 |
Callaway Kings 48-41 (0-8)  |
Fresno Stars 78-4 (8-0)  |
| Score (click for boxscore) | Game MVP | Hi Points | Hi Rebounds | Hi Assists |
| 1. Kings 121, Stars 116 | Sidney Moncrief | 25 Jerome Kersey | 8 P.Ewing/C.Oakley | 10 Magic Johnson |
| 2. Stars 110, Kings 96 | Magic Johnson | 31 Magic Johnson | 11 Magic Johnson | 6 M.Johnson/S.Moncrief |
| 3. Stars 126, Kings 85 | Magic Johnson | 30 Magic Johnson | 12 Charles Oakley | 12 Magic Johnson |
| 4. Stars 106, Kings 92 | Patrick Ewing | 33 Patrick Ewing | 15 Terry Cummings | 14 Magic Johnson |
| 5. Kings 95, Stars 87 | Terry Cummings | 25 Ken Bannister | 14 Charles Oakley | 10 Magic Johnson |
| 6. at Callaway | ||||
| 7. at Fresno |
Game 1 – The Callaway Kings traveled to Selland Arena in Fresno with thoughts of doing something they hadn’t done all season (0-8), defeat the two-time defending champion Fresno Stars. Fresno may have thought this was gonna be a walk-in-the-park, but they found themselves on the short-end of a 20-13 scoreboard after the first 7 minutes of game time. The Stars showed what they were made of and went on a “Showtime-esque” run and less than 4 minutes later were up 26-22. Patrick Ewing’s flush with 12 ticks left put the home town Stars ahead 30-26 after one. Sid Moncrief led all scorers with 10. Callaway flicked the switch the other way, dominating the 2nd period’s first 5 minutes to go up 43-32. They held on, stunning the Fresno faithful, with a 57-48 advantage. The teams played to a 32-32 stalemate in the 3rd. Fresno found themselves in a very unfamiliar position of the past 3 seasons, losing as they headed into the 4th quarter. Like a boxer seeing blood, the Kings were relentless in the early minutes, going on a 14-5 run that gave them a commanding 15-point lead. Fresno wouldn’t throw in the towel though, and they battled back to trail by only 3 at 119-116 with 3.7 seconds remaining on Jerome Kersey’s three-pointer. Moncrief sealed the victory with a pair of freebies and the Callaway Kings stole game one in Fresno. Sid was named MVP with 24 points and 7 assists; making 9-10 FTA. Reggie Miller added 22 and Terry Cummings 20. Kersey led all scorers with 25. Alvin Robertson had 20 and Magic finished with a not-so-good triple-double of 19 points and 10 assists, but 11 turnovers.
Game 2 – Callaway came into game two with a bounce in their step after pulling out the game one upset. The 400-pound gorilla was off their backs as they snapped an 0-31 streak vs. Fresno and 2-39 record since the ’85-86 season. The last time the Kings won against the Stars was game 1 of the ’85-86 playoff series. The question for game two and the rest of the series was if Callaway found their ‘anti-Magic’ formula to win or at least be competitive vs. Fresno, or was it just a blip when all the ‘stars’ aligned for the Kings. The first quarter began a theme in game one with the Kings having difficulty getting their inside game going as Fresno blocked 4 shots (3 by Patrick Ewing) and altering numerous shots. The Kings’ guards took up the slack, scoring all but 4 of Callaway’s 25 points. Fresno was held to 23 points led by Magic’s 8. Fresno was able to go inside in the 2nd quarter with Ewing and LaSalle Thompson combining for 18 of the Stars’ 29 pts. The Kings were able to keep the game close with their guard play as Mychal Thompson (10 pts) was the only Callaway big with more than 2 points in the 1st half. At the half the Kings led 53-52. In the 3rd quarter, Fresno played tough defense and got some easy points by going to the free throw line and making fast breaks. Magic’s 12 points lead FRS to a 82-73 advantage after 3 periods. Callaway could get no closer than 9 pts in the 4th qtr. with Fresno stretching the lead by outscoring the Kings 28-23. Alvin Robertson with 10 pts. in the final stanza. Fresno evens the series at one game apiece after the 110-96 game 2 victory. The Kings, while disappointed about fading in the 2nd half of game two, are still are happy with the split away from home. Magic was named MVP of the game with 31p/11r/6a and only 4 turnovers this game. Ewing had a fine game with 16/p/9r/7blocks and helping limit CWK to 15-36 on inside shots. Robertson also chipped in 20p. The Stars outscored the Kings on fast breaks 24-12. Reggie Miller’s 23 points and Sidney Moncrief’s 18 pts. led the Callaway attack.
