Houston Rockets head to West Conf. Finals

The Houston Rockets have achieved a rare feat in the NBA Playoffs. They have successfully come back from being down 3-1 in a series to take Game 7, 113-100, over the Los Angeles Clippers.  This is only the ninth time in NBA history that a team has clawed their way back from a 3-1 deficit and claim a Playoff series. James Harden (in photo) led his team with 31 points and Dwight Howard scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.

“When you’re down 19 on the road, it’s easy to give in and just say, ‘Maybe next year,’ ” Harden said. “But I think the injuries throughout the entire year kind of made us fight through adversity no matter what. We always find a way to fight, and another case was being down 3-1.”

The Clippers have never reached the Western Finals and it looks like the franchise will have to make some key changes to avoid another postseason implosion such as this one. The trio of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan played well, but failed to get any reasonable help from their bench. Griffin finished the game with 27 points and 11 boards, Paul scored 26 points and handed out 10 assists, while Jordan scored 16 points and pulled down 17 rebounds.

The Rockets now head to the Western Conference Finals to face the Golden State Warriors in what should be expected to be an offensive showdown between the top two MVP candidates, Harden and awardee Stephen Curry.