1975–76 Cleveland Cavaliers season

1975–76 Cleveland Cavaliers season
1975–76 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Division champions
Head coach	Bill Fitch
Arena	Coliseum at Richfield
Results
Record	49–33 (.598)
Place	Division: 1st (Central); Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East Conference Finals; (eliminated 2–4)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WEWS-TV
Radio	WWWE
< 1974–75	1976–77 >

The 1975–76 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the sixth season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This season marked their first winning record, their first division title, their first playoffs appearances and their first conference finals in history. The season is referred to as the "Miracle at Richfield" season for this reason, and helped propel local interest in the Cavaliers as almost every playoff game was sold-out and regular game attendance would rise in the coming seasons.

Roster

1975–76 Cleveland Cavaliers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
PF	52	Brewer, Jim	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1951-12-03	Minnesota
SG	34	Carr, Austin	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1948-03-10	Notre Dame
F/C	22	Chones, Jim	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1949-11-30	Marquette
PG	35	Cleamons, Jim	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1949-09-13	Ohio State
SF	23	Garrett, Rowland	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1950-07-16	Florida State
PF	24	Lambert, John	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1953-01-14	USC
SF	20	Russell, Campy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1952-01-12	Michigan
G/F	7	Smith, Bingo	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1946-02-26	Tulsa
G/F	10	Snyder, Dick	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	1944-02-01	Davidson
C	42	Thurmond, Nate	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1941-07-25	Bowling Green
PG	14	Walker, Foots	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	1951-05-21	West Georgia
C	44	Witte, Luke	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1950-10-19	Ohio State

Head coach

Bill Fitch

Assistant coach(es)

Jimmy Rodgers

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Cleveland Cavaliers	49	33	.598	–	29–12	20–21	15–11
x-Washington Bullets	48	34	.585	1	31–10	17–24	14–12
Houston Rockets	40	42	.488	9	27–13	13–29	14–12
New Orleans Jazz	38	44	.463	11	22–19	16–25	15–11
Atlanta Hawks	29	53	.354	20	20–21	9–32	7–19

#	Eastern Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Boston Celtics	54	28	.659	–
2	y-Cleveland Cavaliers	49	33	.598	5
3	x-Washington Bullets	48	34	.585	6
4	x-Philadelphia 76ers	46	36	.561	8
5	x-Buffalo Braves	46	36	.561	8

6	Houston Rockets	40	42	.488	14
7	New York Knicks	38	44	.463	16
8	New Orleans Jazz	38	44	.463	16
9	Atlanta Hawks	29	53	.354	25

Record vs. opponents

1975–76 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DET	GSW	HOU	KCK	LAL	MIL	NOJ	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–3	2–3	2–2	2–5	1–3	2–2	2–5	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–4	3–2	2–3	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–5
Boston	3–2	—	4–3	2–2	3–2	4–0	2–2	4–1	2–2	4–0	2–2	4–1	5–2	4–3	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–2
Buffalo	3–2	3–4	—	3–1	3–2	1–3	1–3	3–2	4–0	2–2	3–1	4–1	4–3	3–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–3
Chicago	2–2	2–2	1–3	—	0–4	3–4	1–4	1–3	1–6	3–2	3–4	2–2	0–4	0–4	2–3	1–4	2–3	0–4
Cleveland	5–2	2–3	2–3	4–0	—	2–2	1–3	2–4	1–3	2–2	4–0	4–3	3–2	3–2	3–1	4–0	3–1	4–2
Detroit	3–1	0–4	3–1	4–3	2–2	—	0–5	2–2	5–2	1–4	3–4	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–4	2–3	3–2	2–2
Golden State	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–1	3–1	5–0	—	2–2	4–1	5–2	5–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	4–2	4–2	4–3	3–1
Houston	5–2	1–4	2–3	3–1	4–2	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–4	3–2	3–2	0–4	3–1	2–2	3–4
Kansas City	2–2	2–2	0–4	6–1	3–1	2–5	1–4	2–2	—	2–3	2–5	1–3	1–3	1–3	3–2	0–5	2–3	1–3
Los Angeles	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–3	2–2	4–1	2–5	3–1	3–2	—	2–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–4	3–4	3–3	1–3
Milwaukee	2–2	2–2	1–3	4–3	0–4	4–3	0–5	2–2	5–2	3–2	—	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–2	2–3	2–3	2–2
New Orleans	4–2	1–4	1–4	2–2	3–4	3–1	2–2	4–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	—	2–3	1–4	1–3	3–1	1–3	4–3
New York	2–3	2–5	3–4	4–0	2–3	1–3	0–4	2–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–2	—	5–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	3–2
Philadelphia	3–2	3–4	4–3	4–0	2–3	3–1	1–3	2–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	4–1	2–5	—	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–3
Phoenix	4–0	0–4	1–3	3–2	1–3	4–1	2–4	4–0	2–3	4–2	2–3	3–1	2–2	1–3	—	5–2	4–3	0–4
Portland	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–1	0–4	3–2	2–4	1–3	5–0	4–3	3–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	2–5	—	3–3	2–2
Seattle	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–2	1–3	2–3	3–4	2–2	3–2	3–3	3–2	3–1	4–0	2–2	3–4	3–3	—	1–3
Washington	5–1	2–3	3–2	4–0	2–4	2–2	1–3	4–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–4	2–3	3–2	4–0	2–2	3–1	—

Game log

1975–76 game log
Total: 49–33 (Home: 29–12; Road: 20–21)

October: 1–2 (home: 1–1; road: 0–1)

Game	Date	Team
1	October 23, 1975	Golden State
2	October 25, 1975	@ New York
3	October 30, 1975	Chicago

November: 6–9 (home: 1–5; road: 5–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	Location Attendance	Record
4	November 1, 1975	New Orleans
5	November 4, 1975	@ Washington
6	November 6, 1975 8:05 PM EST	@ Atlanta	W 113–108	Snyder (25)	The Omni 3,761	2–4
7	November 7, 1975	@ New Orleans
8	November 8, 1975	@ Houston
9	November 11, 1975	@ Golden State
10	November 14, 1975	@ Seattle
11	November 15, 1975	@ Portland
12	November 18, 1975	Houston
13	November 20, 1975	Buffalo
14	November 22, 1975	@ New York
15	November 23, 1975	Boston
16	November 25, 1975	@ Chicago
17	November 27, 1975	Kansas City
18	November 29, 1975	Seattle

December: 11–4 (home: 6–1; road: 5–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	Location Attendance	Record
19	December 2, 1975	Portland
20	December 4, 1975	@ Kansas City
21	December 5, 1975	@ Buffalo
22	December 9, 1975	@ Philadelphia
23	December 11, 1975	New York
24	December 12, 1975	@ Milwaukee
25	December 13, 1975	New Orleans
26	December 16, 1975	@ Los Angeles
27	December 17, 1975	@ Seattle
28	December 19, 1975	@ Phoenix
29	December 21, 1975	Los Angeles
30	December 26, 1975 8:00 PM EST	Atlanta	L 97–98	Russell, Walker (17)	Coliseum at Richfield 19,832	15–15
31	December 27, 1975	@ Washington
32	December 28, 1975	Buffalo
33	December 30, 1975	Kansas City

January: 9–6 (home: 7–2; road: 2–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	Location Attendance	Record
34	January 2, 1976	@ Philadelphia
35	January 3, 1976	Detroit
36	January 7, 1976	@ Detroit
37	January 8, 1976	Philadelphia
38	January 10, 1976 8:05 PM EST	@ Atlanta	W 106–100	Russell (18)	The Omni 5,766	20–18
39	January 11, 1976	Washington
40	January 14, 1976	@ Washington
41	January 15, 1976 8:00 PM EST	Atlanta	L 91–98	Smith (30)	Coliseum at Richfield 8,364	21–20
42	January 17, 1976	Phoenix
43	January 20, 1976	Boston
44	January 22, 1976	Seattle
45	January 24, 1976	Milwaukee
46	January 27, 1976	Detroit
47	January 28, 1976	@ Houston
48	January 30, 1976	@ Chicago

