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Minnesota Muskies 67-19 (2-4)

Costa Mesa Condors 72-15 (4-2)

Game 1 – Minnesota traveled to Costa Mesa for game 1 of the Western Conference Finals for a head-to-head matchup with the Condors. Despite shooting only .379 from the field, the Condors jumped out to a 28-24 lead after one quarter. Charles Barkley picked up 2 quick fouls and spent most of the quarter on the bench. The Muskies got hot in the second quarter shooting .654 and outscoring the Condors 40-27 to take a nine point halftime lead. Barkley remained in foul trouble with 4 fouls and managed to log only 8 minutes in the half.  The third quarter found Olajuwon joining Barkley on the bench with foul trouble. With both stars on the bench, the Muskies opened up a 20 point lead with 1 1/2 minutes to play in the third quarter. The Condors responded with a 4-0 run to end the quarter and cut the lead to 92-76. Minnesota built the lead back to 19 points but the Condors responded with a 11-0 run to close within 8 points, 96-88 with 8 to play.  The teams traded baskets for the next 5 minutes with Minnesota maintaining a 106-98 lead with 3 to play. The Condors stepped up the pressure, cutting the lead to 5 with 1:30 to play. With the game on the line, Larry Bird and Michael Cooper both went 4-4 from the charity stripe to secure a 116-107 win for the Muskies. Foul trouble for key stars was the story with Barkley logging only 12 minutes and Olajuwon 24.

Game 2 – With Minnesota leading 1-0 on the road, the franchise owners squared off with another head-to-head matchup for game 2. Minnesota came out red hot in game 2, building a 16-point lead after one quarter (43-27). Charles Barkley, after playing only 12 minutes in game 1, scored 15 points in the quarter and Larry Legend added another 12. Not to be undone, Akeem Olajuwon poured in 15 of his own. Kevin McHale sat out the majority of the period after picking up two quick fouls. Minnesota’s torrid pace continued in the second quarter. Shooting well over .600, the Muskies outscored the Condors 35-25 to build a 26-point halftime lead (78-52) with Barkley scoring 32 points and Bird adding 19 at the break. Minnesota opened the second half with a bucket to increase the lead to 28. However, an angry Condors team decided to step up the pressure and their fortunes started to change. Behind Olajuwon and McHale, the Condors outscored the Muskies 36-22 in the third period cutting the deficit to 12 points heading into the final frame. Minnesota’s confidence began to dwindle with the Condors hot start to the 4th quarter. A frustrated Minnesota squad picked up 3 Technical’s in the second half and nothing was going their way. With 8:50 left in the game, the Condors cut the deficit to 3 after a Scott Brooks long range bomb. Things continued to slide in Costa Mesa’s favor and with 3:37 left to play they took their first lead since very early in the first quarter, 111-109. A distraught Minnesota club was scratching their heads after blowing a 28 point second half lead. Minnesota retook the lead 112-111 after a Larry Bird drive and 1. Rolando Blackman hit a smooth floater to put the Condors back up 113-112. The Muskies regained the lead 114-113 behind a vicious Charles Barkley dunk. After two Zeke Thomas free throws, the Condors were back on top 115-114 with 2:45 to play. Minnesota retook the lead 116-115 after a Barkley jumper. After a defensive stop, Minnesota went on a 7-0 run behind two baskets by Larry Bird and 3-4 from the FT line by Michael Cooper. After blowing a 28-point lead, a very fortunate Minnesota club prevailed 125-117. Incredible comeback by the Condors who just ran out of gas in the final 2 minutes.

