After losing to the Atlanta Hawks, 133–111 on the road on December 3,[12] the Rockets won their next seven games as well, falling just one victory shy of tying the 1969–70 Knicks (23–1) for the best record with one defeat in NBA history.
Hakeem Olajuwon averaged 27.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 3.7 blocks per game, and won the league's Most Valuable Player award, ahead of David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls.
[42][43][44][45] In the 1994 NBA Finals, they defeated the New York Knicks in seven games after trailing 3–2,[46][47][48] and won their first championship in franchise history.
[49][50][51][52][53] The Rockets also became the first team from the Midwest Division since the Milwaukee Bucks 23 years prior to win the NBA title.
A visibly confused and distraught Bob Costas (NBC's anchor for their NBA Finals coverage) said during the telecast from Madison Square Garden that the Simpson situation was "not just tragic but now surreal".