On This Day: Blazers Win First NBA Finals Game

The Portland Trail Blazers have won seven NBA Finals games in franchise history, and the first one came on this day 45 years ago in Game 3 of the 1977 NBA Finals.

With the Blazers down 0-2 after dropping the first two games on the road, the team came into Portland with a must-win mindset against Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Blazers went up double digits in the first quarter and never relinquished the lead. While the Sixers cut the deficit to five points to enter the fourth quarter, the Blazers ran away with things in the fourth to cruise to a 129-107 win.

All five Blazers starters scored 15 or more points, including a team-high 27 points from Maurice Lucas and a 20-point performance from Bill Walton.

The Blazers would go on to win the next three games in the series to win the franchise’s first championship.