Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 1, 1990 TAG: 9006010265
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PHOENIX, ARIZ. LENGTH: Medium
The Blazers, who had lost five straight playoff games on the road, including a 34-point blowout in Game 3 at Phoenix, scored the last six points of the game in the final 55 seconds to overcome a brilliant performance by Jeff Hornacek. The Suns guard scored 25 of his career-high 36 points after Johnson was injured late in the first half.
It was the first victory by a road team in either of the NBA's conference final series and gave the Blazers a 4-2 triumph in the Western Conference.
"Everyone talked about how we can't win on the road, but we kept it close until the end," said Rick Adelman, Portland's coach. "People should realize we can win the close games.
"We're not thinking about The Finals, we're just going to take some time off. We've played every other day and need the rest."
Johnson, who scored 13 of his 16 points in the first quarter, pulled his left hamstring with 2:54 remaining in the half. The Phoenix point guard returned to the bench after receiving treatment in the locker room, but he did not play again.
Hornacek gave the Suns a 109-106 lead by hitting two free throws with 1:09 left, but Phoenix did not score again.
Terry Porter, who scored 23 points, made two free throws to cut Portland's deficit to a point with 55 seconds to go.
After an exchange of possessions, Jerome Kersey blocked a layup attempt by Hornacek, then completed a fast break with a layup to put the Blazers ahead to stay with 27 seconds remaining.
Tom Chambers then turned over the ball to Clyde Drexler, who was fouled and made two free throws with 6.8 seconds left. Drexler finished with 23 points.
A desperation 3-point attempt by Hornacek missed badly just before the buzzer.
Dan Majerle added 22 points for the Suns. Chambers scored all of his 17 points in the second half, but he was 5-of-16 from the field and 11-of-37 in the final two games.
"It's a great feeling to win," said Blazers forward Buck Williams. "Defensively, we stopped Phoenix when we had to."
Portland, which meets the winner of the Chicago-Detroit Eastern Conference series, goes into the NBA Finals with a 9-0 playoff record at home.
The Blazers, trailing 63-59 at halftime and 89-84 after the third period, tied the score at 89 on rookie Drazen Petrovic's 3-point goal and jumper 39 seconds into the fourth quarter.
The score was tied three more times until Chambers' free throw with 7:29 left put Phoenix ahead 96-95.
Hornacek, whose previous career best was 32 points, hit consecutive driving layups to give the Suns a 100-95 lead with 5:59 to go.
Chambers sank a jumper with 5:15 left, and another with 4:41 remaining. His foul shot with four minutes to play made it 105-99.
The Trail Blazers closed to 107-106 on Porter's fourth 3-pointer of the game, with 3:15 left, and Drexler's two free throws with 1:48 remaining.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB