Buffalo Blizzard 67-19 (2-4)

Sun Valley Bobcats 53-29 (4-2)

Score (click for boxscore)	Game MVP	Hi Points	Hi Rebounds	Hi Assists
1. Blizzard 148, Bobcats 144	Clyde Drexler	33 Clyde Drexler	18 Karl Malone	20 Kevin Johnson
2. Bobcats 145, Blizzard 142	Kevin Johnson	31 Kevin Johnson	14 Karl Malone	25 Kevin Johnson
3. Blizzard 136, Bobcats 129	Clyde Drexler	37 James Worthy	21 Larry Krystkowiak	18 Kevin Johnson
4. Blizzard 143, Bobcats 130	Clyde Drexler	44 James Worthy	17 Wayman Tisdale	17 Kevin Johnson
5. Bobcats 165, Blizzard 156	Kevin Johnson	45 Karl Malone	13 Karl Malone	19 Kevin Johnson
6. Blizzard 140, Bobcats 133	Clyde Drexler	35 James Worthy	15 James Worthy	19 Kevin Johnson

Game 1 – In plenty of leagues, the Buffalo Blizzard (63-19 during the regular season) and the Sun Valley Bobcats (53-29) boast the records and hall of fame pedigree that would ensure these teams were ascending to their rightful place in the finals for a championship. Alas, in a cutthroat league where two better squads, the Costa Mesa Condors and two-time champion Fresno Stars combined for a 149-15 record that approached perfection (keep in mind a couple of those 15 losses were by virtue of them playing each other), the Blizzard and Bobcats were relegated to a West semifinals matchup – one where a great team will be bounced and fall short of the league’s final four. The Blizzard had entered this semifinal matchup already ringing up 67 wins following a four-game sweep of Washington to advance into this semi finals matchup with a Sun Valley squad earning a first-round bye. With the home court advantage, the Bobcats — despite a slightly inferior record — entered these West semis as the clear favorite, boasting an impressively versatile and balanced attack that dispatched Buffalo four out of six times during the regular season. In a close first half of Game 1 in the Sun Valley’s Den, the Bobcats continued to demonstrate an upper hand: save for a Buffalo Karl Malone basket five minutes into the game that gave the Blizzard its only first half lead, 23-22, Sun Valley led for the rest of these two quarters. The home team surged to grab a 42-35 lead after one and then extended the margin to nine a couple times early in the second quarter. But Buffalo was able to stay involved and close the deficit to 69-68 at intermission. In the third, Buffalo, led by 12 points and nine points respectively from Tom Chambers and Clyde Drexler respectively, nudged ahead. It outscored Sun Valley 39-33 to take a 107-102 lead entering the final period. An 8-0 spurt featuring baskets by Mark Aguirre, Lester Conner, Malone and Chambers extended Buffalo’s lead to 124-114 with 7:03 to play. Sun Valley battled back and with 1:20 left in regulation a Wayman Tisdale short jumper narrowed the Bobcats’ deficit down to 139-138. From there, Blizzard guard Sedale Threatt evaded full court pressure for a basket that put the Blizzard up again by three. That was followed by Conner blocking a Kevin Johnson shot that Malone grabbed and served to Drexler for a dunk that put the Blizzard ahead 143-138 with 58 seconds left in this final quarter. From there, Buffalo hit key free throws down the stretch and a dunk by Chambers with eight seconds left gave Buffalo an insurmountable 148-142 lead (A tip in by Tisdale at the buzzer closed the scoring of a game 1 that Buffalo managed to steal at the end, 148-144). Drexler was the game MVP with 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists and six steals. Chambers and Malone added 31 and 21 respectively as the Blizzard were simply thankful to ensure a split of these first two games played in the Valley of the Sun. In this high scoring affair Sun Valley was led by Worthy’s 31 and the Bobcats’ Mike McGee at starting guard made life difficult for the Blizzard with 30. They were both beneficiaries of Johnson’s 20 assists. Also, for Sun Valley, Adrian Branch exploded for 24 points off the bench in just 20 minutes. It came as no surprise that this contest between the two heavyweights was evenly played, with Buffalo narrowly outshooting its hosts .529 to .523 from the field, while the home team won the rebound battle 55-54. 

