1994 NBA Finals

1994 basketball championship series February 2024 1994NBAFinals.png NBA 1994 New York Knicks Pat Riley 3 Houston Rockets Rudy Tomjanovich 4 June 8–22 Hakeem Olajuwon(Houston Rockets) Rockets:Hakeem Olajuwon (2008)Knicks:Patrick Ewing (2008)Coaches:Pat Riley (2008)Rudy Tomjanovich (2020)Officials:Dick Bavetta (2015)Hugh Evans (2022)Darell Garretson (2016) Knicks defeated Pacers, 4–3 Rockets defeated Jazz, 4–1 The 1994 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1993–94 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Houston Rockets played the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks for the championship, with the Rockets holding home court advantage in the best of seven series. The Rockets defeated the Knicks in seven games to win the team's first NBA championship. This was the first major professional sports championship ever won by a Houston-based team. This matchup was Hakeem Olajuwon's second NBA Finals appearance, his other being in 1986, when Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics defeated the Rockets, four games to two. The series was Patrick Ewing's first NBA Finals appearance. The Rockets came in with strong determination to win not only the franchise's first NBA championship, but the city's first championship in a league that still existed. The Knicks, who had been recently acquired by Viacom when it bought Paramount Communications (formerly Gulf+Western), were looking to win their third NBA championship and first since 1973. The series was hailed as a meeting of the two great centers who had previously played for a championship in college. In 1984, while Olajuwon was with the University of Houston and Ewing was with Georgetown University, Georgetown beat Houston 84–75 in the 1984 NCAA Championship game. But in this series, Olajuwon outperformed Ewing,Araton Harvey https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/23/sports/pro-basketball-nba-finals-long-sought-title-that-ewing-needed-eludes-him-again.html?pagewanted=print ON PRO BASKETBALL: N.B.A. FINALS; Long-Sought Title That Ewing Needed Eludes Him Again The New York Times June 23, 1994 April 1, 2008 But he (Ewing) was just not as good as Hakeem Olajuwon, never has been.Kalb Elliot Who's Better, Who's Best in Basketball?: Mr. Stats Sets the Record Straight on the Top 50 NBA Players of All Time McGraw-Hill Professional 2003 163 0-07-141788-5 Olajuwon clearly outplayed Ewinghttps://www.espn.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-GreatestCenters Daily Dime: Special Edition The game's greatest giants ever ESPN March 6, 2007 April 12, 2007 He (Olajuwon) outplayed Ewing, Robinson and O'Neal to lead Houston to back-to-back titles... https://web.archive.org/web/20070325001933/http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-GreatestCenters March 25, 2007 dead outscoring him in every game of the series and posting numbers of 26.9 ppg on 50.0% shooting compared to Ewing's 18.9 ppg on 36.3% shooting.http://www.hollywoodsportsbook.com/nbafinals/mvp_olajuwon94.cfm History of the NBA Finals: Hakeem Olajuwon: The NBA's Best In The Mid '90s hollywoodsportsbook.com February 16, 2007 However, Ewing set an NBA finals record in the series with a total of 30 blocks, and tied the single-game record of 8 blocks in Game 5.http://www.nba.com/playerfile/patrick_ewing/printable_player_files.html Patrick Ewing Bio NBA April 19, 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070222034208/http://www.nba.com/playerfile/patrick_ewing/printable_player_files.html February 22, 2007 dead Tim Duncan later set the record for most blocks in a Finals series (2003) with 32 blocks in six games, while Dwight Howard set the record for most blocked shots in a Finals game with 9 blocked shots in Game 4 of the 2009 Finals with the Orlando Magic. During the series, the Rockets played seven