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Although both centers played well, Olajuwon is generally considered to have outplayed O'Neal. After a lockout that shortened the 1999 season the San Antonio Spurs, led by a young Tim Duncan, captured their franchises first championship and kick-started one of the greatest runs in the history of the sport. Are you a Stathead, too? Hakeem Olajuwon records a double-double with 34 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Rockets to a 117-106 victory to take a 2-0 series lead. The series pitted the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic against the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Houston Rockets. It was the second NBA Finals sweep in the 2–3–2 Finals format (after the Detroit Pistons did so against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1989). The Rockets became the first team in NBA history to beat four 50-win teams in a single postseason en route to the championship. Previous Season. 102.5 (12th of 29) Subscribe to our Free Newsletter, This Month in Sports ReferenceFind out when we add a feature or make a change. The Magic, on the other hand, becomes the 2nd team in NBA Finals history to lose the first two of their four home games. The Magic won a franchise-record 60 games in the 1995–96 NBA season, but were swept by the Chicago Bulls in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals. The series pitted the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic against the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Houston Rockets. The Orlando Magic, making their first NBA Finals appearance, began the series at home, hosting the defending champion Houston Rockets. Finally, the player’s contract will be subtracted from their value to show their surplus-value. Data Provided By The NBA… Hakeem Olajuwon finished the game with 31 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 blocks while Kenny Smith recorded 23 points and 9 assists. San Antonio Spurs players Sean Elliott (L), Mario Elie (C) and Tim Duncan watch from the bench as the Spurs lose to the New York Knicks during game three of the NBA Finals 21 June, 1999 at New York's Madison Square Garden. These contracts, so unrepresentative of a player’s production, are how championship teams balance the books, win games and build dynasties. Apr 5 @ SAC, HOU (43-31) lost to SAC, 91-96, 75. Attendance: Dec 30 @ DAL, HOU (22-8) beat DAL, 105-102, 31. 6th seed in the West, 11th best league record. Record: ... Championship +700. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. The NBA’s introduction of a salary-cap in the 1984-85 season would forever alter the trajectory of the league. Jan 9, HOU (24-10) lost to SAS, 82-88, 35. Feb 18 @ SAS, HOU (33-19) lost to SAS, 79-93, 53. The pre-series hype and buildup of the Finals was centered on the meeting of the two centers opposing each other: Shaquille O'Neal of the Magic and Hakeem Olajuwon of the Rockets. Since 1985 every NBA Champion has had a championship-caliber contract or contracts. Feb 22 @ CLE, HOU (35-20) beat CLE, 86-80, 57. Find out more. Jan 2 @ MIN, HOU (23-8) beat MIN, 105-100, 32. The 1995–96 NBA season was the Rockets' 29th season in the National Basketball Association, and 25th season in Houston. Why? However, injuries would be an issue all year as Clyde Drexler, Sam Cassell and Mario Eliewere all out for long stretches. Do you have a blog? 1994–95 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, "1994-95 Houston Rockets Schedule and Results", "1987-88 Los Angeles Lakers Schedule and Results", "Houston Rockets at Phoenix Suns Box Score, May 20, 1995", History of the NBA Finals: Hakeem Olajuwon: The NBA’s Best In The Mid ’90s, "Shaq and Olajuwon's Game 1 battle in the 1995 NBA Finals deserves a deep rewind", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1995_NBA_Finals&oldid=976986831, June 1995 sports events in the United States, Pages using Template:College with unsupported name, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 6 September 2020, at 07:52. Dec 25 @ ORL, HOU (19-8) lost to ORL, 90-92, 30. Robert Horry hits a 3-pointer to give Houston a 104-100 lead with 14.1 seconds left. Previous Season. Nov 8 @ MIA, HOU (3-1) lost to MIA, 82-89, 6. Nov 22 @ PHI, HOU (9-1) beat PHI, 115-106, 11. Copyright © 2000-2020 Sports Reference LLC. The Rockets also became the first repeat NBA Champion in history to keep the title with a sweep. They followed it up with a six-game ouster of Michael Jordan (returning from an 18-month retirement) and the Chicago Bulls in the second round, and in the conference finals, they vanquished the Indiana Pacers in a tough seven-game series. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Feb 19, HOU (34-19) beat SAC, 118-111, 54. Apr 18, HOU (47-34) beat LAC, 115-107, 82. Apr 3 @ SEA, HOU (43-30) lost to SEA, 103-118, 74. Dec 15, HOU (17-6) lost to SAC, 110-114, 26. Mar 10 @ VAN, HOU (41-22) beat VAN, 95-89, 64. They have won the first eight games of the season,[1] the first defending champions to have won their first eight games of their season since the 1987-88 Lakers. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. With the Magic up 110–107 late in Game 1, Nick Anderson missed four consecutive free throws in the closing seconds of the game, and Kenny Smith hit a three-pointer, tying the game and sending it to overtime as well as setting a new record at the time, with the most three-pointers in an NBA Finals game with seven. Going into the series the matchup was compared to the Bill Russell Nov 15 @ TOR, HOU (5-1) beat TOR, 96-93, 7. Mar 23, HOU (42-26) lost to MIN, 103-108, 69. They began by ousting the Utah Jazz in five games (the Rockets trailed 2–1 after three games), then repeating last season's comeback effort over the Phoenix Suns (wherein the Rockets trailed 3–1 after four games).  (Series Stats)Lost NBA Western Conference Semifinals (0-4) versus Seattle SuperSonics Def Rtg: 107.4 (14th of 29), Preseason Odds: The Sonics were also the last team to beat the Rockets in the playoffs prior to their championship run, having eliminated them in the second round in 1993. On February 14, the Rockets acquired Clyde Drexler from the Portland Trail Blazers, but the trade of a hometown hero (Drexler was a teammate of Olajuwon at the University of Houston) did not improve matters, and the Rockets settled for the sixth seed with a 47–35 record.

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