El Paso Scorpions 58-31 (2-6)

Santa Cruz Grizzlies 64-18 (6-2)

Score (click for boxscore)	Game MVP	Hi Points	Hi Rebounds	Hi Assists
1. Grizzlies 140, Scorpions 124	Michael Adams	34 Derrick Coleman	11 D.Coleman/P.Ellison	18 Michael Adams
2. Scorpions 146, Grizzlies 117	Michael Jordan	46 Michael Jordan	16 Derrick Coleman	13 Michael Adams
3. Grizzlies 101, Scorpions 91	Michael Adams	23 Hersey Hawkins>	13 Shawn Kemp>	12 Michael Adams
4. Grizzlies 116, Scorpions 108	Michael Adams	34 Michael Adams	14 Pervis Ellison	9 M.Adams/J.Dumars
5. Grizzlies 120, Scorpions 119	Michael Adams	29 Michael Jordan	18 Derrick Coleman	14 Joe Dumars

Game 1 – El Paso headed to Santa Cruz for Game 1. Despite a terrible start for Michael Jordan (0-6, 2 points), ELP escaped the First Quarter up 32-31. SC took control, starting the 2nd Quarter on a 21-2 run. Jordan finally scored his first basket with 6:32 remaining in the half. The Half ended with SC up 70-63. ELP was led by Derrick Coleman (18) and SC by Armen Gilliam (18). Jordan ended the half with 8 points (2-15). The Third Quarter saw SC continuing to dominate as they took a 102-86 lead into the final Quarter. SC maintained their lead and the game ended with SC winning 140-124. Coleman finished with 34 for ELP and Hersey Hawkins ended with 32 for SC. Jordan finished with 28 on a 10-33 shooting performance. He missed 6 layups and a dunk. ELP will be looking for some answers in Game 2.

Game 2 – Game 2 begins in a similar fashion to Game 1. Despite Michael Jordan starting the game shooting 1-11 from the field, El Paso finished the First Quarter leading 34-29. Hersey Hawkins got into early foul trouble for Santa Cruz and had to sit most of the Quarter. EL Paso dominated the Second Quarter and jumped out to a 78-47 lead at the half. After a 1-11 start, Jordan hit 6 of his next 7 and had 18 points at the half. All 5 of ELP’s starters finished the half with double digit points. The main story for SC was the foul troubles for Hawkins and Thunder Dan, severely limiting their minutes. ELP maintained a healthy lead after 3 Quarters: 110-84. Jordan continued his torrid shooting pace, hitting 9 of 11 shots and finishing the Quarter with 36 points. Armen Gilliam continued to lead SC with 21. There were no surprises in the 4th Quarter as the game ended with ELP winning 146-117. Jordan hit 5 of 6 shots in the Quarter and finished with 46 points. Gilliam had 27 for SC. The key factor in the game was the foul troubles for Hawkins and Majerle. They ended up being non-factors in the game. That is unlikely to happen again in the series. For ELP​, Roy Tarpley stepped up to play despite his injury-plagued season. He did extremely well but was limping noticeably at the end of the game and has already been ruled out for the rest of the series. On to El Paso with the series tied 1-1.

Game 3 – ​It was a game of whistles, free throws and plenty of pressure, and the Santa Cruz Grizzlies came out on top, 101-91, at the El Paso County Coliseum! Michael Jordan got into foul trouble early, and that was about as welcome as a flat tire on the freeway, as the superstar was limited to just 19 minutes and nine points. Meanwhile, Michael Adams was everywhere, scoring 21 points, handing out 12 assists and knocking down all 12 of his free throws to earn game MVP honors. Santa Cruz simply would not miss from the charity stripe, going an incredible 36-for-37, a sizzling 97.3 percent—talk about making the freebies count! The Grizzlies built an 18-point advantage in the third quarter, but Joe Dumars refused to let El Paso go quietly, leading the Scorpions with 22 points and nine assists. El Paso battled all the way back in the fourth, cutting the deficit to five before Santa Cruz slammed the door with a late 6-0 run. Hersey Hawkins chipped in 23 points and eight rebounds, while Johnny Newman came off the bench to add 13 perfect points on 7-for-7 shooting at the line. El Paso shot just 39.2 percent from the field, and against a team that nearly shot 100 percent from the stripe, that was a hill too steep to climb. The Grizzlies leave El Paso with a 101-91 victory, and when you combine hot shooting, cold-blooded free throws and a little foul trouble for the opposition, you’ve got the formula for a playoff win!

