The Orlando Magic, making their first NBA Finals appearance, began the series at home, hosting the defending champion Houston Rockets.

The season-ending documentary Double Clutch by Hal Douglas, was released by NBA Entertainment to coincide with the Rockets' championship season.

Led by All-Stars Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, new acquisition Horace Grant, and franchise cornerstones Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott, the Magic rolled through the Eastern Conference, winding up with a then-franchise best 57–25 mark.

They followed it up with a six-game ouster of Michael Jordan (returning from an 18-month retirement) and the Chicago Bulls in the second round, and in the conference finals, they vanquished the Indiana Pacers in a tough seven-game series.

Anderson shockingly missed the next two free throws, and Houston grabbed the rebound, and would tie the game with 1.6 seconds left on Kenny Smith's 3-point shot.

In overtime, Hakeem Olajuwon tipped in a missed finger roll by Clyde Drexler with three-tenths of a second left to win the game.

Orlando's Anfernee Hardaway then missed a three-pointer, and the rebound deflected off Dennis Scott and out of bounds with 6.8 seconds left, turning the ball over to Houston.

After a timeout to advance the ball to midcourt, the Magic had one last chance to tie the game and force overtime, but Hardaway missed a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded.

When accepting the Larry O'Brien Trophy on the floor of The Summit, Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich said "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion!

In the United States, the NBA Finals was broadcast on NBC television, with Marv Albert, Matt Guokas and Bill Walton calling the action.

Ahmad Rashad, Hannah Storm, and Jim Gray served as sideline reporters, and studio coverage was handled by Bob Costas, Julius Erving and Peter Vecsey.

The Magic won a franchise-record 60 games during the 1995–96 NBA season, but were swept by the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals.

During the offseason, Shaquille O'Neal signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he went on to win three championships; he later added a fourth title to his resume with the Miami Heat in 2006.

The Magic would not return to the Finals until 2009, guided by rising star Dwight Howard, but they were ultimately defeated by the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers in five games.