Waking up the Echoes

Some 50 feet from where I sit, the legend of Doctor J--having been born half a decade or so earlier--unfurled its most memorable moment.

It was in this corner of the Spectrum, for one final time tonight home to the Philadelphia 76ers, that Julius Erving swept around Lakers’ forward Mark Landsberger with the reverse layup from behind the backboard that became his signature shot during the 1980 NBA Finals. .

It was here that Bobby Jones, the staunch sixth man on those Philadelphia teams that were perennial contenders, would regularly block shots or knock down his patented jumper to finish off a break.

And here that wondrous opponents like Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Larry Bird, were often at their best, silencing the deafening roars of the home crowd.

Tonight they’ll try to wake up the echoes for a grand finale to a joint that used to be really jumping, as the team’s old slogan used to say. With the wrecking ball due to claim another victim—in the name of progress, of course—later this year, the Sixers and Chicago Bulls are turning back the clock.

Here, in the house Wilt and fellow Hall of Famer Hal Greer helped open, though the Doctor was most instrumental for making it a true home, the NBA has returned for what it hopes will be a memorable one night stand.

No matter what the scoreboard says a few hours from now, though, it figures to be a special occasion. ``This was like all of them,’’ said Del Harris, whose Rockets, Bucks and Lakers fought valiantly through the years, ``The people were right on top of you

``They were like a lot of great teams, so it was a tough place to play.’’

With ``The Doctor’’ back in the house tonight, the 2009 Sixers were hoping the Bulls would find that out for themselves.