Houston Rockets: 5 Keys To Winning Game 7

Remember five days ago when the Houston Rockets were dead in the water? Remember when it felt like the Los Angeles Clippers were title contenders after building an improbable 3-1 series lead despite Chris Paul missing the first two games? Remember when this series was over?

After last night’s Game 6 unbelievable comeback, everything’s changed.

Trailing by as many as 19 in the third quarter, the Rockets faced a 13-point deficit entering the fourth. According to ESPN’s postgame show, Houston was 0-49 all-time in franchise history when trailing by double-digits entering the fourth quarter of a playoff game. After a 40-15 fourth quarter last night, with MVP runner-up James Harden on the bench, make that 1-49.

Coming off a monumental win, the Rockets are one victory away from joining eight other teams in NBA history to rally from a 3-1 playoff deficit and win the series. There’s still work to be done, however, and the Clippers won’t be handing this Game 7 away even after that demoralizing loss.

Bearing that in mind, here are the five keys to the Rockets taking Game 7 in Houston and advancing to the Western Conference Finals.

Next: No. 5