The Houston Rockets are on the brink of elimination from the NBA Playoffs, and they’re looking for a comeback of unlikely proportions to keep their season alive.
On Monday night, the Rockets fell to the Golden State Warriors, 109-106. The loss was the latest in a series marred by seemingly winnable games that Houston let slip away in the closing minutes.
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The loss sends the series back to Houston with the Rockets facing a 3-1 series deficit. This means the Rockets have no margin for error; they must win each of the next three games to avoid elimination and extend their season.
This is a tall order, especially from a Rockets team that just lost three of its first four games against three of its first four games against these same Warriors. However, historically speaking, it’s not impossible.
In NBA Playoff history, a team has come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a series 13 times.
The most famous example of this happening was the 2016 NBA Finals, when LeBron James brought the Cleveland Cavaliers back from a 3-1 deficit to stun the Warriors, who had just completed the first 73-win regular season in NBA history.
For what it’s worth, two of those 13 aforementioned occurrences were Rockets teams!
Here’s how each of those went down:
1995 Western Conference Semifinals vs. Phoenix Suns
Coming off of their first championship in franchise history, the Rockets were looking to win back-to-back rings in 1995. In the second round of the playoffs, the Hakeem Olajuwon-led Rockets faced off against Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns.
With a 114-110 win in Houston in Game 4, the Suns took a 3-1 series lead. In Game 5, the Rockets stole a 103-97 overtime win in Phoenix. After winning Game 6 by double digits, the Rockets won Game 7 by just one point to advance.
Houston would go on to win its second-straight title. The 1994 and 1995 rings remain the only championships in team history.
2015 Western Conference Semifinals vs. Los Angeles Clippers
In 2015, the 2-seeded Rockets faced off against the 3-seeded Clippers in the second round.
The Clippers squad was in the prime of the “Lob City” era, led by Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. The Rockets were led by a dynamic duo of ascending superstar James Harden and glass cleaner Dwight Howard.
With a 128-95 blowout win at the Toyota Center in Game 4, the Clippers went up 3-1 in the series. Across the next three contests, Harden averaged nearly 27 points as the Rockets won each game by double digits, solidifying one of the most infamous playoff chokes of the 2010s.
