Along the way, Portland built a core that would turn the team into title contenders, adding Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter and Jerome Kersey through the draft while signing or trading for players such as Buck Williams and Kevin Duckworth.
Entering the 1989–90 season with modest expectations, the Trail Blazers surprised the NBA by posting a 59–23 record, good enough for the third seed in the Western Conference.
However, they entered the 1989–90 season without rugged forward Rick Mahorn, who had been selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1989 NBA Expansion Draft and was later traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
[2] With Mahorn gone, Defensive Player of the Year winner Dennis Rodman picked up the slack, keeping the Pistons in true "Bad Boys" form all season.
A little under a month after the release of her debut single Vision of Love, future best selling recording artist Mariah Carey performed a heavily acclaimed rendition of "America the Beautiful".
For the game, he successfully converted six three-pointers, tying a Finals record set by the Lakers' Michael Cooper in 1987.
A hook shot by James Edwards and two three-pointers by Laimbeer gave the Pistons a 102–98 lead with 1:30 left in overtime.
Porter hit another set of free throws to trim the lead to two; then Drexler tied it at the one-minute mark with a 17-footer.
Portland gave the ball to Drexler, who was fouled by Dennis Rodman, playing on a sore ankle, with two seconds left.
The Pistons quickly passed the ball to Edwards, who tried a shot from the left of the paint, but rookie Clifford Robinson blocked it at the last second.
The Pistons lose their first playoff game in the Palace at Auburn Hills, snapping their 14-game winning streak.
But Vinnie Johnson and Joe Dumars took over, leading a 9–0 run that pulled the Pistons to 32–31 with 7:49 left in the half.
Isiah Thomas scored 22 points in the third and capped his onslaught with a three-pointer at the 2:15 mark that gave the Pistons an 81–65 lead and seemed to quiet the Portland crowd.
The game became a nip-and-tuck affair until Detroit led 106–102 on a jumper by Dumars at 1:16, but the Blazers fought back and had a chance to tie it with 35 seconds left.
Four seconds later, in a scramble under the Pistons' basket, Bill Laimbeer drew his sixth foul, disqualifying him for the remainder of the game.
Clyde Drexler made both free throws to give Portland the lead, 107–106, with 31.8 seconds left.
The officials quickly ruled it no good, as the foul occurred before the shot, but Thomas made the free throws for a 110–107 lead with 8.4 seconds showing.
On the ensuing play, James Edwards got the ball downcourt to a wide-open Gerald Henderson for an easy layup and a 112–109 lead.
Veteran referee Earl Strom, calling his final NBA game, huddled the officials amid the din and signaled that the shot was too late.
They held the same four-point edge at the half, 46–42, but the Blazers rallied in the third period, and with 10 minutes to play in the game, they led 76–68.
For the series, he had averaged 27.6 points, 8.0 assists, and 5.2 rebounds, a performance that caused him to unleash his full smile afterward.
CBS Sports handled the Finals for the 17th consecutive and last time, as the new television contract taking effect the following season would see the games move to NBC.
Within a few seasons, the Pistons dynasty broke up, with key players, including Thomas, retiring or moving on as free agents to other teams.
The Trail Blazers won the Pacific Division title by winning a franchise-record 63 games in 1991, acquiring the league's best record.