Who Won The 1994 Nba Finals?

The 1994 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1993-94 NBA season. The series was played between the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks, with the Rockets winning the series 4-3.

The Houston Rockets

In 1994, the Houston Rockets won the NBA Finals. This was the Rockets’ first NBA Championship, and they would go on to win two more in the next four years. The Rockets were led by a young Hakeem Olajuwon, who would go on to be one of the best players in the NBA.

The regular season

The Houston Rockets entered the 1993–94 NBA season as the defending NBA champions. The team was looking to repeat as champions after winning their first NBA championship the previous year. The Rockets won the first two games of the season, but then lost four straight games. The team then went on a winning streak, winning ten games in a row. The Rockets lost three out of their next four games, but then went on another winning streak, winning eight games in a row. The team entered the All-Star break with a record of 44–20.

In the second half of the season, the Rockets struggled at times, but still managed to win their division with a 55–27 record. They finished the season with a league-best record of 57–25.

The playoffs

The Houston Rockets entered the 1993–94 NBA season as defending champions, having won their first NBA Championship the previous season. They also became the first team in NBA history to win back-to-back championships as a No. 6 seed. The Rockets were looking to repeat as champions, but they had a rough start to the season. They struggled early on and were only able to win 19 of their first 41 games. However, they were able to turn things around and ended up winning 57 games, which was good enough for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

In the playoffs, the Rockets faced the No. 6 seed Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. The Rockets were able to take care of business and won the series in five games. In the second round, they faced the No. 2 seed Utah Jazz, who pushed them to a seventh game before falling short. The Rockets then took on the No. 1 seed San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. The series went back and forth, but ultimately it was Houston who came out on top and advanced to their second straight NBA Finals appearance.

In the Finals, they faced off against the New York Knicks, who were making their first appearance in the Finals since 1973. The series was tightly contested and went down to a seventh game. In that final game, it was once again Houston who came out on top as they won their second straight NBA Championship by a score of 90–84.

The New York Knicks

The New York Knicks defeated the Houston Rockets in the 1994 NBA Finals. It was the Knicks’ first NBA championship in over 40 years, and their first ever with head coach Pat Riley at the helm. The Knicks were led by All-Star forward Patrick Ewing, who averaged 22.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in the Finals. Second-year guard John Starks was also a key contributor, averaging 19.0 points per game.

The regular season

The regular season began on November 3, 1993, and ended on April 19, 1994. The Knicks finished the regular season in first place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 60–22, 13 games ahead of the second-place Indiana Pacers. In the Eastern Conference playoffs, they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round in five games, avenged their previous year’s Finals loss to the Chicago Bulls by defeating them in seven games in the conference semifinals, and then swept the Shaquille O’Neal-led Orlando Magic in the conference finals.

The playoffs

The Knicks finished the 1993–94 season with a 52–30 record, earning the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the 5th-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, led by All-Star point guard Mark Price and shooting guard Craig Ehlo. The Knicks easily won the series in 5 games. In the second round, they defeated the Indiana Pacers in a grueling 7-game series to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Finals

Game 1

The Houston Rockets had home court advantage for the 1994 NBA Finals. The series was played under a best-of-7 format, with the first 2 games in Houston, the next 3 games in New York, and the last 2 games (if necessary) in Houston.

The Rockets won the first game of the series 92–91 on a dramatic buzzer beater by John Starks. The game was close throughout, with neither team leading by more than 6 points at any time. With 8.9 seconds left in regulation and the score tied at 91, Starks made a jumper from the top of the key to give the Knicks a one-point lead. The Rockets then had a chance to win the game, but Hakeem Olajuwon’s attempted hook shot was off target, sending the game into overtime. In overtime, neither team scored until Olajuwon hit a jumper with 29 seconds left to give Houston a 93–91 lead. Starks then missed two jumpers that would have won the game for New York, and Ewing missed a putback attempt as time ran out, giving Houston the victory.

Game 2

The game was close throughout, with neither team leading by more than 7 points. With the score tied at 93 and only 5.2 seconds left in the game, Houston’s Sam Cassell made a 3-pointer to give the Rockets a 96-93 lead. New York’s Hubert Davis attempted a 3-pointer to tie the game, but his shot was well short. The ball was rebounded by Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon, who was fouled on the play by New York’s Anthony Mason. Olajuwon made 1 of 2 free throws to give Houston a 97-93 lead with 1.8 seconds remaining, sealing the victory for the Rockets and giving them a 2-0 lead in the series.

Game 3

The Chicago Bulls won the first two games of The Finals, and were leading the series 2–0. The Rocketswon Game 3, 96–84, led by Hakeem Olajuwon’s 32 points and 10 rebounds. Michael Jordan scored 21 points on 7-of-24 shooting, while picking up six fouls. In the first quarter, Clyde Drexler scored 11 points as the Rockets took a 26–21 lead. The score was 40–38 Rockets at halftime. Olajuwon had 16 points in the half, while Robert Horry added 11. Drexler scored nine points in the third quarter as the Rockets took an 81–74 lead going into the fourth quarter. Chicago made a comeback in the fourth quarter behind Scottie Pippen who scored 13 of his 20 points in that quarter alone. Pippen then hit a jumper that gave Chicago their first lead since early in second quarter at 88–87 with 4:07 remaining.[1] Dennis Rodman fouled out with 4:03 left after grabbing his 16th rebound of the game.[1] After both teams exchanged misses, Horry hit a three-point field goal to give Houston a 90–88 lead with 2:58 left.[1] After another miss by Pippen and Horry getting fouled by Toni Kukoč and making one of two free throws to make it a 91–88 game,[1] B. J. Armstrong hit an 18-footer to cut it to 91–90.[1] Rudy Tomjanovich was then called for goaltending on Houston’s next possession,[1] but Sam Cassell answered back with driving layup against Armstrong to make it 93–92 with 1:50 left.[1] Cassell fouled out on Houston’s next possession,[2][3] but Kukoč missed both free throws.[2][3]

Olajuwon then converted a three-point play to give Houston a 96–92 lead with 1:34 left,[2][3] but Pippen hit a jumper over Horry to trim it back down to 96–94 with 1:14 remaining.[2][3][4] After Cassell’s replacement Kenny Smith made one of two free throws to make it 97–94,[2][4] Chicago had several opportunities to tie or take the lead but came up short each time.[5]

Game 4

In the end, it was too little too late for the Suns. The Rockets were simply the better team, and they deserved to win the championship.

For Houston, it was their first title since moving to Texas, and it was a sweet one at that. Hakeem Olajuwon was named Finals MVP, averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks per game.

It was a hard-fought series, but in the end, the better team won. And that team was the Houston Rockets.

Game 5

In the final seconds of Game 5, with the Knicks leading 91–88, Rockets guard Kenny Smith missed a three-point attempt that would have tied the game. The ball was rebounded by Knicks forward Charles Oakley, who was immediately fouled by Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon. Olajuwon’s sixth foul sent Oakley to the free throw line for two shots; he made both, giving the Knicks a 93–88 lead with 1.8 seconds left on the clock. The Rockets then fouled Knicks guard John Starks, who made both of his free throws to extend the lead to 95–88. The Rockets’ final possession ended without a shot as Chicago Bulls’ television broadcaster Jim Durham incorrectly announced that time had expired before Smith’s three-point attempt.