Game 3 – Fresno’s fastbreak started the game firing on all cylinders, converting on 6 of 6 fastbreak shots and creating a lot of free throw opportunities in the first quarter, which the Stars won 39-25. Magic led the Stars with 14 points and 5 assists. Fresno continued to be hot starting the second quarter, going on a 10-0 run. Terry Cummings picked up his 3rd foul, sending him to the bench, at the 7:27 mark. Fresno took advantage, winning the quarter 33-12, taking a 72-37 lead into halftime. Callaway came out in the third quarter strong, starting with an 8-0 run. However, Fresno was able to pretty much exchange baskets from there, leaving the score 93-63 heading into the fourth quarter. The teams played evenly through the first half of the fourth quarter. From that point, both teams emptied their bench to finish the game. Game MVP Magic Johnson led the Stars with 30 points and 12 assists. Sidney Moncrief led the Kings with 19 points, 4 assists and 3 steals. Andrew Lang was 9-9 for 18 points in 20 minutes off the bench.
Game 4 – The first quarter of game 4 went very differently than game 3. Neither team could find much offensive rhythm. Magic picked up his second foul with about 6:30 remaining. Charles Oakley and Jerome Kersey also picked up 2 quick fouls. Callaway struggled from the field, shooting just 23%. After one, Fresno led 23-16. Fresno started the 2nd quarter on a 10-2 run, and it looked like the Stars might start to pull away, leading 33-18. However, the Kings would have none of it, outscoring the Stars 22-15 the rest of the way to leave the score 48-40 for Fresno going into halftime. Callaway used a balanced attack, led by Reggie Theus with 6. A very even third quarter, won by Callaway 24-23, left the score 71-64 for Fresno heading into the fourth. In the fourth, the teams traded baskets until the 6:34 mark, when Fresno went on a 7-0 run to take a 90-75 lead. Callaway scored the next 5 points to cut the lead to 10 with 2:26 to play, but they could not get any closer. Game MVP Patrick Ewing led Fresno with 33 points, 11 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Terry Cummings got 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead Callaway, supported by Reggie Theus’s 23 points.
Game 5 – Game 5 sees Fresno hoping to close out the series with a win at home while Callaway regroups in hopes of extending the series. The Kings came into the game with a renewed emphasis on defense and had Ken Bannister return to the Kings’ roster to give some increased production from the Callaway bigs The 1st quarter was the ugly basketball, which the Kings were striving for, to keep from being blown out by the mighty Stars and their ‘showtime’ offense. The combination of good Kings’ defense and sloppy play by the Stars led to Callaway’s 23-10 lead in the 1st qtr. Callaway was able to frustrate the Stars offense without committing a foul in the quarter. Fresno shot just 23.8% from the floor with 6 pts on fast breaks and 4 after offensive rebounds. Callaway’s offense was sputtering too, committing 7 turnovers, shooting 44.4% from the field but they had 13 free throws, making just 7, Fresno committed 11 turnovers and 8 fouls in the 1st quarter with Charles Oakley, Alvin Robertson and La Salle Thompson all committing 2 fouls, Thompson’s in the first 2 minutes of the game. Bannister led all scorers with 8 pts with 4 of 8 from the charity stripe. Fresno rallied in the 2nd quarter to get the score 38-36 Kings at the 7:38 mark and tied the game at 36 with 4:06 left. But then the Kings went on a 12-0 run helped by Ed Nealy’s ejection after committing a flagrant 2 foul with 3:27 left in the half, The score at the end of the 1st half was 48-40 Kings with the Stars outscoring the Kings 30-25 in the quarter. The turnovers evened up with 16 committed by the Kings to 14 made by the Stars. The fouls remained in the King’s favor with their 9 compared to the Stars 18 for the half giving the Kings a 27-8 free throw attempt advantage. John Williams picked up 2 quick fouls to open the quarter and sat