 |
Missoula Smokejumpers 39-43 (4-4)  |
Oklahoma Noodlers 54-28 (4-4)  |
| Score (click for boxscore) | Game MVP | Hi Points | Hi Rebounds | Hi Assists |
| 1. Noodlers 84, Smokejumpers 83 | Harvey Grant | 22 Terry Porter | 14 Dennis Rodman | 6 Jeff Hornacek |
| 2. Noodlers 92, Smokejumpers 80 | Jeff Hornacek | 22 Jeff Hornacek | 16 Horace Grant | 8 J.Les/J.Hornacek |
| 3. Smokejumpers 110, Noodlers 91 | Vlade Divac | 24 Jeff Hornacek | 17 Dennis Rodman | 10 Terry Porter |
| 4. Smokejumpers 109, Noodlers 98 | Vlade Divac | 21 Harvey Grant | 12 Harvey Grant | 6 J.Les/T.Porter |
| 5. Noodlers 85, Smokejumpers 73 | Jeff Hornacek | 26 Jeff Hornacek | 15 Dennis Rodman | 6 Jim Les |
| 6. at Missoula | ||||
| 7. at Oklahoma |
Game 1 – The Missoula Smokejumpers travel to play the Oklahoma Noodles (err Noodlers) at McNichols Arena for the first game of their playoff set. The S’jumpers surprisingly made the playoffs with a losing record. This was an ugly game, either bad offenses or good defenses, maybe both. Missoula tried shooting 3’s early but that strategy failed, but OKN faired no better, and barely led 17-16 after the first. The Noodlers put it together a bit better in the 2nd Q thanks to solid work from Terry Porter and Harvey Grant. They lead at the half 42-35. The Smokejumpers have 9 different players score in the 3rd and cut the OKN lead to 2 at 61-59. As you can see scoring was at a premium. Missoula led 81-80 with 90 seconds left but baskets by The General and Porter gave Oklahoma an 84-81 lead. The Jumpers get one more basket but lose game one 84-83. Porter led all scorers with 22 pts, and Dennis Rodman grabbed 14 boards.
Game 2 – The Missoula Smokejumpers travel to play the Oklahoma Noodlers for game 2, which pretty much was as ugly as game 1. New heroes emerge for OKN, and Missoula fails once again to get a 20 pt scorer. Missoula did get off to a red hot start to lead 25-18 after one, thanks to two 3-ptrs by Chuck Person late in the Q. However 2Q wa a different story as the Jumpers fell off the cliff, scoring a measley 12 pts, but still limped to a 37-36 halftime lead. From there it was all Oklahoma as they romped to a 92-80 win. Jeff Hornacek scored 22 , and the Grant brothers added 35. Horace Grant had 16 boards.
Game 3 – Vlade Divac had 17 points and 14 rebounds leading the Smokejumpers to an easy 110-91 victory on their home court. The swarming Missoula defense held Oklahoma to .408 shooting and forced 15 turnovers. The game was very close at the half, with Missoula clinging to a 2-point lead, but in the second half it was all the home team as they outscored the visitors by 17 to clinch the victory. Jeff Hornacek and Harvey Grant were 18-47 in the losing effort and Dell Curry could not provide instant offense as the 6th man only shooting 3-11 and being 0-3 from long distance. For Missoula, Mad Max scored 18 points and Sam Perkins threw in 17. It was a very balanced effort as Chuck Person tallied 12 points and Ken the Snake Norman had 14 from the bench. Overall the Missoula bench scored 38 points to Oklahoma’s 20, which almost equated the margin of victory.
Game 4 – Although the second game had a similar result it was a vastly different game. Terry Porter was limited to 23 minutes and Jeff Hornacek 17 due to constant foul trouble. 6th man Dell Curry was unable to compensate with his 21 minutes in relief as he only mustered 2 shots and made none. Once again the Missoula defense stole the show holding Oklahoma to .432 shooting and forcing 24 turnovers in this game. While the starters for Missoula were held in check with Vlade Divac having 19 points and 12 boards to garner MVP honors, Chuck Person tallied 12. However, the bench was the story here as they scored 52 points, almost half of the Missoula total. Travis Mays had 12, Dale Ellis had 18 on a scorching 8-10 shooting including 2 three pointers. Ken the Snake Norman also had 10 and former Seton Hall Pirate, Mark Bryant, scored 10 to round out the four bench players for Missoula having double figure points. The series heads back to Oklahoma all knotted up at two as Oklahoma wonders how to hold Missoula to less than 100 points in order to win the game. Perhaps the refs will be different in Oklahoma as in the two Missoula games there were 61 fouls called on Oklahoma to the 36 called on the Smokejumpers.
Game 5 – Game 5 moved back to Oklahoma with the series knotted at 2 games each. Missoula has played terribly in OKC this series. Would tonight be any different? Doesn’t look like it early has Sam Perkins commits 3 fouls in the first five minutes of the game allowing Harvey Grant to get off to a hot start with 10 points early on. When Grant cools off Jeff Hornacek scores 10 of his own, and the Noodlers forge an early 24-18 lead. The Smokejumpers turn it up defensively in the 2nd allowing only 3 players to score, and only one to score more than two points. Brother Horace Grant who sat most of the first quarter with foul trouble matches Harvey with 10 points. Missoula had shooting woes of its own, especially from the 3 pt line but clawed their way back trailing by four,42-38 at halftime. Both teams continue to have problems with scoring in the 3rd Qtr. Anthony Bonner scored 7 points in the final 2 minutes as Missoula’s 3 point shooting woes continued. Noodlers lead 62-56. Smokejumpers shot 47% for the game, 3-17 from 3 point range which leads to a bad 4th Q. Noodlers pull away for an 85-73 win. Missoula also lost PG Jim Les for the series and have four others with nagging injuries. Only Hornacek had a decent game with 26 pts.
Game 6 –
Game 7 –
