1989–90 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 1989–90 Portland Trail Blazers season was the 20th season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the off-season, the Trail Blazers acquired All-Star forward Buck Williams from the New Jersey Nets,^[2][3][4] and signed free agent Wayne Cooper.^[5][6] The team also selected power forward Clifford Robinson from the University of Connecticut with the 36th overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft.^[7][8][9] Croatian rookie shooting guard Dražen Petrović, who was drafted by the Trail Blazers as the 60th overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, and previous played overseas in Europe, made his debut in the NBA this season.^[10]

With the addition of Williams, Robinson and Petrović, the Trail Blazers got off to a 5–3 start to the regular season, and then posted a seven-game winning streak afterwards. The team posted another seven-game winning streak in January, and later on held a 33–13 record at the All-Star break.^[11] The Trail Blazers posted a 10-game winning streak in March,^[12] and won eight of their final nine games of the season, finishing in second place in the Pacific Division with a 59–23 record, earning the third seed in the Western Conference, and qualifying for their eighth consecutive trip to the NBA playoffs.^[13][14]

Clyde Drexler averaged 23.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.0 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team. In addition, Terry Porter averaged 17.6 points, 9.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game, while Kevin Duckworth provided the team with 16.2 points and 6.2 rebounds, Jerome Kersey contributed 16.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, and Williams provided with 13.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Off the bench, Robinson averaged 9.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while Petrović contributed 7.6 points per game, Danny Young provided with 4.7 points and 2.8 assists per game, and Cooper averaged 3.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.^[15]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, Drexler was selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team.^[16][17][18] Williams finished tied in tenth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Drexler finished in twelfth place,^[19] and head coach Rick Adelman finished in third place in Coach of the Year voting.^[20][19]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1990 NBA playoffs, the Trail Blazers faced off against the 6th–seeded Dallas Mavericks, a team that featured All-Star guard Rolando Blackman, Derek Harper, Roy Tarpley and Sam Perkins. The Trail Blazers won the first two games over the Mavericks at home at the Memorial Coliseum, and took a 2–0 series lead. In Game 3, on the road at the Reunion Arena, and despite losing Williams to an eye injury, and then losing Duckworth to a right hand injury, the Trail Blazers defeated the Mavericks, 106–92 to win the series in a three-game sweep; it was the first time that the Trail Blazers won an NBA playoff series since the 1984–85 season.^[21][22][23]

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Midwest Division champion San Antonio Spurs, who were led by All-Star center, and Rookie of the Year, David Robinson, All-Star forward Terry Cummings, and second-year star Willie Anderson. Despite starting the series without Duckworth due to his hand injury, the Trail Blazers managed to win the first two games over the Spurs at the Memorial Coliseum, before losing the next two games on the road at the HemisFair Arena. The Trail Blazers won Game 5 over the Spurs at the Memorial Coliseum in double-overtime, 138–132,^[24] but then lost Game 6 at the HemisFair Arena by a score of 112–97, as the Spurs evened the series.^[25][26][27] With the return of Duckworth, the Trail Blazers won Game 7 over the Spurs at the Memorial Coliseum in overtime, 108–105 to win in a hard-fought seven-game series.^[28][29][30]

In the Western Conference Finals, the Trail Blazers then faced off against the 5th–seeded Phoenix Suns, who were led by the quartet of All-Star forward Tom Chambers, All-Star guard Kevin Johnson, Jeff Hornacek, and sixth man Eddie Johnson. The Trail Blazers took a 2–0 series lead over the Suns, but then lost the next two games on the road, including a Game 4 loss to the Suns at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 119–107. With the series tied at 2–2, the Trail Blazers won Game 5 over the Suns at home, 120–114 at the Memorial Coliseum,^[31][32][33] and then won Game 6 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 112–109 to win the series in six games, and advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history, and for the first time since their championship season of 1976–77.^[34][35][36]

In the 1990 NBA Finals, the Trail Blazers faced off against the top–seeded, and defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons, who were led by the All-Star trio of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, and Defensive Player of the Year, Dennis Rodman. After losing Game 1 to the Pistons on the road, 105–99 at The Palace of Auburn Hills,^[37][38][39] the Trail Blazers won Game 2 on the road in overtime, 106–105 to even the series.^[40][41][42] However, the Trail Blazers lost their next three home games, including a Game 5 loss to the Pistons at the Memorial Coliseum, 92–90, thus losing the series in five games, as the Pistons won their second consecutive NBA championship.^[43][44][45]

The Trail Blazers finished 20th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 528,132 at the Memorial Coliseum during the regular season.^[15][46]