Minnesota Muskies 56-31 (0-6)

Costa Mesa Condors 71-11 (6-0)

Score (click for boxscore)	Game MVP	Hi Points	Hi Rebounds	Hi Assists
1. Muskies 125, Condors 123	Charles Barkley	51 Charles Barkley	15 Robert Parish	22 Isiah Thomas
2. Muskies 128, Condors 120	Charles Barkley	39 Charles Barkley	15 Robert Parish	11 Isiah Thomas
3. Condors 144, Muskies 139	Harold Pressley	40 Charles Barkley	14 Akeem Olajuwon	10 Isiah Thomas
4. Condors 140, Muskies 132	Kevin McHale	32 Kevin McHale	12 Akeem Olajuwon	14 Isiah Thomas
5. Condors 104, Muskies 103	Isiah Thomas	30 Isiah Thomas	13 Charles Barkley	5 Danny Ainge
6. Condors 142, Muskies 130	Akeem Olajuwon	32 A.Olajuwon/C.Barkley	16 Akeem Olajuwon	12 Isiah Thomas

Game 1 – Coach Kory Klecker had concerns for his Muskies entering game one with Costa Mesa Condors, who bolstered their superstar lineup by adding Kevin McHale at the trade deadline. Charles Barkley continues to show he is a force to be reckoned with in the VBA, scoring 13 first period points to give the visiting Muskies a 34-31 lead at The Aerie at the Honda Center. Rolando Blackman countered with 10 to lead CMC. Sir Charles tallied 12 more in the 2nd frame, but a 16-4 spree by the home team put them up 68-60 at halftime. Barkley put MNM on his back in the 3rd, adding 16 more points to his total and pushing his squad to a 34-26 quarter, making it a 94-94 game heading into the final 12 minutes. The Muskies scored the first 8 points of the period and never let Costa Mesa closer than four points until Akeem Olajuwon’s bucket at the buzzer. Minnesota 125, Costa Mesa 123. Charles was named MVP of the game. He scored 51 points on 20-30 FGA, 11-12 FTA and pulled in 10 rebounds. The Chief was the main source of support with 27 points and 15 boards. Danny Ainge chipped in 16 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Blackman topped CMC with 29. Olajuwon scored 24 points to go with his 10 rebounds. Isiah Thomas tied his own playoff record of 22 assists that he set nearly 2 years ago against these same Muskies. 

Game 2 – Charles Barkley picked up right where he left off in game one, dominating the Condors with 17 first quarter points. Akeem Olajuwon countered with 10 for the home squad as they took a 37-36 advantage into the 2nd frame. Newly acquired Kevin McHale topped Costa Mesa with 11 second period points and they expanded their lead to 68-60 at the half. Minnesota played super defensively in the 3rd, holding the VBA’s top offense (126.5 ppg) to 16 points while scoring 35 and taking an 11-point advantage into the final 12 minutes. The Muskies put together 12 unanswered points early in the 4th and never let the Condors closer than 5 points. Sir Charles was named game MVP again with 39 points and 12 rebounds. Robert Parish was the game’s top rebounder, again with 15. Danny Ainge was good for 17 points and 9 assists. Zeke led the home team with 31 points and 11 dimes. McHale finished with 32 points and 11 boards.

Game 3 – After suffering two losses at home, the Condors looked to establish a foothold with a talented Minnesota squad. Costa Mesa started out fast, scoring the first 7 points of the game.  The Condors extended the lead by 4 the rest of the way in the first quarter, 42-31.  Charles Barkley led the Muskies with 13 pts in the first, while Akeem Olajuwon and Harold Pressley led the visitors with 13 and 12, respectively.  The Muskies fed off the home crowd energy defensively in the second quarter by holding the Costa Mesa squad to only 23 points while offensively scoring 38 to take a lead into the locker rooms at the half 69-65.  The Muskies had a balanced attack that had 5 players score 6 points in the quarter.  The Minnesota – Costa Mesa rivalry always has another level of intensity to it.  The second half of this game was no exception. Kevin McHale lead the Condors in the 3rd period with 11 tallies to reclaim the lead by two, 100-98. The nearly unstoppable Barkley scored 10 in the quarter for the home team.  The teams went back and forth all the way to the 1:08 mark. Minnesota pulled within one point of the visitors on Barkley’s double-teamed turnaround jumper for his 40th point in the game, 135-134.  The Condor’s Rolando Blackman received the ball on the perimeter, head faked and drove for the hoop.  Craig Hodges bit enough on the head fake to draw the foul Blackman in the act and the shot falls!!  Blackman completed the 3-point play, which gave him a team-high 16 points in the quarter, 138-134.  Roy Tarpley turned the ball over on the Muskies’ next possession.  The Muskies applied their full court press, but in the application of the pressure, they left Pressley open beyond the arc.  The Condors spot the waving and feelin’ it Pressley in three point land, the feed was perfectly delivered and Pressley knocked down his 6th of 7 attempts from three point line.  Condors by 7, 141-137.  With 40 second left and a timeout, Coach Klecker drew up a play to get someone open for a 3.  The call went to Danny Ainge, who coolly knocked it down, 141-137.  Blackman received the kick out from Olajuwon in a full court pressure but he was OOB, for a turnover to tighten things some more.  Not finding any of the big men open, Hodges with ice in his veins nailed a J to cut the lead to two, 141-139.  With a 2-point lead and the ball, Isiah Thomas was intentionally fouled by Tarpley.  Thomas hit the first but bricked the second shot, giving the Muskies hope with all their excellent 3 point shooters.  Barkley rebounds and feeds the ball up court.  With 9 seconds left Ainge takes a 3 pointer intent on tying the game, but the shot catches too much rim and bounces off the rim over the backboard out of bounds,  Leading by 3 points the Condors inbound the ball with 5 seconds and were content on running out the clock.  The Muskies foul Thomas who seals the victory by this time hitting both of his FTs.

