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1994 NBA playoffs

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The 1994 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1993-94 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. It was the first NBA Championship for the Rockets after two previous Finals appearances in 1981 and 1986, both losses to the Boston Celtics in 6 games.

The biggest shocker of the tournament came in the first round, when the Denver Nuggets came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Seattle SuperSonics in 5 games, marking the first time in NBA history that an 8th-seeded team had defeated a top seed. The Nuggets stretched their second-round playoff series with the Utah Jazz to 7 games but the Jazz defeated them in Game 7.

The playoffs also featured the very first playoff series victory for the Indiana Pacers in their 18-year NBA existence, as they swept the Orlando Magic (who were making their first playoffs appearance in franchise history) in the first round, and then eliminated the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks 4-2 in the second round. The Pacers advanced within one game of the NBA Finals but dropped Games 6 and 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Knicks.

This was the first time since the ABA-NBA merger prior to the 1976-77 season that all four former ABA teams (Indiana, Denver, San Antonio and New Jersey) made the playoffs in the same year.

For the Chicago Bulls, this was their only playoff run they would accomplish between the first retirement of Michael Jordan and his return on March 17, 1995. After sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, they fell in 7 games to the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

For the Knicks, they made history by playing a record 25 playoff games (a game short of a full length postseason), the most postseason games that an NBA team had ever played. The Detroit Pistons team of 2005 tied this record.[1] However, it was broken by the 2008 Boston Celtics championship team.[1] Their easiest series was the first-round 3-1 advancement over the Nets. The Knicks then forced 3 straight Game 7 series, eliminating the Bulls 4-3 in the Conference Semifinals, knocking off the Pacers 4-3 in the Conference Finals, both times at Madison Square Garden, before falling in Game 7 to the Rockets at The Summit in the NBA Finals, which meant New York was denied both NBA and NHL titles. Game 4 of the Finals (June 15, 1994) took place at the Garden, a day after hosting the New York Rangers first Stanley Cup celebration in 54 years, following their 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Knicks Coach Pat Riley made history by becoming the first (and to this date, the only) person in NBA history to have coached in a Game 7 NBA Finals on two different teams, having been with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1984 and 1988. However, he had the unfortunate distinction to have become the first (and to date, only) coach to lose a Game 7 in the NBA Finals on two different teams, as his Lakers lost to the Celtics in 1984. It also denied him the distinction of becoming the first coach to win a Game 7 in the NBA Finals with two different teams, as his Lakers defeated the Detroit Pistons in 1988.

This would be the last playoff appearance for the Golden State Warriors until the 2006-07 NBA season.

This was also the first time that the Boston Celtics, since 1979, and the Los Angeles Lakers, since 1976, did not make the playoffs and their first-ever absence since the playoff field expanded to 16 teams in 1984. This was the first and (as of 2011) only time that both the Lakers and Celtics missed the playoffs in the same year.

Game 3 of the Bulls-Cavaliers series was the last game ever played at the Coliseum at Richfield.

Game 6 of the Knicks-Bulls series was the last game ever played at Chicago Stadium.

Game 5 of the Nuggets-SuperSonics series was the last to be played at Seattle Center Coliseum before the renovations and its renaming into KeyArena at Seattle Center two years later. The Sonics played the intervening 1994-95 NBA season at Tacoma Dome in nearby Tacoma, Washington.

The Clock Incident

The Clock Incident happened in the last moments of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals between the Houston Rockets and the Utah Jazz. Tom Chambers inbounded the ball to Jeff Hornacek with 13.5 seconds left in the game. As play resumed, the Jazz timekeeper didn't start the clock as the Jazz were trying to look for an open shot. After 8 seconds, the clock was finally started as Chambers attempted a shot. However, Utah didn't take advantage of the extra time they were given, and after Chambers missed the shot, there was a mad scramble for the ball. It ended up in Robert Horry's hands, who passed it to Vernon Maxwell as the Rockets ran out the clock and won the game 80-78 to take a 3-1 series lead. They won the next game at home 94-83 to clinch the series in 5 and eventually won the 1994 NBA Championship in 7 against the New York Knicks.

Bracket

First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
            
1 Seattle 2
8 Denver 3
8 Denver 3
5 Utah 4
4 San Antonio 1
5 Utah 3
5 Utah 1
Western Conference
2 Houston 4
3 Phoenix 3
6 Golden State 0
3 Phoenix 3
2 Houston 4
2 Houston 3
7 Portland 1
W2 Houston 4
E2 New York 3
1 Atlanta 3
8 Miami 2
1 Atlanta 2
5 Indiana 4
4 Orlando 0
5 Indiana 3
5 Indiana 3
Eastern Conference
2 New York 4
3 Chicago 3
6 Cleveland 0
3 Chicago 3
2 New York 4
2 New York 3
7 New Jersey 1

Western Conference

Champion: Houston Rockets

1st Round

(1) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (8) Denver Nuggets: Nuggets win series 3-2

Last Playoff Meeting: 1988 Western Conference First Round (Denver won 3-2)

(2) Houston Rockets vs. (7) Portland Trail Blazers: Rockets win series 3-1

  • Game 1 @ The Summit, Houston (April 29): Houston 115, Portland 104
  • Game 2 @ The Summit, Houston (May 1): Houston 114, Portland 104
  • Game 3 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland (May 3): Portland 118, Houston 115
  • Game 4 @ Memorial Coliseum, Portland (May 6): Houston 92, Portland 89

