1994 NBA Playoffs

The 1994 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1993-1994 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks four games to three 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 six gammes.

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 out to seven games but the Jazz defeated them in Game 7, putting an end to their Cinderella run.

The playoffs also featured the very first playoff series victory for the Indiana Pacers in their 17-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 Eastern Conference championship but dropped Games 6 and 7 to the Knicks.

This was the first time since the ABA merger in 1976-77 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 first (and as it would turn out, 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 seven games to the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

For the Knicks, they made history by playing a record 25 playoff games (one game short of a full length postseason), the most postseason games that an NBA team had ever played until this record was broken by the 2008 Boston Celtics. Their easiest series was the first-round 3-1 advancement over the Nets. The Knicks then forced three 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.

This would be the last playoff appearance for the Golden State Warriors until the 2006-07 NBA Season. This was also the first time since 1979 that the Boston Celtics did not make the playoffs and their first-ever absence since the playoff field expanded to 16 teams in 1984.

This was also the first time since 1976 that the Los Angeles Lakers did not make the playoffs and their first-ever absence since the playoff field expanded to 16 teams in 1984.

This is the first and (as of 2008) only time that both the Lakers and the Celtics missed the playoffs in the same year.

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=Seattle
RD1-score01=2
RD1-seed02=8
RD1-team02=Denver
RD1-score02=3

RD1-seed03=4
RD1-team03=San Antonio
RD1-score03=1
RD1-seed04=5
RD1-team04=Utah
RD1-score04=3

RD1-seed05=3
RD1-team05=Phoenix
RD1-score05=3
RD1-seed06=6
RD1-team06=Golden State
RD1-score06=0

RD1-seed07=2
RD1-team07=Houston
RD1-score07=3
RD1-seed08=7
RD1-team08=Portland
RD1-score08=1

RD1-seed09=1
RD1-team09=Atlanta
RD1-score09=3
RD1-seed10=8
RD1-team10=Miami
RD1-score10=2

RD1-seed11=4
RD1-team11=Orlando
RD1-score11=0
RD1-seed12=5
RD1-team12=Indiana
RD1-score12=3

RD1-seed13=3
RD1-team13=Chicago
RD1-score13=3
RD1-seed14=6
RD1-team14=Cleveland
RD1-score14=0

RD1-seed15=2
RD1-team15=New York
RD1-score15=3
RD1-seed16=7
RD1-team16=New Jersey
RD1-score16=1

RD2-seed01=8
RD2-team01=Denver
RD2-score01=3
RD2-seed02=5
RD2-team02=Utah
RD2-score02=4

RD2-seed03=3
RD2-team03=Phoenix
RD2-score03=3
RD2-seed04=2
RD2-team04=Houston
RD2-score04=4

RD2-seed05=1
RD2-team05=Atlanta
RD2-score05=2
RD2-seed06=5
RD2-team06=Indiana
RD2-score06=4

RD2-seed07=3
RD2-team07=Chicago
RD2-score07=3
RD2-seed08=2
RD2-team08=New York
RD2-score08=4

RD3-seed01=5
RD3-team01=Utah
RD3-score01=1
RD3-seed02=2
RD3-team02=Houston
RD3-score02=4

RD3-seed03=5
RD3-team03=Indiana
RD3-score03=3
RD3-seed04=2
RD3-team04=New York
RD3-score04=4

RD4-seed01=W2
RD4-team01=Houston
RD4-score01=4
RD4-seed02=E2
RD4-team02=New York
RD4-score02=3

Notes

* Down zero games to two 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 zero games to three against Utah in the Western Conference Semifinals, Denver won three straight games to force a game seven.

External links

* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/NBA_1994.html Basketball-Reference.com's 1994 NBA Playoffs page]