low-scoring, defensive games against the Knicks. After splitting the first two games in Houston, the Knicks won two out of three games at Madison Square Garden, which also hosted the Stanley Cup Final where the New York Rangers won their first Stanley Cup in 54 years. In Game 6, Olajuwon blocked a last-second three-point shot attempt by John Starks that would have given the Knicks their third NBA title, instead giving the Rockets an 86–84 victory and forcing a Game 7, which made Knicks Coach Pat Riley the first (and to this date, the only) coach in a Game 7 NBA Finals on two teams, having been with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1984 and 1988. In addition, the Knicks set a record for most playoff games played in one season, with 25. The Detroit Pistons tied this record in 2005.https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/sports/basketball/17nba.html?pagewanted=print Celtics Remain Mindful Of a Missed Opportunity June 17, 2008 Howard Beck The New York Times D2 June 20, 2010 The Boston Celtics, coached by 1994 Knicks guard Doc Rivers, surpassed it during their 2008 championship season when they played 26. The Rockets beat the Knicks in Game 7, 90–84, enabling the city of Houston to not only celebrate its first NBA and fifth professional sports championship (first in an existing league), but also deny New York from having both NBA and NHL championships in the same year (Chicago had suffered this fate two years earlier in 1992, with the Bulls winning their second NBA championship and the Blackhawks losing in the Stanley Cup Final). For his efforts, Olajuwon was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). For the Knicks, Riley had the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first (and to date, the only) coach to lose a Game 7 NBA Finals on two teams, having lost to the Celtics in 1984. It also denied him the distinction of being the first coach to win a Game 7 NBA Finals with two teams, having defeated the Detroit Pistons in 1988. It was the first championship series since 1990 without the Chicago Bulls. NBC Sports used Ahmad Rashad (Knicks sideline) and Hannah Storm (Rockets sideline). Marv Albert and Matt Guokas called the action. Hal Douglas narrated the season ending documentary Clutch City for NBA Entertainment. Background Houston Rockets 1993–94 Houston Rockets season The Rockets chose Hakeem Olajuwon as the first overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft. Olajuwon's first nine NBA seasons included numerous All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive selections, but the closest he got to a championship was in 1986, when the Rockets fell two games short of a title against a powerful Boston Celtics team. By his tenth season, Olajuwon became a more complete player, and he led the Rockets to a 15–0 start en route to a 58–24 record. But after a four-game defeat of the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, they blew a pair of big fourth-quarter leads at home and lost to the Phoenix Suns to begin the second round (in the process earning the derisive nickname "Choke City" from the Houston Chronicle). In response, the Rockets used the headline as motivation, overcoming a 0–2 deficit to defeat the Suns in seven games (earning the nickname '"Clutch City"). In the conference finals, Houston defeated the Utah Jazz in five games to claim their third conference title. Olajuwon won the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards at season's end. New York Knicks 1993–94 New York Knicks season Like Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing was a first overall pick of the NBA draft. Ewing was picked by the Knicks in the 1985 draft, and won Rookie of the Year that season. But despite earning All-Star accolades of his own, the Knicks teams he played with only made it past the first round twice during his first