Last Playoff Meeting: 1987 Western Conference First Round (Houston won 3-1)

(3) Phoenix Suns vs. (6) Golden State Warriors: Suns win series 3-0

Last Playoff Meeting: 1989 Western Conference Semifinals (Phoenix won 4-1)

(4) San Antonio Spurs vs. (5) Utah Jazz: Jazz win series 3-1

  • Game 1 @ Alamodome, San Antonio (April 28): San Antonio 106, Utah 89
  • Game 2 @ Alamodome, San Antonio (April 30): Utah 96, San Antonio 84
  • Game 3 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 3): Utah 105, San Antonio 72
  • Game 4 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 5): Utah 95, San Antonio 90

Last Playoff Meeting: Not available (first playoff series)

Conference Semifinals

(2) Houston Rockets vs. (3) Phoenix Suns: Rockets win series 4-3

Last Playoff Meeting: Not available (first playoff series)

(5) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Denver Nuggets: Jazz win series 4-3

Last Playoff Meeting: 1985 Western Conference Semifinals (Denver won 4-1)

Conference Finals

(2) Houston Rockets vs. (5) Utah Jazz: Rockets win series 4-1

  • Game 1 @ The Summit, Houston (May 23): Houston 100, Utah 88
  • Game 2 @ The Summit, Houston (May 25): Houston 104, Utah 99
  • Game 3 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 27): Utah 95, Houston 86
  • Game 4 @ Delta Center, Salt Lake City (May 29): Houston 80, Utah 78
  • Game 5 @ The Summit, Houston (May 31): Houston 94, Utah 83

Last Playoff Meeting: 1985 Western Conference First Round (Utah won 3-2)

Eastern Conference

Champion: New York Knicks

1st Round

(1) Atlanta Hawks vs. (8) Miami Heat: Hawks win series 3-2

  • Game 1 @ The Omni, Atlanta (April 28): Miami 93, Atlanta 88
  • Game 2 @ The Omni, Atlanta (April 30): Atlanta 104, Miami 86
  • Game 3 @ Miami Arena, Miami (May 3): Miami 90, Atlanta 86
  • Game 4 @ Miami Arena, Miami (May 5): Atlanta 103, Miami 89
  • Game 5 @ The Omni, Atlanta (May 8): Atlanta 102, Miami 91

Last Playoff Meeting: Not available (first playoff series)

(2) New York Knicks vs. (7) New Jersey Nets: Knicks win series 3-1

Last Playoff Meeting: 1983 Eastern Conference First Round (New York won 2-0)

(3) Chicago Bulls vs. (6) Cleveland Cavaliers: Bulls win series 3-0

Last Playoff Meeting: 1993 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Chicago won 4-0)

(4) Orlando Magic vs. (5) Indiana Pacers: Pacers win series 3-0

Last Playoff Meeting: Not available (first playoff series)

Conference Semifinals

(1) Atlanta Hawks vs. (5) Indiana Pacers: Pacers win series 4-2

  • Game 1 @ The Omni, Atlanta (May 10): Indiana 96, Atlanta 85
  • Game 2 @ The Omni, Atlanta (May 12): Atlanta 92, Indiana 69
  • Game 3 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (May 14): Indiana 101, Atlanta 81
  • Game 4 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (May 15): Indiana 102, Atlanta 86
  • Game 5 @ The Omni, Atlanta (May 17): Atlanta 88, Indiana 76
  • Game 6 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (May 19): Indiana 98, Atlanta 79

Last Playoff Meeting: 1987 Eastern Conference First Round (Atlanta won 3-1)

(2) New York Knicks vs. (3) Chicago Bulls: Knicks win series 4-3

Last Playoff Meeting: 1993 Eastern Conference Finals (Chicago won 4-2)

Conference Finals

(2) New York Knicks vs. (5) Indiana Pacers: Knicks win series 4-3

Last Playoff Meeting: 1993 Eastern Conference First Round (New York won 3-1)

NBA finals

Main article: 1994 NBA Finals

(2) Houston Rockets vs. (2) New York Knicks: Rockets win series 4-3

Last Playoff Meeting: 1975 Eastern Conference First Round (Houston won 2-1)

Notes

  • Down 2-0 against #1 seeded Seattle, #8 seed Denver came back to win their first round series 3-2. By doing so, Denver became the first #8 seed to advance in the playoffs.
  • Both #5 seeds Indiana and Utah beat their #4 seeded opponents in the first round.
  • Down 3-0 in the series against Utah in the Western Conference Semifinals, Denver won three straight games to force a game seven. They became only the second team in league history to accomplish this. However, as of 2010, no team that forced a seventh game after losing the first three has won the decisive Game 7.
  • Down 2-0 in the series against #3 seeded Phoenix, Houston came back to win the Conference Semifinals 4-3 after losing the first two games at home. They are one of three teams in NBA playoff history to win a seven game series after losing the first 2 games at home.
  • Coverage of Game 5 of the NBA Finals on NBC had frequent updates of the OJ Simpson and Al Cowlings car chase. NBC executives had to make on-the-spot decisions to determine whether they would cover the game or the car chase.
  • There were a record five Game 7s in this playoffs.

References

  1. ^ a b Beck, Howard (June 17, 2008). "Celtics Remain Mindful Of a Missed Opportunity". The New York Times. p. D2.
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