On the surface, this forgotten playoff series looked to be a cakewalk for the powerful Denver Nuggets. 

Led by new coach Larry Brown and a revitalized roster that included all-stars Ralph Simpson, Mack Calvin and Mike Green, the Nuggets had coasted to an incredible 65-19 regular season record and an easy first place finish in the ABA's Western Division.   The Nuggets had lost only two - that's right, just two - home games the entire season.  In the first round of the 1975 ABA Playoffs, they dispatched the Utah Stars and rookie Moses Malone in six games.

The revamped Pacers weren't supposed to contend for anything in 1974-75.  But they finished the regular season with a surprising 45-39 record and a third place finish in the Western Division.  Then, in the first round of the ABA Playoffs, co-ABA MVP George McGinnis helped the Pacers beat the talented San Antonio Spurs in an emotional 7-game series. 

The Pacers were viewed as a pesky opponent for the Nuggets in the Western Division Finals, but no one expected the bizarre and memorable series that occurred.  It involved unlikely twists and turns in momentum, elaborate hexes and spells (courtesy of the mascots imported by each team), griping coaches, and, ultimately, one of the biggest playoff upsets in ABA history.  Not even a single game of this series was shown on national television - the following summaries will give you an idea of how this series unfolded.

Pacers Program

Nuggets Program

Game # 1 @ Denver 4/20/1975

GAME SUMMARY (by Al Hoffman and Arthur Hundhausen): The Nuggets had lost only two home games the entire season, and none in the playoffs.  This pattern held true to form, as Denver beat the Pacers 131-128 in a game that really was not as close as the final score would indicate.  Denver led from wire to wire and improved its 1974-75 record at the Auditorium Arena to a gaudy 44-2. 

Mack Calvin (# 20, at left, with 22 points and 9 assists) and Ralph Simpson (below, with 29 points) played well for Denver, but the real surprise was forward Dave Robisch. Robisch started along with Mike Green and Bobby Jones on Denver's front line, and hit the first five shots he took. Robisch scored 16 points in the first half and ended up with 28.  "It was Mack, Ralph and Robisch," Indiana coach Slick Leonard said.  "If anything, Robisch was the difference.  You figure Mack and Ralph are going to hurt you, Dave was really the difference." 

Behind the trio, Denver hit 60% from the field as the Nuggets built a 19-point lead in the 2nd quarter, 59-41. Indiana rallied behind George McGinnis, who had a sensational 39 points, 22 rebounds (13 on the offensive boards), 8 assists and 5 steals. Big George had 16 points in the third quarter alone, including a nasty dunk with 9:49 left that bent the rim three to four inches.  McGinnis got significant offensive help from two other Pacers - Billy Knight with 28 points and Billy Keller with a brilliant 22 points in 22 minutes - including four 3-point bombs.  But Ralph Simpson hit 5 of 6 free throws in the last 2 minutes to hold off the Pacers.

Leonard noted, "It looks OK, a three-point game, but to me it just wasn't that close of a game.  I never felt like we were in it."

INDIANA     FG FT-FTA PTS
McGinnis    16  7-13   39
Knight      7  14-18   28
Hillman     4   3-4    11
Buse        4   1-1     9
Joyce       5   0-0    10
Keller      8   2-2    22
Elmore      4   1-2     9
TOTALS      48  28-40 128

3-pt: Keller 4

DENVER      FG FT-FTA PTS
B. Jones    7   2-2    16
Robisch     10  8-8    28
Green       6   5-6    17
Calvin      7   8-8    22
Simpson     11  7-12   29
Beck        4   0-0     8
Taylor      3   2-2     8
V.B. Kolff  1   0-0     2
Terry       0   1-2     1
Washington  0   0-0     0
McFarland   0   0-0     0
TOTALS      49 33-40  131

3-pt: None

Indiana     29 29 32 38  128
Denver      34 31 28 38  131

Fouls- Indiana 26, Denver 31

A-   7,444

Game # 2 @ Denver 4/22/1975

GAME SUMMARY (by Al Hoffman and Arthur Hundhausen): In a brazen bid to shake up Denver's psyche, the Pacers imported their secret weapon to Denver - super-mascot Dancin' Harry.  To the confusion of a standing-room only crowd of 7,491, Dancin' Harry (at left) put a pre-game hex on the Nuggets.  The hex worked like a charm, as the Pacers got a 131-124 win and stole the home-court advantage from Denver. 

