Houston Rockets are first Texas team to face Boston in NBA Finals ahead of Celtics vs. Dallas Mavericks 2024 game

The Boston Celtics dynasty could become an 18th world championship when ABC13 broadcasts the 2024 NBA Finals in the coming weeks. That’s if they get past the Dallas Mavericks.

But before you tune into 13 for ESPN on ABC’s coverage of Luke Doncic vs. Jayson Tatum Thursday at 7 p.m.you should take a moment to honor their hometown Houston Rockets.

Of course, Clutch City won the Larry O’Brien Trophy in back-to-back seasons in the ’90s. Oh, how sweet that was! But that came years after Houston made its first two trips to the NBA Finals against none other than the Celtics, who in the 1980s were already winners of 13 titles.

The video above shows the Rockets’ uniform evolution over the years.

However, the Rockets are not four-time champions. Boston turned down both chances in the 1981 and 1986 NBA Finals.

Here are summaries of what happened in each series.

1981: Boston beats Houston, 4-2

Rockets head coach:Del Harris

Long before the Play-In tournament, the In-Season tournament and a 16-team bracket, Houston was the lowest seed in the Western Conference to make the playoffs.

As the West’s sixth playoff qualifiers, Houston legends Moses Malone and Calvin Murphy led a 40-42 Rockets team, including forward Rudy Tomjanovich, who was four years away from a shot deadly punch on the field of Kermit Washington.

Houston won a best-of-three series in the first round against the Lakers, played seven games with the rival San Antonio Spurs and outlasted another underdog team, the fifth-seeded Kansas City Kings, in five games to qualify for the final against the team with the best record all season, Boston.

Larry Bird of the Celtics set the dominant tone in Game 1 at Boston Garden, leading his team to a 57-51 halftime lead. Houston came back strong in the second half, closing the gap. But “Larry Legend” was effective throughout the sequence, delivering one of his best-known highlights: a missed jumper, leaping for the rebound and passing the ball from his right hand to his left hand as his momentum was taking him out of bounds as he scored. . Houston lost 98-95.

The Rockets would win game two, 92-90, heading to Houston tied. However, both teams traded wins at Summit, with Boston winning Game 3 and Houston winning Game 4.

Boston took no prisoners when the series returned to the Garden for Game 5, winning by a margin of 29 points. The Celtics clinched title No. 14 on Houston’s home court in Game 6.

It would take five years, including two losing seasons, the Malone trade and two first overall picks, to put Houston in a position to make a comeback.

1986: Boston beats Houston, 4-2

Rockets head coach:Bill Fitch

Houston had seasons of 14 and 29 wins between trips to the Finals, which led to Harris’ firing. However, these teams allowed a historic reloading of the roster.

By the time they reached the 1986 playoffs as the second-best team in the Western Conference, the Rockets had University of Houston star Hakeem Olajuwon in his second year in the league and Virginia star , Ralph Sampson, established during his third year as a professional.

They were known as the “Twin Towers,” the dominant 7-foot frontcourt duo.

Houston swept the Sacramento Kings in the first round, eliminated the Denver Nuggets in six games and eliminated a promising dynasty, the Los Angeles Lakers, at the last second to advance to the NBA Finals.

But the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Houston once again drew the Celtics, who had a league-best 67-win season and just one playoff loss.

Unsurprisingly, Boston was favored to win, and why not? It included Larry Bird, Bill Walton and Kevin McHale, all Hall of Famers.

Unlike the 1981 series, Houston fell behind after the first four games, 1-3, with a threat of elimination in the fifth and sixth games.

The Rockets won Game 3 in Houston, rallying from an eight-point deficit to win by two. Game 4 went to the Celtics, thanks to a three-pointer from Bird.

The final game in Houston, Game 5, belonged to the Rockets, who avoided elimination but could not avoid an expulsion. Referees tossed Sampson after he threw punches at an opposing player, prompting the benches to clear. This gave Clutch City a 15-point victory.

Game 6 was academic. Boston led by 30 points in what became a decisive 17-point game. Boston won title No. 16, the last before ending a 22-year championship drought in 2008. Just search “Kevin Garnett, anything is possible.”

As for Houston, don’t worry, dear Rockets fan. It took the right coach in “Rudy T,” the right central star in Olajuwon, a supporting cast – we see you, Vernon Maxwell and Mario Elie, and eight more years to win the ultimate prize.

Will Boston add an 18th championship, or will Dallas bring some hardware back to Texas? Watch the NBA Finals on ABC13. See the schedule below. All times are Central Time.

• Game 1: in Boston, Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
• Game 2: in Boston, Sunday June 9, 7 p.m.
• Game 3: in Dallas, Wednesday June 12, 7:30 p.m.
• Game 4: in Dallas, Friday June 14, 7:30 p.m.
• Game 5*: in Boston, Monday June 17, 7:30 p.m.
• Game 6*: in Dallas, Thursday June 20, 7:30 p.m.
• Game 7*: in Boston, Sunday June 23, 7:30 p.m.

* – if necessary