1985–86 Houston Rockets season

The 1985–86 Houston Rockets season saw the Rockets lose the 1986 NBA Finals to the Larry Bird-led Boston Celtics in six games.

1985–86 Houston Rockets season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachBill Fitch
ArenaThe Summit
Results
Record51–31 (.622)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Midwest)
Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(Lost to Celtics 2–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKTXH
Home Sports Entertainment
RadioKTRH

In the playoffs, the Rockets swept the Sacramento Kings in three games in the First Round, then defeated the Denver Nuggets in six games in the Semifinals, before dethroning the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the Conference Finals after Ralph Sampson hit a 20-foot jumper as time expired in game five at The Forum to reach the NBA Finals.

In the NBA Finals, the Rockets faced off against the Boston Celtics in a rematch of the 1981 NBA Finals, where the Celtics won in six games. Just like in their previous NBA Finals meeting, the Rockets would lose in six games against the Celtics.

Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
119Steve HarrisSG United StatesTulsa
354Sam MitchellSF United StatesMercer
357Michael Payne United StatesIowa
488Mike Brooks United StatesTennessee
6134Sam Potter United StatesOral Roberts

Roster

Regular season

Season standings
Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Houston Rockets 5131.622–36–515–2620–10
x-Denver Nuggets 4735.573434–713–2815–15
x-Dallas Mavericks 4438.537726–1518–2316–14
x-Utah Jazz 4240.512927–1415–2615–15
x-Sacramento Kings 3745.4511425–1612–2915–15
x-San Antonio Spurs 3547.4271621–2014–279–21
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Los Angeles Lakers6220.756–
2 y-Houston Rockets5131.62211
3 x-Denver Nuggets4735.57315
4 x-Dallas Mavericks4438.53718
5 x-Utah Jazz4240.51220
6 x-Portland Trail Blazers4042.48822
7 x-Sacramento Kings3745.45125
8 x-San Antonio Spurs3547.42727
9 Phoenix Suns3250.39030
10 Los Angeles Clippers3250.39030
11 Seattle SuperSonics3151.37831
12 Golden State Warriors3052.36632

Record vs. opponents
1985-86 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —0–65–14–21–11–14–21–11–15–12–01–13–34–25–14–12–02–02–01–11–10–21–4
Boston 6–0—5–15–11–11–14–12–02–05–12–02–05–04–25–14–21–11–11–12–02–02–05–1
Chicago 1–51–5—3–30–22–02–42–01–13–31–10–21–52–34–21–51–11–10–21–11–11–11–4
Cleveland 2–41–53–3—1–11–11–50–20–23–21–11–11–53–34–10–62–00–22–01–11–10–21–5
Dallas 1–11–12–01–1—3–30–24–11–52–02–31–40–22–01–10–25–02–33–34–23–25–11–1
Denver 1–11–10–21–13–3—1–13–23–32–04–13–22–01–11–11–14–13–23–33–32–33–32–0
Detroit 2–41–44–25–12–01–1—1–11–15–12–01–12–44–24–12–40–21–10–21–12–01–14–2
Golden State 1–10–20–22–01–42–31–1—0–51–15–12–40–21–11–11–12–41–52–32–32–42–31–1
Houston 1–10–21–12–05–13–31–15–0—2–03–21–40–21–12–01–13–23–24–25–13–23–32–0
Indiana 1–51–53–32–30–20–21–51–10–2—2–00–22–42–32–40–61–10–20–21–12–00–25–1
L.A. Clippers 0–20–21–11–13–21–40–21–52–30–2—2–41–12–02–00–22–42–45–01–43–33–20–2
L.A. Lakers 1–10–22–01–14–12–31–14–24–12–04–2—2–01–11–12–05–16–05–04–14–25–02–0
Milwaukee 3–30–55–15–12–00–24–22–02–04–21–10–2—4–26–04–11–12–02–02–02–02–04–2
New Jersey 2–42–43–23–30–21–12–41–11–13–20–21–12–4—5–12–42–02–02–01–10–22–02–4
New York 1–51–52–41–41–11–11–41–10–24–20–21–10–61–5—0–62–00–21–11–11–10–23–3
Philadelphia 1–42–45–16–02–01–14–21–11–16–02–00–21–44–26–0—2–02–02–01–11–11–13–3
Phoenix 0–21–11–10–20–51–42–04–22–31–14–21–51–10–20–20–2—2–42–33–25–11–41–1
Portland 0–21–11–12–03–22–31–15–12–32–04–20–60–20–22–00–24–2—3–21–45–12–30–2
Sacramento 0–21–12–00–23–33–32–03–22–42–00–50–50–20–21–10–23–22–3—5–15–02–41–1
San Antonio 1–10–21–11–12–43–31–13–21–51–14–11–40–21–11–11–12–34–11–5—2–32–42–0
Seattle 1–10–21–11–12–33–20–24–22–30–23–32–40–22–01–11–11–51–50–53–2—2–31–1
Utah 2–00–21–12–01–53–31–13–23–32–02–30–50–20–22–01–14–13–24–24–23–2—1–1
Washington 4–11–54–15–11–10–22–41–10–21–52–00–22–44–23–33–31–12–01–10–21–11–1—

