Julius Erving became the third leading scorer in history in 1985 after a horrible game: 'Passing Elvin could have come on a better night'

Playing for the Philadelphia 76ers 1985, Julius Erving racked up enough points to overtake Elvin Hayes third all-time leading scorer at the time. However, Erving admitted it could have been better had he achieved it on a different night.

"All I can say is passing Elvin could have come on a better night," Erving stated. "But it came on this night."

Bad day for "Dr. J"

Erving needed only six points to tie Hayes back then. Considering he was averaging 20.0 points in the regular season at the time, overtaking the top pick of the 1968 Draft would be easy.

Unfortunately, "The Doctor" finished with only seven points in that 116-97 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. That point output was enough to push Erving past Hayes.

The Sixers forward shot only 3-10 from the field and went 1-4 from the free-throw line. It was a woeful outing, with "Dr. J" struggling with foul trouble. He had several heated moments with game officials in that forgettable encounter.

"I don't want to say the wrong thing because I don't want to get fined," Erving said uncharacteristically after that loss via UPI.

Regardless, it was a huge feat for Erving. By overtaking Hayes, he became the only non-center in the top scorers of the league at the time.

"It's a great achievement to be one of the top three scorers in NBA scoring history and to be the only one that wasn't a center," Sixers coach Billy Cunningham pointed out.

Erving's decline

Like other superstars, Erving knew how to bounce back from bad games. Unfortunately, that February 1985 regular season game was not the only poor performance he had. In fact, "The Doctor" also struggled in the team's Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Boston Celtics.

The Sixers faced huge odds against the Cs, and coach Cunningham needed all hands on deck. Erving was someone he leaned on, alongside Moses Malone, Maurice Cheeks, and Charles Barkley.

He gave all he had, but "Dr. J" had a forgettable series against the Celtics. Erving only averaged 14.0 points per game, with a woeful 32.4 percent shooting from the field. With Julius misfiring, the All-Star forward tried to make up for it by contributing in rebounds and assists. Although his effort was commendable, as he averaged 5.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists a contest, it wasn't enough to lift Philly over Boston in that series. Celtics advanced in five games.

Despite Erving's poor performance, Cunningham came to his star forward's defense. The Sixers coach pointed out how great players are not spared from having bad games.

"You don't become as great as 'Doc' has without having some bad games," Cunningham said. "He will be back; it's just that his shots are not falling."

1984-85 performance hinted at Erving's decline. His performance steadily declined in the next two seasons, although he was able to maintain All-Star status. "Dr. J" called it a career in 1987.