Mario Elie, Kiss of Death: Where Will Amazing Happen This Year?

[omarreyna04]

i hope my kid gets to see houston be clutch city again

[getnashtysuns]

as a lifelong suns fan this is painful to watch, i haven't seen this play in over 10 years

[MrBeanage]

Dream, Glide, Kenny the Jet, OT, Super Mario, Big Shot Bob,Bully, Rudy T!!!

Any more nicknames?

[DQPhat]

@MrBeanage Mad Max.

[orb90orb90]

this shit gives me the chills.

[laronharris1]

That Rockets team would`ve taken out The Jordan led Bulls had they ever met in the finals........... We need to build our team to match this one......

[AdrianPetersonFan369]

I miss those days. Mario is a boss.

[AnkleBreakinBalla]

dat was probably da best Rockets team dat was eva organized

[clyde1400]

I remember when Elie hit this shot. I ran outside in a circle around the house screeeming with my arms in teh air and hurried back in before the commercials ended... That was when the NBA was good.

[htownslim]

@clyde1400 Me too :)

[houseofglass21]

@clyde1400 That's funny, I did the exact same thing. I was about 10 years old and I run up and down the stairs screaming for joy. Man those were the days!

[Trinidadian125]

I really think some of this "Where Will Amazing Happen This Year?" crap that ABC is putting out is overdramatic. NBA really didn't have to do this. They KNEW the games were gonna be good, and didn't need to rely on theatrics to get the point across. ABC is just really pathetic.

[LTlKUSHl21]

rofl,look when he gets hugged he gets scared LOL

[getnashtysuns]

As a life long suns fan, this shot is hard to watch, I remember thinking whoever won this series was going to win the championship

[Deadshot089]

Vernon Maxwell,Mario Elie,John Starks and Penny Hardaway are my favorite shooters of all time behind Jordan and Drexler.

[1CLOSTA713]

richmond and the brooms when we swept the magic!

[Dirk420]

Awesome work brother. I'm hoping Shane Battier does the same thing in Game 7 vs. the Lakers.

[joekiddlouischama]

You should do one of these for K.J.'s dunk on Olajuwon ...

[Dirk420]

Only problem being that the theme of the video is reserved strictly for winners

[joekiddlouischama]

During K.J.'s first seven full seasons in Phoenix from 1989-1995, the Suns won the most regular season games in the NBA (394, an average of 56.3 per year) and the second-most playoff games (46, trailing only Chicago).

[Dirk420]

how many rings?

[joekiddlouischama]

Well, it's a team sport. K.J. was a winner, but not all winners end up winning championships. Had those series with Phoenix gone just a little differently at a critical juncture here or ther, Olajuwon might not have won any rings, and he was one of the greatest winners of all time.

[joekiddlouischama]

Obviously, Olajuwon was the best basketball player on the planet during the 1994 and 1995 playoffs, and at his peak, he was perhaps as brilliant as Jordan. But the next-best basketball player in the '94 and '95 playoffs might have been K. Johnson.

[Dirk420]

What he did those years was incredible. He literally pwned every big man in the game. Ewing? next. Robinson? Next...Shaq? next. He left no doubt he was the best player in the game during the 94 and 95 seasons. And remember Jordan played in 1995.

[SunMan6A6]

yeah,well jordan just came from retirment,and he sucked that playoffs,wonders,next sesson he won a championship,and where was hakkem?

[joekiddlouischama]

In the 1995 playoffs, Jordan averaged 31.5 points, 4.5 assists, 6.5 rebounds, 2.1 steals, 1.4 blocks, a .484 field goal percentage, a .367 three-point field goal percentage, and an .810 free throw percentage. I realize that numbers aren't everything and that he may have showed some uncharacteristic "rust" here or there, but Jordan still proved tremendously proficient.

[SunMan6A6]

the numbers are there but he was rust

[Dirk420]

I just giving you a hard time and talking some smack. KJ was a killer. Loved his game. Wish we had him on the Rockets.

