The situation: The Houston Rockets blew big leads and dropped their first two games at home in the second round to the defending Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns. The local newspaper, The Houston Chronicle, displayed the headline "Choke City" after the second fiasco against the Suns.
The result: The Rockets won the next two games in Phoenix and successfully defended their home court, going forward, for a 4-3 series victory.
The aftermath: The Rockets would advance to the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, which they would trail 3 games to 2. The Rockets would win games 6 and 7 to with their first, ever, NBA Championship. The repeated narrow escapes by the Rockets gave birth to the moniker “Clutch City” for Houston.
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The pretext: The Rockets faced elimination, trailing the Utah Jazz 2 games to 1 in the best-of-five opening round series. The Rockets would rally to win Game 4 and then take Game 5 in Utah.
The situation: The Houston rockets faced the Suns, again, in the second round of the playoffs, trailing 3 games to 1 and facing elimination.
The result: The Rockets were able to force overtime and survive to play, and win, a Game 6 and Game 7.
The aftermath: The Rockets never looked back, winning the Western Conference Finals in six games and sweeping the Orlando Magic in the Finals, making the 6th seeded Rockets the lowest conference seed ever to win an NBA Championship. The “Clutch City” name achieves boiler plate status in the NBA when referring to the Houston Rockets and their "Double Clutch" in 1995.
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| Sir Charles never got a second shot in the NBA Finals. He has "Clutch City" to thank. 2 |
The year: 2006
The situation: The Dallas Mavericks held a 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals over the Miami Heat. Leading by 13 points with six minutes remaining in Game 3, the Mavericks had the Heat, and the series, all but put away, as no team in NBA history has ever won a best of seven series after trailing 3 games to none.
The result: Dwyane Wade elevated himself to the NBA’s group of “A list” superstars in this series, starting by leading a rally and finishing the game with 42 points and 13 rebounds en route to a dramatic comeback victory.
The aftermath: The Heat never looked back, going on to win the Finals 4-2. Dwyane Wade won the NBA Finals MVP award, being recognized as one of the league’s elite going forward.
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| The beginning of The Legend of "Flash" 3 |
The situation: The Dallas Mavericks trailed the Oklahoma City Thunder by 15 points with less than 5 minutes remaining, leading the series 2 games to 1 in the Western Conference Finals. OKC was on the verge of tying the series, heading back to Dallas, and avoid an ominous 3 games to 1 hole, which usually is sign of doom for the team trailing in any professional sport, with comebacks from such a deficit being rare.
The result: Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks began hitting difficult shots and following them up by hitting improbable shots. The Mavs rallied to send the game into overtime and then took complete control, earning the win by allowing the Thunder only 6 points in the final five minutes and overtime.
The aftermath: The Mavs completely let the air out of the Thunder’s balloon, winning the following game and advancing to the NBA Finals.
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| You couldn't spell "choke" without the letters "OKC" that night. |
The situation: The Dallas Mavericks trailed the Miami Heat by 15 points with less than 7 minutes remaining, trailing 1 game to none in the NBA Finals. Miami was on the verge of taking a 2-0 series lead, heading to Dallas. A two games to none hole is often sign of doom for the team trailing in any professional sport, with comebacks from such a deficit in the Finals round being rare.
The result: Dirk Nowitzki scored the Mavericks’ last 9 points, en route to a series tying victory earned by allowing only 5 points to the Heat for the remainder of the game. Dallas claimed home court advantage for the remainder of the series.
The aftermath: ???
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| AGAIN??? 4 |
Apparently there IS a DeLorean with a Flux Capacitor, like from the movie Back To The Future. It is in Texas. Like the Houston Rockets in the mid-1990s, the Dallas Mavericks were able to hop in and channel the karma from a prior improbable comeback.
Following Miami’s Game 1 victory in the NBA Finals, many pundits in sports media predicted a Heat series victory in 5 games or less. Many said that the Mavericks cold not stop Dwyane Wade and LeBron James and Chris Bosh, possibly one, maybe two, but not all three. With seven minutes remaining, the analysts appeared to be spot on. Unfortunately for the Heat, Dirk happens.
The ultimate irony (or “poetic justice” or whatever term you prefer) is that the Heat were less than half of a quarter away from taking a series lead that few teams recover from. The comeback by the Mavericks shifted the momentum of the series and added to Dirk Nowitzki’s legacy at the expense of the legacy of Dwyane Wade and other members of the Heat. Five years ago, the Mavs were less than half of a quarter away from taking a lead that no team ever recovered from, only to fall in a performance that began Dwyane Wade’s legacy and cast a shadow over the legacy of Dirk Nowitzki.
Sports are often like life. This is one of the most alluring characteristics of sports. Poetry is an art form based on what man can experience in life. Last night, life imitated art.
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| The DeLorean: Texas style!!! 5 |
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1) Image from sportsblink.com
2) Image from bleacherreport.com
3) Image from Sports Illustrated
4) Image from NBC Sports
5) Image from cezl.wordpress.com
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