That led to the 1977–78 motto of "We owe you one", which would ultimately backfire when they lost in the conference finals that season to the Washington Bullets, who went on to win the NBA championship. In the next four seasons, the 76ers would fall short of the NBA Championship, even after Shue handed the coaching reins to former great Billy Cunningham. In the 1980 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, they lost 4–2. In Game Six, rookie Magic Johnson played center for the Lakers in place of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who was out because of a sprained ankle sustained in Game Five) and scored 42 points. In the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals, the 76ers opened a 3–1 series lead over the Celtics only to see Boston come back and win the series in seven games. The following season, the 76ers again faced the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, and again jumped to a 3–1 series lead only to see Boston forge a 3–3 series tie. The 76ers were given little chance of winning as they faced the Celtics in Game Seven at Boston Garden. This time, they played angry but inspired basketball, pulling away to a 120–106 victory and becoming the third NBA road team to win Game 7 after leading the series 3–1. In the game's closing moments, the Boston Garden fans began chanting ""Beat L.A., Beat L.A."", as they realized their team would lose the playoff series to a hated opponent (Philadelphia 76ers), but nonetheless openly wished that opponent good luck in the next round against a more hated opponent (the Los Angeles Lakers). The team lost the 1982 Finals in six games against the Los Angeles Lakers.