1994–95 Orlando Magic season
The 1994–95 NBA season was the Magic's 6th season in the National Basketball Association. After building through the draft in previous years, the Magic made themselves even stronger by signing free agents Horace Grant and Brian Shaw during the off-season. The Magic got off to a fast start winning 22 of their first 27 games, then later holding a 37–10 record at the All-Star break. Despite losing seven of their final eleven games in April, the Magic easily won the Atlantic Division with a 57–25 record. They also finished with a 39–2 home  record, tied for second best in NBA history. Shaquille O'Neal continued to dominate the NBA with 29.3 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, while second-year star Anfernee Hardaway averaged 21.7 points, 7.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game, while being named to the All-NBA First Team, and Grant gave the Magic one of the most dominant starting lineups in the NBA, averaging 12.8 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, as he was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In addition, Nick Anderson provided the team  with 15.8 points and 1.6 steals per game, while three-point specialist Dennis Scott played a sixth man role, averaging 12.9 points per game off the bench, and Donald Royal contributed 9.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game as the team's starting small forward. O'Neal and Hardaway were both selected to play in the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, with head coach Brian Hill coaching the Eastern Conference. O'Neal also finished in second place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Hardaway finished in tenth place, and Scott finished in fifth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting. In  the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Magic overwhelmed the Boston Celtics with a 124–77 victory in Game 1. The Magic would eliminate the Celtics at the Boston Garden to win the series 3–1. These matches would be the final 2 basketball games ever played at the Garden. Coincidentially, O’Neal played his final game in Boston 16 years later with the 2010–11 Boston Celtics before retiring from the NBA at 39 years old. In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the Magic were matched up against the 5th-seeded Chicago Bulls. The Bulls were on an emotional high as  Michael Jordan had just returned from his baseball career to play basketball. Jordan was now wearing the number 45 for the Bulls. The Magic won the first game 94–91. Tensions rose when Anderson indicated that Jordan was no longer the same player when Anderson was quoted by the media saying, "Number 23, he could just blow right by you! Number 45, he revs up, but doesn't really take off." The comment motivated Jordan to return to number 23 and the Bulls evened the series. With the series tied at two games a piece, the Magic won Game 5 at  home, 103–95. The Magic would eliminate the Bulls in Game 6 as the Magic won 108–102 to advance to the Conference Finals. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Magic would beat the Indiana Pacers in a tough 7-game series that saw the home team win every game. The Magic were off to their first ever NBA Finals. The Magic faced off against the 6th-seeded and defending NBA Champion Houston Rockets. Shaq would be up against Hakeem Olajuwon in a battle of All-Star Centers. Game 1 was played in Orlando and the game was lost at the free -throw line. Anderson missed four consecutive free throws with the Magic up by three at the waning seconds of the game and the Rockets tied the game at the buzzer. The Rockets would then win Game 1 in overtime, 120–118. The Magic would not recover from their Game 1 loss as the Rockets swept the series in four straight. Following the season, Anthony Avent was traded to the newly expansion Vancouver Grizzlies, and Tree Rollins retired. For the season, the Magic added new blue pinstripe road uniforms, while the black pinstripe jerseys became their alternate. Both uniforms remained in use  until 1998. Orlando did not make another appearance in the NBA Finals until 2009. Transactions. Free agents. Player Transactions Citation: