The Rockets–Spurs rivalry is an
NBA rivalry
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
between the
Houston Rockets and the
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...
. It is considered one of the most bitter rivalries in the league due to both teams being in the same division, contested games, and close proximity. It is also known as the I-10 Rivalry since San Antonio and Houston lie on
Interstate 10, it is one of the three
National Basketball Association rivalries between teams from
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, the others featuring Houston and San Antonio versus the
Dallas Mavericks.
Background
The rivalry began in 1976 when the Spurs moved from the
American Basketball Association along with the
Denver Nuggets,
New York Nets
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
, and
Indiana Pacers. The Rockets and Spurs competed for the division title, with the Rockets winning it first in 1977 and the Spurs in 1978 and 1979. In 1980, they met in the playoffs for the first time as the Rockets led by
Moses Malone
Moses Eugene Malone (March 23, 1955 – September 13, 2015) was an American professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1974 through 1995. A cen ...
and
Calvin Murphy
Calvin Jerome Murphy (born May 9, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player who after a prolific collegiate career at Niagara, where he averaged 33.1 points per game over his three years, played in the National Basketball Assoc ...
beat the Spurs led by
George Gervin
George Gervin ( ; born April 27, 1952), nicknamed "the Iceman", is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, ...
and
James Silas
James Edward Silas (born February 11, 1949) is a retired American professional basketball player, who played the point guard position. Born in Tallulah, Louisiana, Silas played the majority of his career with the Dallas Chaparrals/San Antonio Spurs ...
2–1. The rivalry grew intense as both teams moved from the
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
to the
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
. They met again in 1981, this time in the second round. The Spurs had home-court advantage, and were heavily favored, winning the Midwest Division Title and the Rockets only 40–42. The Rockets and Spurs fought to the bitter end before the Rockets held on to win Game 7 capped by Murphy's 42 points. The Rockets would advance to the Finals in a losing cause to the
Boston Celtics. The rivalry sparkled in 1995 when the sixth-seeded Rockets led by
Hakeem Olajuwon beat the top-seeded Spurs led by
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
David Robinson
David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...
.
Even after Olajuwon was traded to the
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...
in 2001, he recalled the fond memories he had of playing against his old San Antonio rival.
After years of dormancy, the rivalry once again began to show signs of life following the 2023
draft lottery when prospective first overall pick
Victor Wembanyama
Victor Wembanyama (born 4 January 2004) is a French professional basketball player for Metropolitans 92 of the LNB Pro A. He is widely projected to be the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft and is considered one of the greatest prospects ...
appeared to celebrate the Rockets' failure to obtain the first pick of the draft. Wembanyama was also visibly delighted upon the Spurs' receiving of the first pick because of the team's popularity in his home country of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
Notable games
1981 NBA Playoffs
In a classic Game 7, the 40–42 Rockets looked to upset the 52–30 Spurs to advance to the Western Conference Finals. Capped by Calvin Murphy's 42 points, the Rockets defeated the Spurs to advance to the Conference Finals and defeated the likewise 40–42
Kansas City Kings
The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division ( ...
, and moved on to the
1981 NBA Finals
The 1981 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1980–81 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. It pitted the 62–20 Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics a ...
where they were defeated by the Celtics. The Spurs waited another 18 years to see a Finals berth and Title.
1995 Playoffs
In 1995, the Rockets looked to win their second straight
NBA championship
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...
. Despite a slow start, the 6th-seeded Rockets (47–35) managed to get through their first opponent, the 3rd-seeded
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
(60–22) 3–2, and the 2nd-seeded
Phoenix Suns (59–23) 4–3. The Rockets would encounter the top seeded Spurs waiting (62–20) for them in the Conference Finals. The Spurs had swept their first round opponent, the Denver Nuggets (41–41) before defeating the
Los Angeles Lakers (48–34) in 6 games.
Olajuwon displayed perhaps the most impressive moments of his career when the Rockets faced the San Antonio Spurs in the Conference Finals. Recently crowned league MVP Robinson was outplayed by Olajuwon, 35–24 PPG. When asked later what a team could do to "solve" Olajuwon, Robinson told
''LIFE'' magazine: "Hakeem? You don't solve Hakeem."
[Hakeem Olajuwon](_blank)
nba.com/history. (Accessed January 3, 2007.) The Rockets won every road game that series and beat the Spurs 4–2. The Rockets swept the
Orlando Magic in the
1995 NBA Finals
The 1995 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1994–95 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. The series pitted the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic against the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion ...
4–0, and secured their second Championship. Thus far, the Rockets had won a division title, conference title and Championship before their rivals.
2004 Rockets comeback
It took place on December 9, 2004, after a long fought game in which the Spurs had mostly led (up by 10 points under a minute left) and the Rockets crowd beginning to boo their own team;
Tracy McGrady
Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, two- ...
scored 13 points in 35 seconds, including a 3 with 1.7 seconds left to give the Rockets an 81–80 comeback win. The game ended a 7-game losing streak against the Spurs for Houston.
2008 Spurs comeback
In 2008, the teams would meet for the first match on November 14 at the
AT&T Center
AT&T Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena on the east side of San Antonio, Texas, United States. It is the home of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association.
The arena seats 18,418 for basketball, and 19,000 for concerts or ...
in
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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. The Spurs began the 2008 season with their worst record in franchise history (2–4), as a result of an injury to
Manu Ginóbili
Emanuel David Ginóbili Maccari (, , ; born 28 July 1977) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. Over a 23-year professional career, he became one of only two players (along with Bill Bradley) to have won a EuroLeague title, an ...
at the
2008 Summer Olympics, and a sprained ankle to
Tony Parker
William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in ...
early in the season.
This was the first regular season game in which the newly acquired
Ron Artest Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
along with
Tracy McGrady
Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, two- ...
and
Yao Ming would face San Antonio. The Rockets led most of the game, going up by as many as 14 with 7 minutes left.
Despite missing more than 40 points in scoring from their two injured guards, two time MVP
Tim Duncan
Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA histor ...
(22 pts) and rookie
George Hill (17 pts) led the Spurs' comeback. They finally took the lead (76–75) with 59 seconds left on a hook shot by Duncan.
He blocked a layup that would have given the Rockets the lead with less than 2 seconds left. After the Spurs made 1 of 2 free throws, the Rockets got one last chance to win, but Artest missed a 3 as time expired, giving San Antonio a 77–75 victory.
2017 Playoffs
The Spurs entered the
2017 NBA playoffs as the second seeded
Western Conference team after securing a 61–21 record, their second straight 60+ win season and 20th consecutive postseason appearance. The Spurs dispatched their first round opponent, the
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...
, in six games.
The Rockets entered the playoffs as the third seeded Western Conference team after securing a 55–27 record, a significant improvement over their 41–41 eighth-place finish the previous season. They were led by the 2016-2017
Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award.
Some of the ...
,
Mike D'Antoni
Michael D'Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) is an Italian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
While head coach of the Ph ...
. Under D'Antoni, the Rockets set the NBA record for most 3-pointers made in a single season with 1,181. In the first round, the Rockets defeated the
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...
in five games.
The Spurs and Rockets met in the Western Conference Semifinals. The match-up was the first between the two teams in the playoffs since the 1995 Western Conference Finals. In Game 1, the Rockets defeated the Spurs 126–99. In Game 2 of the series, the Spurs returned the favor with a 121–96 victory. However, the Spurs lost starting point guard
Tony Parker
William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in ...
indefinitely with a ruptured left quadriceps tendon. The teams split games 3 (Spurs) and 4 (Rockets), evening the series at 2 games apiece. In Game 5 of the series, all-star Spurs small forward
Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Anthony Leonard ( ; born June 29, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A two-time NBA champion, he is a five-time All-Star with three All-NBA ...
suffered an injury to his right ankle in the third quarter, which would eventually result in him sitting out for the closing portions of the game. The game was tightly contest throughout, with both teams failing to capitalize on opportunities to take the lead at the end of regulation. In the overtime period,
Manu Ginóbili
Emanuel David Ginóbili Maccari (, , ; born 28 July 1977) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. Over a 23-year professional career, he became one of only two players (along with Bill Bradley) to have won a EuroLeague title, an ...
blocked
James Harden's three-point attempt in the final seconds to secure the 110–107 victory for the Spurs. The Spurs would close out the series in a 114–75 Game 6 win. The 75 points were the lowest point total of the season for the Rockets. The Rockets, known throughout the season for their prolific offense, were held to less than 100 points three times in the series after being held below 100 only five times in the regular season.
Spurs rout James Harden, Rockets 114–75 to win series.
ESPN: May 11, 2017. Retrieved on August 2, 2017.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockets-Spurs rivalry
National Basketball Association rivalries
Houston Rockets
San Antonio Spurs
1976 establishments in Texas