A Roundup of the Week May 7-13

Compiled by Tim Crothers

May 21, 1990

PRO BASKETBALL—After the Trail Blazers had run their Western Conference semifinal playoff series lead to 2-0 with a 122-112 home court victory—Portland's Terry Porter led the way with 27 points—the Spurs rallied to even the series at San Antonio's HemisFair Arena. In Game 3, the Spurs never trailed en route to a 121-98 triumph. David Robinson, who during the week received the league's Pivotal Player award, scored 28 points and blocked eight shots, and Rod Strickland chipped in with 17 assists and committed only one turnover. Terry Cummings took over in the fourth game, leading San Antonio to a 115-105 win with 35 points. Robinson added 21 and continued to shut down his man; Cliff Robinson, who stepped in to play center for Portland's injured regular, Kevin Duckworth, shot 25.6% in the series' first four games. The winner of the Spurs versus the Blazers figured to meet the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, but the Suns broke a 21-game losing streak at the Forum with a 104-102 victory in Game 1 and went on to take a surprising 3-1 series lead (page 30). In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons took an identical lead over the Knicks. In the series opener, New York was outscored 35-15 in the third quarter and shot just 32 for 90 from the floor in the game as Detroit won 112-77. New York kept the score close in the second game, but Isiah Thomas hit three of his five three-pointers down the stretch, and James Edwards had a career playoff high 32 points in a 104-97 Piston win. The victory was Detroit's 12th straight in playoff competition. That streak ended in Game 3 as Patrick Ewing scored 45 points and New York won 111-103. The game marked the first time in this postseason that the Pistons allowed an opponent to score 100 or more points. But Ewing suffered from foul trouble in the fourth game, playing just six minutes and scoring no points in the first half, and Detroit had six scorers in double figures, including Edwards with a team-high 19 points, as the Pistons prevailed 102-90. The Bulls played Game 4 without Scottie Pippen, who went home after the death of his father, but Michael Jordan filled the void by scoring 45 points to help Chicago grab a 3-1 lead in its series with the Sixers (page 26).