Former Rockets Player Still Hurt by Game 7 Loss to Warriors in 2018 West Finals

• Eric Gordon says the Houston Rockets' loss in the 2018 Western Conference finals still stings
• The Rockets lost to the Golden State Warriors in Game 7, where they missed a staggering 27 straight three-pointers
• The Warriors went on to win their second straight NBA title

The Golden State Warriors have been on top of the NBA for a large part of the last decade. From 2016 to 2019, they steamrolled the NBA, winning four titles in eight years.

One team that almost stopped them is the Houston Rockets, led by James Harden and offensive mastermind Mike D'Antoni. They took the Warriors to Game 7 in the 2018 Western Conference finals but fell short. Eric Gordon says the loss still hurts.

The 2017-18 Rockets team was almost as good as the Warriors. They blitzed their way through the regular season with a 65-17 record and faced the star-studded Warriors during the conference finals and took them to a Game 7.

Best comeback in NBA history: Ranking the 10 biggest comebacks in basketball

NBA

They were about to write their names in the history books of the NBA until something bizarre happened in the second half. They led by 11 points in the first half and looked like they were going to upset the defending champions.

They missed 27 3-pointers in a row, and their lead vanished after going 0-for-14 from 3 in the third quarter. The Rockets eventually lost 101-92 to the Warriors, who went on to win the NBA title. They had trusted the three-pointer all season, and it brought them close to their first NBA Finals trip since 1995.

It had worked perfectly in the playoffs, and the regular season but for some magical reason, it stopped in Game 7.

The odds of them missing 27 consecutive 3s were 1 in 72,000, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Gordon on Game 7 defeat

Eric Gordon, who was the 6th Man of the Year in 2017, recently reflected on the Game 7 loss during his guest appearance on The IkoSystem podcast.

Stephen A. Smith blasts James Harden for Game 7 performance vs. Celtics

NBA

"You only get so many chances to win a championship," Gordon said. "To have the chance to beat a team like that — you just never know. Sometimes when you win, you just don’t know how much that attracts other players around the league because we had a good thing going," via SI.

If they won Game 7, LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers probably wouldn't stand a chance considering the Warriors easily swept them in the 2018 NBA Finals.

Harden to return to Rockets?

Sports Brief earlier reported on Harden considering a surprise return to the Rockets, a team he left in January 2021.

Harden declined his $47.4 million player option for 2022/23 this past offseason, then resigned with the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year $68.6 million deal with a second-year option.

The 33-year-old still has a strong connection to Houston. He is still drawn to the community, lifestyle, and family, per Adrian Wojnarowski.