Does anybody else think Mario shouldn't have shot the Kiss of Death? I remember thinking at the time that there was still a lot of time on the shot clock, why not wait till the last second, don't give the other team time with the ball, then, bam, Mario shot it. I remember being upset with him, even though he made it, 'cause he took the shot so early. To this day I cannot share the almost universal love for Mario because of that one, game-winning shot he made.
Someone will probanly pass Max, but his ability to make game winning 3's while falling out of bounds will never be surpassed. I read a Rocket overview one time that said "then you have Vernon Maxwell, who can shoot from anywhere inside the state of Texas"
To tell you the truth, I think Mario was the only one who thought he should take the shot at the time. However afterwards everyone thought he have taken it. I've heard it said that Rudy literally was running towards Mario, waving his arms yelling "NO " when Mario was in the act of squaring up; but when the shot went in, Rudy's arms went straight up & he had the biggest grin on his face.
i don't remember if it was game 2 or game 3 (which would be appropriate) but the amazing thing was we went 13/27 in that game on 3's and got topped by 7 freaking 3 pointers on the same number of attempts (the 20/27 you mentioned). they were throwing crap in like they were layups (i think mcmillan was 5/5). what's more amazing is that the 13 3's we hit would have tied the record if we hadn't hit 19 the year before (we broke the record by 6, iirc). so in one game you had a team hit what was the 2nd most 3's ever, only to be knocked down to 3rd by their opponent hitting the most ever. 33 combined 3's, still the record and one i don't think will ever be broken. the mavs and kings hit 29 in an OT or double OT game 2 years ago and they were launching them like crazy. it's funny, i do not have that thought at all from the Kiss of Death and don't remember thinking it at the time, and yet i will never forgive drexler for shooting early before stockton's 3. i remember being very pissed he took the shot early and then of course crushed when it ended up ending our season. and like i said, neither was determined by the outcome b/c i didn't mind elie's while it was happening (though it may have been b/c the panic i felt thinking horry had just thrown it out of bounds and the relief that elie got it didn't give me time to panic about the shot going up early) and i hated drexler's when it did. the outcome just made each better/worse.
I mainly remember Maxwell beating the Spurs with his 3s. Maxwell hated the Spurs back then. I remember the leaning 3pointer in the alamodome.
good point. seattle's run through the Western Conference in 96 was among the most impressive playoff performances i've seen, as well. that team was hitting on all cylinders. that, in my mind, was the best western conference team the bulls ever beat in their championship runs...with portland as a close second.
I always liked Sam Mack as a 3-point shooter...he could get hot fast and was instant offense...next to Kenny Smith, Maloney was our best shooting PG and his first two years were money from 3-point range...but I think Bullard is my alltime favorite Rockets 3-point gunner...
Cuttino and Max both played 6 seasons for the Rockets. And Vernon still made 58 more 3pointers. I bet Vernon never had a 24 second violation in his entire career!
I have to vote for Kenny Smith. I was never a big fan of his...he'd play a good game about every 5 games. But what he did in game one at Orlando, after the Rox fell behind by over 20 points, wow, that was my favorite game of all time. Every time my wife pisses me off, I go watch that game and it puts a smile on my face. Then of course, Kenny didn't even score in game 2!
Game Four, 1995 NBA Finals. LAST SHOT of THE GAME. A tradition of letting DREAM shoot the three in the RUDY T era.
a) Cuttino had the game-winning 3 against GS his rookie year. Francis had a few, including the one against the JAZZ 2 years ago at Compaq. Don't think they haven't had their share b) Don't forget game-tying ones...like Maxwell's turnaround fadeaway at the buzzer against the Heat that helped us extend towards the 22-1 start in '93 (minor point...the leaner at the Alamodome by Max was a 2...the game-tying one about 15 seconds before was the 3) I don't count Maloney cause he was only good when the 3 pt line was moved in... How about Richard Petruska?
Not sure about the career percentages (around 40%)....but for me Bullard and Smith were the most consistent. Especially in the 4th quarters! It just seemed like every time they shot, there was a pretty good chance the ball was going to go in. They both may have 40% carerr shoting percentages. But I bet they shot better in the 4th quarters (seemed like 60%). Mario Ellie and Vernon were next on my list... But as far as most 3pts made and most buzzer beaters. Maxwell has the franchise on that.