Aside from the hex, the Nuggets lost because the Pacers shot a blistering 60.7% from the field, and because rookie Billy Knight (below) was simply unstoppable.  Time and time again Knight got behind the Nuggets defense, took quick passes from either McGinnis (18 points nine assists), Kevin Joyce, or Darnell Hillman, and put the ball in the basket.  Most often, it was at the end of a 2 on 1 fast break.   Knight ended up with 44 points, hitting an amazing 18 out of 22 shots attempted. 

The Pacers really won the game in the 2nd quarter, when Knight scored 17 of his points and the Pacers outscored the Nuggets 41-28.  Indiana then extended to a 78-60 lead in the third quarter.   The game still turned out to be exciting - there was almost a constant din in the Auditorium Arena during a tension-filled 4th quarter.  The Nuggets were able to gradually whittle down Indiana's lead. The Pacers were up 121-112 with 2:07 to go.  Then came four Nuggets three-point baskets in 75 seconds.  At 1:56 Claude Terry drilled one, and then came three straight by Mack Calvin at 1:21, 1:06 and 0:43, the last one a sensational off-balance bank shot.  Remarkably, Calvin had scored only 3 previous three-pointers (in 16 attempts) all season long.  

With their three-point barrage, the Nuggets closed to within 125-121, and then 127-124.  But the Pacers were able to held off every charge Denver made - they were helped by another couple of timely baskets by Knight.  And Billy Keller gunned in 10 key points down the stretch. Keller hit a critical 12-foot baseline jumper right after Calvin's second three-pointer - after the game, Keller commented on the shot:  "When you start playing protective basketball, that's when you get beat. We almost fell into that.  I got the ball on the baseline and I thought to myself that we could break their momentum right here.  And I could hear a sigh of relief from the stands when I put it up.  But when it went in, I felt like we still had control of the game." 

INDIANA     FG FT-FTA PTS
McGinnis    8   1-2    18
Knight      18  8-9    44
Hillman     6   3-4    15
Buse        0   0-0     0
Joyce       2   4-4     8
Elmore      8   2-3    18
Keller      7   5-5    21
Brown       2   3-5     7
Netolicky   0   0-0     0
TOTALS      51 26-32  131

3-pt: Keller 2, McGinnis 1

DENVER      FG FT-FTA PTS
B. Jones    4   0-0     8
Robisch     7   3-5    17
Green       10  2-2    22
Calvin      6   4-4    19
Simpson     12  5-5    29
Beck        5   0-0    10
Taylor      2   4-4     8
V. B. Kolff 1   6-7     8
Terry       1   0-0     3
TOTALS      48 24-27  124

3-pt: Calvin 3, Terry 1

Indiana     25 41 25 40  131
Denver      26 28 28 42  124

Fouls- Indiana 24, Denver 26

A-   7,491

Game # 3 @ Indianapolis 4/24/1975

GAME SUMMARY (by Al Hoffman and Arthur Hundhausen): George McGinnis (# 30, right and below) snatched all momentum that Denver had built over the first three quarters of Game 3 and turned Market Square Arena into his own personal playground. McGinnis' 32 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists helped push Indiana to an unlikely 118-112 win and a 2-1 lead in the series.  McGinnis summed it up by saying:  "We were damn lucky.  We shouldn't have won that game.  They had it.  We were just really lucky.  We beat 'em in one quarter and won the game." 

Denver grabbed control of the game in the first quarter, and kept it.  In the third quarter, behind the strong play of Ralph Simpson, Mack Calvin and Byron Beck, Denver's lead ballooned to 13 points. Even at the beginning of the 4th quarter, Denver still held a relatively safe 95-84 lead.

After a McGinnis basket and a Billy Keller 3-pointer trimmed Denver's lead to 95-91, the Nuggets managed to keep the advantage until Billy Knight's tip-in with 5:57 left tied it at 100-100.  That's when McGinnis took over.  His shot from the corner put Indiana up 104-102 at 4:13 - it was the first time the Pacers had led since 16-14 in the 1st quarter.  After Mike Green hit a jumper for Denver, McGinnis retaliated from the top of the key. Then, after Byron Beck had put in a rebound, McGinnis duplicated his previous shot and put Indiana ahead to stay, 108-106.  Before it was over, McGinnis dished off an assist that found Knight open in the corner for a bucket, and later connected on two crucial free-throws with 38 seconds left for a 116-112 lead, right after a Ralph Simpson 3-pointer had brought the Nuggets within 114-112. 

