INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- The Detroit Pistons completed a Motor City joy ride through the NBA Finals Tuesday night, sweeping the injury-riddled Los Angeles Lakers and taking their first league title with a 105-97 triumph over the two-time defending champions.
Joe Dumars, the Most Valuable Player of the series, scored 23 points and James Edwards had all 13 of his points in the final period as Detroit weathered a career-high 40 points from James Worthy to register only the fifth sweep in finals history.
The Pistons, rallied from a 16-point deficit early in the second quarter, also put a disappointing end to the unprecedented 20-year pro career of the Lakers' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had just 7 points.
Los Angeles sought to present its 42-year-old center with the ultimate retirement gift -- another NBA championship -- but was derailed by hamstring injuries to starting guards Magic Johnson and Byron Scott.
Johnson, the league's Most Valuable Player, played less then five minutes in Game 3 and sat out Tuesday night. Scott never appeared in the series. Nevertheless, the Lakers had excellent opportunities to win the last three games, but fell short.
The absense of Johnson and Scott helped the Pistons amass an overwhelming backcourt advantage en route to avenging their seven-game loss to the Lakers in last year's title series. The championship sweep was the first since 1983, when Philadelphia rolled over another disabled Los Angeles squad.
The Pistons, who made Fort Wayne, Ind., their home when they joined the NBA in 1948, concluded the season by winning 51 of their last 59 games. They went 15-2 with three sweeps in the playoffs.
Edwards scored 10 points in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, ending the personal burst with a 3-point play that snapped an 86-86 tie.
After Orlando Woolridge hit a foul shot for the Lakers, Isiah Thomas hit a hook over Worthy, then broke away for a layup following Michael Cooper's airball was rebounded by Vinnie Johnson, giving Detroit a 93-87 lead with seven minutes left.
The Lakers got within 100-96 with 97 seconds left on a layin by Abdul-Jabbar, the final points of his career. However, John Salley, rebounded a miss by Dumars, who then struck from the baseline for a 102-96 lead with 62 seconds to play. It was the Detroit guard's first points since the 7:24 mark of the third period.
Jeff Lamp hit a free throw for the Lakers, but Bill Laimbeer, who had 16 points, nailed a jumper with 29 seconds left to seal the victory.
Abdul-Jabbar left with 19 seconds left to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 17,505 at the Forum. The Pistons also rose from the bench and stood as a team to applaud the Los Angles captain as tears began to stream from the face of Thomas.
