It’s a Saturday evening in Oakland, CA, and the Houston Rockets are preparing to take on their arch nemesis, Golden State Warriors, in a prime time special on ABC. The last time the two faced off, James Harden led the Rockets to a 135-134 overtime victory, behind a 44-point triple-double performance.
Although Houston held a 2-0 regular season lead, no one gave the Rockets a chance to defeat the Warriors with the news that Harden would miss the game due to a cervical strain and flu-like symptoms. While everyone gave the Warriors an automatic dub, one future Hall-of-Famer refused to let the Rockets go down without a fight.