Rockets-Knicks 1994 One of the Most Epic Game 7's in Sports History

I was in the Summit that night...June 22, 1994, wearing a Vernon Maxwell jersey. When he hit that last shot, I teared up. There were hugs with strangers all throughout the building. Amazing moment...and I'm really glad I was alive for it.

 

Still gives me chills thinking about, I remember that night like it was yesterday. I couldn't even cheer, it was almost unbelievable.

 

That statement dunk by Horry which was the first basket was very telling of how the game was going to go. Everything went right that night, because Kenny & Max finally did okay / good in the same game, Horry was good, Thorpe defended like a beast and Dream was Dream. I think that particular game 7 was more epic because of how game 6 ended and we were not favourites to win it. Mainly because NY dictated the pace and style of game they liked to play, in game 7, it was a little more like Rockets basketball. Still, I wonder how it would've gone had the Rockets played their own game and forced that upon the Knicks. I'm sure it would've been over in 5-6 games tops. That Maxwell shot to me though is way overblown, it wasn't that crucial.

 

It's when you knew the game was over. It's when I knew, for the first time in my life, that Houston was going to win a major championship. That's why it's a big deal. It was a watershed moment in Houston sports history...after all the chokes and disappointments that came before it.

 

Fair enough, I guess you had to be there to feel that way and that's why it always gets mentioned. Not trying to take anything away from it though, but to me there were much bigger plays in that game than that shot. It was probably also the reaction of Max, celebrating on the floor, and being their emotional leader that players came to think of it as a huge thing. It was also the first game where he had a real positive impact and they needed that from him, cause he was the sole reason of Choke to Clutch City in that crucial game 3 in Phoenix. It's a shame when you think about the potential Max had. He blew by the Suns like they weren't even there. He was really that good, MJ like! It was his mentality of seeing himself as a 3pt shooter, his craziness and selflessness that held him back from more performances like that.

 

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(Sounds like a 747 got trapped inside the Summit).

Pat Riley and Patrick Ewing got outclassed. Yup
If the Spurs/Heat game is anything like game 6, it's gonna be pretty damn epic too.

 

Starks bricking shot after shot was the most beautiful thing of that last sequence and the fact he shot 2-18 and 0-11 on threes is mostly due to what Dream did to him at the end of game 6. He was trying to make up for it, because who in the world shoots 11 threes in a game 7 of the Finals. That was Dream getting in his head, though me thinks there are some fans who like to credit Maxwell for that :grin: The ending of game 6 is actually the biggest reason why we won game 7. We broke their spirit and that's what is also happening with the Spurs now. We will maybe see Manu try to get out of his funk, maybe Green forcing too many threes...Riley should be blamed for sticking with Starks just like Pop should be for sticking with Manu in game 6.

 

No kidding. After the Oilers vs. the Bills, The Cougars vs. NC State, the Astros vs. Mets, etc.

I think those types of things over and over wouldn't allow me to be certain of a Houston victory until the very last moment. I was in NY at the time. It was crazy. My friends and I who were all from Texas (we called ourselves Texpatriots) found a John Starks basketball card. A friend's girlfriend who was not from Texas thought we were all crazy but appreciated it so much she let us use her lip stick to paint ceremonial war paint on our faces. We did a dance around an ash tray as we burned the John Starks basketball card to put a curse on him.

It worked. Look at the series Starks had vs. the game seven that Starks had. The Rockets won, and the neighbors asked us to be quiet. I think it was more because they were upset that the Knicks lost than the noise, but we didn't care.

Then the stories of strangers waving to each other in traffic, hugging people they'd never met with Rockets gear on, and what a huge difference it made at least for that period of time was amazing. I felt relief, and pride. It was a crazy and joyous experience. I can't imagine being in the Summit at the time.

 

I agree entirely with this. The whole context leading to that moment was disappointment and massive chokes...including by those very Rockets earlier in the playoffs against the Suns at home.

When Max hit that shot, it felt like a weight had been lifted.

 

I was there...I've watched the game since on DVD...and I can't really recall one other memorable play from that entire game aside from Horry's first 2 points of the game. But that shot is burned into my brain.

 

See this we can agree on, it was definitely the most memorable play of the game!

 

Yes, yes, yes.

 

Robert Reid once said he teared up a little watching Dream after the game. That may be the only thing I have in common with Robert Reid.

 

I felt the same way. Although I remember the Oilers winning the first two AFL championships (Dad had season tickets), no one, even other Houstonians that were early Oilers fans, as we were, thought those championships were truly meaningful. You know what I mean? Only after they got into the NFL after the merger did fans really yearn for a trip to that fantastical thing, the Superbowl, one of man's great inventions. The Astros, the Oilers, the Cougars... just short, time after time. It fell to the Rockets to break through and bring Houston that major championship trophy.

Unbeatable!

 

I was 12 at the time, and I remember begging my mom to take me to Academy at midnight (it was open) to go be one of the first to buy the world champs T-shirt.

Also, that was back in the day when you had to pay-per-view all games before the finals. Random thought, i know.

 

Why would you want to do a back flip to celebrate? Next time, raise your hands over your head and say, "Yay, we are the best."

 

Sadly, I was just a child living in Germany during these times

But reading you guys' stories about how you reacted to the championships gives me goosebumps!


That's why I can't understand why people bandwagon teams all the time.. you'll never truly experience the emotional ups and down and rewards of following your true team

 

Yeah, I was eight when that happened. I'll never forget Maxwell's flying fist pump at half court. I remember I would shoot a deep shot on the court in my parent's back yard, and run, jump, and fist pump. Prob spent hours doing that for at least a year.