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The rivalry between the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets had been relatively dormant for nearly two decades. There were times between David Robinson / Hakeem Olajuwon’s days, like 13 in 35, but the IH-10 Rivalry hadn’t made it to the playoffs since The Admiral and The Dream faced off.
That all started to change when a growing 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 time since the 1990s, bringing the other Texas rivalry back to the center of attention. It was full of classic moments throughout, the most recent being last season’s instant classic which featured Lonnie Walker IV’s career night, but also one of the biggest officiating mistakes of all time, the refs missing an obviously obvious Harden dunk, then botched the Coach’s Challenge. rules by not revising the call at Mike D’Antoni’s request – all leading up to my favorite SP episode with JR Wilco when the Rockets tried to protest the outcome of the game.
What made the rivalry real again was that playoff series that had been missing for 22 years, and it ultimately happened in the second round of 2017, with Spurs initially favored to win but having to fight back by losing Tony Parker. to one season- End of the injury and Kawhi Leonard in some places (including all of Game 6) to 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 as the shorthanded Spurs led a push-and-pull blowout.
A few of those games mentioned above may remind many of the one aspect that perhaps best defined Harden’s time with the Rockets, at least to Spurs fans in the eyes of Spurs fans: their bizarre ability to block him in the game. ‘clutch. It has happened at least five times, from Tim Duncan in 2015, to Jakob Poeltl (twice) last season. There was also Manu Ginobili’s one somewhere.
So with that, we say goodbye to James Harden, who is now on his way to the Brooklyn Nets. Thank you for helping to resurrect a once classic rivalry that has gone dormant, and most importantly, thank you for all of the fond memories. I’m only sorry the Spurs don’t have a chance to say ‘goodbye’ over the next two games when the Rockets get to town. These moments will be missed.
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