Houston Rockets prove critics wrong as they repeat as NBA champions

Jet, July 3, 1995

Now that the Houston Rockets have repeated as NBA Champions, they can talk the talk. But NBA fans around the country knew that the road-tested, gutty squad was more than able.

And the victory was twice as nice.

"To win the first time is a very unique feeling," said Finals MVP Hakeem Olajuwon. "You don't know what it is going to be like until it happens.

"But to win it the second is a different kind of thrill. You know the reward and it makes you want it even more," Olajuwon added, summing up the team's determination to get there and what it's like to win again.

Counted out from the very start of the NBA Playoffs, the Houston Rockets survived 30-1 odds to earn their second consecutive NBA championship in an impressive four-game sweep of the Orlando Magic.

Before a home crowd of 16,611 elated fans at the Summit, Olajuwon and his college pal Clyde Drexler powered the Rockets to a 113-101 victory over 23-year-old Magic superstar center Shaquille O'Neal and 22-year-old superstar guard Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway.

Nobody was counting them out against the Magic, but it was obvious this team was looking to prove themselves again.

"I f-e-e-e-e-l g-o-o-d and l knew that I would," a champagne-soaked Calvin Murphy exclaimed to Jet. Murphy, who was dancing around in his community relations office at the Summit, added, "No one! I mean no one! Gave these guys a chance at winning. And here we are celebrating, again."

It was a warm moment for Drexler, who spent the first 12 years of his NBA career without a championship ring on his skillful fingers.

"This is a beautiful thing to be a part of. I am happy I was able to do it in my home town," said Drexler, who grew up in Houston and played his collegiate ball with Olajuwon at the University of Houston.

Drexler joined the Rockets in a mid-season trade for power forward Otis Thorpe. Prior to the Houston title, he had more career playoff points (2,814) than any other player who had not won an NBA title.

It wasn't that the Rockets repeated as champs that made the title win special this time, but rather the proud group plowed through the four winningest teams in the NBA to earn it.

Houston defeated the teams with the three best records in the Western Conference; Utah (60-22), led by superstar forward Karl Malone, in the first round; then Phoenix (59-23), led by another great player in Charles Barkley; and San Antonio (62-20), with MVP David Robinson, in the Western Conference Final. And then Houston beat the Eastern Conference champion Magic (57-25), which held the best record in the East.

"I like the word respect. It's a word that was seldom used with us," observed a champagne-drenched Sam Cassell shortly after the Rockets became champs.

"Throughout the playoffs," Cassell continued, "we got anything but respect. But hopefully we can soak in champagne next year."

Cassell was a key player coming off the bench for Houston, scoring 17 points in the clinching game. He also had a career-high 31 points in Game 2 - a 117-106 triumph in Orlando.

The Magic had made a huge leap, after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season, the young and highly talented group made it all the way to the Finals in only the sixth year of the franchise's history.

No matter how brief the series, both teams put on a show.

The Rockets stole Game 1 in Orlando by overcoming a 21-point deficit to take a 120-118 overtime victory.

Olajuwon had a game-high 31 points, while Smith hit an NBA Finals record seven 3-pointers for 20 points. Forward Robert Horry contributed some clutch shooting (19) points and defense (five blocked shots).

Going into the series, Horry told Jet he was tested by the best forwards in basketball: Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Dennis Rodman and Horace Grant.

But as the series concluded, Grant was comparing his counterpart to his close friend Chicago Bulls superstar forward Scottie Pippen.

In Game 2, it was the Magic who fell behind by 20 points early, but the Rockets led by Olajuwon (34 points) and Cassell (31) and Drexler (23) kept Orlando at bay in a 117-106 win.

With the series shifting back to Houston in Game 3, the Rockets were determined not to relinquish the home court advantage. Houston held off a furious attack by O'Neal and Hardaway for a 106-103 win and a 3-0 series lead.

When asked the big question about whether this team can three-peat, Drexler mused, "Well, anything is possible."