1977–78 Milwaukee Bucks season

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.

1977–78 Milwaukee Bucks season
Head coach	Don Nelson
Arena	MECCA Arena
Results
Record	44–38 (.537)
Place	Division: 2nd (Midwest) Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finish	West Conference semifinals (lost to Nuggets 3–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WVTV
Radio	WTMJ
< 1976–77 1978–79 >

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 Don Nelson Assistant(s) John Killilea Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Denver Nuggets	48	34	.585	–	33–8	15–26	11–9
x-Milwaukee Bucks	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 v t e
	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-Milwaukee Bucks	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
Milwaukee	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---- 1977 1st round pick (Marques Johnson)	To Buffalo Braves---- Swen Nater 1977 1st round pick
September 2, 1977	To Milwaukee Bucks---- John Gianelli	To Buffalo Braves---- 1979 1st round draft pick (Roy Hamilton)

Free agents

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