1989–90 Portland Trail Blazers season
The 1989–90 NBA season was the 20th season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Blazers acquired All-Star forward Buck Williams from the New Jersey Nets. The Blazers held a 33–13 record at the All-Star break, then posted a ten-game winning streak in March, and finished second in the Pacific Division with a franchise-high 59–23 record, and returned to the NBA Finals for the first time since their championship season of 1976–77.
| 1989–90 Portland Trail Blazers season | |
|---|---|
Conference champions | |
| Head coach | Rick Adelman |
| Arena | Memorial Coliseum |
| Results | |
| Record | 59–23 (.720) |
| Place | Division: 2nd (Pacific) Conference: 3rd (Western) |
| Playoff finish | NBA Finals (lost to Pistons 1–4) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | KOIN Northwest Cable Sports |
| Radio | KEX |
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, and selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game. 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, and Jerome Kersey contributed 16.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Williams provided with 13.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and second round draft pick Clifford Robinson contributed 9.1 points per game off the bench.
In the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, the acquisition of Williams continued to help make the Blazers stronger as they won their first playoff series in five years, by sweeping the Dallas Mavericks in three straight games. In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the Blazers needed seven games to get past the San Antonio Spurs as the home team won all seven games. In the Western Conference finals, the Trail Blazers continued to defend their home court well, jumping out to a 2–0 lead over the Phoenix Suns. The Suns rebounded to take the next two in Phoenix as the Blazers won Game 5 at home, 120–114. However, there would be no need for a seventh game, as the Blazers knocked off the Suns with a 112–109 win in Game 6 to reach the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history.
In the Finals, the Trail Blazers faced off against the defending NBA Champion Detroit Pistons. After losing Game 1 in Detroit, 105–99, the Blazers would even the series at one game a piece, winning Game 2 in overtime, 106–105. However, the Blazers dropped all three games at home as the Pistons won the NBA title in five games, winning their second consecutive championship.