They were sitting there behind a table, these two old veterans and old friends, and they were carrying on like a pair of giggly schoolboys. They were in the NBA Finals again after their Rockets had defeated the Spurs 100-95, and they could hardly contain themselves.
The first of them, Hakeem Olajuwon, had been brilliant again on Thursday night, scoring 39 points, grabbing 17 rebounds and once more eclipsing San Antonio’s David Robinson. The other, Clyde Drexler, had abetted him ably, scoring 16 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and gaining the wish he held when he joined Houston just over three months ago. But here, they were kids again.
They smiled. They laughed. They tenderly patted each other on the back. They gently punched each other in the bicep. And, always, they shared both the moment, and a genuine affection. “It’s a team game,” Drexler said. “But it’s great to play with one of my best friends who happens to be the best player in the game. He’s certainly the MVP.”
Olajuwon laughed at this, reached out to touch Drexler, and then said, “He complements me so well on and off the floor. Just to clarify. It’s wonderful to have him back.”
Does he embarrass you when he compliments you so much, someone yelled at Olajuwan.
“Yeah. Yeah,” he said with a smile.
“We always do this,” Drexler then said. “But it’s true. I wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true.”
It was surely true in these Western Conference finals, which Drexler dominated from the start and loomed over with regal splendor. Through all of it he dominated Robinson (19 points, 10 rebounds), the league’s MVP.
He jump-started them in Thursday’s Game 6 at their Summit, where they had earlier lost twice to the Spurs, and he was their singular ballast until he was joined by Robert Horry. The young forward would end this night with six three-pointers, with 22 points.
Still, as the game wended along, it was Olajuwon at center stage. He scored 10 points in the first quarter, which ended tied at 21. He scored 8 points in the second quarter, which ended in a halftime tie at 44. He scored 15 points in the third quarter, which ended with the Rockets up 76-75.
“He was very, very good. He was remarkable,” Robinson said later.
“He hit some tough shots. I don’t know how I can say it with a straight face. But I think I defended him pretty well. He just played as well as I’ve seen anyone play in a long, long time.”
But–for a long, long time too–the Spurs refused to go down to his brilliance, and with just 3:26 remaining, they were tied with the Rockets at 92. They were, at last, slowing Olajuwon with constant doubling, and then they were up one on a Robinson free throw at 2:42.
Two Drexler free throws. A Robinson miss. A Horry three. And then here was Robinson driving the baseline, and there was Olajuwon forcing him into a turnover that resulted in a Sam Cassell free throw.
“I think that was one of the biggest stops we had,” Drexler said later, and he was right.
It put the Rockets up five, ultimately put him and his old buddy up there at the table, where for long minutes they could carry on like a pair of schoolboys. How’s it feel to be going to the finals with Clyde, someone yelled at Olajuwon.
“I think it’s phenomenal,” he said, and the friends looked at each other and smiled.
Do you think there should be another MVP vote?
“What do you think?” said Drexler. Then Olajuwon, beaming, reached out and patted him on the back, and finally Clyde Drexler said, “I think so. I think so.”
