then soon defeated John Stockton and Karl Malone's Utah Jazz in five in the Conference Finals to advance to their third finals. The New York Knicks opened a 3–2 advantage, but the Rockets won the last two games on their home court and claimed their first championship in franchise history. Olajuwon was awarded the Finals MVP, after averaging 27 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots a game. The Rockets initially struggled in the first half of the 1994–95 season, which they fixed by sending Otis Thorpe to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Olajuwon's former college teammate Clyde Drexler. With only 47 wins, the Rockets entered the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Still, a strong playoff run that earned Houston the nickname "Clutch City" had the Rockets defeating the West's top three seeds – the Jazz, Suns and Spurs – to reach back-to-back finals, this time against the Orlando Magic, led by Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway. When Houston swept the Finals' series in four games, they became the first team in NBA history to win the championship as a sixth seed, and the first to beat four 50-win teams in a single postseason en route to the championship. Olajuwon was again the Finals MVP, only the second player after Michael Jordan to win the award two years in a row. It was on the floor of The Summit after they captured their second title that head coach Rudy Tomjanovich proclaimed, "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion!" 1995–2002: Post-championship and rebuilding During the off-season, the Rockets went for a change of visual identity, making navy blue and silver the new primary colors while adopting a new cartoon-inspired logo and pinstriped jerseys. The Rockets won 48 games in the 1995–96 season, in which Olajuwon became the NBA's all-time leader in blocked shots. The playoffs had the Rockets beating the Lakers before a sweep by the SuperSonics. Before the start of the succeeding season, the Rockets sent four players to Phoenix in exchange for Charles Barkley. The resulting "Big Three" of Olajuwon, Drexler, and Barkley had a strong debut season with a 57–25 record, going all the way to the Western Conference finals before losing to the Utah Jazz 4–2 on a dramatic last-second shot by John Stockton. The following season was marked by injuries, and Houston finished 41–41 and the 8th seed, leading