After the game, a furious Nuggets coach Larry Brown maintained that referee Jess Kersey had swallowed his whistle in the 4th quarter, giving the Pacers some help. He was particularly upset over the lack of a call when Denver led 95-84 and Claude Terry missed a jumper.  "Claude got smacked right in the face by McGinnis. Kersey is two feet away, and he didn't call it. He told me he didn't see it." said Brown.  "Then they go down and get two buckets and they're only five down.  People say that's only one call, but to me that turned around the game.  I know I'm not supposed to say anything about the refs - I'll probably get fined.  But that one was just too much to take."

DENVER      FG FT-FTA PTS
B. Jones    7   0-0    14
Robisch     5   1-2    11
Green       6   5-6    17
Simpson     9  11-12   30
Calvin      6   6-6    18
Beck        8   2-3    18
Taylor      0   0-0     0
V.B. Kolff  1   0-0     2
Terry       1   0-0     2
TOTALS      43 25-29  112

3-pt: Simpson 1

INDIANA     FG FT-FTA PTS
McGinnis    9  14-18   33
Knight      12  2-6    26
Hillman     3   3-4     9
Buse        2   0-1     4
Joyce       3   2-3     8
Keller      5   4-4    14
Brown       0   2-2     2
Elmore      8   6-8    22
TOTALS      42 33-46  118

3-pt: McGinnis 1

Denver      36 27 30 19  112
Indiana     29 30 25 34  118

Fouls- Denver 33, Indiana 28

A-   15,496

Game # 4 @ Indianapolis 4/25/1975

GAME SUMMARY (by Al Hoffman and Arthur Hundhausen): After their traumatic meltdown in Game 3, most observers felt the Nuggets were in trouble.  They had shown no ability to contain George McGinnis or Billy Knight.  They were blaming their series deficit on the referees. And there was that small matter of the hex Dancin' Harry had placed on them back in Game 2.  All told, they were about as far down as a team can get.

But in Game 4, Denver surprised most everyone - including themselves - with a 126-109 win in front of 17,389 rabid Pacer fans at Market Square Arena.   The win evened the series at 2-2.  Nuggets coach Larry Brown said:  "I've never seen anything like this team.  Talk about having your back to the wall."  Brown called the Game 3 loss "the most disappointing of my life.  We played 84 games to get here and then something like that happened.  Now, to see these guys come back . . . We've just got some people with character."

One hero was center Mike Green (# 22, above).  Quiet for the previous three games, hitting only 16 of 42 shots, Green suddenly erupted for a sensational 32 points on 16 of 30 shooting.  Green tossed in 20 points in the first half, but it didn't look good for the Nuggets as they still trailed 64-61 at intermission. They still trailed 68-65 when 8-year veteran Byron Beck (# 40, below) sparked Denver with some brilliant play.  He hit seven straight points to lift Denver to a 72-68 lead, a lead that the Nuggets would never relinquish.  Beck scored 11 of his 23 points in the third quarter, and 17 in the second half.  "We had to have this game.  How could we come back to Denver down 3-1 after what the city has done for us?" noted Beck after his stellar game. A third hero for the Nuggets was Bobby Jones - he snagged 20 rebounds (a Denver season-high) and according to Beck, "just owned the defensive boards."  Jones also scored 17 points and hit all but one of his eight shots from the floor.

For the Pacers, it was a bitter loss that wasted a fantastic effort by Darnell Hillman (# 20, above).  Hillman went 9 for 9 in the first half, hit his first 10 shots, and wound up with a game-high 34 points, making 15 of 18 shots. McGinnis also had a strong 25-point game, but the Pacers just couldn't duplicate the Game 3 comeback.  After the game, Slick Leonard locked the Pacers' dressing-room door to members of the media and then disappeared before talking to any reporters. Billy Keller took just a few questions before saying:  "I believe it's best if I just didn't say anything." 

