamal Wilkes continued his defensive mastery on the Bullets’ star power forward, Elvin Hayes. The Game 4 victory gave Golden State its first championship since 1956 — back when the team was still located in Philadelphia.
— From NBA.com Staff
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