Game log

Playoffs

West First Round

(2) Houston Rockets vs. (7) Sacramento Kings:Rockets win series 3–0

  • Game 1 @ The Summit, Houston (April 17): Houston 107, Sacramento 87
  • Game 2 @ The Summit, Houston (April 19): Houston 111, Sacramento 103
  • Game 3 @ ARCO Arena I, Sacramento (April 22): Houston 113, Sacramento 98

Last Playoff Meeting: 1981 Western Conference Finals (Houston won 4–1; Kings were in Kansas City, Missouri)

West Conference Semifinals

(2) Houston Rockets vs. (3) Denver Nuggets: Rockets win series 4–2

  • Game 1 @ The Summit, Houston (April 26): Houston 126, Denver 119
  • Game 2 @ The Summit, Houston (April 29): Houston 119, Denver 101
  • Game 3 @ McNichols Sports Arena, Denver (May 2): Denver 116, Houston 115
  • Game 4 @ McNichols Sports Arena, Denver (May 4): Denver 114, Houston 111 (OT)
  • Game 5 @ The Summit, Houston (May 6): Houston 131, Denver 103
  • Game 6 @ McNichols Sports Arena, Denver (May 8): Houston 126, Denver 122 (2OT)

Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Rockets and Nuggets.

West Conference Finals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (2) Houston Rockets: Rockets win series 4–1

  • Game 1 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 10): Los Angeles 119, Houston 107
  • Game 2 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 13): Houston 112, Los Angeles 102
  • Game 3 @ The Summit, Houston (May 16): Houston 117, Los Angeles 109
  • Game 4 @ The Summit, Houston (May 18): Houston 105, Los Angeles 95
  • Game 5 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (May 21): Houston 114, Los Angeles 112

Last Playoff Meeting: 1981 Western Conference First Round (Houston won 2–1)

NBA Finals
GameDateHome TeamResultRoad Team
Game 1May 26Boston112–100Houston
Game 2May 29Boston117–95Houston
Game 3June 1Houston106–104Boston
Game 4June 3Houston103–106Boston
Game 5June 5Houston111–96Boston
Game 6June 8Boston114–97Houston

Boston beats Houston 4–2

Player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Craig Ehlo3605.5.429.333.7931.3.8.3.12.7
Steve Harris5708.5.442.200.9261.0.9.4.14.5
Allen Leavell741216.1.463.358.854.93.2.8.17.9
Lewis Lloyd828229.8.529.200.8434.03.71.2.316.9
John Lucas, Jr.656532.6.446.308.7752.28.81.2.115.5
Rodney McCray828231.8.537.000.7706.33.6.6.710.3
Hank McDowell2209.3.571.000.6802.2.3.0.13.0
Akeem Olajuwon686836.3.526.000.64511.52.02.03.423.5
Jim Petersen822020.3.477.000.7064.81.0.5.76.2
Robert Reid82526.3.464.182.7573.72.71.1.212.0
Ralph Sampson797636.3.488.133.46111.13.61.31.618.9
Granville Waiters4303.6.333.000.167.7.2.1.2.6
Mitchell Wiggins78015.4.454.083.7292.01.3.8.16.8

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

See also

References
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