Editing Phoenix Suns (section)

====1975–1976: Trip to the NBA Finals====
The [[1975–76 Phoenix Suns season|1975–76 season]] proved to be a pivotal year for the Suns as they made several key moves, including the off-season trade of former All-Star guard [[Charlie Scott (basketball)|Charlie Scott]] to the [[Boston Celtics]] in exchange for guard [[Paul Westphal]], a member of Boston's [[1974 NBA Finals|1974 championship team]]. They also drafted center and eventual fan favorite [[Alvan Adams]] from the [[Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball|University of Oklahoma]] and guard [[Ricky Sobers]] of [[UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball|UNLV]]. The Suns and [[Buffalo Braves]] made a midseason trade, with Phoenix sending forward/center [[John Shumate]] to Buffalo in exchange for forward [[Garfield Heard]].

Phoenix had an inconsistent regular season, starting out at 14–9 (then the best start in team history), then went 4–18 during a stretch where the team sustained several injuries (including [[Dick Van Arsdale]] breaking his right arm in a February game). The Suns then went 24–13 in the final 37 games to finish 42–40, clinching their first playoff spot since 1970. The Suns faced the [[Seattle SuperSonics]] in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, winning the series four games to two, and beat the defending NBA champion [[Golden State Warriors]] in the Western Conference finals, four games to three, to advance to their first NBA Finals.

[[File:Paul Westphal 1975 press photo.jpg|thumb|right|[[Paul Westphal]] led the Suns to their first-ever NBA Finals in 1976]]
The Suns faced an experienced Celtics team, led by eventual Hall of Famers [[Dave Cowens]], [[John Havlicek]] and [[Jo Jo White]]. Game five of the [[1976 NBA Finals]] took place at [[Boston Garden]], where the Suns came back from a 22-point first-half deficit to force overtime. Havlicek made what was supposed to be a game-winning basket, but due to fans rushing the floor before time officially expired, officials put one second back on the clock with Phoenix having possession of the ball, but under their own basket. Instead of attempting a desperation heave, the Suns' Westphal intentionally called a timeout that they did not have, a technical foul, giving the Celtics a free throw, which Jo Jo White converted to put them up 112–110. However, this advanced the ball to half-court, and once the Suns had possession, [[Garfield Heard]] made a buzzer-beating turnaround jump shot to force a third overtime. The Suns' hard-fought battle was short-lived, as Boston's reserve player [[Glenn McDonald]] scored six of his eight points in the third overtime to lead the Celtics to a 128–126 win. Boston eventually won the series in six games, clinching the championship at the Coliseum, defeating Phoenix in game six, 87–80.