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1978–79 Washington Bullets season

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Head coach
  
Dick Motta

Record
  
54–28 (.659)

Arena
  
Capital Centre

Television
  
WDCA

Place
  
Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 1st (Eastern)

Playoff finish
  
NBA Finals (Eliminated 1–4)

The 1978–79 Washington Bullets won their 2nd consecutive Eastern Conference Championship, making it to the NBA Finals before losing to the Seattle SuperSonics. They finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA, at 54-28.

Contents

Coming off of their NBA Championship the previous season, the Bullets were transferred to the Atlantic Division. The Bullets would continue to remain one of the top teams in the league, as they captured the Atlantic Division championship with a league best record of 54–28. The Bullets ended the regular season losing 8 of their last 11 games, but rebounded in the playoffs with victories in both the Eastern Conference Semifinals and Eastern Conference Finals over the Atlanta Hawks and the San Antonio Spurs, respectively.

NBA Draft

Round 1: Roger Phegley, Dave Corzine

Round 2: Terry Sykes (Never played in the NBA)

Round 4: Lawrence Boston

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

East First Round

The Bullets had a first round bye.

East Conference Semifinals

In the conference semifinal round of the playoffs, the Bullets needed 7 games to beat the Atlanta Hawks. The Bullets nearly lost the series as they had a 3–1 series lead.

(1) Washington Bullets vs. (5) Atlanta Hawks: Bullets win series 4–3

  • Game 1 @ Washington: Washington 103, Atlanta 89
  • Game 2 @ Washington: Atlanta 107, Washington 99
  • Game 3 @ Atlanta: Washington 89, Atlanta 77
  • Game 4 @ Atlanta: Washington 120, Atlanta 118 (OT)
  • Game 5 @ Washington: Atlanta 107, Washington 103
  • Game 6 @ Atlanta: Atlanta 104, Washington 86
  • Game 7 @ Washington: Washington 100, Atlanta 94

    • East Conference Finals

    In the Eastern Finals, the Bullets would find themselves down 3 games to 1 facing the San Antonio Spurs. The Bullets would rally to win the next 2 games and force a 7th game at home. In Game 7 the Bullets would rally again. They overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Spurs 107–105.

    (1) Washington Bullets vs. (2) San Antonio Spurs: Bullets win series 4–3

  • Game 1 @ Washington: San Antonio 118, Washington 97
  • Game 2 @ Washington: Washington 115, San Antonio 95
  • Game 3 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 116, Washington 114
  • Game 4 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 118, Washington 102
  • Game 5 @ Washington: Washington 107, San Antonio 103
  • Game 6 @ San Antonio: Washington 108, San Antonio 100
  • Game 7 @ Washington: Washington 107, San Antonio 105

    • NBA Finals

    The triumph would set up a rematch with the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals. In the Finals, the Bullets would squeak out a close victory in Game 1 by a score of 99–97. However, the Sonics would rally to win the next 4 and take the series in 5 games.

    SuperSonics win series 4–1

    Awards and honors

  • Bob Ferry, NBA Executive of the Year Award
  • Elvin Hayes, All-NBA First Team
  • Bob Dandridge, All-NBA Second Team
  • Bob Dandridge, NBA All-Defensive First Team

    • References

    1978–79 Washington Bullets season Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA