Season 57...Retirees...Their place in the MBA universe

 

Season 57 Playoffs Wrap-up

 

Season 57 Finals...Game 5...Oklahoma City at Dallas

DALLAS 71, OKLAHOMA CITY 55

D nets Big D record sixth title

DALLAS -- The  juggernaut that is the Dallas Demons held the challengers from Oklahoma City to a 5-point third quarter on the way to a resounding 71-55 Season 57 championship; a record sixth title in a row.

The win broke a record originally set by Philadelphia, who won five championships in a row from Season 29 through Season 33 and was tied by Dallas last season. This was the 11th title for the Demons franchise, a number only exceeded by the 16 won by the Phobia. 

Although the final game was a blowout in favor of the Demons, it was their most challenging title of the six, having spotted the surprising Lariats to a 2-0 lead in the best of five Finals.

The game was close at halftime, with Dallas holding a 35-32 edge before the champions put the hammer down defensively in the third quarter. The only question remaining in the fourth quarter was whether the Lariats could avoid the humiliation of the "Slaughter Rule," which they managed to do.

It was the last game ever for Dallas' pair of Hall of Famers...Biggus Dickus and Pete "the Steakman" Marzano, both of whom won championship riings in every season of their MBA careers. For the first time in his career, Dickus was pulled from the starting lineup by coach Buzzy Bazinksi, who opted for 7-footer China P to go against Poop-Rupiah 3000 of Oklahoma City. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME

25 GVP...A familiar card led the way for Dallas in this sixth consecutive championship, as Hall of Fame two guard JUZAN DJINN dominated at his position with a game-high 18 point performance, tying for team-high in rebounds with 5 and tying for team-high in blocked shots with 2. The eighth-year star started the championship game with a 3-point bomb that put his team in front right out of the gate, a lead they never relinquished. He was 5 for 10 from the floor (1 for 3 from deep) and 7 for 8 from the foul line. The championship ring gives Djinn 22 awards on his well-decorated card. That pushes him past Uncle Bob Masterson into a tie for third-most honored player of all time with Max Payne and the other Dallas legend, Chip Battoe. He is now one award behind Naf Naf for second place all time and three away from the top player ever, Curly Hogbottom, who collected 25. And Djinn will return next season.

Other 20-plus GVP performers

22 GVP...Oklahoma City point guard Bellybutton Inquisition...14 points...5 rebounds...3 assists.

20 GVP...Dallas' retiring Hall of Fame forward Pete "the Steakman" Marzano...12 points...4 rebounds...2 blocked shots...2 assists.

NEXT UP: Playoff stats leaders and naming of MVP of the Playoffs.

Season 57 Finals Game 4...Dallas at Oklahoma City

DALLAS 83, OKLAHOMA CITY 74

DEMONS IN DRIVER'S SEAT

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Dallas Demons warded off the Oklahoma City Lariats for the second game in a row, coming up with a clutch road win, 83-74, and sending the championship series back to the Big D for the decisive fifth game.

Down 2-0 in the Finals, the five-time champion Demons now have the home court advantage and the opportunity to grab a record-breaking sixth title in a row.

A pressing defense in Game 4 netted Dallas 6 steals and numerous other turnovers by the Lariats that led to the victors getting off 18 more shots than their opponents. So, despite the fact that Oklahoma City had its best shooting game in the Finals at a blistering 61.1 percent; Dallas overcame its 47.2 percent shooting with one more made field goal and 4 more 3-point buckets.

Dallas guards came up huge in the triumph, with both Mini Carfart (25 points) and Hall of Famer Juzan Djinn (21 points) potting 3 treys each. Oklahoma City countered with two 20-point scorers in Bellybutton Inquisition (26) and Poop-Rupiah 3000 (20).

Dallas led by 6 at the half, but with Carfartt and Pete Marzano on the bench with foul trouble in the third quarter, the home team came roaring back to take a 63-62 lead going into the final stanza.

The visitors took the lead immediately to start the fourth and held it throughout. The lead increased to 8 with 31 ticks left. The closest the home team could get from that point on was 4 with 24 ticks remaining.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

34 GVP...Brilliant in defeat, Oklahoma City center POOP-RUPIAH 3000 secured his third POG of the playoffs and second of the Finals, going 10 for 11 from the floor with a trio of slams while tying for game-high in rebounds with 6. He sent regular season MVP, Hall of Fame center Biggus Dickus to the bench with 8 first-half shot rejections as he dominated the man who edged him out for All-MBA. He's now averaging 19.2 ppg in the playoffs and is the distinct front-runner for the MVP of the Playoffs honor going into the final game.

Other 20-plus GVP performers

33 GVP...Oklahoma City point guard Bellybutton Inquisition...26 points...4 rebounds...3 assists.

31 GVP...Dallas point guard Mini Carfartt...25 points (3 treys)...6 assists.

27 GVP...Dallas Hall of Fame two guard Juzan Djinn...21 points (3 treys)...3 rebounds...2 steals...1 blocked shot.

22 GVP...Dallas retiring Hall of Fame small forward Pete "the Steakman" Marzano...14 points...4 blocked shots...2 rebounds...1 assist...1 steal.

NEXT UP: It's for all the marbles in Dallas Sunday night. 

Season 57 Finals Game 3...Oklahoma City at Dallas

DALLAS 75, OKLAHOMA CITY 61

DEMONS FAR FROM DEAD

DALLAS -- The Dallas Demons showed that they are definitely still in this championship series, besting the upstarts from Oklahoma City 75-61 to make the Finals 2 games to 1, with the Lariats still clinging to the advantage.

The series returns to Oklahoma City for Game 4, with the Lariats looking at their best chance to put away the five-time defending champs.

Although Dallas won this game by 14, Oklahoma City made things interesting in the fourth quarter. The Lariats, getting almost no offense from anybody with the exception of their center Poop-Rupiah 3000, trailed by 19 points early in the third quarter. Pressure defense by Dallas led to numerous turnovers by the visitors (and 7 eventual steals for Dallas) as the Mighty Demons pounded the Lariats in the second quarter on the way to a 43-26 lead. 

In the third quarter, Oklahoma City defenders held Dallas to just 10 points while the Lariats rallied for 18 of their own. And when Ol' Roy of Oklahoma City opened the fourth quarter with a 3-point bomb, the 19-point lead had been cut to 6 and the game was on. 

Oklahoma City whittled away at the Dallas lead, getting it down to a 2-point advantage with half the last quarter still to go. But that was as close as the visitors could get before running out of gas. And when Dallas' Hall of Fame center Biggus Dickus hit a short jumper at the 17 time unit mark, the Demons lead at 10 seemed insurmountable. It was.

Dallas went on to shoot 61.1 percent for the game with its defense yielding just 49.2 percent accuracy for Oklahoma City.

'PLAYERS OF THE GAME

26 GVP...Fourth-year veteran forward VENIAL SINN got a surprise start...the first of his career, in place of Nick Kenpoop at the power position. He responded with a POG performance that helped spark the champions to the win. The 6-8 twin (brother Mordle Sinn plays for Sacramento) tied for game-high in scoring with 16 points while pilfering a game-high 3 steals, pulling down 4 boards, blocking 2 shots and assisting 1 time. He was 7 for 8 from the floor, his only miss coming from deep, and he slammed home three while going 2 for 3 at the foul line. Coach Buzzy Bazinski assures fans that his team will not go without Sinn the next game.

AND

26 GVP...Retiring Hall of Fame center BIGGUS DICKUS was not ready to call it a career yet. After yielding 12 points to his opposite, center Poop-Rupiah 3000, in the first quarter, Dickus only allowed the biggest gun on Oklahoma City to score 4 more points the rest of the game. Meanwhile, Dickus matched 3000's 16-point game-high total in points and pulled down a team-best 5 boards. The big 7-footer added 2 assists, 2 blocked shots and 1 steal, playing his usual solid game in the middle. He was 8 for 14 from the floor.

Other 20-plus GVP performers

25 GVP...Oklahoma City center Poop-Rupiah 3000...16 points (4 slams)...6 rebounds...3 blocked shots.

NEXT UP: Game 4 marks a return to Oklahoma City, where the Lariats try to complete what everyone thought was impossible. A win by Dallas would be foreboding, indeed.