DALLAS 79, OKLAHOMA CITY 65
DEMONS SWEEP THEIR WAY INTO FINALS
OKLAHOMA CITY -- As expected, the Dallas Demons advanced without a playoff blemish to the Season 46 Finals, the first for the franchise since Season 42 and the first since Hall of Famer Chip Battoe joined the team four seasons ago.
They did so with a 2-0 sweep of Oklahoma City, who they beat fairly handily in Game 2 on the loser's home court, 79-65.
Having upheld their end of the confrontational bargain, Dallas now awaits the winner of the Sacramento vs. Charleston series, which everyone expects to be the River Dogs, for a Finals Series that has been brewing since Day 1.
The last time Dallas won the championship (they've won three) was in Season 28. This will be their eigth Finals appearance. This is their third straight playoff appearance, breaking through to the Finals after two tough losses in the Semis in a row.
Using a revamped stating lineup, the Oklahoma City Lariats put up a bit of a battle in Game 2, thrilling hometown fans with an early lead, then slowly succumbing to the might of the Demons.
The game took its worst turn for the home team when its MVP of the past two seasons, forward Anurag Dickshit, went down with an early second quarter injury that took him out of the action for the rest of the game.
It was also in that second quarter when Meat Pants Masterson came off the Dallas bench to score a majority of his 16 points, a contribution that should not go unnoticed.
Since winning it all in consecutive seasons in Seasons 41 and 42, the Lariats have been in the playoffs four of the past five seasons but have been unable to get over the first-round hump to return to the Finals.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
The behemoth 7-2 Dallas center GOTOO GROT again captured POG honors for the second straight time, dominating play against the twin 7-foot tandem centers of Oklahoma City. As he did in Game 1, Grot led everyone in scoring with the same total of 19 points, going 8 for 10 from the floor and 3 for 3 from the foul line. The fourth-year giant also matched his Game 1 rebounding total with a game-high (tied) 7, distributed a pair of assists, registered 1 steal and blocked 1 shot.
Other 20-Plus GVP performers
-- Other than Grot, the only other player in the game to accumulate 20 GVP was last-second Oklahoma City starter Goodbar "Muddy" Masterson, who tied Grot for rebounding honors with 7 while scoring 10 points, dishing 2 assists and getting 1 steal.
NEXT UP: Sacramento looks to complete its Semifinals sweep of the Charleston Mountaineers in Charleston. The home team is hoping to get at least one more victory with this bunch before its fans with two starters bowing out after this season.
No comments:
Post a Comment