History with Houston

Instead of playing mainstays like Dantley, Darrell Griffith, Mark Eaton and Rickey Green, Layden inserted the unusual lineup of rookie point guard John Stockton, Billy "the Whopper" Paultz, Fred Roberts, Rich Kelley and Thurl Bailey. But the combination actually worked. Paultz, a slow, overweight, cagey veteran center with about a one-inch vertical jumping ability by this time of his career, started pushing the younger, much more talented Olajuwon around, frustrating him. When Olajuwon had finally had enough he slugged "The Whopper" in the face — which was caught by TV cameras but not by the officials.

After Olajuwon's sucker punch went unpunished, however, the improbable Jazz rally continued, and Utah went on to win the game and with it the series, 3-2.

1994 — TIME STANDS STILL

With Michael Jordan trying to hit curveballs as a minor league baseball player, the door was wide open for any other NBA contender to win the league title. Both Utah, a 53-win team in the regular season, and 58-24 Houston considered themselves championship contenders — with good reason.

Both teams had won two playoff series to meet in the Western Conference finals. Houston took care of business at home in the opener, but the Jazz had a great chance of stealing a road win in Game 2. On the very day Olajuwon was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player he scored 14 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter as the Rockets escaped with a 104-99 win to take a 2-0 lead.

The series then headed to Utah where Karl Malone led the Jazz to a 95-86 victory. Utah then had the golden opportunity to even the series with another game in the Delta Center. The Jazz trailed most the way in Game 4 but rallied to pull to within two points in the final minute. After an offensive foul by Houston's Sam Cassell, the Jazz had the ball with 13.5 seconds remaining on the clock.

But the clock stayed at 13.5 for nearly eight seconds of playing time — and nobody caught it. "I got caught up in the game," said Delta Center timekeeper Wayne Hicken afterward.

Despite the "home-cooking" of the timekeeper, Utah's Tom Chambers missed a short runner in the lane in the final seconds and the Jazz lost, 80-78.

Houston then ended the Jazz season two nights later with a 94-83 win in Houston. The Rockets went on to win the first of their back-to-back NBA titles by beating the Knicks in seven games.

1995 — "BENOIT FOR 3!" CLANK

Utah won 60 games for the first time in franchise history, posting the second-best record in the NBA. Unfortunately for the Jazz, division rival San Antonio had the best record in the league, so by NBA rules at the time, Phoenix, the other division winner from the West, got the second seed in the playoffs. Utah fell to the No. 3 seed and had to open the playoffs against the defending NBA champion Rockets, a team that had coasted through the regular season en route to a No. 6 seed in the West.

Utah edged Houston by a bucket in the Delta Center in the opening game of the best-of-5 series but got beat up by 14 in Game 2. The Jazz regained homecourt advantage in Game 3 with a 95-82 win in Houston. New Rocket Clyde Drexler torched the Jazz for 41 points in Game 4 in Houston, sending the series back to Salt Lake City for the finale.