Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals was played 29 years after the Houston Rockets were on the cusp of a second straight championship.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The 2024 NBA Finals were those of the Boston Celtics before their third game in Dallas against the Mavericks.

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and company have a 2-0 lead and could finish Wednesday night on the brink of an 18th world championship.

As ABC13 Sports mentioned in last week’s NBA Finals time capsule before Game 1, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

SEE MORE: Houston did it first: Boston was warned twice by the Rockets in the NBA Finals

Game 3 will be played 29 years after the Houston Rockets, trailing 2-0, won the penultimate game of the 1995 NBA Finals.

The video above shows the Rockets’ uniform evolution over the years.

June 11, 1995

Hakeem Olajuwon and head coach Rudy Tomjanovitchwho on Sunday, before Game 2, was named the winner of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award 2024were no strangers to winning the title.

SEE PREVIOUS STORY: Former Rockets legend Rudy Tomjanovich headed to the Hall of Fame

The duo held off the New York Knicks in seven games to win the team’s first championship a year prior.

The road was much more rigorous than that of the No. 6 seed from the West. They had to come back from a 1-3 deficit against Phoenix in the conference semifinals to advance.

Considering the Rockets swept the Orlando Magic in 1995, the road couldn’t have looked easier.

But after a hotly contested first match, in which Olajuwon scored the winner on a step-back shot, the third match echoed the same circumstances.

As the series returned from Florida to the Houston Summit, the Rockets and Magic had a back-and-forth on that Sunday in 1995.

Houston only had a one-point lead at halftime, and the two teams were tied at 75 after three quarters.

On the string

Much of the pre-series talk revolved around the matchup between superstar big men Olajuwon and Orlando. Shaquille O’Neal.

The head-to-head competition in the third game did not disappoint. “The Dream” reached career highs with 31 points and 14 rebounds. “Shaq” wasn’t far behind with 28 points and 10 rebounds.

SEE ALSO: 10 Interesting Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Hakeem Olajuwon

But the highlights came in the final minute when a man who would have “Big Shot” in his name later in his career for his last-second shot put Houston away for good.

With a lead of 101-100, the Rockets Robert Horry scored three points to extend its advantage with 14.1 seconds remaining.

The Rockets then escaped thanks to free throws. Clyde Drexler – Olajuwon’s college teammate at the University of Houston and the Rockets’ blockbuster midseason trade acquisition – made one of two free throws after an Orlando turnover and foul.

SEE ALSO: Hakeem Olajuwon remembers his days at Hofheinz

At 105-100, Orlando got a three-pointer back to make things interesting with 2.7 seconds left.

Bench guard Sam Cassell then iced the game after committing a foul and making both free throws.

Houston earned a 106-103 victory and control of the series.

Three days later, the Rockets won their second consecutive Larry O’Brien Trophy and Olajuwon won back-to-back NBA Finals MVP awards.

Will the Boston Celtics match what the Rockets did 29 years later, or will Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Mavericks defend their home court? Watch the NBA Finals on ABC13 on Wednesday. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. CT with NBA Countdown.

Story written in part from Sports Reference.