February: 9–2 (home: 5–0; road: 4–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	Location Attendance	Record
49	February 1, 1976	@ New Orleans
All-Star Break
50	February 6, 1976	@ Philadelphia
51	February 8, 1976	Washington
52	February 12, 1976	Chicago
53	February 13, 1976	@ Milwaukee
54	February 14, 1976	@ Buffalo
55	February 17, 1976 8:00 PM EST	Atlanta	W 112–92	Russell (23)	Coliseum at Richfield 10,417	33–22
56	February 19, 1976	Portland
57	February 22, 1976	Houston
58	February 23, 1976	@ Houston
59	February 25, 1976	@ Detroit
60	February 29, 1976	@ Los Angeles

March: 9–7 (home: 6–2; road: 3–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	Location Attendance	Record
61	March 3, 1976	@ Phoenix
62	March 5, 1976	@ Portland
63	March 6, 1976	@ Golden State
64	March 11, 1976	Golden State
65	March 13, 1976	Phoenix
66	March 16, 1976	Los Angeles
67	March 18, 1976	Philadelphia
68	March 19, 1976	@ New Orleans
69	March 20, 1976 8:05 PM EST	@ Atlanta	W 113–108	Chones, Cleamons (20)	The Omni 3,761	41–28
70	March 21, 1976	Washington
71	March 25, 1976	Buffalo
72	March 26, 1976	@ Boston
73	March 27, 1976	Milwaukee
74	March 30, 1976	Houston
75	March 31, 1976	@ New Orleans

April: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	Location Attendance	Record
76	April 1, 1976	Boston
77	April 3, 1976	@ Kansas City
78	April 4, 1976 3:00 PM EST	Atlanta	W 120–92	Carr (27)	Coliseum at Richfield 8,439	46–32
79	April 6, 1976	@ Boston
80	April 8, 1976	New Orleans
81	April 10, 1976	New York
82	April 11, 1976	@ New York

1975–76 schedule

Playoffs

1976 playoff game log

Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 13	Washington	L 95–100	Jim Chones (23)	Campy Russell (11)	Jim Cleamons (8)	Richfield Coliseum 19,974	0–1
2	April 15	@ Washington	W 80–79	Bingo Smith (17)	Nate Thurmond (10)	Bingo Smith (4)	Capital Centre 17,988	1–1
3	April 17	Washington	W 88–76	Smith, Carr (17)	Jim Brewer (12)	Jim Brewer (6)	Richfield Coliseum 21,061	2–1
4	April 21	@ Washington	L 98–109	Campy Russell (22)	Jim Brewer (10)	Foots Walker (6)	Capital Centre 17,542	2–2
5	April 22	Washington	W 92–91	Dick Snyder (26)	Jim Brewer (12)	Cleamons, Snyder (4)	Richfield Coliseum 21,312	3–2
6	April 25	@ Washington	L 98–102 (OT)	Austin Carr (27)	Jim Brewer (12)	Cleamons, Carr (5)	Capital Centre 19,035	3–3
7	April 29	Washington	W 87–85	Dick Snyder (23)	Jim Brewer (16)	Jim Cleamons (6)	Richfield Coliseum 21,564	4–3

Conference Finals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	May 5	@ Boston	L 99–111	Snyder, Russell (21)	Nate Thurmond (16)	Jim Cleamons (6)	Boston Garden 14,264	0–1
2	May 9	@ Boston	L 89–94	Snyder, Smith (16)	Jim Brewer (9)	Foots Walker (6)	Boston Garden 12,098	0–2
3	May 11	Boston	W 83–78	Jim Cleamons (18)	Jim Brewer (15)	Nate Thurmond (6)	Richfield Coliseum 21,564	1–2
4	May 14	Boston	W 106–87	Bingo Smith (27)	Jim Brewer (11)	Jim Cleamons (8)	Richfield Coliseum 21,564	2–2
5	May 16	@ Boston	L 94–99	Jim Cleamons (18)	Nate Thurmond (10)	Cleamons, Smith (4)	Boston Garden 12,951	2–3
6	May 18	Boston	L 87–94	Austin Carr (26)	Nate Thurmond (14)	Thurmond, Cleamons (5)	Richfield Coliseum 21,564	2–4

1976 schedule

Games 5 and 7 in the conference semifinal were both won by the Cavaliers on last-second shots. Jim Cleamons hit a layup as time expired in Game 5 and Dick Snyder hit a shot with four seconds left to win Game 7.

Awards and records

Bill Fitch, NBA Coach of the Year
Jim Cleamons, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
Jim Brewer, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

References