El Paso Scorpions 55-32 (2-6)

Costa Mesa Condors 55-27 (6-2)

Score (click for boxscore)	Game MVP	Hi Points	Hi Rebounds	Hi Assists
1. Scorpions 125, Condors 118	Maurice Cheeks	34 Michael Jordan	15 Akeem Olajuwon	19 Maurice Cheeks
2. Condors 121, Scorpions 117	Isiah Thomas	48 Michael Jordan	12 Cliff Levingston	18 Isiah Thomas
3. Scorpions 128, Condors 127	Maurice Cheeks	35 Michael Jordan	13 Mark Eaton	10 Isiah Thomas
4. Condors 127, Scorpions 117	Akeem Olajuwon	36 Michael Jordan	20 Akeem Olajuwon	16 Isiah Thomas
5. Condors 119, Scorpions 103	Isiah Thomas	34 Michael Jordan	14 Mark Eaton	14 Isiah Thomas
6. Condors 97, Scorpions 89	Isiah Thomas	20 Maurice Cheeks	14 Larry Smith	6 Isiah Thomas

Game 1 – The El Paso Scorpions traveled to Southern California to take on the defending champion Costa Mesa Condors in game one of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. The teams battled thru the first period and when it was all said and done, the visiting Scorpions were up 35-34. Larry Smith and Michael Jordan each had 9 for El Paso, Zeke tallied 8 for CMC. MJ scored 12 of EPS’ 33 second period points and he had his squad up 68-61 heading to the lockers. Mark Landhuis gave his team a scolding behind closed doors and they responded by taking the third frame 30-21. Akeem Olajuwon led the way with 10 points. Joe Dumars started the 4th off by making a pair of freebies and we had us a 91-91 ballgame. The game was really tight for the next 9-1/2 minutes as the teams exchanged leads and the score was locked at 116 with 2:03 on the clock. From there it was 9-2 Scorpions with Mo and Dumars leading the way. The Scorpions take game one 125-118. Maurice Cheeks was named game MVP with 29 points, 19 dimes, 5 steals and was 14-21 from the floor. Michael Jordan had a game-high 34 points and hauled in 10 boards. Dumars finished with 20. Isiah Thomas topped CMC with points, 12 assists and 4 steals. Olajuwon had 25 points and 15 rebounds.

Game 2 – Michael Jordan dominated from the opening tip, scoring 17 first period points and leading the Scorpions to a 35-26 advantage. MJ tallied 14 more in the 2nd frame, but Akeem Olajuwon’s 9 points led to a 29-24 quarter for Costa Mesa. Never Nervous Purvis topped the Condors’ third period efforts with 13 to make it an 89-86 game after three in favor of the visiting El Paso squad. Short had a period-high 14 in the final frame, including a buzzer-beating bucket that gave CMC the come-from-behind 121-117 victory. Isiah Thomas was named game MVP, with 14 points, 18 assists and 5 rebounds. Short finished with 27 (all 2nd half) and Olajuwon 23. Jordan had a game-high 48 points, going 19-32 from the field. Joe Dumars added 17 and Larry Smith 16. The series shifts to El Paso, Texas knotted at one game apiece.

Game 3 – Michael Jordan scored 9 points in the first period and the home town El Paso Scorpions took a 33-32 lead. Jordan added 12 more in the 2nd, but the Costa Mesa Condors took the quarter 32-26 for a 64-59 halftime lead. MJ fired in 13 more in the 3rd as the home team outscored the visitors 34-29 and we had a 93-93 game going into the final frame. A tight 35-34 fourth quarter saw an exciting finish. With 22.1 seconds remaining, Mark Eaton scored on an offensive rebound to put EPS up 126-123. Less than 4 seconds later, Purvis Short made a pair from the charity stripe to trail by one. Joe Dumars sunk one of two from the line to put the Scorpions up by two again. Vinnie Johnson tied the game a 127 with 4.5 ticks on the clock. Bill Hanzlik got fouled and made a FT with 3.4 remaining for the 128-127 El Paso win. Short and Isiah Thomas led CMC with 25 points each. Zeke had 10 assists and made 13-14 free throw attempts. Jordan made 17-18 from the line for a game-high 35. Maurice Cheeks was named MVP again with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 steals. Hanzlik finished with 20 points and 6 assists off the bench. 