Game 2 – As the Blizzard and Bobcats prepared to tip off in the Den for Game 2 of their West Conference semifinal matchup, it was already obvious that these two 50-plus win teams are as evenly matched as you’ll find anywhere. Sun Valley won the regular season series 4-2, but in an offensive shootout, Buffalo was able to overcome a nine-point deficit on the road to defeat theBobcats in their building, 148-144 in Game 1. It was no surprise then when this second game of the series became hotly contested. As in Game 1, Sun Valley again exerted its will early and often in the first half and built a halftime lead, this time going into the locker room at intermission up 79-70. In fact, after Wayman Tisdale recorded the opening bucket eight seconds into the game, Sun Valley, grabbed the game’s first five points enroute to dominating the first quarter 39-22 (led by Tisdale’s nine points during that opening period) and Sun Valley led by a sizable martin the entire first half and never trailed. The Blizzard rallied hard in the third and a Kevin Duckworth basket with just under two minutes left in the period gave the visitors their first lead of the game 105-103; that, however, was answered by a furious 10-5 run in the waning moments of the frame that gave the Bobcats a 113-110 lead entering the final quarter. The Bobcats carried that momentum into the final period in outplaying the Blizzard early: following a Chris Morris jumper with 5:40 left in regulation, Sun Valley had built back a 133-123 lead. But Buffalo had one last push in it. The Blizzard engineered a furious 19-8 run capped by a Tom Chambers alley-oop dunk with 1:21 remaining that once again gave it a lead, 142-141, setting the stage for one more nail-biting finale in the desert. Kevin Johnson stepped up late for Sun Valley: his driving layup six seconds later put the hosts back up by one. Down the stretch, pressure defense by the Bobcats and a raucous Sun Valley crowd forced the Blizzard into three consecutive turnovers, the last one a KJ steal he converted into a perimeter basket with 13 seconds left for his second consecutive field goal and a Sun Valley three-point advantage. Buffalo still held the last possession and the ball landed in the hands of Mark Aguirre who had already accounted for three of the six three pointers made in the contest. With five seconds left, he was fed the ball by Lester Connor and Aguirre lofted an open shot from beyond the three-point stripe for the tie. With the Den crowd holding its collective breath, the shot rolled around the cylinder – and out of bounds. With two ticks left, Sun Valley center Larry Krystkowiak managed to dribble out the clock; the Bobcats had their first win of the series 145-142, sending things to Buffalo all knotted at one. Johnson was the game MVP with a hall-of-fame type 31 points, and a new VBA playoff record 25 assist performance, including the game-ending heroics. The Blizzard was also unable to contain James Worthy as he finished with 29 and Tisdale added 23. Buffalo was led by Chambers, who is accustomed to spectacular performances in this part of the country – he finished with 30 and converted his final five shots of the game to give the Blizzard a fighter’s chance. He was matched by Clyde Drexler’s 30 points. Sun Valley shot 58 percent from the field and bludgeoned Buffalo in the paint, outscoring the Blizzard 104-68 in the lane, in addition to outrebounding the visitors, 52-41. The Blizzard shot 54 percent from the field to stay afloat in the contest, and nearly steal its second straight contest at Sun Valley. The series shifts to Buffalo, no stranger to May snow, where the fans there can only hope Sun Valley’s offensive firepower cools down enough for Buffalo to reclaim the advantage in this barnburner of a series.

