Earl the Pearl by Earl Monroe

Author:Earl Monroe [Monroe, Earl]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781609615628
Publisher: Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale
Published: 2013-04-15T04:00:00+00:00

Our next game was in Phoenix, Arizona, on October 20, against the expansion Suns. We won 134–122. Kevin led us with 24 points, while Gus chipped in 22 and I had 20. What was significant about that game was that Wes’s great rebounding and outlet passing triggered our fast-break running game, which got everyone their touches and shots. That was a very good thing, and I saw the future of our team getting better, and quickly. Phoenix had some good players, too, especially Gail Goodrich, Dick Van Arsdale, Dick Snyder, and George Wilson. But we were just too much for them that night.

Then we traveled west and played our next seven games on the road, first against Seattle in Vancouver (a city I really liked), then against the San Diego Rockets, where we got our first look at top pick Elvin Hayes, who didn’t disappoint with 25 points. I got 35 in that game, though, and we won 119–115. Then we went up to Los Angeles to go against the Lakers and lost 117–111 behind 34 points from Jerry West. Then we went up north to San Francisco and lost a very close game 107–106, even though I scored 30 points. For San Francisco, Jeff Mullins (who had attended Duke), a truly fine and underrated shooting guard and forward, led the Warriors with 33 points. Our next game was in Seattle with the SuperSonics and I put up 32 points in a 126–114 victory. We ended our long cross-country road trip with a 129–112 win over the expansion Bucks in Milwaukee, with Kevin and I combining for 54 points. Our record during that exhausting seven-game, 10-day road trip was five wins and two losses.

But as tiring as that road trip was, it brought us together and let us know we could be good teammates on the road. I could also see it helped us jell as a team, and Wes Unseld, a rookie wise beyond his young age, had helped us do this with his great attitude, tough defense, and outstanding rebounding that helped to unleash our increasingly devastating running game. We returned to Baltimore and avenged our loss to San Francisco with an overtime victory over the Warriors. Gus led the way with 31 points, while Mullins led San Francisco with 27. We had started the season with 7 wins and 3 losses, and after we won our next 3 games over the Knicks, Atlanta, and the San Diego Rockets, we found ourselves with a record of 10 wins and 3 losses.

We took that record into the Big O’s lair in Cincinnati, where we fell to the 9-and-2 Royals 126–115. Chink Scott played a great game, scoring 27 points, but Oscar and Tom Van Arsdale had even bigger scores, combining for 61. We played the Royals again the next night, again in Cincinnati, but this time beat them 115–111. I had a big game against Oscar, scoring 33 points against his 12. Now we were 11 and 4, while the Royals dropped to 10 and 3.

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