The 2004–05 NBA season was the Rockets' 38th season in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, and their 34th season in the city of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. During the offseason, the Rockets acquired All-Star forward Tracy McGrady and Juwan Howard from the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

, acquired All-Star center

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966 – September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Mount Mutombo ...

from the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

, who acquired him from the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

, and signed free agent Bob Sura. The Rockets struggled with a 6–11 start to the season, then played around .500 as they traded Jim Jackson to the

New Orleans Hornets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

for David Wesley in late December. The Rockets would later on win eight straight games in February, as McGrady and

Yao Ming Yao Ming ( zh, c=姚明; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Baske ...

were both selected to play in the 2005 NBA All-Star Game at

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. At midseason, the team traded

Maurice Taylor Maurice De Shawn Taylor (born October 30, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played power forward and center positions. Originally from Detroit, Taylor played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines and was ...

to the

, and acquired Mike James from the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. The Rockets won their final seven games finishing third in the Southwest Division with a 51–31 record, which was their first 50-win season since

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. However, in the first round of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, they lost to their in-state rival, the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

in seven games after taking a 2–0 series lead. Following the season, Sura retired.

Offseason

NBA draft

Roster

Regular season

Tracy McGrady: 13 points in 35 seconds

One notable game during the season was the Rockets' December 9 matchup against 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. In the fourth quarter, at 44 seconds left, the score was 76-68 and the Spurs had the lead. With 35 seconds remaining, Tracy McGrady made a three-pointer. Four seconds later, Devin Brown was fouled and made both of his free throws. With 24 seconds remaining, McGrady made another three-pointer. He was fouled by

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...

when he shot the ball. He went to the free throw line and made a free throw, converting a four-point play. With 16 seconds remaining, Scott Padgett intentionally fouled

, and, because the Rockets were over the foul limit, Duncan went to the free throw line and made both of his free throws. Five seconds later, McGrady made yet another three-pointer, this time over Bruce Bowen. This left the Rockets in a two-point deficit. San Antonio took a timeout. At 7.9 seconds remaining, Brent Barry inbounded the ball to Devin Brown. McGrady stole the ball from Brown and ran to the three-point line, where he made another three-pointer, which would be the game-winning shot. The performance is considered by some13 points, 33 seconds: The night Tracy McGrady was a basketball god - SBNation.com
/ref> to be one of McGrady's career highlights and become a '' Hall of Famer in 2017''.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

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Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

W 98–86
, Tracy McGrady (34) , Mutombo, Yao (8) , Tracy McGrady (8) ,

American Airlines Center The American Airlines Center (AAC) is a multi-purpose List of indoor arenas, indoor arena located in the Victory Park, Dallas, Victory Park neighborhood in downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena serves as the home of the Dallas Stars of the National ...

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W 113–111
,

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20,884 , 2–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , April 28 ,

L 102–106
, Tracy McGrady (28) , Bob Sura (11) , McGrady,

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18,199 , 2–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , April 30 ,

L 93–97
, Tracy McGrady (36) ,

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L 100–103
,

(30) , Tracy McGrady (9) , Tracy McGrady (6) ,

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W 101–83
, Tracy McGrady (37) ,

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18,215 , 3–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 7 , May 7 , @

L 76–116
,

(33) ,

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20,884 , 3–4 , -