the last 10 min of the half, Robertson also had to sit when he committed his 3rd foul at the 5:47 mark. Neither team shot well in the first half with CWK at 44% and FRS at 41%. Magic led the Fresno rally by scoring 11 pts. Bannister and Magic led their respective teams in scoring in the 1st half with 13 pts. apiece. The 3rd quarter featured mini runs by both teams. First the Kings stretched the lead to 12 but then Fresno went on a 10-0 spurt to pull within 2. Fresno ended up outscoring Callaway 25-21 in the period but the Kings held a slim lead of 69-65. Fresno was hampered by foul trouble with Robertson, (at 11:25 with 2nd charge call), Williams, Thompson and Patrick Ewing all picking up their 4th fouls. Reggie Miller, of the Kings, also missed significant time with his 4th foul. Bannister again led the Kings in the 3rd quarter scoring with 8 points with Moncrief contributing 6. Fresno’s Williams scored 7 and Oakley chipped in 5 in the quarter. The Fresno crowd was a little apprehensive seeing their team down after 3 periods but were encouraged by the fact that the Stars had chipped away at the lead, Both teams traded misses before Robertson hits a J to pull within 2 but Ewing fouls Bannister as he was shooting and picks up his 5th foul 1:20 into the quarter. Terry Cummings rejects Williams’ inside shot and the Kings were able to get the ball to Bannister and he is fouled by Thompson who picks up his 5th foul. Bannister was only able to connect on 2 of the 4 foul shots so the lead was only 4 when Doc Rivers drove to the basket on a pick and roll with Williams to cut the lead to 2. Fresno’s press forces a turnover and Oakley makes a put back to tie the score with 9:28 left. Bannister draws the 5th foul on Williams at the 7:48 mark with the score 75-73 Kings. After a period of turnovers and foul calls, the Kings went on a rare hot streak, scoring 5 possessions in a row to put them up 85-79 with 4:12 on the clock. Coach Watkins puts Thompson and Ewing back on the floor at the 3:42 mark and they promptly score the next 2 buckets of the game respectively to pull Fresno within 2. But after Big Pat’s dunk while being double teamed, he gets DQ’d by fouling James Edwards while he was shooting with 2:37 left on the clock After Edwards hits the free throws the teams hit a scoreless patch which included a Magic charge call. With 2:13 on the clock Cummings gets the ball down on the block and draws a foul on Thompson, sending him to the bench to join Ewing. Cummings made the free throws, A Sidney Moncrief drive was sandwiched between 2 put backs by Williams and Oakley as Fresno continued their offensive rebounding advantage. The score was Callaway 91, Fresno 87 with 1:06 left in the game. Paul Pressey makes a steal but Magic throws up an air ball 3. Fresno was forced to foul and were unable to make any baskets on the offensive end leading to a final score of 95-87 in favor of Callaway. Cummings was named game MVP with 25pts and 5 steals. Bannister was 11-19 from the line and ended up with 25 pts. Oakley had a double double with 17pts/14reb/3steals. Magic finished with 14 pts and 10 assists but critically only scored 2 pts in the 2nd half and committed 8 of the Stars 26 turnovers. The Kings didn’t take care of the ball much better as they committed 23 turnovers. Both teams struggled from the field with the Kings holding a 42.6% to 41.5% advantage. With Fresno forced to foul at the end, they committed 38 fouls to 19 by Callaway. Callaway turned those Fresno fouls into 37-49 from the free throw line. Fresno was 17-20 from the charity stripe. The Stars held a 20-4 advantage in fast break points and were 6-7 on offensive rebound putbacks. Fresno tied the score 3 times but were never able to sustain the momentum to take the lead in the game. It took a near perfect storm of strong defense by the Kings and Fresno’s Stars having an off night for Callaway to overcome Fresno’s deep depth and pull out a victory. The series returns to the Palace for Game 6 with Fresno holding a 3 games to 2 lead.
Game 6 –
Game 7 –
