1977–78 Milwaukee Bucks season

1977–78 Milwaukee Bucks season
Head coachDon Nelson
ArenaMECCA Arena
Results
Record44–38 (.537)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Midwest)
Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finishWest Conference semifinals
(lost to Nuggets 3–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionWVTV
RadioWTMJ

The 1977–78 NBA season was the Bucks' tenth season in the NBA.[1] The Bucks had drafted Marques Johnson from UCLA in the 1977 NBA draft.

Draft picks

Main article: 1977 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 1 Kent Benson C  United States Indiana
1 3 Marques Johnson SF  United States UCLA
1 11 Ernie Grunfeld SG/SF  Romania
 United States		 Tennessee
2 27 Glen Williams  United States St. John's
3 47 Gary Yoder SG  United States Cincinnati
4 69 Lewis Brown C  United States Nevada-Las Vegas
5 91 Ron Norwood  United States DePaul
6 113 Chuck Goodyear  United States Miami
7 134 Ron Bostic  United States Detroit Mercy
8 154 Larry Pikes  United States Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Roster

1977–78 Milwaukee Bucks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
C 54 Kent Benson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1954–12–27 Indiana
SF 2 Junior Bridgeman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1953–09–17 Louisville
PG 21 Quinn Buckner 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1954–08–20 Indiana
C 51 Jim Eakins 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1946–05–24 BYU
SF 22 Alex English 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1954–01–05 South Carolina
C 40 John Gianelli 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1950–06–10 Pacific
SG 20 Ernie Grunfeld 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1955–04–24 Tennessee
SF 8 Marques Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1956–02–08 UCLA
PF 7 Dave Meyers 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1953–04–21 UCLA
PG 11 Lloyd Walton 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1953–11–23 Marquette
SG 32 Brian Winters 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1952–03–01 South Carolina
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Denver Nuggets 48 34 .585 – 33–8 15–26 11–9
x- 44 38 .537 4 28–13 16–25 14–6
Chicago Bulls 40 42 .488 8 29–12 11–30 8–12
Detroit Pistons 38 44 .463 10 24–17 14–27 8–12
Indiana Pacers 31 51 .378 17 21–20 10–31 8–12
Kansas City Kings 31 51 .378 17 22–19 9–32 11–9
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Portland Trail Blazers 58 24 .707 –
2 y-Denver Nuggets 48 34 .585 10
3 x-Phoenix Suns 49 33 .598 9
4 x-Seattle SuperSonics 47 35 .573 11
5 x-Los Angeles Lakers 45 37 .549 13
6 x- 44 38 .537 14
7 Golden State Warriors 43 39 .524 15
8 Chicago Bulls 40 42 .488 18
9 Detroit Pistons 38 44 .463 20
10 Indiana Pacers 31 51 .378 27
11 Kansas City Kings 31 51 .378 27