six seasons (in 1989 and 1990). In the 1991 offseason, the Knicks hired Pat Riley as head coach. In contrast to the fast paced style of Showtime he used with the Los Angeles Lakers, Riley took a more deliberate and physical approach in New York. Aided by the likes of Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, John Starks and Charles Smith, Ewing and the Knicks rose to prominence under Riley, and in 1994, they won 57 games to finish second in the Eastern Conference. Their playoff run began with a 3–1 victory over their cross-river rival New Jersey Nets. They had a hard time disposing of a Chicago Bulls team that had lost Michael Jordan to retirement (which lasted until the final months of the following season), but managed to win all four home games to advance. In the conference finals, they were pitted against the upstart Indiana Pacers, led by Reggie Miller. The Pacers gave the Knicks a scare, but the latter's experience proved too much as they won the series in seven games. Road to the Finals 1994 NBA playoffs Houston Rockets (Western Conference champion) New York Knicks (Eastern Conference champion)HOU2nd seed in the West, 2nd best league recordRegular seasonNYK2nd seed in the East, 4th best league recordDefeated the (7) Portland Trail Blazers, 3–1First roundDefeated the (7) New Jersey Nets, 3–1Defeated the (3) Phoenix Suns, 4–3Conference semifinalsDefeated the (3) Chicago Bulls, 4–3Defeated the (5) Utah Jazz, 4–1Conference finalsDefeated the (5) Indiana Pacers, 4–3 Regular season series The Houston Rockets won both games in the regular season series: #fff December 2, 1993 Houston Rockets |score1=94 New York Knicks 85 Madison Square Garden, New York City February 24, 1994 New York Knicks 73 Houston Rockets |score2=93 The Summit, Houston, Texas 1994 NBA Finals rosters Houston Rockets Houston Rockets 1993–94 #CE1141 #FFFFFF #FDB927 #000000 1 Scott Brooks PG 5 11 165 UC Irvine 1965–07–31 50 Matt Bullard PF 6 10 215 Iowa 1967–06–05 10 Sam Cassell PG 6 3 185 Florida State 1969–11–18 35 Earl Cureton PF 6 9 210 Detroit 1957–11–03 17 Mario Elie SF 6 5 210 American International 1963–11–26 7 Carl Herrera PF 6 9 215 Houston 1966–12–14 25 Robert Horry PF 6 9 220 Alabama 1970–08–25 21 Chris Jent SF 6 7 220 Ohio State 1970–01–11 11 Vernon Maxwell SG 6 4 180 Florida 1965–09–12 34 Hakeem Olajuwon C 7 0 255 Houston 1963–01–21 3 Richard Petruška C 6 10 260 UCLA 1969–01–25 42 Eric Riley C 7 0 245 Michigan 1970–06–02 20 Larry Robinson basketball, born 1968 SG 6 3 180 Centenary College of Louisiana 1968–01–11 30 Kenny Smith PG 6 3 170 North Carolina 1965–03–08 33 Otis Thorpe PF 6 9 225 Providence 1962–08–05 Rudy Tomjanovich Bill Berry Jim Boylen Carroll Dawson New York Knicks New York Knicks 1993–94 50 Greg Anthony PG 6 0 176 UNLV 1967–11–15 20 Rolando Blackman SG 6 6 190 Kansas State 1959–02–26 4 Anthony Bonner SF 6 8 215 St. Louis 1968–06–08 44 Hubert Davis SG 6 5 183 North Carolina 1970–05–17 33 Patrick Ewing C 7 0 240 Georgetown 1962–08–05 7 Corey Gaines SG 6 3 195 Loyola Marymount 1965–06–01 11 Derek Harper PG 6 4 185 Illinois 1961–10–13 14 Anthony Mason basketball PF 6 7 250 Tennessee State 1966–12–14 34 Charles Oakley PF 6 8 225 Virginia Union 1963–12–18 54 Charles Smith basketball, born 1965 SF 6 10 230 Pittsburgh 1965–07–16 3 John Starks basketball SG 6 3 180 Oklahoma State 1965–08–10 32 Herb Williams C 6 10 242 Ohio State 1958–02–16 Pat Riley Dick Harter Jeff Nix Bob Salmi Jeff Van Gundy Series summary Game Date Road team Result Home team Game 1 June 8 New York Knicks 78–85 (0–1) Houston Rockets Game 2 June 10 New York Knicks 91–83 (1–1) Houston Rockets Game 3 June 12 Houston Rockets 93–89 (2–1) New York Knicks Game 4 June 15 Houston Rockets 82–91 (2–2) New York Knicks Game 5 June 17 Houston Rockets 84–91 (2–3) New York Knicks Game 6 June 19 New York Knicks 84–86 (3–3) Houston Rockets Game 7 June 22 New