October 12, 1979: The much-hyped opponents from the previous March's collegiate National Championship game make their NBA debuts. Earvin "Magic" Johnson scores 26 points, and veteran Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scores 29, and the Los Angeles Lakers need them all to defeat the San Diego Clippers, 103-102 at the San Diego Sports Arena. (That building still stands, under the name Pechanga Arena.) The Lakers needed all those points because Lloyd Free, later to rename himself World B. Free, scores 46 for the Clippers.
Larry Bird has a quieter debut, scoring 14 points, but the Boston Celtics have an easier game, overcoming 31 points from Moses Malone and defeating the Houston Rockets 114-106 at the Boston Garden.
This is also the day the 3-point field goal finally enters regular-season NBA play, after having previously been used in the American Basketball League (1961-63) and the American Basketball Association (1967-76). The Celtics' Chris Ford is the 1st player to attempt one, and the 1st player to make one. Larry goes on to make the trey a major part of his arsenal, while Magic doesn't, proving that he didn't really need it.
Another debut on this day is that of the Utah Jazz, after 5 seasons without making the Playoffs as the far more sensibly-named New Orleans Jazz. They get pounded 101-85, by the Portland Trail Blazers at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.
Coach Frank Layden will eventually right the ship in Salt Lake City, and make them a consistent Playoff team and a model franchise, though they've never won a title.
He would also remark that the team, and the Minneapolis Lakers, had names that made sense in their original cities, but not anymore. He suggested that they switch names, as "Los Angeles Jazz" and "Utah Lakers" both made much more sense.
The arrivals of Magic and Larry are said to have "saved the NBA." This is nonsense. The league already had Kareem, and Julius "Dr. J" Erving, and Bill Walton, and plenty of other great players.
Times change. Today's kids only know Magic, and Michael Jordan, as team owners. They know Larry, and Jerry West, as team executives. They know Dr. J, and Walton, and Shaquille O'Neal, and Charles Barkley, and Walt Frazier as broadcasters. They know Patrick Ewing and Isiah Thomas as coaches. They know Kareem as something of a curmudgeon. And they have no idea that Wilt Chamberlain would have eaten LeBron James.
October 12, 1979 was a Friday. There were 6 other games in the NBA on this tipoff night:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Atlanta Hawks, 121-1014 at The Omni in Atlanta.
* The New Jersey Nets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 102-95 at the Rutgers Athletic Center (now the Jersey Mike's Arena) in Piscataway, New Jersey.
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Washington Bullets, 93-92 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers, 114-105 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.
* The Kansas City Kings beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 105-103 at the Kemper Arena (now the Hy-Vee Arena) in Kansas City.
* And the Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors, 97-89 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
The NHL was also early in its season, but only had 1 game on this night: The Vancouver Canucks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.
And Game 3 of the World Series was played at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Baltimore Orioles came from 3-0 down to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-4. Scott McGregor outpitched John Candelaria, and Benny Ayala hit a home run. But the Pirates would win the Series in 7 games.
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