So Cal Surf 58-31 (3-3)

Chandler Wolves 39-43 (3-3)

Score (click for boxscore)	Game MVP	Hi Points	Hi Rebounds	Hi Assists
1. Surf 151, Wolves 137	John Stockton	35 John Stockton	16 Moses Malone	17 John Stockton
2. Wolves 151, Surf 146	Eddie A. Johnson	36 Chris Mullin	22 Moses Malone	16 John Stockton
3. Surf 123, Wolves 112	John Stockton	27 Chris Mullin	16 Moses Malone	12 John Stockton
4. Surf 138, Wolves 123	Mitch Richmond	35 Mitch Richmond	19 Moses Malone	9 Derek Harper
5. Surf 150, Wolves 143	John Stockton	39 Mitch Richmond	17 Brad Daugherty	14 John Stockton

Game 1 – A typical So Cal contest, a lot of scoring on both sides! Chandler had the better of the 1st half, but getting blownout by 16 in the 3rd Quarter proved too much to overcome in the end. So Cal might have trailed at times, but to be honest, it always felt like the Surf were on a good wave. When they opened up the 2nd Half in dominant style, the game just had the feel that the Wolves wouldn’t be able to overcome that deficit, but they sure gave a run at it! For the Surf, they of course rode the backs of their Big Four, as John Stockton (the Games MVP), Chris Mullin, Moses Malone, and Mitch Richmond led the way. Just one look at all of their individual Plus/Minus numbers and you can see for this game at least they were unbeatable. For the Host Wolves, they received max efforts for Derek Harper and Eddie Johnson, that is for sure. Nobody else truly stepped up, and foul trouble plagued their entire starting lineup at one time or another. So, So Cal accomplishes what every Road Playoff Team says going into Game #1 of a 2-2-1-1-1 Series, they just want to win one of the opening two contests in order to take back the Home Court Advantage. What all those teams REALLY WANT TO SAY is that they want to win BOTH Games #1 and #2 and go back home with a huge 2-0 Advantage. The Surf accomplished the spoken, now they’ll see if they can complete the seldom stated Goal #2.

Game 2 – Another typical So Cal vs Chandler contest, a lot of scoring on both sides! Unlike the Series Opener, this game had the opposite feel for despite more foul troubles by their young Center Daughtery again, Chandler seemed to have the better of things, pretty much from the start to the finish despite the close score. For the Host Wolves, they just seemed to beat the Surf at their own Fastbreak Game, and received excellent nights from Eddie Johnson, the Game MVP, and Reggie Lewis to lead the way. And if Brad Daugherty could have stayed on the floor who knows how much they would have won by, be sure to check out his line! For the Surf, they of course road the backs of their Big Four again, but unlike the opener, Stockton, Mullin, Malone, and Richmond couldn’t dominate the floor this night, despite their great numbers, and the loss resulted. So, on the one hand So Cal accomplishes what every Road Playoff Team says going into Game #1 of a 2-2-1-1-1 Series, they just want to win one of the opening two contests in order to take back the Home Court Advantage. On the other hand, they missed a great opportunity to take control of the Series going home. But they are going Home, always a good thing. Chandler will look to replicate their Game #2 performance, and if they can, yikes for the Surf Followers!

Game 3 – Head Coach Phil Cancel hoped that his squad wouldn’t be star struck looking at the courtside seats of the Fabulous Forum seeing the likes of Billy Crystal, Dyan Cannon and Jack Nicholson. They needed to get some business done and reclaim home court advantage in the series. The Wolves responded by scoring the game’s six points as if to say “Jack Who?” One minute later, it was a 6-6 game and the teams stayed close with the home town Surf going up 28-25 after one period of play. Chris Mullin tallied nearly half of his teams’ points, finishing with 12. Several times in the 2nd quarter, So Cal would build a 12-point lead, but Chandler bounced back to trail by 8 at the half. Otis Thorpe and John Stockton led their respective squads with 8 points each. After getting down by a dozen, the Wolves came back with a 14-6 run to narrow the gap. After three, SCS was up 86-80. Mullin tacked on 9 more in the 3rd, Brad Daugherty topped CHW with 8. The visitors would pull within a bucket a few times in the 4th with the final time being with 2:05 remaining in the game. Mitch Richmond and Stockton scored all SCS’ points in the final two minutes as they closed the game out on an 11-2 run. Stockton earned game MVP honors with 20 points(10 in the 4th), 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots. Mullin had a game-high 27 points. Moses added 18 points and 16 boards. Derek Harper and Reggie Lewis each tallied 20 points for CHW. Daugherty finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Game 4 – So Cal wanted to put this one away early and jumped out to a 17-8 lead. Chandler would cut it to 5, but the Surf caught another wave and finished the first 12 minutes with a 44-26 advantage. Rookie #1 overall pick, Mitch Richmond, led all scorers with 13. The Wolves scored 13 of the 2nd period’s first 14 points to make it a 6-point game before SCS responded with 9 straight. The home team closed out the half on an 18-7 run to take a 75-52 lead. Chandler would cut the lead to 13 during the 3rd quarter to trail 107-92 heading into the final frame. The visitors managed to make it a 7-point deficit, but that’s as close as they’d come. So Cal wins it 138-123 to pull within one game of the franchise’s 2nd Eastern Conference Finals appearance. Before expansion, they lost to the Fresno Stars as the St. Louis Hawks in the Eastern Finals during the 1985-86 season. Richmond was named MVP of this contest with a game-high 35 points. Moses Malone assisted with 24 points and 19 rebounds. He’s the leading playoff rebounder with 15.8 per game. Chris Mullin was good for 21. Bernard King topped CHW with 24.

Game 5 – A blazzing opening Quarter kept every one on the edge of their seats to open the game, but then SO Cal put together solid 2nd $ 3rd Quarters to grab a commanding 14 point lead heading into the 4th. The Surf rode out a Wolf charge from there to take the game & series. And is so often the case, the Surf road their “Big Four” to the win. Deservedly, John Stockton was awarded the Games MVP with 32 points and 14 assists. Mitch Richmond had a game-high 32 points and pulled down 13 boards. Chris Mullin 32 points and Moses added 22 points and 15 rebounds. Brad Daugherty topped the Wolves with 31 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Bernard King (24) and Reggie Lewis (21) combined for 45. A big Tip-of-the-Hat to Wolves Coach Phillip Cancel on his successful season and Division Title.