30 best shots in NBA Playoffs history
By John Buhler
17. Mario Elie’s Kiss of Death versus Phoenix Suns: 1995 Western Conference Semifinals, Game 7
That two-year stretch when Michael Jordan hovering around the Mendoza Line at the plate for the Birmingham Barons was the Houston Rockets’ time to shine in the upper echelon of the NBA. They had an unbelievable center in Hakeem Olajuwon, so it was easy to see how they could win back-to-back NBA Finals in 1994 and 1995.
To have a shot at repeating, the Rockets had to put away an excellent Phoenix Suns on the road in Game 7 of the 1995 Western Conference Semifinals. Rockets big man Robert Horry would throw a powerful over-the-head pass to wing Mario Elie open in the corner to hit a three.
Elie would nail the corner three and blow a kiss to the saddened Suns bench. That made shot from distance put Houston up 113-110 with 7.1 seconds remaining. Houston would go on to beat the San Antonio Spurs in six games in the Western Conference Finals and sweep the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals to win a second NBA title.
The shot is known as the Kiss of Death in basketball circles and very popular in the Houston area. It was part of the Clutch City phenomenon that swept the City of Houston during this era. Until the Rockets became washed up with Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen on the team, the Clutch City Rockets were the toast of the town.
Though they never met in the NBA Finals, one would have to wonder how a series between Houston and the Chicago Bulls would have shaken out? Pippen and Jordan would have been more than a handful for the Rockets’ backcourt. However, few teams in NBA history were as clutch as those mid-1990s Rockets.