People around the United States believe that the Houston Rockets are a joke. They believe Houston’s team has only gotten to the second round of playoffs with luck.

After totally dominating the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, the Rockets came out flat in the second round against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers have been playing at the top of their game after Point Guard Chris Paul hit the series clinching shots against the San Antonio Spurs.

In the first 4 games of the Rockets vs Clippers series, the Los Angeles led the series 3-1 after dominating Houston in every game. Well, the Houston Rockets and their leader James Harden had enough.

Coming out in game five, the Rockets had a chip on their shoulder. They were never down and won every quarter except the third, where the Clippers only had one more point than them, leading the Rockets to a 124-103 victory.

Now game six was a different story. The Rockets started out rough. They couldn’t hit their shots and had too many turnovers. By the end of the third quarter, the Rockets were down by 20. Houston knew it was either win or go home.

Dwight Howard was not ready to go home as he told the media, “It’s either win or go home. And I’m not ready to go on vacation.”

Houston became a completely different team in the fourth quarter. They outscored Los Angeles 40-15 in the fourth alone. Which earned them the 119-107 win in Los Angeles.

With this being said, the series was tied 3-3. The Rockets have not won a series while down 3-1 since 1995 when Hakeem Olajuwon led the Rockets passed the Phoenix Suns and on to a championship.

In game seven against the Clippers, the Rockets absolutely showed what they were made of. They were not down one time during the course of that whole game. With the whole team stepping up, the Rockets were able to fight passed Los Angeles for a 113-100 win.

The Rockets are the underdogs going against the Golden State Warriors at their house for game one, who have only lost three times at home. This game is the most important one of the series. If Houston wins, they will have enough momentum to surpass the Warriors and win a championship. Just like the 94-95 Rockets. You know what they say, history does indeed repeat itself.