I still don't know how we managed to steal that series from Phoenix. The Rockets didn't look like they had a prayer down 3-1. I remember moving out of my freshman dorm and coming back home thinking the Rockets were done. That Elie shot made it all sweeter. And the kiss may be my favorite gesture just ahead of Deke's Finger Wag

[Stellarmasterelite]

If we had KJ on the Rockets, we would be the crazy matadors slaying the damn Bulls every single year...

[KiPwnNubs]

Naw..Kenny Smith is better than KJ..he nailed 7 three pointers in the 1st game of 1995 nba finals..including a game typing three..Kenny > Johnson

[Stellarmasterelite]

Well u talking about a single game, and we're talking three consecutive seasons of at least 20 ppg and 10 assist per game...fyi, only him, oscar robertson and isiah thomas have done that. consistency anyone?

[KiPwnNubs]

well..kenny is clutch..and without kenny. houston couldnt've won a championship. kj is overall better than kenny.. but he didnt lead the team to a championship.

[joekiddlouischama]

... Kenny didn't "lead" a team to a championship, either. He was a good role player and a platoon point guard (with Sam Cassell), not a star.

By the way, K.J. was also "clutch." In three career Games Sevens, he averaged 31.0 points, 10.0 assists, a 3.75:1.00 assists-to-turnover ratio, and a .933 free throw percentage (42-45, 15.0 FTA).

[joekiddlouischama]

Watch Game Seven of the '95 Suns-Rockets series (it's on this site) and then tell me who was better ...

[Virus278]

what shot are you talking about?

[joekiddlouischama]

I was just responding to a poster who had advocated the curious theory that Kenny Smith was better than Kevin Johnson.

[roo7227]

@joekiddlouischama There were a lot of things Kenny did better than KJ, but IMHO he was the overall player KJ was.. What Kenny did well, worked well for this particular team (don't turn the ball over, avoid the press, and get the ball to Hakeem).. Kenny is one of the best ball handlers in league history..

[joekiddlouischama]

Yeah, NBA history turned on those two series between the Suns and Rockets in 1994 and 1995. They easily could have gone Phoenix's way, but some of the Suns' players didn't come through and Houston proved courageous. It would have been very easy for the Rockets to fold in one or both of those series.

[fishbone3333]

This was the 1995 Conference semis. I really enjoyed that Rockets team and was always an Hakeem fan.

If you recall, the Rockets were defending champs, but only managed a six seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

On their way to the repeat, the Rockets won a staggering 9 road games, including three elimination games on the road.

Their road playoff record was 9-3 that year. Truly amazing, particularly if you consider that they were only 22-19 on the road in the regular season.

[clutchcyle]

damn i miss elie

[NegroChiflado]

Those were some awesome times...

Hopefully they can do it again this year!!!

[you2me]

They were, I never loved basketball more than when the rockets won their championships.

[Dirk420]

Amazing times. I remember parking my car on Richmond after those championships and partying my ass off. The current Rockets team has a lot of heart just like the 95 squad.

[ac3jc]

man Richmond was a mad house! we couldnt move our car so I had to walk 6 miles home, ha!

[ejnoble]

0:05 isnt that backcourt violation?

[k7dog]

omg i love the rockets but i agree with u, ur talking about the robert horry pass right.

[tanlogic]

No - Kenny Smith was behind the midcourt line so he can pass to Horry like that. Once crossed you can't go back.

[k7dog]

ok ya you're right my bad

[kingcat85]

dude u really need to do one of these for von wafer's reverse slam against the blazers a little while back, that'd b sick

[dlf09]

sweet video

[mattc77777]

only thing that would've made it better would've been to slow it down a little, but it was an awesome video and awesome idea. GO ROCKETS!

[dmenacela]

no you don't have to slow it down, this is timed perfectly! good job.

[crisisteam]

you've got to slow it down a bit more :P

[kehwa]

True road warrior days...