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The 1975 ABA Western Division Finals featured the underdog Indiana Pacers against the powerful Denver Nuggets in a seven-game series.
In
a brazen bid to shake up Denver's psyche in Game 2 of the series, the
Pacers imported their secret weapon
to Denver - super-mascot Dancin' Harry. To
the confusion of a standing-room
only crowd of 7,491 at Denver's Auditorium Arena, Dancin' Harry (above 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.
When the series returned to Denver for a critical Game 5, 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
special appearance.
The bizarre-looking witch put a spell on the entire Pacers team
during
pre-game
warmups (above right),
including
a pensive
Darnell
Hillman
(below left). 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
even spent some quality time
behind
the Pacers'
bench casting
even more
spells (below right).
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.
Related link:
Forgotten ABA Playoff Series:
1975 Indiana Pacers vs. Denver Nuggets
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