Hakeem Olajuwon's RIDICULOUS 1995 Playoff Run

(A thread)

s and s appreciated.

FIRST ROUND
6 seed Rockets VS 3 seed Jazz

Assistant Coach Larry Smith- "Everyone thought we weren't gonna get out of the first round"

Game 1- Jazz Win 102-100 despite Hakeem's 45-8-6

Game 2-Rockets win 140-126, Hakeem: 27-7-4

Game 3- Jazz Win 95-82 despite Hakeem's 30-10-5

GAME 4

Down 2-1, facing elimination, Hakeem and Drexler became the first pair of teammates to each score 40 points in a playoff game, combining for 81 points in a 123-106 Win, keeping their season alive.

GAME 5

In Game 5, the Rockets were down 71-64 entering the fourth quarter.
Per a NY times article, the Rockets "appeared to have no juice left"
The Rockets rallied back, led by Hakeem's 10 points in the final five minutes, and ended up winning 95-91, completing the upset.

FIRST ROUND RECAP

-Hakeem's series averages: 35-9-4-3 on 57% shooting.

-Won back to back games facing elimination

-Upset the heavily favoured 60-win Utah Jazz

SECOND ROUND

6 seed Rockets VS 2 seed Suns

GAME 1- Suns win 130-108, Hakeem struggles, only 18
GAME 2- Suns win 118-94 despite Hakeem's 25
GAME 3- Rockets win 118-85, Hakeem with 35-11
GAME 4-Suns win 114-110 despite Hakeem's 38-8

GAME 5

After the Suns game 4 win to take a 3-1 series lead, Suns forward A.C Green said this: (see image)

In Game 5, IN Phoenix, the Rockets stayed alive, winning 103-97, led by Hakeem's 31 and 16.

GAME 6

Up 3-2 in the series, Charles Barkley said this: (see image)

Facing elimination yet again, Hakeem's 30-10-8 led the way in the Rockets 116-103 Victory.

GAME 7

Entering game 7, the Rockets had all the momentum in the world. Led by Hakeem's 29, and Mario Elie's iconic game winner and "kiss of death", the Rockets won 115-114 completing the upset.

SECOND ROUND RECAP

-Hakeem's series averages: 30-9-4-2 on 51% shooting
-Upset the 2 seed Suns
-Became 5th team in NBA History to overcome a 3-1 series deficit.

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

6 seed Rockets VS 1 seed Spurs (62-20) led by MVP D-Rob

GAME 1- Rockets win 94-93 led by Hakeem's 28-7-6
GAME 2- Rockets win 106-96 led by Hakeem's 41-16
GAME 3- Spurs win 107-102 despite Hakeem's 43-11
GAME 4- Spurs win 103-81, despite Hakeem's 20-14

GAMES 5 AND 6

With the series tied 2-2, Hakeem closed out the Spurs and clinched their second straight finals appearance in one of the greatest 2-game stretches ever

Game 5- Rockets win 111-90, led by Hakeem's 42-9-8-5
Game 6- Rockets win 100-95, led by Hakeem's 39-17-5

SERIES RECAP

-Hakeem's averages: 35-13-5-4 on 56% shooting

-Absolutely DOMINATED MVP David Robinson, holding him to 45% shooting for the series, and under 40% in the last three games.

NBA FINALS

47-35 Rockets VS. 57-25 Magic

Before the series, the Shaquille O'Neal VS. Hakeem Olajuwon matchup was being compared to Wilt Chamberlain VS. Bill Russell

GAME 1

Rockets win 120-118 in overtime.

With 0.3 seconds remaining in OT, Hakeem tips in a game winning shot off a miss from Clyde Drexler.

Hakeem had yet another amazing game, dropping 31-7-6-4.

GAME 2

Rockets take a 2-0 series lead, winning 117-106 led by Hakeem's 34-11-4.

Shaq played great as well, dropping 34 and 12, but it wasn't enough.

GAME 3

Rockets take full control of the series, winning 106-103 led by Hakeem's 31-14-7.

Once again, Shaq's monster game wasn't enough.

GAME 4

Hakeem becomes one of just a few players to score 30 points in every finals game, dropping 35 points, 15 boards, 6 assists, and 3 steals.

The Rockets complete the sweep with a 113-101 Victory.

RECAP OF HAKEEM'S HISTORIC 1995 RUN

-Hakeem's playoff averages: 33-10-5 on 53 FG%
-Hakeem's Finals Averages: 33-13-6 on 48 FG%
-First 6 seed to win a Championship in NBA History
-First team to beat four 50-win teams in a title run
-Faced 4 different top 30 players of all time.

End of Thread.

RTs are appreciated.

Where do you think this ranks among individual playoff runs in NBA History?