DALLAS 82, CHARLESTON 67
CHARLESTON NOT SLAUGHTERED
CHARLESTON -- The Dallas Demons, perhaps bored by the ease in which they were killing an undermanned Charleston squad, turned in their first non-slaughter rule win in these playoffs, still gliding to a comfortable 82-67 win.
The three-time defending champs are now just one victory away from capturing their fourth consecutive title. They have now won 12 games in a row and have been victorious in 29 of their last 30 games.
This latest win looked like another blowout, with Dallas jumping out to a 14-0 run to start things out. The barrage continued into the third quarter, where the Demons, controlling the backboards like they owned them, led by as much as 30 points.
But in the fourth quarter, Charleston pride kicked in, and led by two-time All-MBA forward Piping Plover, the Mountaineers kind of made a sort of game of it, reducing the deficit all the way down to 12 points with 19 ticks left before the big bad boys from D Town finally brought home the 15-point victory.
The Charleston fans, witnessing their first Finals home game in 10 seasons, never left their seats...standing and roaring as their Don Quixote team tilted at the monstrous windmill. Perhaps with the return to the lineup of Kopi Luwak in Game 3, the Mountaineers can make the Demons sweat a little more as Dallas moves unrelentingly toward another crown.
Would a Charleston road win be asking too much? Probably.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
31 GVP...Two-time All-MBA forward PIPING PLOVER of Charleston showed why he has earned two foil stars in the past two seasons, putting together a game-high 28-point performance in the face of one of the MBA's top defenders, Pete Marzano. With Charleston missing two of its top scorers, the team leaned heavily on the 6-7, third-year man who delivered 12 buckets on 19 shots, including a trey in his lone attempt from beyond the arc. He also slammed one home, added 3 for 3 from the foul line to make him 12 for 12 in the post-season, tied for game-high with 2 steals and grabbed 1 rebound. "The Rare Bird" is now averaging 19.3 ppg in the playoffs.
Other 20-plus GVP performers
30 GVP...Dallas center Biggus Dickus...18 points...9 rebounds...2 assists...1 blocked shot.
25 GVP...League MVP and Hall of Fame shooting guard Juzan Djinn...17 points...3 blocks...2 rebounds...2 assists...1 steal.
Points Prevented By quarters
Dallas...2...5...3...6 Total=16
Charl....3...1...3...6 Total=13
Tops in Points Prevented
1. Marzano, Dallas...7
2. Dickus, Dallas......6
3. Numdrum, Charleston...5
NEXT UP: The Dallas Demons return home just one win away from their 9th franchise championship and fourth in a row. This would be the sixth Dallas title in the past 10 seasons; a decade of dominance matched only by the Philadelphia super teams of Seasons 14 to 24, who delivered 7 in 11 campaigns.
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