The rivalry of the San Antonio Spurs – Houston Rockets has been relatively dormant for nearly two decades. There were moments between the David Robinson / Hakeem Olajuwon days, such as 13 in 35, but the IH-10 competition has not reached the playoffs since The Admiral and The Dream were in the square.
That all started to change when a rising opponent of the Spurs Drive for Five moved from Oklahoma City to Houston. The arrival of James Harden helped lead the Rockets to their best era since the 1990s, putting the other Texas rivalry back in focus. It was consistently full of classic moments, the last being the immediate classic of last season with Lonnie Walker IV’s career night, but also one of the biggest funerals ever, with the refs missing a strikingly clear Harden dunk, and then the Coach’s Challenge unleashed. rules by not reviewing the call at Mike D’Antoni’s request – it all led to my favorite SP episode with JR Wilco when the Rockets tried to protest the outcome of the game.
What made the rivalry really feel again was the playoff series that has been missing for 22 years, and it finally happened in the second round of 2017, with the Spurs initially getting the preference to win but having to fight for Tony Parker after to lose a season. ending injury and Kawhi Leonard in spots (including the entire match 6) on a sprained ankle. The result was an instant classic in Game 5, followed by a shocking blowout in Game 6 when Harden was essentially a no-show, while the short-handed Spurs led a wire-to-wire blowout.
A few of these above games may be very reminiscent of the one aspect that Harden’s time with the Rockets perhaps best defined, at least in the eyes of Spurs fans: their incredible ability to keep him in the clutch. This has happened at least five times, dating from Tim Duncan in 2015, to Jakob Poeltl (twice) last season. There was also the Manu Ginobili one there somewhere.
That’s why we say goodbye to James Harden, who is now on his way to the Brooklyn Nets. Thank you for helping to evoke a once classic sleeping rivalry, and most of all, thank you for all the good memories. I’m just sorry the Spurs will not get another chance to say goodbye to these next two games when the Rockets come to town. Those moments will be missed.