1994 NBA Finals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1994 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1993-1994 NBA season.
This matchup was Hakeem Olajuwon's second NBA Finals series appearance, since the 1986 NBA Finals, where Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics defeated the Houston Rockets four games to two games. It was also Patrick Ewing's first NBA Finals appearance. Despite the strong determination by the Houston Rockets to win the franchise's first NBA championship, the New York Knicks were looking to add a third NBA championship trophy, as the Knick's last trophy came from the 1973 NBA Finals. During the series, the Houston Rockets played seven low-scoring, defensive games against the New York Knicks. After splitting the first two games in Houston, the Knicks won two out of three games at Madison Square Garden. In Game 6, however, Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon deflected a last-second attempt at a game-winner by John Starks, giving the Rockets an 86-84 victory and forcing a Game 7. The Rockets beat the Knicks in Game 7, 90-84, enabling the city of Houston to celebrate its first NBA and fifth professional sports championship.
[edit] Series Summary
| Game | Date | Home Team | Result | Road Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | June 8 | Houston | 85-78 | New York |
| Game 2 | June 10 | Houston | 91-83 | New York |
| Game 3 | June 12 | New York | 93-89 | Houston |
| Game 4 | June 15 | New York | 91-82 | Houston |
| Game 5 | June 17 | New York | 91-84 | Houston |
| Game 6 | June 19 | Houston | 86-84 | New York |
| Game 7 | June 22 | Houston | 90-84 | New York |
Rockets win series 4-3
[edit] Telecast interuppted by O.J. Simpson trial
During Game 5 (June 17, 1994) most NBC affiliates (with the noted exception being WNBC-TV out of New York) split the coverage of the game between NFL Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson's low speed freeway chase with the LAPD. A visibly confused and distraught Bob Costas (NBC's anchor for their NBA Finals coverage) said during the telecast from Madison Square Garden that the Simpson situation was "not just tragic but now surreal."
[edit] Trivia
- A scene from the finals was used as a cover for NBA Live 95, a video game published by EA Sports.
- This was the first NBA Finals in which the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy was presented on the court instead of in the victors' locker room.
- During the 2006 NBA Finals, Pat Riley admitted publicly for the first time, that sitting Rolando Blackman in favor of John Starks during Games 6 and 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals was the biggest coaching mistake in his career and that he has never forgiven himself for it. Starks shot an abysmal 2 for 18 from the field in Game 7.
| Preceded by: 1993 NBA Finals | NBA Finals 1994 | Succeeded by: 1995 NBA Finals |
| EA Sports NBA Live Cover Athletes |
|
'95: 1994 NBA Finals action shot | '96: Shaquille O'Neal | '97: Mitch Richmond | '98: Tim Hardaway | '99: Antoine Walker | '00: Tim Duncan | '01: Kevin Garnett | '02: Steve Francis | '03: Jason Kidd | '04: Vince Carter | '05: Carmelo Anthony | '06: Dwyane Wade, Yuta Tabuse (Japanese cover) | '07: Tracy McGrady, Pau Gasol (Spanish cover), Boris Diaw & Tony Parker (French cover), Dirk Nowitzki (German cover) |
