206: 099: The Miracle of Houston, The Pleasure of Mastering the Locker Room (Request for Monthly Tickets!) _3 206: 099: The Miracle of Houston, The Pleasure of Mastering the Locker Room (Request for Monthly Tickets!) _3 After losing G1, the Houston Rockets mysteriously won a game in G2 thanks to Kenny Smith’s 8 out of 7 three-pointers.
In the do-or-die G4, Dream and Clyde the Glide suddenly exploded, combining for 81 points, even claiming themselves that “this was an unplanned victory.”
In the decisive Game 5 in Salt Lake City, the mighty Jazz still led by seven points with five minutes left in the game, but in the next four minutes, the Jazz mysteriously missed many open jump shots, and the Rockets reversed the game.
The second round was even more outrageous.
Charles Barkley and his Phoenix Suns once led the Rockets 3-1, with Game 5 hanging by a thread as Drexler, even sick with the flu, arrived from the hospital just half an hour before tip-off.
The Suns were half a minute away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals when Olajuwon tied the game with a hook shot, then Robert Horry, an unheralded role player, suddenly took over the overtime and seized the game, winning G5.
In the crucial Game 7, the Suns were up by 15 points in the second quarter, with the Rockets still trailing until 7 seconds before the final buzzer.
In the final moments, Kenny Smith couldn’t even make it past half-court under pressure, nor could Olajuwon and Drexler get a chance to touch the ball.
The ball was reluctantly passed to Mario Elie, who had made only one field goal the entire game.
The Suns’ defense was undoubtedly successful, forcing the Rockets to place their fate in the hands of the least threatening player, a moment Phoenix fans surely thought they had secured their spot in the Western Conference Finals.
The least threatening, Mario Elie, eradicated all of the Suns’ efforts with a corner three-pointer.
Moreover, that shot was Elie’s only three-pointer and second field goal of the entire game!
It’s hard to explain why a player who hadn’t made a single three-pointer all game would be so precise at such a critical moment.
After the shot, Mario Elie blew a flying kiss toward the Suns’ bench, later boasting that it was the “Kiss of Death.”
This was the Houston Rockets’ path to advancement, filled with luck and all sorts of surprises.
Each team had ample opportunities to eliminate them, but it seemed that at every life-or-death moment, suddenly hot shots and seemingly irrelevant role players would miraculously come forward to save the team.
Everyone thought that the Rockets were just too lucky!
The current Houston Rockets, in people’s minds, were like the 2011 Dallas Mavericks, taken lightly by most.
Even though the Rockets were defending champions, they were only sixth in the regular season, and their postseason play had been treacherous.
Before the 2011 Finals, nobody was betting on the Mavericks either, even though they had swept the defending champions in the Western Conference semifinals.
People just thought the Mavericks were lucky.
And having just beaten one of the greatest players in history, Magic, facing soft opponents like the Spurs and a luck-dependent team like the Rockets, it was normal to be complacent.
But Roger would not make that mistake.
He didn’t want to follow the old path of Magic, nor tread the trail of some great GOAT.
He needed to change the team’s mentality.
So, after most of the others had left the locker room, Roger sat next to Shaq, “Shaq, we need to talk.”
“Thinking about discussing where to chill on vacation?” O’Neal looked up but noticed Roger’s stern face, so he too sobered up, “What do you want to talk about?”
“You broke the rules, Shaq, you shouldn’t have done that.”
“Not going out the night before a game, never missing a practice no matter what, you promised these were the key to us getting here.
Now, you’ve broken the rules.
Don’t you think you owe me and the coach an apology?” Roger said sternly.
O’Neal felt disheartened, not enjoying being spoken to in such a scolding tone, especially when he was in a good mood.
But he admitted that he had indeed broken the rules he had agreed to.
So O’Neal set aside his pride for a moment: “Alright man, I apologize, sorry.
I bought a morning flight, but the dealer last night was just too good; I couldn’t get up this morning.
Hey, I spent a lot of money to get into first class at noon, I did my best.”
Roger was momentarily stunned, a 168 cm dealer, for a 216 cm Shaq…
Well, their game must measure height in a different way.
“Good,” Roger’s expression remained serious, “Now let’s talk about something else.”
“Can we talk about the vacation now?”
“No, we need to talk about the Finals.”
“Wait, you’re not worried about that goof Admiral, are you?
I can handle him; I embarrassed him during the regular season.
Plus, I heard Dennis Rodman had a falling out with him.
A team like that can’t have any fighting spirit.
Think about it—would the Magic stand a chance if you and I fell out?”
“I’m afraid we need to worry about another opponent.”
Why would that bother you?
Man, you’re too tense, you should relax.
Where’s your old flame Yasmeen?
Didn’t she come to Orlando to see you?
If you guys broke up, my dealer friend has a few girlfriends.”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes, Shaq.”
“I’m not joking, the whole world knows the Houston Rockets just got lucky to get this far, and we actually took out Michael.
Why should we be worried?”
Roger stood up, looking down at Shaq: