Houston Suffers Historic Game 7 Loss Against Warriors

Six years ago on Tuesday, the Houston Rockets put together one of the worst playoff performances in NBA history. In Game 7 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals, the Rockets missed 27 straight 3-pointers against the Golden State Warriors, leading to a 101-92 loss at the Toyota Center.

The horrific shooting night ended the Rockets’ chances of returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1995. The loss also marked a discouraging end to the best season of the James Harden era.

Harden led the Rockets to a record 65 regular season wins. His success made him just the third player in team history to win MVP honors, joining Moses Malone (1979 and 1982) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1994). Harden averaged 30.4 points over 72 games.

However, his greatness did not eclipse the importance of Chris Paul, who the Rockets landed in a blockbuster deal with the Los Angeles Clippers 10 months prior. Paul played a vital role in the Rockets’ success and helped the team take a 3-2 lead over the Warriors with a victory in Game 5. Unfortunately, Paul was unavailable for the last two games due to a hamstring injury.

In the Game 7 loss to the Warriors, Houston shot 7 of 44 from behind the arc. Harden finished with 32 points while shooting 2 of 13 from deep. Trevor Ariza missed all nine of his attempts from behind the arc. This also marked his final game as a member of the Rockets. Ariza signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Phoenix Suns in July.

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