No. 4: May 11, 2017
Spurs 114, Rockets 75: This one will long live in infamy for the Rockets, who were eliminated from the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 of their second-round series. Even though Kawhi Leonard sat out due to injury, the Spurs and Gregg Popovich stifled the Rockets by holding them to just 75 points at home. Harden scored just 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting (18.2%), with six turnovers. Houston shot just 28.6% from the field as a team.
In hindsight, this game is most memorable for the changes it sparked in the upcoming 2017 offseason. After that humiliating loss, it was clear the Rockets were more than just a few tweaks from contending for an NBA title. Instead, in an NBA led by the star-studded Warriors, the Rockets desperately needed to surround Harden with more All-Star talent. About six weeks later, the Chris Paul trade happened.
And less than a year later …
No. 3: May 8, 2018
Rockets 112, Jazz 102: This was the Chris Paul game of his two-year Houston tenure, and perhaps of his entire NBA career. In the same round as the prior year’s failure and on the same Toyota Center court, Paul made sure it didn’t happen again.
While Harden was limited by illness and scored just 18 points on 7-of-22 (31.8%) shooting, Paul took over for the home team with 41 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds — securing the first Western Conference Finals berth of his storied Hall of Fame career.
Paul connected on an incredible 8-of-10 attempts (80%) from behind the 3-point arc, including several clutch shots down the stretch as the Rockets put the game and series away to set up their showdown with the defending champion Warriors.
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