Hakeem Olajuwon vs. Spurs 1995 West Final Game 2

I think most NBA fans know what happened here, but just to reset the situation, here's what was going on.

The Rockets had gone just 47-35 in a difficult West, but had shocked Utah and Phoenix in the previous two rounds while coming from behind. They stole Game 1 against the deep and powerful Spurs, led by MVP David Robinson and a deep bench (featuring Chuck Person, J.R. Reid, Doc Rivers, Willie Anderson and Terry Cummings) on a Robert Horry three-pointer. Whatever. Game 1 is always important, but there have been countless times where the underdog took Game 1, only to lose Game 2 and the series (see Bulls/Pistons 1989, Sixers/Lakers 2001). Game 2 is usually where the favorite takes command and gets back into the series.

Except Hakeem wouldn't let the Spurs do it. He completely dominated David Robinson and led the Rockets to a 106-96 win, allowing Houston to take control of the series.

The craziest thing about this game is that David Robinson didn't play that badly. He started off extremely poorly, however, which allowed Houston to stay in it despite Olajuwon's own struggles. Had Robinson come out stronger, my guess is this would have been a blowout. Instead, Houston was able to stick around, and they took control by the end of the second quarter.

Announcers: It's the local Spurs broadcast, so I don't know.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• basketball
• NBA
• 1995
• Playoffs
• Houston
• Rockets
• San
• Antonio
• Spurs
• Hakeem
• Olajuwon
• David
• Robinson

[stacksondeck34]

David Robinson disliked this video.

[dj021680]

"Hakeem Olajuwon has David Robinson bamboozled!"

[woutakasinistra]

Along with Jordan, Russell, Wilt, Magic, Bird, Kobe, Shaq, the Big O, Jerry West, Tim Duncan and Kareem, Hakeem is in the top 15 off all-time. He was a great player, but moved into this list right there and then, just abusing David Robinson, the reigning MVP. David Robinson afterwards said, that was the first time ever he didn't know what to do on the court. Hakeem I love you, such a great person and player

[yowyOw69]

@michalusOG I consider Hakeem the best center ever and one of the best 10, if not top 5, best players ever. But man, David Robinson is definitely a legend. He's a HOF and, to me, top10 centers ever.

[michalusOG]

Legend vs NBA Star

Hakeem vs David

[lbj6mj23]

wtf was wrong with robinson in this series i am not talking about defense couse hakeem was just to good but david made some high school mistakes lol

[Dkouts57]

good job by bob hill sitting Rodman to discipline him. i see a lot of rebounds the rockets got in a tight game that they would never had have.

bob hill = loser

[Ajibafe]

That move at 2:11 was simply unstoppable.

[2222busdriver]

@rodeo179 Great minds think alike :) haha

[rodeo179]

Jordan agrees: "If I had to pick a center [for an all-time best team], I would take Olajuwon. That leaves out Shaq, Patrick Ewing. It leaves out Wilt Chamberlain. It leaves out a lot of people. And the reason I would take Olajuwon is very simple: he is so versatile because of what he can give you from that position. It's not just his scoring, not just his rebounding or not just his blocked shots. People don't realize he was in the top seven in steals. He always made great decisions on the court.