Game 3 – The teams traveled to Minnesota for game 3 of the Western Conference Finals taking place in the historic and jam-packed Barn on the campus of the University of Minnesota. Costa Mesa built an early 5-point lead and led after one 30-29 behind 9 points from former Gopher legend Kevin McHale. The second quarter belonged to the home t​own Muskies who went on a 12-0 run to stretch the lead to 15 points with 3 minutes to go in the half. With McHale in foul trouble, Akeem Olajuwon kept the Condors in the game scoring 8 in the quarter. At the half, the Muskies maintained a 59-46 lead. The Condors chipped away at the lead during the 3rd quarter behind their strong backcourt duo of Isiah Thomas and Rolando Blackman, tallying half of the Condors 28 points in the quarter. The Condors outscored the Muskies 28-19 cutting the deficit to 4 points, 78-74. The Condors cut the lead to one at the 9 minute mark after a smooth Blackman drive to the hole. The teams went back and forth and after two Olajuwon free throws, the Condors trailed by 2 points with 6:30 to play. The Muskies came out strong after the media timeout and increased their lead to 8 with 4:53 to go. That extended lead proved to be short lived as the Condors went on a 7-0 run capped by a Thomas three pointer. Muskies up 101-100 with 3:55 to go. Minnesota upped the lead to 5 behind a Hot Plate Williams fast break finish and ​a Larry Bird drive to the hole. Blackman answered with 2 free throws, Barkley countered with two free throws of his own but an Olajuwon dunk cut the lead to 107-104 with 2:10 to play. After two FT’s from Bird and an Olajuwon post up basket, Minnesota still maintained a 109-106 lead with 1:38 to play. That would be as close as the Condors would get as Larry Bird answered with a jumper and the Muskies closed​ out the game on a 6-0 run to prevail 115-106.

Game 4 – With Minnesota enjoying a surprising 3-0 series lead, the teams tipped off in front of an overflow capacity crowd at the Barn in downtown Minneapolis. The Muskies jumped out to an early 21-8 lead at the midway point of the first. The Condors made some adjustments and cut the lead to 33-24 after one. The stars were on display in the first quarter in this pivotal game 4 for Costa Mesa. ​Akeem Olajuwon and ​Kevin McHale combined for 15 points and ​Charles Barkely/​Larry Bird combined for 18. In the second, Minnesota continued to shoot the ball well and opened up an 18-point lead with four minutes left in the half. The Condors made a run to cut the lead to 13 with two minutes to go but Minnesota answered back and enjoyed a comfortable 16-point lead heading into the locker room, 60-44. With confidence high and Minnesota looking to close out the series at home, things drastically changed very early in the third quarter. Barkley, who had dominated action in the first half, was called for a flagrant one foul on Rolando Blackman and was ejected from the game with Minnesota leading by 16 points. As the air left the Barn, Costa Mesa quickly capitalized on Barkley’s absence and cut the deficit to 6 points with three minutes left in the quarter. With the game going south in a hurry for the Muskies, they found some fight left and closed out the third quarter with a 10-point lead, 80-70. Hanging on by a thread, Bird opened the final frame with a basket to put the Muskies up 12. In the next two minutes, Costa Mesa quickly evaporated that lead to three behind a quick 9-0 run. On the ropes, Kiki Vandeweghe responded with two baskets and Bird added another, stretching the Muskies lead to 88-81 with 7:49 to play. With renewed hope of surviving the game with Barkley on the bench, Costa Mesa punched the Muskies in the mouth again, and in a blink of an eye, went on a 11-0 run to open up a 4-point lead of their own, 92-88 with 3:34 to play. A distraught Coach Klecker was wondering what happened and was already looking towards game 5 in disbelief. Coach Landhuis, smelling blood in the water, was looking to turn the series around with renewed hope. After a timeout, Minnesota legend Kiki Vandeweghe, who has 3 of the 5 top single game scoring marks in VBA history, but now just a role player for the Muskies, came up clutch again with two quick baskets to tie the game at 92. After another defensive stop, Paul Pressey put the Muskies ahead 94-92. With the Barn rocking, Blackman silenced the crowd with a fast break basket to tie the game 94-94 with two minutes to go. Pressey hit a jumper to put the Muskies up 96-94 with 90 seconds to go. The Condors would not score again and Minnesota closed the game out on an 8-0 run to win 102-94. Minnesota advances to the VBA Championship after beating an incredible Costa Mesa team. The Western Conference Finals series MVP goes to Larry Bird.

Series MVP – Larry Bird
27.3 pts, 8.5 reb, 6.5 ast, 1.8 blk, 1.5 stl