MBA Season 42 Playoff Semifnals...Game 2 Oklahoma City at Dallas

DALLAS 74, OKLAHOMA CITY 70
DEMONS SWEEP TWO-TIME CHAMPS; PAYNE GOES DOWN
DALLAS -- There will be no much-anticipated Finals rematch between unbeaten Charleston and two-time defending champion Oklahoma City. And there is no longer a chance for the Lariats to three-peat.

Instead, the Dallas Demons, by virtue of a two-game sweep of the favored Lariats, will advance to the MBA Finals to take on the Charleston Mountaineers in an all-East Division match-up.

The Demons dispatched Oklahoma City 74-70 in a nip and tuck contest in which Oklahoma City's Hall of Fame center, Max Payne, was injured with 43 time units remaining in the second quarter. Dallas was leading 31-26 at the time, and Oklahoma City was forced to go the rest of the way without their All-MBA pivot. They made a game of it, staying close and even taking the lead down the home stretch.

But with Dallas up 71-70 and 13 time units remaining, second-year shooting guard Bingo Bango of the Demons, splashed home a medium jumper, was fouled and canned the resulting free throw to put the game pretty much out of reach.

And so now Dallas, which has won three championships, will proceed to the finals for the first time as an East Division team. They have not fared well at all against the Mountaineers during the regular season, losing 95-61 at home and 68-57 in the final game of the regular season. No team in the 41 previous campaigns has ever won an MBA championship with less than 6 regular season victories. Dallas went 5-5 during the regular season.

Payne, in his 17th and final season, suffered his second major injury this year. It was a seven-game injury, which would have made him ineligible to play in any of the Finals contests.

This was the fifth time the big 7-footer has suffered an injury in his MBA life. And the loss, caused in part by his injury, eliminates the opportunity to become the first player ever to earn 7 championship rings.

--Max Payne retires as the second most honored player in the history of the game, behind only Curly Hogbottom.
--He finished fifth all time in scoring; the top scoring center in history.
--He was named on the Four Decade first team of two franchises, both Dallas and Oklahoma City.
--He retires tied with Cam Bodia and Tug Hershorts for playing on the most championship teams --- 6.
--He played for four franchises (Dallas, Oklahoma City, Charleston and Chicago) and brought home at least one championships in each of those stops, and in the case of Oklahoma City had two stints as a Lariats player winning titles both times.
--He led the league in rebounding once...his final season, led the league in steals once, led the league in blocked shots three times and led the league in free throw shooting once (again, his final season).
--He led his team in scoring once, rebounding 11 times, steals twice, blocked shots 12 times, free throwing twice and shooting percentage five times.
--Payne made a record 11 All Star Games, and was one of just 11 players to earn 5 All-MBA stars.
--He accomplished all this despite all of his injuries and the fact that he played back-up for three seasons to a Hall of Famer midway through his career.

Also playing his last MBA game with this loss was Ginger Vampire, whose 11-season career included:
-- Seven All-Star Game appearances
-- a championship ring with Chicago
-- a finishing flourish to his career that included the only three seasons he led his team in scoring.
-- Vampire, who played mostly with Seattle, with stops in Chicago and Oklahoma City also led his team in assists twice, in steals three times, in blocked shots twice and in free throwing twice.

POINTS SAVED PER TEAM BY QUARTERS
Oklahoma City 4...2...3...4...total of 13
Dallas........2...2...2...4...total of 10

TOP PLAYERS POINTS SAVED
1. Bang-Bang Reiner, Oklahoma City 4
1. Sloppy Dollop, Oklahoma City 4
3. Akbar Zagobia, Oklahoma City 3

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Second-year shooting guard BINGO BANGO of victorious Dallas was outstanding in this important game. The 6-4 Bango, acquired via the draft from Los Angeles, popped in 25 points on 10 of 17 shooting that included 4-of-8 long ones. He was 1 for 2 from the foul line and had 2 rebounds. Bango, who hit the big bucket near game's end that turned into a 3-point play, did all his scoring despite being guarded by defensive specialist Akbar Zagobia.

Other 20-plus GVP performers
-- Forward Bang-Bang Reiner of Oklahoma City led his team in scoring with 20 points, totally outplaying his opposite, the bigger Gulemon Mon-Mon. Reiner also snagged 5 rebounds, had 1 assist and tied for most points saved on defense.
-- The other Oklahoma City forward, Sloppy Dollop also excelled for the second straight game, getting 15 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 blocked shot and 1 steal in the loss.

NEXT UP: The Finals begin, with the huge underdog Dallas visiting Oklahoma City, with the unbeaten home team looking to tie the all-time record for consecutive victories at 13. The question is not so much can Dallas win the title as it is "can they win a game" in this best of five championship series.

Dallas and Charleston have met in the Finals just one other time, in season 39, won 3 games to 1 by Charleston, with Beezow Bop-Bop as the Playoff MVP.