<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Rockets second NBA title was one from the heart By FRAN BLINEBURY Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle It was ironic the way it ended, so free and easy, because there was nothing at all relaxing or comfortable about how they arrived. The year before, the Rockets had won their first NBA championship by out-laboring, outlasting, out-battling the New York Knicks in a fierce seven-game struggle in the NBA Finals. Now the clock was running down on back-to-back titles ? this time a 4-0 sweep over the Orlando Magic ? and once again the ball came to Hakeem Olajuwon. Twelve months earlier, he had cradled the ball in his arms as the final seconds ticked off the clock, as if not wanting to risk letting the hard-earned victory slip away. This time, he glanced up at the scoreboard and let fly with a 3-point shot that found the bottom of the net, and the party started again. "It was like a release," Olajuwon said in an e-mail from his home in Amman, Jordan. "After all that we had been through." Indeed, if Houston's first major professional sports championship was a dogged, determined struggle, the second was a test of the Rockets' belief and resolve. If the first was a marathon of survival, the second was a firewalk over the hot coals of disappointment and doubt from a basketball world that had written them off too soon.</div> A great article that basically sums up everything for the Rockets in their 2nd Championship. Source
I think the best title for us was our second one. Like the arcticles say, we are really underappreciated. Coming in and beating the suns, jazz, spurs and magic as a sixth seed was very difficult. No one else in history has beaten so many teams with such high season win totals.
everyone hates on us dude, dont know why they just never see us as a good team, we just dont get the credit or the props that we should. couple of months heading into the playoffs, we were fighting for the eighth seed, we ended up being the 5th hmmMM nobody cared except for tim legler haha
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">How about a link to the whole article?</div> Oops my bad, problem fixed.
That playoff run was simply amazing. Just consider the players involved on each team we beat: Stockton and Malone, KJ and Barkley, Rodman and Robinson, Penny and Shaq. So many great moments in each series: Jazz, Round 1 - setting an NBA record for 3s made in a game by a team against the Jazz in a game 2 blowout - Clyde and Hakeem both going for 40+ in the same game against the Jazz - Coming back from 11 or 12 down with about 5 minutes left in the deciding game 5 Suns, Round 2 - Facing elimination in Game 5, Barkley could ice the game with 2 free throws at the end of regulation. He misses both, and on the next possession Hakeem hits a turn around fade away in the lane to send the game into overtime. Horry outscores the Suns in the OT and we take it back to Houston. - Overcome a terrible first have in game 7 to take the lead, and eventually win it with Mario's three pointer out of the corner at the very end. Followed by the infamous "kiss of death" to the bench. Spurs, WCF - Robinson gets MVP before game 1 infront of Hakeem. Hakeem proceeds to demolish Robinson over the course of the series (three 40+ point games, and capping it off with a 39 point game in Houston). Nuff said. Magic, Finals - Game 1 was an absolute classic. Kenny Smith sets a record for made 3 pointers in second half. Magic up by 3 at the end with Nick Anderson at the line to ice the game. He misses two free throws, grabs the offensive board, and misses 2 more! Kenny hits a three at the buzzer to send it into overtime. Then, Hakeem tips in the game winner. - Game 4, the sweeps is capped off by Hakeem's three point shot. Just a great moment. If someone put it on film, it would win Best Picture at the Oscars.
Yeah our second title was pretty amazing...coming from the 6th seed to win the Finals? Unprecedented...not to mention, we are the only team in NBA history to defend our title with a sweep...
