The team swept the first three playoff series (Pacific Division foes: Portland, Seattle, and Phoenix), resulting in a rematch with the Detroit Pistons in the Finals.
After sweeping the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, the Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls in six games, earning a second straight trip to the NBA Finals.
For their rough physical play, and sometimes arrogant demeanor, Pistons' center Bill Laimbeer nicknamed the team 'The Bad Boys'.
The team itself was also an improvement, highlighted by a mid-season trade that sent Adrian Dantley to the Dallas Mavericks for Mark Aguirre.
[4] With Aguirre taking over the starting small forward spot, the Pistons went on a tear, winning 31 of its final 37 games to finish with a league-best 63–19 record.
Seeking to become the first team since the Boston Celtics dynasty of the 1960s to win three consecutive championships, the Lakers managed to put up a conference-best 57–25 record.
They became the first team to win their first 11 playoff games, as they swept the Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle SuperSonics and Phoenix Suns in each of the first three rounds.
The Pistons had made the bucket on the break to tie the game at 75–75, but the Lakers, minus Johnson, charged to a 90–81 lead late in the period.
Isiah Thomas then hit two free throws with one second remaining to give the Pistons a three-point lead and the Lakers, who called timeout to advance the ball to midcourt, one last chance to force overtime, but Jeff Lamp lost the ball on the inbound pass, and the horn sounded, ending Game 2 with the Pistons winning, 108–105, to take a 2–0 series lead.
The Pistons had a 2–0 series lead, but knew it would be tough going in L.A. Magic Johnson tried to play, but the pain of his hamstring injury was just too great.
Dennis Rodman, despite suffering from painful back spasms, pulled down 19 rebounds between trips to the sideline for rubdowns.
Thomas then fouled Lakers rookie point guard David Rivers, who made both free throws, pulling Los Angeles to within three at 113–110 with 13 seconds left.
The Pistons then ran out the clock after Bill Laimbeer's free throw to close the game with a 114–110 win, putting them on the verge of an unexpected sweep.
With the Lakers' backs to the wall, coach Pat Riley admonished key offensive player James Worthy to step up his game.
Worthy responded with a championship effort of 40 points on 17-of-26 field-goal shooting with Rick Mahorn in his face every step of the way.
Despite trouble at the free-throw line (11 missed), the Pistons began to claw back as Los Angeles led 55–49 at intermission.
Dumars hit a driving bank shot, drew the foul and made the free throw, giving him 19 points on the evening.
Abdul-Jabbar reentered the game and spun and hit a bank shot with 1:37 left, his last two NBA points, cutting the Pistons' margin to 100–96.
Riley sent Abdul-Jabbar back in after the timeout, but Michael Cooper missed a three-pointer and Isiah Thomas was fouled.
Riley then sent Orlando Woolridge in for Abdul-Jabbar, this time for good, prompting a standing ovation from the crowd and acknowledgment from the players on both the Lakers and, in a rare show of sportsmanship, the Pistons.
The computer-generated imagery (once again set in and around a virtual arena) was made to look more realistic (live-action footage was incorporated in the backdrops).
The Pistons won 59 games that season, then defeated the Indiana Pacers (3–0), New York Knicks (4–1) and Chicago Bulls (4–3) in the first three rounds, before overcoming the Portland Trail Blazers 4–1 in the Finals.
In the rematch, the underdog Pistons, led by Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince, and coached by Larry Brown, upset the star-studded future Hall-of-Fame Lakers team of Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Karl Malone and Gary Payton, and coached by Phil Jackson, in five games.