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Fresno Stars 71-23 (0-2)

Minnesota Muskies 71-19 (2-0)

Game 1 – The last VBA Finals of the 1980’s features a matchup of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson (the reason the league started with the 1979-80 season and saw Larry Bird drafted #1 overall and Magic #2). The Minnesota Muskies and Fresno Stars enter with identical playoff power ratings of 91.4, so the series looks very even, and Game 1 proved to be just that. The first quarter saw 13 lead changes before Minnesota edged ahead 33-32. Robert Parish went 4-for-4 for 8 points and Bird had 9 for Minnesota, while Magic led Fresno with 11. The Stars opened the second with a 10-0 burst for a 42-33 lead. Minnesota fought back to cut Fresno’s lead to 72-69 at halftime. Magic had 18 for Fresno, while Roy Tarpley posted 14 points and 12 boards for Minnesota. The Stars opened the third with a 12-0 run, building the lead to 21 before the Muskies cut it to 15, trailing 114-99 after three. Momentum swung to Minnesota in the fourth as Blair Rasmussen was ejected at the 10:00 mark. Between the 9:25 and 4:47 mark, Minnesota took the lead 125-124 with a 17-4 run that saw Danny Schayes foul out, joining Rasmussen on the bench. Fresno answered with a 7-0 run, but Minnesota replied with six straight, leaving the Stars up one with 2:48 left. Danny Ainge then drilled a three, drew Petrovic’s sixth foul, and hit the free throw for a four-point play and a 140-139 Muskies lead. The teams exchanged the lead in the last couple of minutes. Larry Bird fouled out as well. But it all came down to Robert Parish hitting a jump shot with 00.5 left in the game to give the Muskies the 147-145 win. Great comeback win for the Muskies and a big missed opportunity for the Stars. Game MVP honors goes to Roy Tarpley with 20 points and 19 rebounds in just under 30 minutes of play.

Game 2 – The first quarter picked up where the fourth quarter of Game 1 left off, with Minnesota applying the pressure and Fresno dealing with foul trouble. In the first quarter, the Muskies jumped out to a 35-27 lead, holding Fresno to 39% shooting from the field. In the second, Fresno got its offense going, but it could only shave one point off of Minnesota’s lead, leaving the score at 66-59 Muskies at the half. With Patrick Ewing on the bench for much of the time in foul trouble, Terry Teagle and Drazen Petrovic led Fresno in the second with 8 points apiece. Minnesota kept up the pace to start the third quarter with a 14-8 run in the first 6 minutes to extend their lead to 80-67. Again, Ewing spent most of the time on the bench with his 4th foul. Fresno tried various ways to turn the momentum, but nothing worked, and Minnesota held a 22-point lead, 93-71, with 2:25 remaining in the third. Suddenly, Fresno turned it around, going on a 13-0 run in the last 2:25 of the third quarter to cut the lead to 93-84 heading into the fourth. To start the fourth, Fresno kept the momentum, cutting the lead to 109-104 at the halfway mark of the quarter, but Patrick Ewing headed to the bench yet again with his 5th foul. However, Fresno kept up the pressure, cutting Minnesota’s lead to 114-113 on two Terry Teagle free throws with 2:58 remaining, and taking the lead on two more free throws, this time from Patrick Ewing, who was finally starting to have an impact on the game. For the second game in a row, a 20-point lead was overcome. Fresno maintained a narrow lead until Larry Bird hit a 3 to tie the game at 119-119 with 1:41 left. It was a nail biter the rest of the way. At 1:27, Ewing hit a jumper…Fresno up by 2. At 1:16, Tarpley hit a jumper…game tied. At 0:41, Ewing hit 1 of 2 free throws…Fresno up by 1. At 0:26, Barkley dunked…Minnesota up by 1. At 0:23, Ewing missed an inside jumper. Minnesota is able to avoid the foul until 0:11, when Ainge hits 2 free throws…Minnesota up by 3. At 0:09, Magic missed a 3. Ball game! Minnesota 125, Fresno 122. Another great game! Game MVP honors go to Larry Bird with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 9 assists.

Game 3 – The Muskies and the Stars tipped off for game 3 of the VBA Finals in Fresno. Tight defense was the story early with the Muskies clinging to a low scoring 11-10 lead with 6 minutes to play in the first quarter. After early nerves, the teams started scoring some hoops with Minnesota clinging to a 20-18 lead with 3:25 left in the quarter. The final 3 minutes of the first were dominated by the Muskies as they went on a 19-4 run to open up a 39-22 lead. Fresno opened the second with a quick 10-3 run to cut the deficit to 10 points. The teams traded hoops over the next five minutes with the Muskies still maintaining a 10-point lead, 50-40. Similar to the first quarter, the Muskies closed the quarter out strong with a 16-6 run to open up a commanding 20-point halftime lead, 66-46. Barkley led the Muskies with 17 points, Ewing led the Stars with 10. The second half started with the Muskies fully expecting the Stars to tighten up the D and make one of their patented runs. However, midway through the third quarter the Stars could not string anything together and the Muskies increased their lead to 21. The final six minutes of the quarter was much the same with Fresno unable to find a run to cut into the deficit. The Stars did close the quarter with back-to-back baskets to cut the Muskies lead to 18 points, 105-87. The Muskies were able to survive a monster quarter by Patrick Ewing, who torched the nets for 22 points in the quarter. The Stars opened the final frame with a quick 6-2 run to cut the lead to 14. Minnesota answered quickly and was able to extend the lead to 22 points with 6 minutes to play. Fresno would get the lead down to 15 with four minutes to go but would get no closer. Minnesota prevails 133-114. Game MVP was Charles Barkley.

Game 4 – Minnesota was in Fresno for game 4 of the VBA Finals to try and close out the 3X Champion Stars for the Muskies’ first title. The first quarter saw plenty of offense with Fresno shooting .720 from the field. Not to be outdone, The Muskies shot a blistering .762 yet trailed 41-37 after one. Patrick Ewing scored 16 in the frame. The pace slowed down in the second quarter with the Muskies holding Fresno to 37 percent shooting. Behind Minnesota’s 50 percent shooting and Hot Plate Williams 10 points, the Muskies outscored the Stars by seven points in the quarter and built a 3-point halftime lead, 66-63. Barkley led the Muskies with 14 and Ewing’s 18 led the Stars. The second half proved to be an entertaining battle between the clubs. Fresno tied the score at 77-77 with six minutes to play in the 3rd. Minnesota responded with a 13-2 run to take a 90-79 lead. At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Muskies maintained a 96-84 lead. The teams traded baskets for the first six minutes of the 4th quarter. With six to play, the Muskies still were up 12 points, 105-93. With Minnesota smelling victory, Fresno turned up the heat and closed the gap to 4 points, 105-101 with four minutes to play. Former Muskie, Michael Cage cut the lead to two with 1:13 to play. The final minute proved to be favorable to the Muskies. Michael Cooper was clutch from the free throw line down the stretch hitting 8 free throws in the final two minutes. Fresno’s shots, which were falling earlier in the quarter, went cold. Minnesota prevails 124-116 for the Championship, the first team to go undefeated in the playoffs. Game 4 MVP, Charles Barkley was named VBA Final MVP in a close vote over Larry Bird.

Series MVP – Charles Barkley
24.8 pts, 10.3 rebs, 3.3 asts, .547 FG%