York Knicks 84–90 (3–4) Houston Rockets Game summaries Note: Times are EDT (UTC−4) as listed by the NBA. For games in Houston, the local time is also given (CDT, UTC−5). Game 1 #eee June 8 9:00 pm (8:00 pm CDT) The Summit, Houston, Texas NBC New York Knicks 78 Houston Rockets |score2=85 Box score 24–26 22–28 17–18 15–13 Patrick Ewing 23 Hakeem Olajuwon 28 Charles Oakley 14 Otis Thorpe 16 Derek Harper 5 Kenny Smith 5 16,611 No. 17 Joe Crawford No. 14 Jack Madden No. 27 Dick Bavetta Houston leads the series, 1–0 Game 2 #eee June 10 9:00 pm (8:00 pm CDT) The Summit, Houston, Texas NBC New York Knicks |score1=91 Houston Rockets 83 Box score 24–20 18–22 30–23 19–18 John Starks 19 Hakeem Olajuwon 25 Patrick Ewing 13 Otis Thorpe 12 John Starks 9 Kenny Smith 6 16,611 No. 10 Darell Garretson No. 4 Ed T. Rush No. 42 Hue Hollins Series tied, 1–1 Game 3 #eee June 12 7:00 pm Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York NBC Houston Rockets |score1=93 New York Knicks 89 Box score 26–18 19–20 24–25 24–26 Hakeem Olajuwon 21 Derek Harper 21 Hakeem Olajuwon 11 Patrick Ewing 13 Hakeem Olajuwon 7 John Starks 9 19,763 No. 11 Jake O'Donnell No. 20 Jess Kersey No. 21 Bill Oakes Houston leads the series, 2–1 Game 4 #eee June 15 9:00 pm Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York NBC Houston Rockets 82 New York Knicks |score2=91 Box score 14–19 19–21 28–20 21–31 Hakeem Olajuwon 32 Derek Harper 21 Otis Thorpe 10 Charles Oakley 20 Sam Cassell 5 Derek Harper 5 19,763 No. 25 Hugh Evans No. 17 Joe Crawford No. 13 Mike Mathis Series tied, 2–2 Game 5 #eee June 17 9:00 pm Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York NBC Houston Rockets 84 New York Knicks |score2=91 Box score 21–22 16–26 24–13 23–30 Hakeem Olajuwon 27 Patrick Ewing 25 Otis Thorpe 13 Patrick Ewing 12 Robert Horry 6 Derek Harper 7 19,763 No. 10 Darell Garretson No. 4 Ed T. Rush No. 27 Dick Bavetta New York leads the series, 3–2 Game 6 #eee June 19 7:00 pm (6:00 pm CDT) The Summit, Houston, Texas NBC New York Knicks 84 Houston Rockets |score2=86 Box score 21–21 15–25 26–19 22–21 John Starks 27 Hakeem Olajuwon 30 Patrick Ewing 15 Olajuwon, Thorpe 10 each Derek Harper 10 Otis Thorpe 6 16,611 No. 11 Jake O'Donnell No. 20 Jess Kersey No. 14 Jack Madden Series tied, 3–3 Game 7 #eee June 22 9:00 pm (8:00 pm CDT) The Summit, Houston, Texas NBC New York Knicks 84 Houston Rockets |score2=90 Box score 21–22 22–23 17–18 24–27 Derek Harper 23 Hakeem Olajuwon 25 Charles Oakley 14 Hakeem Olajuwon 10 Derek Harper 5 Hakeem Olajuwon 7 16,611 No. 25 Hugh Evans No. 17 Joe Crawford No. 4 Ed T. Rush Houston wins the NBA Finals, 4–3 This was the first professional championship for the city of Houston since 1975. After the Rockets won the NBA championship, the league opted to hold the awarding ceremony on the court for the first time. In previous years, teams received the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy inside their locker rooms.https://www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/2024/houston-rockets-1994-championship-front-pages/ Relive Houston Rockets' 1994 NBA championship through historic front pages Houston Chronicle June 22, 2024 June 7, 2026 1sIiR8LWqio Full game broadcast by NBC Olajuwon vs. Ewing Although most fans in New York, and some members of the national media, considered John Starks, who shot 2-for-18 from the field in Game 7, a contributing factor in the Knicks' loss in the series, another important factor was Olajuwon's performance. Olajuwon outscored Ewing in every game of the series, while Ewing outblocked (4.3 to 3.9 bpg) and outrebounded him (12.4 rpg to 9.1 rpg). Ewing set a then NBA Finals record with a total of 30 blocks. 