HARRIS COUNTY - HSA INSIDER
A weekly look at all things Houston sports from the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority: Rockets remind us of some big comebacks
Patti Smith
Apr 27, 2018, 6:22 am
James Harden and the Rockets took care of business. Kevin C. Cox
The Harris County – Houston Sports Authority Insider will take you inside Houston Sports each Friday because #WeAreHoustonSports!
The first round of the playoffs is a wrap. Four games to one, if you’re counting.
James Harden appears to be an MVP in-waiting and everyone is taking turns at stepping up when defenses try to stop him. Take away that one head-shaker of a 19-point loss in Game 3 and the Rockets are, indeed, running as one as they careen into the second round of the NBA playoffs against the winner of the Utah-Oklahoma City series.
Yes, everyone’s talking. About Harden and Chris Paul. Clint Capela. The possibility of defensive star Luc Mbah a Moute coming back from his shoulder injury. About taking care of business.
And about the third quarter. Specifically that 50-point explosion – 22 of them from Harden -- by the Rockets in Game 4. It was brilliant. A game changer. A total takedown. And, it seems, hint of things to come.
The only team in history to score more points in one quarter of an NBA playoff game? Los Angeles, which scored 51 in the fourth in a 1962 loss to Detroit.
Two nights later, the Rockets broke it open just after halftime with a 30-15 run that had us wondering if they’re about to make third quarters their own.
It also got us remembering some of the other huge comebacks we’ve witnessed in Houston sports history.
We’re only skimming the surface, but we offer the following up – in no certain order to get you thinking what you’d put on your list.
* The Astros’ World Series wild, magical run last fall. They came back against the Yankees and the Dodgers – in individual games and in the ALCS and World Series. But what sticks out are Games 2 and 5 of the #HoustonStrong World Series.
We only thought we had seen an incredible comeback in Game 2 when Jose Altuve came home on Carlos Correa’s deep line drive in the bottom of the ninth. In Game 5, what didn’t happen? The Astros had to come from behind three times, including twice when they were down by three runs. They needed five homeruns and a walk-off single from Alex Bregman in the 10th before Houston won it 13-12. Did we also mention the game went five hours, 17 minutes, had a total of 417 pitches and seven homeruns and was the second-highest scoring game in World Series history? And was named 2018 Houston Sports Awards Moment of the Year? Whew.
*Sticking with baseball, we remind you about last May’s game against Minnesota when the Astros trailed 8-2 going into the eighth inning and scored 11 runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth to win 16-8. Going into that game, the Astros were 0-659 in franchise history (back to 1962) when they were down by at least six runs going into the eighth. That win made them 1-659.
* Tracy McGrady’s whirlwind 13 points in 35 seconds against the Spurs in 2004. With the Rockets down by 10 in the closing minute, announcers said the game was over. Then McGrady took over. He scored on a three-pointer, a three-pointer where he was fouled and made the free throw and two more three-pointers. The last one came when McGrady got a turnover on the other end of the court and took it the distance to score with 1.7 seconds left to give Houston an 81-80 win.
* The NFL Playoffs, Wild-Card Game, January 3, 1993, Rich Stadium. Not a comeback, rather The Collapse. The Houston Oilers dominated the first half of the game and took a 35-3 lead over Buffalo early in the third quarter on safety Bubba McDowell’s 58-yard interception return. Then things turned. With Jim Kelly on the sidelines, Frank Reich came off the bench, picked Houston apart and rallied the Bills to 38-35 lead before Houston sent the game into overtime with an Al Del Greco field goal. In overtime, Warren Moon overthrew Ernest Givins and Nate Odomes intercepted to set up a field goal and a 41-38 Bills’ win. It remains the largest comeback/collapse in NFL history.
* Super Bowl LI. Okay. No Houston team was playing, but the Bayou City was the game’s congenial host. With New England, down 28-3 early in the third quarter, Tom Brady and the Patriots scored 25 unanswered points to tie the game on James White’s 1-yard run and a Brady-to-Danny Amendola two-point conversion, then won the game in overtime on a 2-yard White run.
* Ian Poulter, 2018 Houston Open. The man made for big moments opened the week with a 73, was in 123rd place and had his bags packed for the trip home after round one. He bounced back to shoot rounds of 64-65-67 and earn the final spot in the 2018 Masters with a one-hole playoff win over former University of Texas star Beau Hossler. It was the largest first-round-to-win jump in 35 years on the PGA TOUR.
Feel free to chime in and send us your favorite Houston comeback moment on Twitter - @HOUsportsAwards.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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