Game 4 – The two rivals were back at it for Game 4 in Minnesota’s Barn arena. The Condors look to even the series and regain the home court advantage. The roles were reversed from Game 3 in the opening half. It was Minnesota jumping out quickly to a 9-2 start on their way to winning the first quarter 32-28. 9 players scored for the Muskies led by Brad Davis’ 8p and Charles Barkley’s 7p. Isiah Thomas and Harold Pressley opened with 7 apiece for the visitors. The reversal of game 3 played out for the first half, with Condors storming back to gain a 70-68 halftime score. John Lucas established the comeback by nailing a contested 3 that turned into a 4 point play. Rolando Blackman led the scoring for the quarter with 11p, with Kevin McHale adding 7p. The home squad was led by Ricky Berry’s 8p with The Chief and Roy Tarpley kicking in 6 apiece. The Condors continued the momentum in the 3rd quarter to widen the lead to 14 with a 38-26 quarter scoring advantage to make it 108-94. McHale was keeping the Minnesota big men in foul trouble. The two squads traded baskets for most of the fourth quarter, but that is not what the home squad needed. The Muskies lost despite going on a 11-6 run in the last 2:30 to play. The balanced scoring attack of the Condors saw 7 players with double digit points led by game MVP Kevin McHale’s 32p. Blackman provided support with 20p 11r while Thomas added 17p 14a. The Muskies were led by Barkley again with a 21p 11r 6a slash line with Parish providing 19p 11r and Danny Ainge kicked in 19p as well with 12a. The teams head back to the Honda Center to continue the rivalry.

Game 5 – The two teams exchanged first quarter runs and when 12 minutes were up, the Condors held a 27-25 advantage. Robert Parish led all scorers with 9 and Zeke topped CMC with 8. It was deja vu all over again in the 2nd with big sprees by both teams and the home squad taking the frame 26-24. Sir Charles had the period-high 11 points and Isiah added 10 to his total. The third period was all Costa Mesa to the tune of 31-16. Thomas finished the third with 30 points. Minnesota came roaring back in the 4th to trail by only one at 102-101 with 1:07 to go. Akeem Olajuwon scored inside to put CMC up by 3. Kiki Vandewegh nailed a jumper with 1.7 to go to end the scoring. Costa Mesa won it 104-103. Zeke led all scorers with 30 to earn MVP honors. Rolando Blackman scored 20 for CMC. Parish finished with 29 points and 8 rebounds while teammate Charles Barkley had 28 points and 13 rebounds. 

Game 6 – The Condors/Muskies rivalry continues in this year’s Western Conference semi-final. These two franchises have met the most in league history and for the most part were evenly matched. The Muskies with their back to the wall but they have the hometown advantage after a disappointing loss on the road in their attempt to keep the visitors winning streak alive in the series. The first period was no different in how these teams have been through the years in their match-ups. The score was deadlocked at 32 a piece with the home team being led by Barkley and Vandeweghe. The Condors had the score spread through 7 players score 4-6 points a piece. In the second period the score spread was never more than 4 points for either team. The Condors went to the mini to put themselves up by 4 going into the locker room, 75-71. The Muskies were led in the second by Barkley’s 12 and Parish’s 11. The Condor superstars Olajuwon and Thomas stepped up scoring 13 and 11 respectively in the second, The third period saw more of the same with Condors stretching the lead to 8 points several times but the Muskies answered by narrowing the lead to 2 several times. The quarter ended with the Condors leading by 7, 103-96. Both teams had a balanced attack. With 5:12 left in the game the Minnesota team got the score tied 120-120 on a Berry dunk, thus setting up a classic ending to the game. However, the Condors turned up the heat defensively and closed with a strong 22-10 run led by McHale scoring 7 of his 27 for the game in these last 5 minutes. The Condors advance to their sixth straight Western Conference Finals on a 142-130 victory. The Minnesota team was led by Barkley’s 32p 8a 7r and Parish finished with 24p 11r. Ricky Berry also added an efficient 20p (4-4 from 3pt land) 8r. The victors were led by game MVP Olajuwon 32p 14r 3a 4stl. He was assisted by Thomas’ 26p 12a 3stl and McHale’s 27p 6r 2a. The Condors are seeking revenge for their ouster last year in the Western Conference Finals by Buffalo Blizzard.