Last Time They Met In The Playoffs: Houston Rockets vs Oklahoma City Thunder
By Dante Nelson
What happened the last time the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder met in the NBA Playoffs?
In the history of the NBA Playoffs, we’ve seen teams from the same conference meet each other time and time again. Some teams seem to meet each year and other teams see each other barely. In this “Last time they met” series, we’re going to look at the current NBA playoff matchups and review the last time these two teams met in the playoffs.
The Rockets and Thunder have seen each other a lot since their first meeting in 1982. They met the following other years: 87, 89, 93, 96, 97, and 2013.
Yeah, the 80’s and 90’s was their time. But, as you saw, the 2013 playoffs was the last time they met.
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Both teams were different back then in 2013. This Thunder team was the top seed in the West while the Rockets were 8th as they met in the 1st round. The Thunder were contenders (at least right there on the edge).
But now, in 2017, the 3rd seed Rockets look like they are on the verge of contending while the 6th seed Thunder seem to be overachieving with their do it all player.
Ah, but 2013, right?
This series went to six games, but it almost didn’t. The Thunder shot off three straight wins. The Rockets, with their backs up against the wall, pulled out a two-point win.
Then, when the series returned the Oklahoma City, Houston won another game. So, here we had what could have been a sweep turn into a legit series. After the fifth game, the series went to Houston again but OKC put an end to the series, finally.
Game 1 was a 29-point blowout. After that, things were fairly close. The games were decided by single-digits the rest of the way. Things were bittersweet for OKC.
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They won the series but lost Russell Westbrook to injury. This also explains why Houston lasted as long as they did. Eventually, the Thunder would lose to the Memphis Grizzlies in the next round.