[14-15 Reg. Season]What are your favorite games(win) and moments?

When Harden annihilated Parsons in that Mavs game, I knew it. Parsons knew it. The look on his face, when he realized even if he gives 110% he can't compete. It's too far out of his hands. Alas, we later discovered what Parsons was looking for was cooking in the palm of Harden's hand. I knew he's the MVP. Obviously he was already in the conversation, but at that moment it stopped being important to me for Harden to officially win the award. He just told me he is the MVP and that was that. To me, if Curry wins it, there will be an asterisk next to that award. And Curry knows it. Kerr knows it. Adam Silver knows it. Kevin Durant knows it. Lebron James knows it. Russell Westbrook knows it. The media knows it.

Not since a brief period in T-Mac's Rockets career has a Rockets player demoralized another player so much that you knew he could do it again and again and again and again if he wanted to. I was hanging out with comedian Brett Riley - who's a huge Warriors fan - and I told him what I tell everyone: just watch any full Rockets game. The next one. Whoever is guarding him. Kawhi. Tucker. Draymond. Lebron. Whoever. Just watch.

Harden is the best basketball player in the world right now. Without saying it once, he's told us his middle name. In case you weren't watching, his middle name is Mother****in.

And now, Parsons is going to have to say it.

Say it Chandler. Say his name.

 

Two come to mind that weren't mentioned:

1) The first win against the Clippers. Harden struggles against the Clippers again, but the team picks him up and we win by 5. Harden was subpar, Howard was injured and the team carried for a win. I remember thinking, 'wow, we have something here better than I thought'. This was a team that has had our number since Chris Paul came to town. Harden was always struggling against them for some reason. We got over a huge hurdle in this game and it felt really good.

2) The last Jazz game. I was giddy. How much fun was that to hear that we had a chance to make the 2nd seed? I mean, we needed 2 teams to lose and we needed the New Orleans/OKC 8th seed to be up for grabs in order for that to happen. If OKC loses a game, the Pelicans take it easy on the last day. Pelicans out from any loss means they play an uninspired last game. Memphis lost to Golden State. Things literally worked out perfectly for us. At one point in the game, I tried to flip over to watch the Spurs game, but couldn't. So, I just listened for Bill's updates. "Pelicans up by 19." "Pelicans have the lead with 1:09 left to play." We tore up that Jazz team while the Spurs choked. Unbelievable. It was like 60-30 at one point and getting second place in the conference. Easily one of our best regular seasons ever and it was so so so so so so close to being mediocre. I don't care what anyone says, 6th place would have sucked, 5th would have sucked. This one game just raps up the whole year. I feel lucky to be where we are because the injuries could have pushed us out to 9th, but it didn't. We're mother lovin' 2nd place! This entire team had players step up and all that work culminated in one special last game of the year. I actually stood up and clapped at the tv when the game ended and said, "Thank you".

And thank you, Spurs, for losing. That made my season. Tarik Black stepped up, Canaan stepped up big, Trevor did all year, Dwight's post injury games started to ramp up so nicely, Harden is the MVP and best player in basketball. Unreal. Try to tell yourself the story of this regular season on October 28th and watch your reaction. You'd be falling all over yourself wanting to watch every minute. This was an unbelievable regular season. Unbelievable is the perfect word for this season.

Great thread. Please say what you have to say because even if no one else does, I absolutely hang on every word of this whole thread. Thank you to everyone above and below this post for including your thoughts. You only serve to remind me even more of how unbelievable this season was.

One last thing:
"I'm the best all-around basketball player in the NBA," Harden said during an interview promoting the NBA 2K15 video game. (He said this during the summer and he was right, he's the best. He had to surpass Durant and LeBron, we all laughed it off and then he did it. He cooked up a season we'll probably all remember the rest of our lives. He's done what only Dream has done.)

 

Crossing over Prigioni at MSG then hitting that step back for the cherry on top, and then giving him a million jab steps a few plays earlier before swishing the corner three. I'm sure Pablo is glad he is on Harden's team now haha.

I loved the times where Harden would show his sneaky athleticism. Examples: The dunk on Asik/Davis, the dunk on Aron Baynes, and the alley-lop from Curry (which I know isn't a Rockets moment).

And also Harden vs. the Suns this year was just must see TV. His crossover on Tucker for the slam was nasty. His eurotep that made Bledsoe fall on his butt was vicious. And of course his game winner.

 

Wow, so many to choose from in such a memorable regular season. In no particular order:

1) The win at Miami - Remember that the Heat and Rockets both came into the game undefeated and back then the media actually thought Miami was gonna be a really good team without LeBron. They had second thoughts after the Rockets just demolished them in the 2nd half. A real coming out party for Ariza to the point where even Bill and Bull were publicly mocking Parsons on the broadcast.

2) The first win over Dallas - Coming off the heels of a demoralizing home loss to the Lakers, still missing Dwight(and as it turns out, we'd be without him for a long time) and T-Jones, and losing Bev in that game, the Rockets proceeded to blow a 17-point 3rd quarter lead, look dead in the water late in the 4th, only to pull out a huge comeback in the final minute capped off with Harden's 3-point play over Parsons and a defensive stop at the other end against Monta. A great win as well as a poetic one with the way it ended.

3) The OT survival at Minnesota - A real character game for the Rockets. Sure, the T'Wolves were a crappy team even back then and yes we blew a huge lead in the 4th, but given all the injuries(Dwight, T-Jones, Bev, Canaan) including Papa getting hurt during this game, it was a big moment for the supporting cast. Harden fouled out late in the game, the Rockets found themselves down 4 with less than a minute to go, and D-Mo sent it to overtime before Nick Johnson of all people scored on a game-winning drive.

4) Harden dominates the Kings - On the 2nd night of a B2B after losing at Golden State, one would expect the Rockets to be out of energy in the 2nd half against Sacramento who at that point of the season were still a respectable ballclub. But instead, Harden somehow found enough in the tank to lead them back in the 4th, tie the game late on a loooooong 3-pointer, and completely take over in OT. The Kings promptly fired their coach after that loss.

5) Josh Smith debuts at Memphis - Granted, the Grizzlies were without Zach Randolph, but for the Rockets to come back from a huge deficit, survive a ridiculous shooting display by Vince Carter, and pull out an OT win on the road thanks in large part to a player who had just signed with the team a few hours earlier was remarkable. And as it turns out, this win was key to them getting the division title.

6) The destruction of OKC - The Rockets had just played one of their worst games of the season at Orlando and were on the 2nd night of a B2B against a healthy Thunder squad. They proceeded to completely destroy them on national TV. It showed a lot of character for them to be able to bounce back so quickly against a very good opponent.

7) The Rockets finally beat the Clippers - Sure, Griffin was out, but then again so was Dwight. The bench was the key in this one as they completely dominated the Clippers' reserves to start the 4th quarter. That wound up being the difference in the game. And to show this was no fluke, they beat LA on their home floor a few weeks later again sans Dwight(and Griffin was back for that one).

8) The OT win over Cleveland - Just an amazing game. If you didn't see it, you missed a classic. It was a playoff atmosphere with so many subplots and an incredible finish in both regulation and OT. Harden likely won't beat out Curry for MVP, but this was the game that made everyone watching across the country realize what a strong case he had for the award.

9) The comeback at New Orleans - The Rockets again found themselves down big in the first half against the Pelicans in a game that seemed eerily similar to their lowest point of the season when they were destroyed 111-83 just after the new year. But this time, they buckled down, made defensive adjustments, and came roaring back to steal a huge game on the road.

10) The regular season finale against Utah - Both teams were 19-9 since the All-Star Break. The Rockets had been pasted at Utah a few weeks earlier(granted on a tough B2B without Dwight). And everything was on the line. If the Rockets felt any pressure, you wouldn't know it. They simply came out and took care of business like I haven't seen them do all year. Arguably the most impressive victory of the season and as it turns out the one that clinched the division title.

 

I didn't realize the Jazz were this hot.. during this 19-9 record they beat 8 playoff teams. San Antonio, Memphis, Rockets, Mavs, Trailblazers(x2), Nets, Bucks... impressive for a team not even in contention.

 

This and the cavs game for sure.

Link from cfans on mavs game.
http://youtu.be/xQ4hq_TuPhc

 

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This man energized our bench, he is one man wrecking crew, and if he gets going on fast break than there is no stopping the Rockets.