Game 4 – Akeem Olajuwon scored 9 points in the first quarter and Michael Jordan countered with 8 as Costa Mesa took a 30-25 advantage. Jordan was good for 9 more in the 2nd and Zeke topped the Condors with 10 to make it a 64-50 game in favor of CMC at the half. After falling behind by 16 points early in the 2nd half, the El Paso Scorpions battled back behind Mo Cheeks’ 10 points to trail only 97-90 heading into the 4th period. El Paso kept the pressure on early in the 4th, outscoring the visitors 16-8 to take a 106-105 lead. Shortly after that, the wheels fell off the bus for the home team as they allowed 14 unanswered points and couldn’t catch up. Costa Mesa evened up the series at 2 games each with the 127-117 victory. Olajuwon finished with 34 points, 20 rebounds, 4 blocks and 4 steals to earn game MVP honors. Purvis Short added 23 points. Isiah was good for 22 points, 16 dimes and 6 boards. MJ had 36 points and 13 rebounds for El Paso. Cheeks tallied 25 points and 11 assists. 

Game 5 – Back on their home court with the series knotted at two, the Costa Mesa Condors exploded out of the gate behind Isiah Thomas’ 16 points to take a 45-22 lead after one. Maurice Cheeks and Michael Jordan combined for 25 second period points, but it only cut into CMC’s lead by 3. Akeem Olajuwon scored 12 in the 3rd quarter and the home town fans were extremely happy that the defending champs were up 103-79 heading into the final 12 minutes. El Paso outscored the Condors 24-16 down the stretch but it wasn’t enough. The Condors won it 119-103. Zeke was named Game MVP with 24 points, 14 assists and 3 steals. Mychal Thompson had 26 points and 10 boards. Olajuwon finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. MJ led all scorers with 34, but was only 14-38 from the floor. Cheeks was good for 26 points, 12 assists and 3 steals. The series heads back to El Paso for a must-win game 6 for the host Scorpions.

Game 6 – El Paso jumped out to an 11-6 lead, but then Michael Jordan got called for two fouls and headed to the bench. Costa Mesa scored 8 unanswered points to go up 3. The teams traded leads from there to a 20-20 tie after one. Mo Cheeks had 9 points for the home team, Cliff Levingston’s 5 topped the Condors. More foul trouble for MJ in period two, but, even without the VBA’s leading scorer, the defensively tough Scorpions hung in there and trailed only 44-41 heading into the lockers at halftime. Cheeks’ 16 was high for EPS. Sidney Moncrief scored 9 of his team-high 11 first half points in the second quarter. A well-rested Jordan led the home team on a 10-2 run to start the 3rd, giving his team a 5-point edge. Every time EPS would go up by a few, the visitors would retaliate and take the lead back, this time their 9-2 spree put them up 55-53. The teams traded leads the rest of the third period and it was a 66-64 game in favor of Costa Mesa heading into the final 12 minutes. El Paso tied it a couple times before CMC went up 6. EPS cut it to one again, then an 11-2 run by CMC got them over the hump as they built a 10-point lead and they never allowed Jordan and gang to get closer than 7. Costa Mesa advances to their 4th consecutive Western Conference Finals with the 97-89 victory. Isiah Thomas was named Game MVP with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. Moncrief led CMC in scoring with 16. Akeem Olajuwon had 11 points and 11 boards. Cheeks topped EPS with 20. John Salley had a big game off the bench. He was brought in to defend Olajuwon, but ended up with 19 points. Michael managed only 18 points, going 10-10 from the free throw line.