Trailing two games to one in a best-of-five series and with their backs against the proverbial wall, the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets won Game 4 of their 1995 first-round playoff series versus Utah.
With the storied “Clutch City” nickname firmly in place, that May 5, 1995 date was not the last elimination game that those Rockets would win.
Hall of Famers Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon combined for 81 points in Game 4 against the Jazz, leading the Rockets to a convincing 123-106 victory (box score) at The Summit in Houston.
Drexler had 41 points and nine rebounds on 12-of-18 (66.7%) shooting, including 4-of-8 (50.0%) on 3-pointers. Olajuwon scored 40 points and grabbed eight rebounds on 14-of-22 (63.6%) from the field.
Karl Malone led the Jazz with 31 points, though Houston limited him to 7-of-17 shooting (41.2%). He tallied just six rebounds in his 44 minutes.
It all set the stage for a decisive Game 5 a few days later in Salt Lake City, which Houston also won to advance to the second round. In the subsequent series, the Rockets lost three of their first four games to Phoenix before winning three consecutive games to move on.
In all, the 1995 Rockets were 5-0 in elimination games en route to the franchise’s second consecutive NBA championship. In those two seasons combined, Houston went 8-0 when facing potential playoff elimination.
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