Game 1 Opting to open the series at home, the Bullets built a 14-point lead at the half over the Warriors at the
Capital Centre. The Warriors began to storm back, with
Phil Smith coming off the bench to score 20 points in 31 minutes of playing time, as Golden State took the first game, 101–95.
Game 2 Instead of their familiar
Oakland Coliseum Arena, the Warriors were forced to play their first two scheduled home games of the series at the nearby
Cow Palace (the Oakland facility being unavailable due to the
Ice Follies). The Bullets jumped to an early 13-point lead, but Golden State battled back, led by 36 points from
Rick Barry, to take a 92–91 lead in the closing seconds. Washington got the ball back with six seconds left but missed two shots and now were down 2–0. [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/197505200GSW.html
Game 3 Rick Barry poured in 38 points and backup center
George Johnson had 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench to help the Warriors to a key Game 3 109–101 win. Two major factors enabling the Warriors to take an insurmountable lead were the defensive play of the seemingly undersized
Jamaal Wilkes on Bullets' power forward
Elvin Hayes and the play of the Warrior bench. In three games, Hayes had only 29 points and the Warriors' bench players had outscored the Bullets' reserves 115–53.
Game 4 Back at home, the Bullets seemed to be on their way to staving off an unexpected sweep by the underdog Warriors, leading by 14 points early on. Bullets forward
Mike Riordan was assigned to guard Barry, who had killed the Bullets in the series up to that point by averaging 35 points a game. Riordan played Barry very physically, arousing the ire of Warriors' coach
Al Attles. Midway through the first quarter, Barry went on a drive to the basket and was fouled hard from behind by Riordan. Barry reacted with a shove, but Attles bolted onto the court and initiated a fight of his own with Riordan, thereby protecting his star player from an ejection and getting ejected himself. The remainder of the game was directed by assistant coach
Joe Roberts. The Bullets controlled the game and led most of the way, leading by as many as eight in the fourth quarter at 90–82 after a Riordan drive and layup where he injured his ankle. Bullets coach
K.C. Jones pulled Riordan and sent in little-used
Dick Gibbs, with
Nick Weatherspoon mired in a shooting slump. Barry and Hayes exchanged baskets, keeping the Bullets up by eight at 92–84. After a
Jamaal Wilkes basket,
Kevin Porter missed a pair of free throws and
Butch Beard hit a jumper to cut the Bullet lead to four at 92–88. Porter then threw away an easy pass on the Bullets' next trip, and Wilkes canned a jumper to cut it to two at 92–90. Porter missed a layup, and then Wilkes hit a rebound basket to tie the score. Hayes, who had only 15 points, then hit one of two to give the lead back to the Bullets. Beard answered with a drive and basket to give the Warriors a 94–93 lead. Unseld then threw away an easy bounce pass to give the ball back to the Warriors with 1:26 left. With 1:08 left, Barry put up a jumper and missed, and Hayes hit a wide-open Gibbs with an outlet pass, but Gibbs blew the layup. The Warriors turned the ball over on a 24-second violation with 33 seconds left, but the Bullets gave it back to them after a timeout when Unseld fumbled an inbounds pass into the backcourt. Beard then hit one of two, then one of three to give the Warriors their final margin. ==Television coverage==