Tilman Fertitta on Rockets: ‘We forgot where the basket is’

Fertitta: “We’ve been great in all six games. The three that we’ve lost, we forgot where the basket is the last three minutes of the game.”

Like many people around the Rockets these days, owner Tilman Fertitta isn’t too pleased with the looming Game 7 in Houston’s first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Rockets have won their three games by an average of more than 20 points per game — and they’ve led in the final two minutes of regulation in each of the other three contests. Only one needed to go Houston’s way for a series-clinching victory, yet none ultimately did.

With his team’s crunch-time woes at the forefront of many discussions on Tuesday, Fertitta made a joke at their expense during his weekly interview on CNBC’s Power Lunch. Among his comments:

We’ve been great in all six games.

The three that we’ve lost, we forgot where the basket is the last three minutes of the game.

Fertitta added that he was hopeful of a showdown between the Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the playoffs, noting that it would feature the No. 2 and No. 4 cities in the United States, by population. But for that to be a reality, everyone around the Rockets knows that they must win a decisive Game 7 on Wednesday night.

Game 7 between the Rockets and Thunder tips off at 8:00 p.m. Central, with a national broadcast on ESPN and a regional version (with Houston announcers) on AT&T SportsNet Southwest.

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