1996 Western Conference Semifinals vs Rockets
A rivalry renewed across decades.
The Jazz–Rockets rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets. The rivalry began in the 1990s when the Rockets, led by dominant center Hakeem Olajuwon and college teammate Clyde Drexler, and the Jazz, led by the pick-and-roll duo of Karl Malone and John Stockton, were playoff powers in the Midwest Division. The teams faced each other four times in the NBA playoffs during the decade. In all four instances, the winner was the eventual Western Conference champion and played in the NBA Finals.
Quick Facts
- Series result
- Rockets won 4-2
- Key jazz players
- Karl Malone
- John Stockton
- Bryon Russell
- Key rockets players
- Hakeem Olajuwon
- Clyde Drexler
- Robert Horry
- Season context
- 1995-96 NBA Season
- Series significance
- First playoff meeting between the two franchises
Lore & Background
The first meeting in the playoffs between the Rockets and the Jazz was in the 1985 NBA playoffs. Utah, with Stockton, Adrian Dantley, and shot-blocking center Mark Eaton, defeated Houston and its Twin Towers in 5 games despite losing Eaton to an injured right knee. The teams met in their first major clash in the 1994 NBA playoffs, where the Rockets won the Western Conference Finals 4–1. The next year, in the 1995 NBA playoffs first round, the Rockets defeated the Jazz 3–2.
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