Game 3 – It was 50° outside Buffalo Memorial Auditorium for the tip-off of game 3 between the hometown Blizzard and visiting Sun Valley Bobcats. The ‘Cats wanted to come in and win game 3 to take home court advantage back, but the Blizzard, despite a temperature way above freezing, had other ideas. Karl Malone and Tom Chambers combined for 23 points and the home squad skated out to a 42-31 advantage. The Bobcats clawed their way back to trail by only 5 points, but when the buzzer sounded, went into the locker room on the short end of a 68-58 scoreboard. Clyde the Glide led his squad with 20 points; Big Game James, despite horrrrrriiiiiibbbblllleeee (think Bill Walton) shooting, topped SVB with 15. After 4 minutes of play in the 3rd, the Blizzard went on a 25-6 run that looked like it would put the game on ice. Sun Valley closed out the frame with a 14-5 spree of their own to make it a 15-point game heading into the 4th. The Bobcats took a never-say-never approach in the 4th, knowing that Kevin Johnson, Worthy and gang could run-and-gun with the best of them. That’s what they did and a 13-4 stretch brought them within 3 (119-116) with plenty of time (5:46) on the clock. Coach Cole got in his team’s faces and they responded by building a late 12-point lead. Sun Valley would score the next 6 points, but Buffalo survives the comeback attempt 136-129. Drexler was named game MVP with 36 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals. The Mailman delivered 31 points and 16 rebounds. TC was good for 26 & 12. Worthy struggled from the floor most of the game but finished with 37, but had 9 turnovers. KJ finished with 17 points, 18 assists and 8 rebounds.

Game 4 – Sun Valley jumped out to a 14-8 lead as James Worthy scored 8 of his 12 first quarter points in the first 3 minutes of play. Buffalo wasn’t going to have any of that and went on a 22-4 run, building a 12-point lead en route to a 39-28 advantage after 12 minutes. The Bobcats had 10-0 and 8-0 runs in the 2nd frame and knotted the score at 66 heading into the lockers. Worthy had put his squad on his back, tallying 22 for the Bobcats. Clyde Drexler led Buffalo with 16. Tom Chambers led all scorers in the third period, leading the Blizzard to a 105-94 lead after three. A 10-2 spree by the visitors brought them within 3 with 8:00 on the clock. The home crowd got behind their team and Buffalo never let the ‘Cats get any closer, taking a 3-1 advantage in this Semi-Final Series with a 143-130 victory. The Glide earned game MVP honors with a triple-double of 30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. SVB had no answer for T.C. who finished with 35 points and 14 boards. Big Game James was a one-man show, making 20-29 FGA for 44 points. The rest of the Bobcats combined to shoot 34% from the floor. They were also out-rebounded by a 65-45 margin with Buffalo sizzling at a .535 FG percentage.

Game 5 – While Buffalo held a 3-1 lead over Sun Valley entering game 5 of these West semis, it hardly felt like the Blizzard had any substantial upper hand, especially considering these teams have played through so evenly matched, tight contests from the regular season through these playoffs. The first couple games in Sun Valley were nail biters and now the Bobcats entered Game 5 with the luxury of having potentially two out of the next three at home. This was not settled by any means as the two squads tipped off at the Den. And by halftime, that was made clear by the home team: the Bobcats accounted for the last two baskets of the first quarter to eke out a lead at the end of the opening period 40-37. In the second, Sun Valley, led by 23 points from its starting backcourt of Kevin Johnson (13) and Mike McGee (10), never yielded that lead and overpowered Buffalo 44-34 to extend its halftime advantage to a sizable 84-71 margin. The Blizzard’s stars came to life in the third quarter and this time outscored their hosts by 10 to remain very much alive entering the fourth, trailing just 117-114. Buffalo’s Karl Malone scored a quarter-high 15 points and had already accumulated 37 points entering the final period. The Blizzard’s Clyde Drexler, limited to six points in the first half, contributed 13 in the third. Buffalo never claimed the lead in the third or early moments of the fourth quarter as the teams exchanged scoring blows. But the Blizzard remained close and a pair of free throws by reserve guard Michael Holton brought Buffalo within two, 135-133 with 8:19 to play. No Den spectators were surprised this was coming down to the wire. After Holton’s baskets from the charity stripe, however, Sun Valley shooting guard McGee answered with a three-pointer. That was the start of an astonishing and dizzying 18-0 fastbreak fueled run in just over two minutes, one in which Sun Valley’s late-trapping defense led to instant offense mainly led by Sun Valley’s Big Game James. Worthy, held to 13 points entering the fourth, scored eight of the points during the stretch, including six in a row. When the spurt was capped by a Wayman Tisdale basket with 5:44 remaining, the Bobcats had an insurmountable 153-133 lead and had essentially put the game on ice. Buffalo scored several baskets in garbage time the last two minutes of the game to make the final score closer as the Bobcats staved off elimination with a 165-156 victory. Johnson was the MVP with 37 points and 19 assists, eye-popping and stratospheric numbers to be sure, but ones that have been characteristic of him throughout this series. Worthy finished with 25 and Tisdale and McGee, with 25 and 24 points respectively ensured those four starters easily eclipsed 100 points. Those performances more than overcame strong showings from Malone and Drexler (45 and 33 points respectively). Sun Valley’s decisive fourth quarter burst, along with eight for 19 three-point shooting proved to be the major differences in a game that was otherwise evenly matched. Michael Cooper gave the Bobcats a spark off the bench, burying five of eight shots from beyond three-point range; like McGee who was also red-hot from the perimeter, Cooper’s night ended with 24 points.

Game 6 – Sun Valley traveled to Buffalo Memorial Auditorium required to do what they couldn’t do in games 3 and 4, win one on the road to regain the home court advantage. It looked like they were up for the challenge as rookie Chris Morris scored 7 points in the first 3:08 of game time to push the Bobcats to a 19-10 advantage. The Blizzard defense then froze the ‘Cats and they went on a 22-4 spree to go up 9. SVB clawed their way back to a one-point lead before Kevin Duckworth’s inside shot flipped the scoreboard as time expired. One of the biggest events in the first was Tom Chambers’ heading to the bench with a pair of fouls 2:10 into the contest. Sun Valley had no answer for T.C. in games 1-5 as he scored at a 27.6 clip, nearly 8 points above his regular season production of 19.9. He also had a 9.2 rebounding average in the series so far. BUF outshot SVB .571 to .472, as the ‘Cats were lucky to trail only by one. James Worthy had 11 and Duckworth 9 to lead their respective teams. A 15-2 run by the home team early in the 2nd frame propelled them to a 12-point lead at halftime.  Worthy added 8 to his first half totals in the 2nd, Clyde Drexler topped BUF with 10. The visitors shot only .448 in the 2nd. The Blizzard built their biggest lead, 22 points, with 6:28 remaining in the 3rd. SVB closed out the quarter with a 25-12 surge that made it a 9-point game starting the 4th. KJ led the Bobcats’ third with 8; Chambers tallied a dozen for BUF. Anxiety took over for the home town fans and the Bobcats’ coaching staff. The fans were sure the Bobcats’ fast break would get them 12 or 13 unanswered points and head coach Joe Hornback was afraid they wouldn’t pull it off. Well, a little bit of both happened as the ‘Cats, even with Morris fouling out with 9:25 to go and Big Game James getting the DQ with 3:26 remaining (both on offensive fouls), battled back to a 5-point deficit 3 times in the final 1:23. The Blizzard made their free throws to advance to their second straight Western Conference Finals with the 140-133 victory. Worthy led everyone with 35 points and with 15 rebounds. Wayman Tisdale chipped in 22 points and 13 boards. KJ finished with 19 assists and 17 points. Drexler was named MVP for the 4th time in the series with 27 points, 9 assists, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals. Chambers and The Mailman each scored 20 points and hauled in 8 boards. Lester Conner, who was on Sun Valley last year and was traded for Buffalo’s #2 pick (which turned into Tim Perry) finished with a triple-double of 17 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.