With 21.6 seconds and the Rockets up 1, Kevin Johnson of the Phoenix Suns (46pts) goes to the line and ties up the game with his first free throw (he was 21 of 21 from the line up to that point). Then he misses his only free throw of the game (21-22) and the Rockets secure the rebound and call a timeout, all knotted up at 110-110. Out of a timeout, with 20.4 seconds left in the series, Kenny Smith takes the inbound pass and dribbles up the court. The Suns full court press and then double and TRAP Kenny in the backcourt. Kenny finally sees an open Robert Horry and dishes it to him, barely missing an 8 second violation and getting the ball across half court with 12.4 seconds remaining. Horry scans the court and spots Mario Elie in the corner, all alone. Horry is quickly doubled and makes a daring cross court pass to Elie, and then......... history happened....... [Youtube]wfhhBN9L8Sg[/youtube] After draining the go ahead three, Elie runs down the sideline towards the Phoenix bench, looks over at a stunned Paul Westphal and blows him the infamous "Kiss of Death". The Rockets would defeat the Suns 115-114, becoming just the 5th team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit, and eventually go on to win the 1995 NBA Championship. The last team to come back from a 3-1 deficit before them? The 1981 Boston Celtics, who came back from three games down to beat the Philadelphia 76'ers, in what has been called the greatest playoff series in NBA history. They were saved from elimination in game 6 when a rookie named KEVIN MCHALE blocked Andrew Toneys shot with 14 seconds left that would have given the 76'ers the lead and the series victory. Ironically the Celtics also went on to win the NBA championship that season, beating Moses Malone and Calvin Murphy's Houston Rockets in the Finals, 4 games to 2. And now, 20 years after Elie's Kiss Of Death, here are the Rockets, who just tied up the series after being down 3-1, and coming back to Houston for a shot at Immortality. Let's do this Rockets, let's show the world why they call Houston........CLUTCH CITY.
I believe we can do it again, and become the 9th team to ever get it done! And when we do, our confidence gonna be so high, we go all the way! BOOK IT!
Yup you sho right, I forgot about that back then. Still, 8 seconds was cuttin it close, I remember thinkin "get it across half court Kenny!!!! Agghhhh!" When Horry got it for a minute I thought he was gonna take the trey himself, and then I saw Mario way off in the corner by himself........BANG!!!!
Olajuwon in this closeout game: 29pts 11rbs 4asts Drexler: 29pts 8rbs 4asts Charles Barkley: 18pts 23rbs 5asts Kevin Johnson: 46pts 3rbs 10asts
Just found this (great article): http://www.houstonpress.com/news/cl...e-houston-rockets-miracle-playoff-run-7373022 "The Suns had two chances to close out the Rockets in that Game 5. The first came with Charles Barkley going to the line with the Suns up 92-90 and under 20 seconds to play in the game. Barkley missed both free throws. FOLEY: Charles missed two huge free throws in Game 5 that could have ended the season even before the Wesley Person miss at the end of regulation. It shows you, it happens to the best. ELIE: Chuck's booty hole got tight." lol Mario...
Game 5 at Phoenix in 1995. The Suns choked that one away. That was the game that truly lost them that series, not Game 7(that was just a slugfest that the Rockets narrowly won). Barkley was something like 1-6 from the foul line and he did miss two key free throws near the end of regulation that would've iced it. And then after Dream hit a tough turnaround over Schayes to tie it, Wesley Person had a wide open 3 at the buzzer that was literally halfway down before coming out. You can see the highlights of that one on the Double Clutch video. And let's not forget that Clyde Drexler was on his death bed before the game because of the flu. He almost didn't play that night and you could tell he was not himself. He didn't do hardly anything in that game(although he did hit 2 clutch free throws in OT). An unsung hero that night was Chucky Brown. He had something like 15 and 7. That might be the closest game I can think of to compare to Game 6 vs. the Clippers. The Rockets weren't down big in Game 5 in 1995, but it was similar in that they had no business winning that one and they still managed to pull out an improbable victory. That was the game that truly sparked their 2nd title run more than any other. I think they knew after that night that they could not be beaten.
How freaky would it be if this current team has finally found it's groove at their most desperate hour of need, just like the team of twenty years ago.
Damn, I didn't remember that game being that close! Good God, our 95 time really was ALL HEART! (Mixed with a little bit of luck )
What p-sses me off is that I can't find that one anywhere on YouTube. I can find the Game 6 highlights and obviously Game 7, but Game 5 of that series is often overlooked because it didn't have a game-winner like the "Kiss of Death", "Olajuwon tip-in", or "Horry 20-footer". And it didn't decide the series, just extend it. But that IMO was the catalyst in that 2nd title run. They never lost again on the road in that postseason after that win.
Brotha, I think I have VHS tapes of all them games in storage somewhere, if I find em, I will post em for you
Well there's a nice little recap of it in the Double Clutch clip (0:00 - 2:00) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKXcNPqiVK0 Also catch Chuck's disgusted expression after his misses those FTs
Oooohhhhh, I still remember Bill saying "We're going back to the desert" after we won game 6 at home. I was never more nervous and excited in my LIFE!
