In the Zone's continuing look at past NBA Finals, today we look back at the end of an era in the NBA. The end of fast-break offenses dominating the league, and giving way to defensive-minded teams. This happened in the 1989 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons. Though short, the tide had been turned for good.

The Detroit Pistons were the NBA's definition of losers for much of their early history. They had some good teams during their first 40 years of playing in the league, but they had never won an NBA title; they were the only team in the league that had played since 1950 and not won the title. At the beginning of the 1980s, they finished a league-worst 16-66. They weren't expected for greatness.

That same year, the Los Angeles Lakers won their second NBA title in L.A. by beating Philadelphia 4 game to 2. With the combination of Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leading the way, the Lakers became the team of the decade, winning four more titles. Their fifth title in 1988 came at the expense of the Pistons in a phenominal seven game final where the Lakers won the last two game by a total of four points. As the 1988-89 season began, these two teams were the favorites to play again in the Finals, even as the NBA began expansion by adding the Charlotte (now New Orleans) Hornets and the Miami Heat. But for the Lakers, it was extra special; Abdul-Jabbar decided to make this season (his twentieth in the league) his final one. He was celebrated at every arena, and the Lakers wanted badly to give him one more title.

The Lakers proceeded to run off one of the best win streaks in playoff history; they won all three series in sweeps, dispatching Portland 3-0, Seattle 4-0 (including a dramatic comeback in the clincher) and Phoenix 4-0 to make their eighth trip to the Finals in the decade. The Pistons swept both Boston (3-0) and Milwaukee (4-0), then ran into trouble with the upstart Chicago Bulls. Led by Michael Jordan, the Bulls stole game 1 and eventually led 2-1 before the Pistons won the series in six games. Before their duel with Chicago, the Pistons were the favorites, but sentiment shifted before the Finals, as L.A. was now the favorite.

Before the series even began, the Lakers suffered a severe blow, as Byron Scott tore his hamstring during a practice (establishing a theme). The Lakers, who had gone most of the playoffs without using much of their bench, had to do so in this game, as the fouls piled up on them early in the game; Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper, A.C. Green, and Orlando Woolridge all had three fouls during the first half. The game remained close at halftime (the Pistons led 55-48) before the Pistons opened up in the third quarter, outscoring the Lakers 24-18 to take a 79-66 lead, then shot 82% from the field in the 4th to put the game away 109-97, handing the Lakers their first playoff loss. Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Vinnie Johnson scorched the Lakers for 65 points, also establishing a trend. Game 2 saw Magic Johnson come out with a vengence, scoring 18 points and dishing 9 assists through the four minute mark of the third quarter when disaster struck; Johnson pulled his hamstring and was gone for the game. The Lakers were tied with Detroit at 75 at the time of the injury, but went on a late 15-6 run to lead 92-84 after three. The Pistons' vaunted defense suddenly shut down L.A., limiting them without a field goal until 3:38 remained in the fourth. Trailing 102-95, the Lakers went on a late-game surge, closing to within 106-104 late in the game. After forcing a 24 second violation with 8 seconds left, they drew up an isolation play for James Worthy, who was fouled with 2 seconds left. However, Worthy missed the first free throw, then hit the second after trying to intentionally miss, and Thomas hit two free throws to clinch the game 108-105.

With game 3 on the horizon, Lakers fans wondered if Magic would play in the game. The Lakers kept mum on the subject until gametime, when Magic was introduced in his normal position in the intros. However, with a heavily bandaged hamstring, it was clear he wasn't himself. After only five minutes, one assist and no points, he left the game, and would not return for the rest of the Finals. Without Johnson and Scott, the Lakers played Cooper all 48 minutes, and Kareem saved one last vintage performance for this game; the all-time leading scorer had 24 points and 13 rebounds, keeping L.A. in the game. The Lakers led 88-86 after three despite Dumars scoring 21 points in the period, but Detroit rallied to lead 109-104 late in the game. The Lakers fought back, reducing the defecit to 113-110 after a foul on a jump ball and a forced jump ball. Needing three to tie the game, L.A. tried to find Worthy, but Dennis Rodman blanketed him, forcing L.A. to turn to reserve PG David Rivers, who played just 8 total minutes prior to this game. Rivers tried to shoot a three, but Dumars blocked the shot and saved the ball to Bill Laimbeer, whose free throw iced the game at 114-110. The Lakers were now down 3-0, and had no hope of coming back to win the series; no team in NBA history had ever come back from such a defecit.

Game 4 was dominated early on by Worthy, who scored 17 points in the first en route to scoring 40 points for the game. L.A. built a 35-23 1st quarter lead, but the Pistons cut into the lead steadily, eventually cutting the lead to two after three quarters. Behind strong 4th quarters by Dumars and James Edwards, the Pistons outscored the Lakers 29-19 to win the game 105-97 to complete a four game sweep. Dumars won Finals MVP with an average of 27.3 PPG, and the Pistons won their first ever NBA title, ending not only their streak of futility, but ending the Lakers' Showtime-era run. Abdul-Jabbar recieved a long standing ovation from the Forum crowd and even from the Pistons as his career finished with six NBA titles and over 38,000 points. The 1989 Finals signaled a changing of the guard; defense was now the order of the day, and in the future, to win a title, you now had to play physical defense to win. The "Bad Boys" now ruled the NBA.

1989 NBA Finals leaders: Points per game
Detroit: Dumars, 27.3 PPG; Thomas, 21.3 PPG; V.Johnson, 17.0 PPG
L.A. Lakers: Worthy, 25.5 PPG; Abdul-Jabbar, 12.5 PPG; Cooper, 12.0 PPG

1989 NBA Finals leaders; Rebounds per game
Detroit: Rodman, 10.0 RPG; Mark Aguirre, 6.0 RPG; Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn, 5.3 RPG
L.A. Lakers: Green, 9.3 RPG; Woolridge, 5.3 RPG; Abdul-Jabbar, 5.0 RPG

1989 NBA Finals leaders: Assists per game
Detroit: Thomas, 7.3 APG; Dumars, 6.0 APG; V. Johnson, 2.8 APG
L.A. Lakers: E. Johnson, 8.0 APG; Cooper, 6.8 APG; Worthy, 2.8 APG