Last Time They Met In The Playoffs: Spurs vs Rockets
By Dante Nelson
When was the last time the San Antonio Spurs faced the Houston Rockets in the NBA Playoffs?
In the history of the NBA Playoffs, we’ve seen teams from the same conference meet each other. 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.
We look at this second round matchup of the 2nd seed San Antonio Spurs and 3rd seed Houston Rockets. I think, from the start, the history of these two teams is really interesting.
For example: The Spurs have never beaten the Rockets in the playoffs. Sure, they won games, but never the series. Yup. This needs a note: The Rockets never faced the Spurs when Tim Duncan played. So…this was before that era that we know today.
More from Sir Charles In Charge
- Dillon Brooks proved his value to Houston Rockets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
- NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Player from each team most likely to be traded in-season
- Golden State Warriors: Buy or sell Chris Paul being a day 1 starter
- Does Christian Wood make the Los Angeles Lakers a legit contender?
- NBA Power Rankings: Tiering all 30 projected starting point guards for 2023-24
The last time these two faced off was in 1995, in the Western Conference Finals. The Rockets ended up being NBA champions that year (winning their second in a row before Michael Jordan’s Bulls got back into the swing of things). The Rockets were the number 1 seed and the Spurs were 2nd.The series was really interesting back then. Both teams won by more than 20 points and by single digits.
In the end, the Rockets averaged just 1.7 points per game more than the Spurs. Houston had the highest game total for points (111) and also the lowest (81). Those 81 points was 9 points less than the next lowest point total. It was just one of those series.
The Rockets won the series 4-2. Houston won the first two. Then, San Antonio won the next two. The Rockets finished things off with two more wins.
So, of course, 2017 is interesting because, once again, the Rockets are not facing Tim Duncan. This Spurs team that is without their best player in franchise history gets to face off against one of the very few teams the they have not been able to beat in the playoffs.
Let me add this: Out of the 16 times (over the course of 3 series) they faced each other, Houston has won 10 games with San Antonio of course winning 6. Winning streaks weren’t anything special with the Rockets winning three in a row at the most and the Spurs winning two in a row at the most. Somewhat of a back and forth between the teams in their history.
Here’s another interesting nugget: Each time they faced each other, the stakes went higher. Their first meeting (1980) was in the first round. Their second meeting (1981) was in the second round. The third meeting was in the third round, also known as the Conference Finals. Such progression.
Houston doesn’t have a problem with their timing. While everyone else was getting destroyed by the Spurs in the Duncan era, the Rockets chilled, keeping their winning record intact. Now that he’s gone, it’s time to get back to work.
Also, Houston is a team to look out for. They’re not going to go down easily. I might even say the Rockets could pull it off. The Spurs’ recent disappointments and the Rocket’s smooth operation could bring this to 6 games at least easily.
Must Read: The LA Clippers Flop In The Playoffs...Again
The battle for Texas will be interesting. If the Rockets do win the series, when the Spurs face the Rockets again, Duncan will have no choice but to come back suit up. Looking at the history, this seems to be my favorite matchup that I’ve done in this “last time they met” series.