2014’s Five Worst Moments In Houston Sports
May 2, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard
Damian Lillard(0) makes a three pointer at the buzzer over Houston Rockets forward Chandler Parsons (25) to win the game during the fourth quarter in game six of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit:
Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
“The .9”
1. The Houston Rockets’ dramatic 99-98 Game 6 playoff loss
The stage was set.
The Rockets had compiled a 54-28 record in their 2013-14 campaign, secured the 4th seed in the Western Conference for the NBA playoffs and were ready to do battle with the Portland Trail Blazers, their match up with the No. 5 seed.
Apr 30, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) has his shot blocked by Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) during the fourth quarter in game five of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Richardson-USA TODAY Sports
This seemed like a match up for ages at first but the team could not find an answer for LaMarcus Aldridge, who completely dominated the Rockets’ front line and our defenses could not find an answer for him.
He continued to cause problems for the Rockets as they fell to a 0-2 hole before going up to Portland at the Moda Center for a split of two gritty games in overtime with the heroic efforts of James Harden leading the charge in the Game 3 win.
The Rockets later decided to incorporate Omer Asik in the lineup — I’m not sure why they didn’t do so sooner — to limit Aldridge to eight points and eight rebounds in Game 5 at Toyota Center. They beat the Blazers 108-98 — the largest margin of any team in the series. This caused the team to close in within one game of tying the series up at three a piece.
With the team heading back up to the City of Roses facing elimination in Game 6, the Rockets matched the Blazers tit-for-tat all the way up until the final play.
With Parsons driving in the lane with the go-ahead reverse layup putting the Rockets up 98-96 with 0.9 seconds left, it appeared the Rockets were ready to tie the series up and head back to H-Town for the series win.
May 2, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) reacts after hitting the game winning shot against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter in game six of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
But Damian Lillard hit perhaps one of the largest game-winning shots I’ve ever seen, he hit a devastating three-pointer with no time on the clock sealing the Rockets’ fate and sending the Blazers to the second round.
It was the biggest gut-punch for Rockets’ fans since the Utah Jazz’s John Stockton hit a three-point dagger beating the Rockets 103-100 in the 1997 Western Conference Finals.
This loss caused to Rockets to change their mindset to be more defensive-minded and it has paid huge dividends with them amongst the worst the league in previous seasons to one of the league’s best — having not falling out of the Top 10 so far this season.
The hangover from this loss has worn off as the Rockets are off to their best start in years.
Let’s hope they continue to impress and make last year’s early-exit a distant memory.
I hope you’ve enjoyed your trip down Memory Lane, it’s now time to hop on a cross street to Victory Lane which will lead us fans to nothing but astonishing things.
It’s an exciting time to be a Houston sports fan — let’s do this!
Tomorrow we’ll have our TOP five moments in Houston sports from 2014.