NBA Playoffs : Erving Misses and Bucks Head for Boston

The Philadelphia 76ers’ domination of Milwaukee in the NBA playoffs ended Sunday with the Bucks’ 113-112 victory in the deciding game of their best-of-seven playoff series.

But Milwaukee guard Sidney Moncrief said it will be difficult to erase the memory of losing four out of the previous five years to Philadelphia, including last season’s four-game sweep.

“It’s in the past. All we can deal with is 1986,” said Moncrief, whose on-the-court leadership helped the Bucks win 4-3 and advance to the Eastern Conference finals against Boston, starting Tuesday night at Boston. “But I don’t think people are going to forget the years prior to 1986.”

Although forward Terry Cummings said the jinx didn’t apply to this year’s team--”this team is different”--he admitted the win was sweet.

“I think it’s something our team will relish for many years to come,” Cummings said. He led Milwaukee with 27 points.

“I’ve been waiting four years for it to happen,” Milwaukee forward Paul Pressey said.

Milwaukee Coach Don Nelson said Sunday’s victory was the “nicest win I ever had” because the Bucks came out on top of an emotional, hard-fought series.

“You can put on top of that our beating Philly and winning the seventh game of a seven-game series for the first time,” Nelson said.

Julius Erving took the 76ers’ last shot, a short jumper with three seconds remaining, but missed. Players from both teams were scrambling for the ball as time ran out.

“I had the open shot and it was not a bad shot to have in that situation,” Erving, who scored 17 points, said. “It was a shot that we would ask for if we were in that situation again.”

Cummings, who played most of the game with a dislocated finger on his left hand, said the first thing he did after Erving’s shot was to make sure Charles Barkley didn’t get the rebound. Barkley had 18 points and 12 rebounds, well below his playoff averages of 25.6 points and 16.1 rebounds.

“We got a good shot with Charles going to the basket,” Philadelphia Coach Matt Guokas said. “It’s going to be very physical the last few seconds. They took advantage of it.”

Craig Hodges had 24 points for Milwaukee, including the winning basket, which came on a goaltending call, with 29 seconds left.

The 76ers, down by nine points early in the third quarter and trailing by as many as eight in the fourth quarter, rallied for a 106-104 lead with 3:20 remaining on a Barkley dunk. The lead seesawed until the final minute.

Moncrief, fouled by Erving, converted two foul shots with 53 seconds left, giving the Bucks a 111-110 lead.

Barkley made a field goal with 40 seconds left, giving Philadelphia a 112-111 advantage. Then Barkley was called for goaltending on Hodges’ shot, and Milwaukee had a 113-112 lead.

That set the stage for Erving’s last-gasp miss.

Sedale Threatt led Philadelphia with 28 points. Maurice Cheeks scored 22.

Moncrief, Milwaukee’s All-Star guard who has been bothered by a left heel injury, started Sunday and finished with 23 points.

The 76ers had a 32-30 lead after the first period. But the Bucks took a 63-58 halftime lead on Cummings’ 17 points and Moncrief’s 12. Clemon Johnson had all of his 17 points and 8 rebounds in the first half for Philadelphia.

The Bucks scored the first two baskets of the third quarter to open their biggest lead at 67-58.

But Philadelphia rallied to 74-73 with 8:05 left on a three-point play by Bobby Jones, who was fouled by Hodges on a breakaway layup.

Three free throws by Bob McAdoo at the end of the third quarter narrowed the Bucks’ lead to 90-86 going into the fourth quarter.

The Bucks took a 100-92 lead with 8:31 left on a layup by Hodges off a bad pass by Barkley, who a minute earlier had allowed a similar layup by Ricky Pierce.