Rudy Tomjanovich vs. Kevin Grevey in H-O-R-S-E (1977-78; before The Punch)
33Aired March 5, 1978 - This is one of the more competitive battles of the NBA's season-long H-O-R-S-E competition. After running up an early lead, former University of Michigan standout and Hamtramck native Rudy Tomjanovich ceded the floor to Kevin Grevey, who completed an impressive comeback with a winning banker from the wing.
As a sidenote, though this was aired in March of '78, it is presumed this was recorded near the start of the 1977-78 season, making this one of the final national broadcast tapings featuring Tomjanovich before he sustained life-threatening injuries after being punched in the face by Kermit Washington on December 9, 1977.
Grevey advanced deep into the H-O-R-S-E playoff, eventually defeating JoJo White to earn a slot in the semi-finals with a perfect round: • Kevin Grevey's Perfect H-O-R-S-E Round
One year following a season-long dunk contest (won by Darnell Hillman), the NBA moved on to their next big idea for the 1977-78 campaign: a season-long H-O-R-S-E contest. As for why these events were season-long: the tourney-style format usually hinged on waiting until the teams of individual matchups met each other in the regular season. It was the "we'll play whenever we get around to it" technique.
Interestingly, there was no official H-O-R-S-E championship, with an injury knocking Pete Maravich out of the finals, leading to Paul Westphal winning by burying a blindfolded free throw during halftime of Game 4 of the 1978 NBA Finals to defeat "The Unknown Bag Man" (it was Rick Barry). • Paul Westphal - Rick Barry - John Havlicek...