1994 NBA FinalsGm 1Gm 2Gm 3Gm 4Gm 5Gm 6Gm 7TotalsHakeem Olajuwon2825213227302526.9 ppg 50.0% fg 9.1 rpg 3.6 apg 3.9 bpgPatrick Ewing2316181625171718.9 ppg 36.4% fg 12.4 rpg 1.7 apg 4.3 bpg Player statistics Houston Rockets Houston Rockets |- | align="left" | Matt Bullard || 2 || 0 || 13.5 || .200 || .286 || .500 || 3.0 || 0.0 || 0.5 || 0.5 || 4.0 |- | align="left" | Sam Cassell || 7 || 0 || 22.6 || .422 || .438 || .926 || 3.1 || 2.9 || 1.3 || 0.3 || 10.0 |- | align="left" | Earl Cureton || 1 || 0 || 2.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | Mario Elie || 7 || 0 || 11.3 || .250 || .400 || .833 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 0.3 || 0.1 || 2.4 |- | align="left" | Carl Herrera || 7 || 0 || 17.3 || .579 || .000 || .750 || 3.6 || 0.4 || 0.4 || 0.1 || 7.1 |- | align="left" | Robert Horry || 7 || 7 || 37.9 || .324 || .306 || .619 || 6.1 || 3.7 || 1.3 || 0.6 || 10.3 |- | align="left" | Chris Jent || 3 || 0 || 2.3 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.3 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | Vernon Maxwell || 7 || 7 || 37.7 || .365 || .225 || .682 || 3.3 || 2.9 || 0.6 || 0.0 || 13.4 |-! style="background:#FDE910;" | align="left" | Hakeem Olajuwon || 7 || 7 || 43.1 || .500 || 1.000 || .860 || 9.1 || 3.6 || 1.6 || 3.9 || 26.9 |- | align="left" | Kenny Smith || 7 || 7 || 25.4 || .389 || .357 || 1.000 || 1.4 || 3.1 || 0.7 || 0.0 || 5.6 |- | align="left" | Otis Thorpe || 7 || 7 || 39.6 || .519 || .000 || .500 || 11.3 || 3.3 || 0.9 || 0.0 || 9.3 New York Knicks New York Knicks |- | align="left" | Greg Anthony || 7 || 0 || 11.4 || .323 || .125 || 1.000 || 0.9 || 2.4 || 0.4 || 0.1 || 3.3 |- | align="left" | Anthony Bonner || 2 || 0 || 5.5 || 1.000 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 2.0 |- | align="left" | Hubert Davis || 5 || 0 || 7.6 || .200 || 1.000 || .500 || 0.4 || 0.4 || 0.0 || 0.2 || 1.6 |- | align="left" | Patrick Ewing || 7 || 7 || 44.0 || .363 || .200 || .714 || 12.4 || 1.7 || 1.3 || 4.3 || 18.9 |- | align="left" | Derek Harper || 7 || 7 || 38.0 || .467 || .436 || .824 || 3.0 || 6.0 || 2.4 || 0.1 || 16.4 |- | align="left" | Anthony Mason basketball || 7 || 0 || 29.3 || .468 || .000 || .640 || 6.9 || 1.3 || 0.7 || 0.0 || 8.6 |- | align="left" | Charles Oakley || 7 || 7 || 40.7 || .484 || .000 || .833 || 11.9 || 2.4 || 1.1 || 0.1 || 11.0 |- | align="left" | Charles Smith basketball, born 1965 || 7 || 7 || 26.7 || .441 || .000 || .684 || 4.3 || 1.7 || 0.6 || 1.0 || 9.3 |- | align="left" | John Starks basketball || 7 || 7 || 41.9 || .368 || .320 || .769 || 3.1 || 5.9 || 1.6 || 0.1 || 17.7 |- | align="left" | Herb Williams || 4 || 0 || 1.8 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 0.0 Breaking news interruption White Bronco chase During Game 5, most NBC affiliates split the coverage of the game between NFL Hall of Famer O. J. Simpson's slow speed freeway chase with the Los Angeles Police Department. At the time, Simpson was an NFL analyst on NBC. NBA studio host Bob Costas acted as the anchor for both events, tossing to Marv Albert for the game and then to Tom Brokaw of NBC News for updates on the chase. Costas, a colleague of Simpson's on the network's NFL coverage, later learned that Simpson had called 30 Rockefeller Plaza during the chase and asked to speak to him but Costas had been on site at the Garden.https://www.sportskeeda.com/nfl/news-nbc-broadcaster-bob-costas-remembers-o-j-simpson-called-infamous-bronco-car-chase-his-character-defamed NBC broadcaster Bob Costas remembers why O.J. Simpson called during the infamous Bronco car chase: "His character was being defamed" Sportskeeda April 12, 2024 April 12, 2024https://sports.yahoo.com/bob-costas-recalls-o-j-180810382.html Bob Costas recalls O.J. Simpson car chase following his death: 'It was surreal, to put it mildly' Yahoo! Sports April 12, 2024 April 12, 2024 KNBC in Los Angeles, serving the media market where the police were tracking Simpson, left the Game 5 broadcast completely for the chase with local coverage narrated by Paul Moyer and Colleen Williams; the station did not put up a split screen until the end of the game, which was still close. By that point, Simpson had returned to his mansion in Brentwood and surrendered to police. A complete re-broadcast of Game 5, with natural crowd audio substituting for the parts for which NBC did not provide audio, is part of the DVD release of this series from Warner Home Video. Aftermath Afterwards, Pat Riley admitted that his biggest mistake of the series was not benching John Starks during Game 7 of the Finals. Starks struggled severely, shooting 2-of-18 from the field (0-for-11 from three-point range) against a Rockets team who were willingly letting him shoot his team out of a championship.Herring Chris 2022-01-13 ‘His Shot Looked Like a Medicine Ball’ https://www.si.com/nba/2022/01/13/john-starks-pat-riley-1994-nba-finals-game-7-daily-cover 2026-04-22 SI en-US Despite this, Riley kept him in, with options like Rolando Blackman or Hubert Davis on the bench. In 2025, he stated, "the biggest disappointment in my career was losing the 1994 NBA championship. I let him [Patrick Ewing] down. I didn’t do enough. I could’ve made a couple of different moves. I could have gotten him better shots. To this day, I can’t look him in the eye."Jefferson John 2025-05-20 "To this day, I can't look him in the eye" - Pat Riley still feels bad about failing to help Patrick Ewing win an NBA title https://sports.yahoo.com/article/day-cant-look-him-eye-195100380.html 2026-04-22 Yahoo Sports en-US When the Knicks won their first championship in 53 years in 2026, Ewing, who attended many of the team's games, stated, "I can finally say that I'm part of a championship team [now]".HoopsHype 2026-06-14 Patrick Ewing: 'I can finally say that I'm part of a championship team' https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/patrick-ewing-finally-im-part-065852688.html 2026-06-14 Yahoo Sports en-US The Rockets repeated as NBA champions in 1995 although their season record was worse. Plagued by a lack of chemistry, the Rockets were stuck in the middle of the conference standings most of the year. Then, as the NBA's trading deadline approached, on February 14, 1995, the Rockets acquired Olajuwon's "Phi Slama Jama" teammate Clyde Drexler. The Rockets finished the regular season as the sixth seed in the Western Conference, but the team on the court at season's end was clearly better than its 47–35 record. The new Rockets team had only had about two months to gel, but they overcame the adversity, defeating four teams that won 50 or more games to win the championship, capped off with a sweep of the Shaquille O'Neal-led Orlando Magic in the Finals, becoming the lowest seed ever to win it all. During the Finals, Viacom stepped up in trying to sell their Madison Square Garden properties, which included the Knicks and the New York Rangers.https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1994/06/14/viacom-steps-up-efforts-to-sell-rangers-knicks/ VIACOM STEPS UP EFFORTS TO SELL RANGERS, KNICKS June 14, 1994 February 11, 2024 In August 1994, Viacom sold the Knicks to Cablevision Systems and the ITT Corporation (the latter sold its shares years later).https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/28/nyregion/itt-cablevision-deal-reported-to-buy-madison-square-garden.html ITT-Cablevision Deal Reported To Buy Madison Square Garden Murray Chass August 28, 1994 February 11, 2024 NYTimes.com Also in 1995, the Knicks enjoyed another strong season, with 55 wins, but were eliminated in seven games by the Indiana Pacers during the second round as Pacers guard Reggie Miller's "Knick Killer" legacy continued. After the season, Pat Riley left the Knicks after they balked at his request for a stake in ownership and the role of team president in negotiations for an extension.Herring Chris January 18, 2022 How Pat Riley Quit On the Knicks en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/18/sports/basketball/chris-herring-knicks-pat-riley.html February 17, 2023 0362-4331 He departed for the Miami Heat, with whom he won three championships, one as head coach and two as president. The Knicks returned to the NBA Finals in 1999 as the first eighth seeded team in North American sports history to reach the championship round of the four major leagues, but fell to the Tim Duncan and David Robinson-led San Antonio Spurs in five games. The Knicks did not win a championship until 2026, where they returned the favor and defeated the Spurs, led by French phenom Victor Wembanyama, in five games.Vardon Joe 2026-06-14 Knicks win first NBA championship since 1973, topping Spurs in Game 5 https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7355407/2026/06/13/knicks-nba-championship-game-5-win/ 2026-06-14 The New York Times en-US 0362-4331 Before this victory, the Houston Oilers' AFL two championships at the close of the 1960 season and 1961 season and the Houston Aeros' two WHA Avco World Trophies in 1974 and 1975 represented Houston's only professional championships. The 1994 NBA championship represented the city of Houston's first professional championship since those two teams, and the first in a league that did not later merge. This was the last NBA Finals for three of the league's longest-tenured and most recognizable referees: Darell Garretson, Jack Madden and Jake O'Donnell. Garretson and Madden retired after the 1994 Finals, while O'Donnell worked the 1994–95 season, but did not work past the second round of the playoffs, marking the first time since 1971 he did not officiate in the championship series. O'Donnell retired in December 1995 following the end of a lockout of NBA referees by commissioner David Stern. Knicks lead assistant and their head coach dring the 1999 NBA Finals run, Jeff Van Gundy, would later coach the Rockets from 2003–2007. Overall, as of 2022, Houston's teams in the "Big Four" major professional sports are 7–1 over their New York City counterparts in playoff meetings. The Rockets, in addition to their 1994 triumph, also defeated the Knicks in the 1975 Eastern Conference first round. The NFL's Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans) followed with a victory over the New York Jets in the 1991 AFC wild card round, and the Houston Astros later prevailed over the New York Yankees in four MLB postseason series (the 2015 ALWC, 2017 ALCS, 2019 ALCS and 2022 ALCS). The only New York-based team that prevailed over Houston was the New York Mets, who won over the then-NL member Astros in the NLCS in their 1986 championship season. Both cities' WNBA counterparts later faced each other in three WNBA Finals series between 1997 and 2000, with the Houston Comets defeating the New York Liberty in every one of their championship meetings. The Comets also won the first four WNBA championships. Former Rockets owner Leslie Alexander maintains possession of the 1994 and 1995 championship trophies; the former trophy was unexpectedly dropped and dented by reserve center Richard Petruška during the celebration. Tiffany created replicas of the Rockets' championship trophies in 2018, which have since been displayed inside Toyota Center.https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/rockets/article/Rockets-receive-replicas-of-championship-trophies-13246206.php Rockets receive replicas of championship trophies Feigen Jonathan 20 September 2018 Houston Chronicle 21 September 2018 See also 1993–94 New York Knicks season 1993–94 Houston Rockets season 1994 NBA playoffs Clutch City References Category:NBA Finals Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals Category:Basketball competitions in New York City Category:Basketball competitions in Houston NBA Finals Category:GMA Network television specials Category:1990s in Manhattan