DENVER      FG FT-FTA PTS
B. Jones    7   3-4    17
Robisch     4   3-3    11
Green       14  4-4    32
Simpson     7   4-4    18
Calvin      7   7-7    21
Beck        10  3-3    23
Taylor      1   0-0     2
Terry       0   0-0     0
V.B. Kolff  0   2-2     2
TOTALS      50 26-27  126

3-pt: None

INDIANA     FG FT-FTA PTS
McGinnis    9   5-5    25
Knight      5   5-5    15
Hillman     15  4-4    34
Buse        1   0-0     2
Joyce       4   0-0     9
Keller      4   3-3    11
Brown       2   0-0     5
Elmore      4   0-0     8
TOTALS      44 17-17  109

3-pt: McGinnis 2, Brown 1, Joyce 1

Denver      31 30 33 32  126
Indiana     29 35 20 25  109

Fouls- Denver 16, Indiana 25

A-   17,389

Game #5 @ Denver 4/27/1975

GAME SUMMARY (by Al Hoffman and Arthur Hundhausen): Coming home with the series tied, the Nuggets left nothing to chance.  To counteract any appearance by Indiana's ' Dancin' Harry, and another possible "hex," the Nuggets hired Robota, the "Wicked Witch of the West" to make a Game 5 appearance.   The witch put a spell on the entire Pacers team during pre-game warmups, including a pensive Darnell Hillman (right).  She cast a special curse on George McGinnis, using a life size cutout of Big George and a smoking cauldron at mid-court.  During the game, she spent time behind the Pacers' bench casting even more spells. 

All of the spells, curses and hexes seemed to backfire on the Nuggets, as the Pacers outshot, outhustled and outscored the Nuggets for a 109-90 blowout that wasn't even that close.   Amazingly, it was Denver's second home loss of the series - equaling the number of home losses the Nuggets had suffered over the entire regular season. 

The game's tone was established right away.   Showing no ill effects from the witch's curse, McGinnis stole the ball from a surprised Byron Beck and scored the game's first basket 27 seconds after the game's opening tip.  Early in the 4th quarter, the Pacers maintained a slim lead and the Nuggets still had a chance.   Dave Robisch hit a bucket at 11:10 of the 4th to make the score 81-79 Indiana.  But McGinnis then took the game into his own hands.   At 10:57 of the 4th, he hit a 3-pointer to up the lead back to five points.  Another 3-pointer at the 9:36 mark upped an eight point lead to 90-79.  Finally a three-point play with 8:04 left put the game out of reach - counting a regular two-point basket a few seconds into the 4th period, Big George had scored 11 points in 4 minutes.   Suddenly what had been a somewhat close game was broken open.   Following the McGinnis outburst, the Pacers held the Nuggets without a field goal for over 7 minutes, causing the disappointed crowd to boo their home team.

After the Pacers blowout, Slick Leonard described the unpredictable nature of the series:  "This is a tough series to figure.  They win by 20 at our place, and then we win by 20 here.  I don't know what the reasons are, it's just unreal. It's a funny game. This game doesn't mean much for the next game.  It just means that we have two shots to win the series. Game 6 should be a helluva ballgame.  But hell, I don't know what'll happen in this thing."

INDIANA     FG FT-FTA PTS
McGinnis    14  2-3    33
Knight      11  0-0    22
Hillman     0   3-5     3
Buse        3   6-9    13
Joyce       8   1-2    17
Keller      2   2-2     6
Elmore      4   1-2     9
Brown       1   2-2     4
Netolicky   0   2-2     2
Edge        0   0-0     0

3-pt: McGinnis 3, Buse 1

DENVER      FG FT-FTA PTS
B. Jones    5   2-2    12
Robisch     4   3-4    11
Green       9   2-2    20
Simpson     6   0-0    12
Calvin      3   4-4    10
Beck        6   3-3    15
Taylor      1   0-0     2
Terry       3   0-0     6
Washington  0   0-0     0
McFarland   1   0-0     2
TOTALS      38 14-15   90

3-pt: None

Indiana     22 32 25 30  109
Denver      22 26 29 13   90

Fouls- Indiana 18, Denver 25

A-   7,483

Game #6 @ Indianapolis 4/30/1975

GAME SUMMARY (by Al Hoffman and Arthur Hundhausen): While Denver looked dead after a listless performance in Game 5, the series once again defied expectations. 

In an exciting game that featured 29 lead changes and an ABA all-time record crowd of 17,431, the Nuggets' Mike