1988 NBA Finals
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| Dates | June 7–21 | ||||||||||||||
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| MVP |
James Worthy (Los Angeles Lakers) |
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| Television | CBS (U.S.) | ||||||||||||||
| Announcers | and Billy Cunningham | ||||||||||||||
| Radio network |
KLAC (LAL) WCXI (DET) |
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| Announcers |
Chick Hearn and Stu Lantz (LAL) George Blaha, Fred McLeod and Dick Motta (DET) |
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| Referees | |||||||||||||||
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| Hall of Famers |
Pistons: Adrian Dantley (2008) Joe Dumars (2006) Dennis Rodman (2011) Isiah Thomas (2000) Lakers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1995) Magic Johnson (2002) James Worthy (2003) Coaches: Chuck Daly (1994) Pat Riley (2008) Officials: Darell Garretson (2016) Earl Strom (1995) |
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| Eastern Finals | Pistons defeat Celtics, 4-2 | ||||||||||||||
| Western Finals | Lakers defeat Mavericks, 4-3 | ||||||||||||||
| Game 1: | Darell Garretson and Joe Crawford |
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| Game 2: | Ed T. Rush and Jess Kersey |
| Game 3: | Earl Strom and Hugh Evans |
| Game 4: | Jake O'Donnell and Jack Madden |
| Game 5: | Darell Garretson and Joe Crawford |
| Game 6: | Hugh Evans and Ed T. Rush |
| Game 7 | Earl Strom and Jake O'Donnell |
The 1988 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1987–88 NBA season. One of Los Angeles Lakers head coach Pat Riley's most famous moments came when he promised the crowd a repeat championship during the Lakers' 1986-87 championship parade in downtown Los Angeles. With every team in the league now gunning for them, the Los Angeles Lakers still found a way to win, taking their seventh consecutive Pacific Division title. While the 1988 Lakers did not produce as many wins in the regular season as the 1987 Lakers, they were just as successful in the playoffs, becoming the first team in 19 years to repeat as champions. The Lakers met the physical Detroit Pistons in the 1988 NBA Finals.
One of Piston guard Isiah Thomas' career-defining performances came in Game 6. Despite badly twisting his ankle midway through the period, Thomas scored a still-NBA Finals record 25 third quarter points, as Detroit fell valiantly, 103-102, to the Lakers at the Forum.
Thomas still managed to score 10 first-half points in Game 7, as Detroit built a 5-point lead. In the 3rd quarter, the Lakers, inspired by Finals MVP James Worthy and Byron Scott (14 3rd quarter points), exploded as they built a 10-point lead entering the final period. The lead swelled to 15 before Detroit mounted a furious 4th-quarter rally, trimming the lead to 2-points on several occasions. Still, several Detroit miscues enabled the Lakers to win with a 108-105 victory.
During the 1987 championship parade in Los Angeles, Lakers coach Pat Riley guaranteed a repeat championship, a feat that had not been achieved since the Boston Celtics won the 1969 NBA Finals. Motivated by their coach's boast, the Lakers once again earned the league's best record in the 1987–88 season (62–20), despite winning three games less than the previous year.
The playoffs proved to be a difficult climb for the Lakers, however. After sweeping the San Antonio Spurs in the first round, they were pushed to the brink in the next two rounds by the Utah Jazz and the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers eventually prevailed in both series thanks to their championship experience.
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