Game 4 – ​Now hold onto your popcorn, folks, because the Santa Cruz Grizzlies just turned a 17-point hole into a fourth-quarter thriller and sent the Scorpions scurrying for cover! El Paso came out hotter than a desert sidewalk in July, racing to a 34-20 first-quarter lead and holding a 60-47 advantage at the half. But Michael Adams had other ideas, and the little dynamo put on a 34-point, 9-assist, 4-steal spectacular, hitting 10 of 12 from the field and a sizzling 13 of 14 at the stripe. The Grizzlies finally caught the Scorpions at 91-all with 6:48 remaining, and from there it was Santa Cruz stepping on the accelerator while El Paso ran out of road. Dan Majerle added 14 and Shawn Kemp supplied 15 points and 10 rebounds, but it was Adams who kept ringing the cash register when the game got tightest. El Paso got 25 from Joe Dumars and 24 from Michael Jordan, with Reggie Williams chipping in 19, but those Scorpions couldn’t hold off the late Grizzly stampede. When the smoke cleared, Santa Cruz had a 116-108 comeback victory, a 3-1 series stranglehold, and the momentum was roaring all the way back to California!

Game 5 – El Paso headed to Santa Cruz in a must-win situation trailing in the series 3-1.  The first quarter featured a frenzy of fouls by SC.  They committed 12 fouls in the quarter and had several players benched early due to foul trouble.  Unfortunately for El Paso, they shot poorly from the foul line. John Salley (a 73% free throw shooter) went 1-6 from the line in the first 1:30 of the game.  El Paso finished the quarter 13-20 from the line and trailed after one, 36-27.  El Paso was led by Michael Jordan and Joe Dumars with 6 each and SC was led by Hersey Hawkins with 9 points. ELP came roaring back in the 2nd Quarter and took the lead for the first time 43-42 with 7:45 left in the half.  They went on to take a 68-56 lead after 2 quarters.  Jordan led ELP with 16 and Hawkins led SC with 17.  SC continued to have foul issues and had 4 players with 3 fouls each.  SC had 21 fouls to ELP’s 10 after 2 quarters.   In the 3rd Quarter, Shawn Kemp, Kevin Willis, Pervis Ellison and Michael Adams quickly picked up their 4th fouls. Stojko Vrankovic for ELP was ejected for a flagrant foul.  Despite being in serious foul trouble, SC was able to cut ELP’s lead to six after three quarters:  ELP 95 SC 89.  ELP was led by Jordan 22 and SC by Hawkins 24. In the 4th Quarter, Ellison for SC quickly picked up his 5th foul.  SC cuts ELP’s lead to 3 with less than 2 minutes to play.  El Paso is called for offensive fouls on their next two possessions and SC cuts the lead to 1 and has the ball. Reggie Williams fouls Johnny Newman who makes both free throws to give SC the lead 120-119 with 23.8 seconds to play.  It is their first lead since the 2nd Quarter.  ELP plays for the last shot and puts the ball in the hands of Mr. Clutch, Michael Jordan.  Jordan takes the shot as the buzzer sounds and the ball clanks off the rim ending the game and El Paso’s season.  ELP was led by Jordan (29 pts) and Derrick Coleman (16 pts, 18 reb).  SC was led by Hawkins (26 pts).  It was a great win for SC who prevailed despite a number of their starters playing limited minutes due to foul troubles.