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The 1995 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1994–95 NBA season. The series pitted the Orlando Magic against the Houston Rockets. The pre-series hype and build-up of the Finals was centered on the meeting of the two centers Shaquille O'Neal of the Magic and Hakeem Olajuwon of the Rockets. Going into the series the matchup was compared to the Bill Russell-Wilt Chamberlain matchup of the 1960s. The Rockets became the first team in NBA history to win the championship as a sixth seed. In addition, they became the first team in NBA history to beat four 50-win teams in a single postseason en route to the championship. The Rockets would win a playoff-record nine road games in the 1995 playoffs. In addition, the Rockets' sweep of the Magic was unique, in the fact that it was a "reverse sweep," where Houston won Games 1 and 2 on the road and 3 and 4 at home. It was also the second NBA Finals sweep in the 2-3-2 Finals format. The Rockets also became the first repeat NBA Champion in history to keep the title with a sweep. In addition, the Rockets became the first team in NBA history to win the title without having home-court advantage in any of the four playoff rounds since the playoffs was expanded to a 16 team format in 1984. Coincidentally, this feat would also be achieved by the New Jersey Devils that same year, when they won the Stanley Cup over the Detroit Red Wings. The Orlando Magic (making their first ever NBA Finals appearance) began the 1995 NBA Finals at home, hosting the defending champion Houston Rockets. With the Magic up by three points 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 with the most three-pointers in an NBA Finals game with seven. The more experienced Rockets went on to win in overtime and eventually swept the Magic, winning their second consecutive NBA Championship. The season-ending documentary ''Double Clutch'' by Hal Douglas, was released by NBA Entertainment to coincide with the Rockets' championship season. ==Background== The Orlando Magic entered the NBA as an expansion franchise in the 1989–90 season. The Magic built the core of their team through the draft, beginning with original pick Nick Anderson in 1989, followed by Dennis Scott in 1990, Shaquille O'Neal in 1992, and Penny Hardaway in 1993. Brian Hill was hired as head coach in 1993, and led them to the playoffs for the first time in 1994, but it was not until the 1995 playoffs that the Magic finally achieved their full potential. With the addition of veteran forward Horace Grant and point guard Brian Shaw, the Magic won a franchise-record 57 games, and then defeated the Boston Celtics in four games, the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in six, and then the Indiana Pacers in seven games to advance to their first NBA Finals in franchise history. Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets struggled to regain the form that won them the NBA championship the previous year, mainly due to injuries and off-court distractions. Despite the midseason acquisition of Clyde Drexler, a former teammate of Olajuwon at the University of Houston, the Rockets only managed to win 47 games and earned the sixth seed in the Western Conference. However, the Rockets returned to the Finals after upsetting the Utah Jazz in five games, then overcame a 3–1 deficit to beat the Phoenix Suns in seven games, before defeating the San Antonio Spurs in six games. The Rockets' return to the Finals came at a perfect time as the team was back at full strength while their teamwork and clutch play was displayed in every series. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1995 NBA Finals」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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