<P> The next year, the 76ers would hire Gene Shue as their head coach and they slowly came back . In the 1975--76 season, the 76ers acquired George McGinnis from the Indiana Pacers of the ABA (after the Knicks tried to sign him, not knowing that the 76ers owned his rights). With him, the 76ers were back in the playoffs after a five - year absence, and even though they lost to the Buffalo Braves in three games, a "Doctor" would come along and get the team healthy enough to stay in perennial contention . During this period, however, one last personnel misjudgment had effects when the team used the fifth pick overall in the 1975 draft to select Darryl Dawkins directly from high school . The immensely talented and physically imposing Dawkins seldom, if ever, lived up to his great potential in part because of a perpetual adolescence . </P> <P> The Sixers finally came all the way back in 1976--77, in large part due to a byproduct of the ABA--NBA merger . The ABA's last champions, the New York Nets, were facing having to pay almost $5 million to the Knicks for "invading" the New York area on top of the $3.2 million expansion fee for joining the NBA . When the Sixers offered to buy the contract of the Nets' franchise player, Julius Erving, for $3 million--roughly the cost of NBA membership--the Nets had little choice but to accept . A few months before that trade, Kosloff had sold the Sixers to local philanthropist Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr., grandson of George Dunton Widener and heir to the Widener fortune . </P> <P> Led by Erving, the 76ers began an exciting ride for the fans of Philadelphia, beating their long - time rival from Boston in a seven - game playoff to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals . There, they defeated the Houston Rockets, led by future 76er Moses Malone, in six games to advance to the NBA Finals . In the Finals, they sprinted to a 2--0 series lead over the Bill Walton - led Portland Trail Blazers--who were coached by former 76ers' coach / general manager Jack Ramsay--only to drop the next four games in a row to give the Blazers the title . </P> <P> That led to the 1977--78 motto of "We owe you one", which would ultimately backfire when they lost in the conference finals that season to the Washington Bullets, who went on to win the NBA championship . In the next four seasons, the 76ers would fall short of the NBA Championship, even after Shue handed the coaching reins to former great Billy Cunningham . In the 1980 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, they lost 4--2 . In Game Six, rookie Magic Johnson played center for the Lakers in place of Kareem Abdul - Jabbar (who was out because of a sprained ankle sustained in Game Five) and scored 42 points . In the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals, the 76ers opened a 3--1 series lead over the Celtics only to see Boston come back and win the series in seven games . The following season, the 76ers again faced the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, and again jumped to a 3--1 series lead only to see Boston forge a 3--3 series tie . The 76ers were given little chance of winning as they faced the Celtics in Game Seven at Boston Garden . This time, they played angry but inspired basketball, pulling away to a 120--106 victory and becoming the third NBA road team to win Game 7 after leading series 3--1 . In the game's closing moments, the Boston Garden fans began chanting "Beat L.A., Beat L.A.", as they realized their team would lose the playoff series to a hated opponent (Philadelphia 76ers), nonetheless openly wished that opponent good luck in the next round against a more hated opponent (the Los Angeles Lakers). The team lost the 1982 Finals in six games against the Los Angeles Lakers . </P>

Who did the 76ers play in the finals