1995 NBA Playoffs

The 1995 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1994-1995 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets winning their second consecutive NBA championship by defeating the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic four games to none in the NBA Finals. The Rockets became the fourth consecutive team to win championships back-to-back (after the Los Angeles Lakers of 1987 and '88, Detroit Pistons of '89 and '90 and Chicago Bulls of '91, '92 and '93).

The sixth-seeded Rockets (47-35) took out four very impressive opponents on their way to the title, defeating the third-seeded Utah Jazz (60-22), the second-seeded Phoenix Suns (59-23), the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs (62-20) and the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic (57-25) in the NBA Finals. In the second round against the Suns, the Rockets came back from a 3-1 series deficit and did it without the benefit of home-court advantage, winning Games 5 and 7 in Phoenix. Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon dominated league MVP David Robinson and Shaquille O'Neal in consecutive series to bring home the championship.

The 1995 playoffs featured the first three playoff series victories in the history of the Magic, as they defeated the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Indiana Pacers to win their first (and as of 2008, only) Eastern Conference championship.

The 1995 playoffs featured the return of Michael Jordan to the playoff stage after a year's absence, and the only time the Bulls would fail to win a championship with him on board since they started their string of titles in 1991. After this tournament the Bulls would win three more titles in '96, '97 and '98.

Game 4 of the Celtics-Magic first round series marked the final NBA game played in the legendary Boston Garden.

The Indiana Pacers made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive year (and finally defeated the New York Knicks on their way to doing so), but this time found the Magic too powerful to overcome as they had the previous year. Ironically, in this tournament the Pacers met all three of the playoff opponents (Orlando, Atlanta and New York) as they had the previous year-- just in a different order.

The Utah Jazz become just the second team (along with 1994 Seattle SuperSonics) to win at least 60 regular season games, only to lose in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, when they fell to the eventual NBA Champion Houston Rockets.

Bracket

16TeamBracket
RD1=First Round
RD2=Conference Semifinals
RD3=Conference Finals
RD4=NBA Finals
group1=Western Conference
group2=Eastern Conference
RD1-seed01=1
RD1-team01=San Antonio
RD1-score01=3
RD1-seed02=8
RD1-team02=Denver
RD1-score02=0
RD1-seed03=4
RD1-team03=Seattle
RD1-score03=1
RD1-seed04=5
RD1-team04=L.A. Lakers
RD1-score04=3
RD1-seed05=2
RD1-team05=Utah
RD1-score05=2
RD1-seed06=7
RD1-team06=Houston
RD1-score06=3
RD1-seed07=3
RD1-team07=Phoenix
RD1-score07=3
RD1-seed08=6
RD1-team08=Portland
RD1-score08=0
RD1-seed09=1
RD1-team09=Orlando
RD1-score09=3
RD1-seed10=8
RD1-team10=Boston
RD1-score10=1
RD1-seed11=4
RD1-team11=Charlotte
RD1-score11=1
RD1-seed12=5
RD1-team12=Chicago
RD1-score12=3
RD1-seed13=3
RD1-team13=New York
RD1-score13=3
RD1-seed14=6
RD1-team14=Cleveland
RD1-score14=1
RD1-seed15=2
RD1-team15=Indiana
RD1-score15=3
RD1-seed16=7
RD1-team16=Atlanta
RD1-score16=0
RD2-seed01=1
RD2-team01=San Antonio
RD2-score01=4
RD2-seed02=5
RD2-team02=L.A. Lakers
RD2-score02=2
RD2-seed03=7
RD2-team03=Houston
RD2-score03=4
RD2-seed04=2
RD2-team04=Phoenix
RD2-score04=3
RD2-seed05=1
RD2-team05=Orlando
RD2-score05=4
RD2-seed06=5
RD2-team06=Chicago
RD2-score06=2
RD2-seed07=3
RD2-team07=New York
RD2-score07=3
RD2-seed08=2
RD2-team08=Indiana
RD2-score08=4
RD3-seed01=1
RD3-team01=San Antonio
RD3-score01=2
RD3-seed02=6
RD3-team02=Houston
RD3-score02=4
RD3-seed03=1
RD3-team03=Orlando
RD3-score03=4
RD3-seed04=2
RD3-team04=Indiana
RD3-score04=3
RD4-seed01=W6
RD4-team01=Houston
RD4-score01=4
RD4-seed02=E1
RD4-team02=Orlando
RD4-score02=0

Notes

* For the third straight postseason, both #5 seeds beat their #4 seeded opponent in the first round.
* The Rockets became the first ever #7 seed to win a title.
* The Rockets are the lowest seeded team to ever win a title.

References

External links

* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1995.html Basketball-Reference.com's 1995 NBA Playoffs page]