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1977–78 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS BUF CHI CLE DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NOJ NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SEA WAS
Atlanta — 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–3 1–3 2–2 1–3 3–1 3–1 2–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–3 2–1 1–3
Boston 2–2 — 3–1 1–3 1–3 1–3 1–3 2–2 2–2 2–1 2–2 1–2 3–1 3–1 2–2 2–2 0–4 2–2 1–3 0–4 0–4 1–3
Buffalo 1–3 1–3 — 3–1 1–3 1–3 1–3 0–3 3–1 1–3 1–2 1–3 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 0–4 1–3 1–3 1–3 1–3
Chicago 3–1 3–1 1–3 — 3–1 2–2 2–2 1–3 3–1 3–1 0–4 2–2 1–3 1–2 2–2 1–3 3–0 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–2 2–1
Cleveland 3–1 3–1 3–1 1–3 — 3–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 2–1 2–2 2–2 3–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–2 0–4 0–4 3–1 2–2
Denver 3–1 3–1 3–1 2–2 1–3 — 2–2 2–2 3–0 2–2 2–2 3–1 3–1 3–1 3–1 1–3 1–3 2–2 3–1 2–1 1–3 3–1
Detroit 2–2 3–1 3–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 — 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–1 3–0 0–4 0–4 2–2 1–3 1–3 1–3 2–2
Golden State 3–1 2–2 3–0 3–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 — 2–1 3–1 3–1 0–4 2–2 3–1 0–4 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–3 3–1 2–2 2–2
Houston 1–3 2–2 1–3 1–3 2–2 0–3 1–3 1–2 — 3–1 2–2 1–3 1–3 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–3 0–4 1–3
Indiana 1–3 1–2 3–1 1–3 1–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 1–3 — 2–2 1–3 0–4 2–2 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–3 1–3 1–3 1–3 3–1
Kansas City 1–2 2–2 2–1 4–0 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 2–2 2–2 — 2–2 0–4 2–2 2–2 0–4 1–3 0–4 0–4 0–4 1–3 2–2
Los Angeles 1–3 2–1 3–1 2–2 2–2 1–3 2–2 4–0 3–1 3–1 2–2 — 3–1 4–0 2–1 3–1 2–2 1–3 0–4 2–2 1–3 2–2
2–2 1–3 3–1 3–1 1–3 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–1 4–0 4–0 1–3 — 3–1 2–1 3–1 1–2 1–3 1–3 2–2 1–3 3–1
New Jersey 1–3 1–3 2–2 2–1 1–3 1–3 1–3 1–3 2–2 2–2 2–2 0–4 1–3 — 0–4 1–3 0–4 2–2 0–3 0–4 2–2 2–2
New Orleans 2–2 2–2 2–2 2–2 2–2 1–3 1–3 4–0 3–1 2–2 2–2 1–2 1–2 4–0 — 1–3 2–2 1–3 3–1 1–3 2–2 0–4
New York 2–2 2–2 1–3 3–1 1–3 3–1 3–0 2–2 2–2 3–1 4–0 1–3 1–3 3–1 3–1 — 1–3 1–3 1–3 2–2 2–1 2–2
Philadelphia 2–2 4–0 3–1 1–3 3–1 3–1 4–0 3–1 2–2 2–2 3–1 2–2 2–1 4–0 2–2 3–1 — 2–1 2–2 3–1 3–1 2–2
Phoenix 1–3 2–2 4–0 2–2 2–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 3–1 3–1 4–0 3–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 3–1 1–2 — 1–3 2–2 2–2 2–2
Portland 3–1 3–1 3–1 3–1 4–0 1–3 3–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 4–0 4–0 3–1 3–1 1–3 3–0 2–2 3–1 — 2–2 3–1 2–1
San Antonio 3–1 4–0 3–1 2–2 4–0 1–2 2–1 1–3 3–1 3–1 4–0 2–2 2–2 4–0 3–1 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–2 — 2–2 2–2
Seattle 1–2 4–0 3–1 2–2 1–3 3–1 3–1 2–2 4–0 3–1 3–1 3–1 3–1 2–2 2–1 1–3 1–3 2–2 1–3 2–2 — 1–3
Washington 3–1 3–1 3–1 1–2 2–2 1–3 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 2–2 2–2 1–3 2–2 4–0 2–2 2–2 2–2 1–2 2–2 3–1 —

Game log

1977–78 game log
Total: 44–38 (home: 28–13; road: 16–25)
October: 3–2 (home: 3–0; road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 October 18, 1977 Los Angeles W 117–112 MECCA Arena 1–0
2 October 19, 1977 @ Denver L 115–133 McNichols Sports Arena 1—1
3 October 22, 1977 Chicago W 113–95 MECCA Arena 2–1
4 October 27, 1977 @ Houston L 110–133 The Summit 2—2
5 October 30, 1977 Seattle W 108–95 MECCA Arena 3–2
November: 8–8 (home: 3–5; road: 5–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
6 November 1, 1977 Kansas City W 115–95 MECCA Arena 4–2
7 November 3, 1977 @ Cleveland L 91—100 Coliseum at Richfield 4–3
8 November 4, 1977 Houston W 110–108 MECCA Arena 5–3
9 November 8, 1977 Denver L 101–111 MECCA Arena 5–4
10 November 10, 1977 @ Washington W 106–103 Capital Centre 6–4
11 November 11, 1977 Cleveland L 82–88 MECCA Arena 6–5
12 November 13, 1977 Boston L 119–127 MECCA Arena 6–6
13 November 15, 1977 Portland L 106–109 MECCA Arena 6–7
14 November 16, 1977 @ New Jersey W 116–106 Rutgers Athletic Center 7–7
15 November 19, 1977 @ Philadelphia L 100–111 The Spectrum 7–8
16 November 22, 1977 Golden State W 109–88 MECCA Arena 8–8
17 November 23, 1977 @ Kansas City W 122–116 Kemper Arena 9–8
18 November 25, 1977 @ Atlanta W 117–115 Omni Coliseum 10–8
19 November 26, 1977 @ San Antonio L 107–129 HemisFair Arena 10–9
20 November 29, 1977 Detroit L 99–100 MECCA Arena 10–10
21 November 30, 1977 @ Indiana W 120–113 Market Square Arena 11–10
December: 9–7 (home: 5–3; road: 4–4)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
22 December 2, 1977 Washington L 95–108 MECCA Arena 11–11
23 December 3, 1977 @ New York W 115–108 Madison Square Garden 12–11
24 December 4, 1977 New Jersey W 134–118 OT MECCA Arena 13–11
25 December 6, 1977 @ Los Angeles L 108–109 The Forum 13–12
26 December 8, 1977 @ Golden State W 117–116 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 14–12
27 December 9, 1977 @ Seattle L 123–136 Seattle Center Coliseum 14–13
28 December 10, 1977 @ Denver L 111–118 McNichols Sports Arena 14–14
29 December 13, 1977 Philadelphia W 129–117 MECCA Arena 15–14
30 December 16, 1977 New York W 152–150 3OT MECCA Arena 16–14
31 December 18, 1977 Buffalo W 111–100 MECCA Arena 17–14
32 December 21, 1977 San Antonio W 116–92 MECCA Arena 18–14
33 December 22, 1977 @ Detroit L 102–118 Cobo Arena 18–15
34 December 23, 1977 Atlanta L 93–109 MECCA Arena 18–16
35 December 25, 1977 @ Kansas City W 131–122 Kemper Arena 19–16
36 December 27, 1977 @ Buffalo W 108–105 Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 20–16
37 December 29, 1977 Boston L 115–129 MECCA Arena 20–17
January: 2–0 (home: 2–0; road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
38 January 3, 1978 Phoenix L 103–125 MECCA Arena 20–18
39 January 5, 1978 New Orleans L 109–116 MECCA Arena 20–19
40 January 6, 1978 @ Houston W 103–101 The Summit 21–19
41 January 8, 1978 Kansas City W 133–123 MECCA Arena 22–19
42 January 10, 1978 Indiana W 125–103 MECCA Arena 23–19
43 January 11, 1978 @ San Antonio L 106–130 HemisFair Arena 23–20
44 January 13, 1978 @ Chicago L 111–128 Chicago Stadium 23–21
45 January 17, 1978 New Jersey W 119–109 MECCA Arena 24–21
48 January 22, 1978 Chicago W 112–90 MECCA Arena 26–22
February: 1–0 (home: 1–0; road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
57 February 15, 1978 New Orleans W 112–99 MECCA Arena 29–28
March: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
April: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1977–78 schedule

Playoffs

1978 playoff game log
First Round: 2–0 (home: 1–0; road: 1–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 11 @ Phoenix W 111–103 Brian Winters (31) Marques Johnson (16) Quinn Buckner (8) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
12,161 		1–0
2 April 14 Phoenix W 94–90 Marques Johnson (33) Dave Meyers (14) Quinn Buckner (10) MECCA Arena
10,938 		2–0
Conference semifinals: 3–4 (home: 2–1; road: 1–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 18 @ Denver L 103–119 Alex English (26) Dave Meyers (15) Brian Winters (11) McNichols Sports Arena
17,297 		0–1
2 April 21 @ Denver L 111–127 Marques Johnson (22) Johnson, Meyers (5) Lloyd Walton (8) McNichols Sports Arena
17,838 		0–2
3 April 23 Denver W 143–112 Marques Johnson (35) Marques Johnson (10) Lloyd Walton (11) MECCA Arena
10,938 		1–2
4 April 25 Denver L 104–118 Johnson, Winters (14) Marques Johnson (7) Brian Winters (6) MECCA Arena
10,938 		1–3
5 April 28 @ Denver W 117–112 Marques Johnson (34) Marques Johnson (17) Winters, Buckner (9) McNichols Sports Arena
17,838 		2–3
6 April 30 Denver W 119–91 Alex English (21) Marques Johnson (17) Marques Johnson (9) MECCA Arena
10,938 		3–3
7 May 3 @ Denver L 110–116 Brian Winters (27) Marques Johnson (16) Quinn Buckner (10) McNichols Sports Arena
17,838 		3–4
1978 schedule

Player statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Season

Season[2]
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Brian Winters 80 34.4 46.3 84.0 3.1 4.9 1.6 0.3 19.9
Marques Johnson 80 34.6 52.2 73.6 10.6 2.4 1.2 1.3 19.5
Dave Meyers 80 30.2 46.1 72.2 6.7 3.0 1.1 0.6 14.7
Junior Bridgeman 82 22.9 50.3 81.0 3.5 2.1 0.9 0.4 13.6
Alex English 82 18.9 54.2 72.7 4.8 1.6 0.5 0.7 9.6
Quinn Buckner 82 25.3 46.8 64.5 3.0 5.6 2.3 0.2 9.3
John Gianelli 82 28.4 48.8 64.2 6.2 2.3 0.7 1.1 8.5
Kent Benson 69 18.7 46.5 65.2 4.3 1.4 1.0 0.8 7.7
Ernie Grunfeld 73 17.3 44.3 65.7 2.7 2.0 0.7 0.3 6.9
Lloyd Walton 76 16.6 44.8 65.1 1.0 3.3 1.0 0.2 4.8
Kevin Restani 8 10.5 46.4 0.0 1.8 1.1 0.0 0.1 3.3
Jim Eakins 17 9.1 41.2 80.8 1.7 0.7 0.2 0.4 2.9
Rich Laurel 10 5.7 32.3 100.0 1.0 0.3 0.3 0.1 2.4
Scott Lloyd 14 8.0 36.4 60.0 1.9 0.6 0.2 0.4 2.1

Playoffs

Playoffs[2]
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Marques Johnson 9 35.7 54.9 75.0 12.4 3.4 1.1 1.9 24.0
Brian Winters 9 33.9 49.7 74.1 3.3 6.4 1.3 0.9 20.4
Alex English 9 23.1 61.5 78.1 4.7 1.4 0.7 0.8 13.4
Dave Meyers 9 31.0 44.4 66.7 8.2 3.9 0.8 1.2 12.9
Quinn Buckner 9 28.6 50.0 65.2 3.0 6.9 2.0 0.1 11.2
Junior Bridgeman 9 19.8 48.4 75.0 2.0 1.2 1.0 0.2 10.4
John Gianelli 9 32.2 42.4 76.9 6.4 1.6 0.9 1.2 7.8
Ernie Grunfeld 7 11.0 53.1 80.0 1.6 2.4 0.4 0.1 5.4
Lloyd Walton 9 13.8 48.6 61.5 0.4 4.1 0.9 0.3 4.7
Kent Benson 9 11.4 47.8 54.5 1.7 0.3 0.6 0.3 3.1
Jim Eakins 3 6.0 20.0 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.7

Awards and records

  • Quinn Buckner, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
  • Marques Johnson, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team
  • On Friday, November 25, 1977, the day after Thanksgiving, and on the road, the Bucks overcame the largest 4th quarter deficit in NBA history, defeating the Atlanta Hawks after being down by 29 points with only 8:43 left in the game. Atlanta led 111–82 before Milwaukee went on a 35–4 run to win 117–115 in regulation. This record was set without the use of the three-point field goal, since its NBA inception was not until the 1979–80 season.

Transactions

Trades

June 7, 1977
 To Milwaukee Bucks---- To Buffalo Braves----
September 2, 1977
 To Milwaukee Bucks---- To Buffalo Braves----
  • 1979 1st round draft pick (Roy Hamilton)

Free agents

Player Signed Former team
Jim Eakins January 13, 1978 San Antonio Spurs

References

  1. ^ 1977–78 Milwaukee Bucks
  2. ^ a b "1977-78 Milwaukee Bucks Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
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