20 Years Ago... A Magical Start Blossoms into the Birth of Clutch City (a romantic short story)

Here we are, again.

Here is a glimpse of what happened immediately after the Choke City game (see the OP for background info, if necessary).

In that series, we also went down 3-1.

The similarities are striking.

"It was very sad," Hakeem Olajuwon said. "That team, we lost that game, we were ahead by 20 points and lost and it was Choke City. It wasn't because of that team. We went back to our old habits of not sharing the ball, not playing together. We thought we were up 20 points, the game was over. We thought it was going to be an easy series.

"We went through changes, and we lost. That was the disappointing part. It wasn't because they were better that they won that game. We gave them that game. You could see when we went back to the locker room, we couldn't believe it. I was way back in the locker room. I couldn't believe we lost that game."​

Dream's words played back in my head after our stunning letdown in game 1. Without Chris Paul, the Clippers came out flat. They were ready for a blow out on the road in Houston. The only problem? We came out dead. And so instead, the exhausted, CP3-less Clippers rallied after halftime and inexplicably stoled home court from a half-hearted, uninterested Rockets team. How could they lose that game, like that? Worse still, there were head-scratching blowouts soon to follow.

The Rockets had spent so much time considering how the wounds of the Games 1 and 2 failures were self-inflicted, rather than give in to the quick deficit, they were convinced they would overcome it.

They rebounded not despite Choke City but because of it.

"We went to Phoenix, that determination was the key," Olajuwon said. "It was the turning point for the rest of the season, for the rest of the playoffs. At that time, we came together to get a job done."​

Tonight's elimination game in LA has the potential to be the defining moment for this Rockets team. Yes, it's win or go home. But it's also a character builder, capable of redefining not only a series, but also a destiny.

James Harden took his game to a new level on Tuesday. He simply dominated game 5. Flu or no flu, he must now permanently ingrain his MVP signature on this series. The time has come. Ladies and gentlemen, there is a showdown awaiting him in Golden State, and the man is ready to take what is rightfully his.

For Dwight Howard, it is his moment to redirect the course of his career. He came to Houston to join Harden in winning a championship. Everything else is media fodder. The man is a warrior, and he will partner with Harden to destroy all that is standing in his way.

"I knew it was my time to step up when we were getting on the plane," Maxwell said. "Everyone was on the plane like deer in headlights. 'I am telling you guys I am not going down like this. I am going down shooting. Y'all can do what you want.' I am thinking and thinking. I said to myself, 'This is my game.' They didn't believe we could win the series. I knew that we could do it, though. I knew it would take someone to light a spark, and I was that guy.

"That first quarter, I started talking. I let them know it was going to be a long night. Other guys got going. I told Dream, 'Now it's your turn.' We took a hard turn there. That changed everything.

"I remember what they were saying - Choke City, this and that. Topics they were talking about. I remembered that. I was so focused that night on the game. I am sure we had words. It was a great night for our team. I think that turned it around. That was one of the biggest moments of my NBA career."​

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WE WILL WIN TONIGHT.

And this will be the turning point, not only for our players, but for our fan base.

The Rockets rose from the ashes in Phoenix, taking a 118-102 win on Friday the 13th, and when they looked back at Choke City, it, like the series itself, had been transformed from failure to inspiration.

The Rockets rolled in Game 4, and when they landed at Hobby Airport, throngs of fans greeted them. They blew out the Suns in Game 5 and were back to being the 58-win team that began the season with a 15-game winning streak.

"When we came back and won, I said to John Thomas, who at the time was running the business, 'They he got the wrong car part.' It's Clutch City, not Choke City,' " Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said. "I'm very proud of that. I think it's great. We used to have a post office. You could send mail to Clutch City, Texas. I am proud of that."

Choke City was, of course, about more than one team, one city or one blown lead.

The legend of Clutch City endures as more than the ultimate rejoinder but as proof that greatness can be inspired by failure.

"Nothing that ever took place, the first championship and especially the second, would've happened without 'Choke City,' " Tomjanovich said. "It became the last thing that made us a team. It drove us."​

As I said in the OP two years ago, sometimes we have to learn how to believe.

Tonight, this team will teach a city just how to do it. And this belief will carry our beloved team to a game 7 victory.

There is no other way.

Believe or go home.

This is Clutch City.

 

^^^ Awesome poem, repped!

 

BELIEVE IT!

 

A lot of doubters and very few believers in this thread.

Clutch City is real.

Do you believe now?