That would be Robert Reid and Allen Leavell. That means they got to play with both Mosses Malone and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Both times, Houston upset the defending champs the LA Lakers en route. But soon, they squared off against the Boston Celtics. And, again, both times the Rockets lost in six games.
But what a ride it was both times. The Rockets, led by Malone, got by the Lakers in three games (Just that, best-of-three) in the first round. They then edged the Spurts in seven, and were in the finals after a five-game Conference Finals showdown with the Kansas City Kings.
Malone did all he could in the finals. Reid contributed, too. Boston squeaked by three points (98-95). Robert had a team-high 27 points. Malone, who'd scored just 13 in the opening tilt, got the Rockets back on track with a 92-90 win in the second contest. 31 points. Reid had only 2 and Leavell just 5. All tied going to Houston, nevertheless.
Larry Bird shot only 3-11, and no Celtic scored 20 points. But really, that was the only good news. Malone had 23 points and 15 rebounds, but got no help from Reid and Leavell. However, the home team won game four by five points. This time, Reid had 19. Leavell didn't play. Malone sure did! 24 points, 22 rebounds.
This was it for Houston. Boston won game five by 29 points, 109-80. This despite 10 points from Allen Leavell and 9 from Robert Reid. The Rockets lost the series when the Celtics beat them 102-91 in game six. Robert Reid tied Larry Bird with a game-high 27 points. All for naught.
Five years later, the Rockets had both Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. Two tall guys, believe me. Known as the Twin Towers, they caused a lot of trauma for opposing teams. It took only five games to beat the defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals tat year. But the Boston Celtics were too tough in the finals. Here was a team that lost just once at home in the regular season, going 67-15!
Hakeem scored 33. Robert Reid chipped in with 16. Off the bench, Allen Leavell had 8. Not enough, alas. Boston won 112-100. Boston then took game 2, with Reid and Leavell combining for only 11. The Dream and Sampson had just 39 between them, Ralph shooting 1-13 from the field. More was needed. The home team had Robert Parish and Bill Walton to play centre. Both were good in game one. Parish had 23 and Walton 10 in only 18 minutes! This was a problem the young Rockets could not overcome in the last round.
They got that in game three, as the series moved to Houston. The Rockets got a big help from Reid. 20 points and 9 rebounds. Leavell had only 5. But Olajuwan had 22. Sampson had 22 points and 20 boards! Final score, Houston 112, Boston 110.
Alas, Boston took game four, by just three points. 106-103 was the final. Though the two big men had over 20 each, Reid had to settle for 19, while Leavell had just 2. Although, Allen did have 5 assists in just 7 minutes of action.
Houston avoided elimination with a 111-96 win in game five. So it was heading back to Boston. Leavell played 2 more minutes, and made the most of it. 7 points and 4 assists. Reid had only 13 points, but also had 17 assists himself. Sampson scored just 12. But Olajuwon 32, playing all but one minute.
Boston ended it all in game six. Leavell had another 7 points in just 11 minutes. Reid had 12 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. But in this 114-97 loss, The Twin Towers were bad. The Dream had just 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Sampson had 8 points and 10 rebounds. The Celtics had the counter, of course, as they deployed Robert Parish and Bill Walton to great effect. While Parish shot just 4 for 9 from the field and 3 for 10 from the line in the 6th contest, he finished with 11 points plus 11 rebounds. Walton, playing just 17 minutes, nearly had a double-double of his own: 10 points and 8 rebounds! Boston's other big man, Kevin McHale, was all over the place with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Was Larry Bird ever awesome: 29 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds! Houston had been over-matched from the jump ball.
Reid would bounce around after his trade from Houston in 1987/88, retiring in 1991. Leavell stayed with the Rockets, enjoying one last decent year, also in 1987/88. He retired in 1989.
References
Bondy, Filip. Tip-off: How The 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever. Da Capo Press. 2007.
The Official Site Of The NBA" NBA, National Basketball Association. <http://www.nba.com>. (03 May. 2018).
Sports Reference LLC. Basketball-Reference.com - Basketball Statistics and History. http://www.basketball-reference.com/. (03 May. 2018).
Both times, Houston upset the defending champs the LA Lakers en route. But soon, they squared off against the Boston Celtics. And, again, both times the Rockets lost in six games.
But what a ride it was both times. The Rockets, led by Malone, got by the Lakers in three games (Just that, best-of-three) in the first round. They then edged the Spurts in seven, and were in the finals after a five-game Conference Finals showdown with the Kansas City Kings.
Malone did all he could in the finals. Reid contributed, too. Boston squeaked by three points (98-95). Robert had a team-high 27 points. Malone, who'd scored just 13 in the opening tilt, got the Rockets back on track with a 92-90 win in the second contest. 31 points. Reid had only 2 and Leavell just 5. All tied going to Houston, nevertheless.
Larry Bird shot only 3-11, and no Celtic scored 20 points. But really, that was the only good news. Malone had 23 points and 15 rebounds, but got no help from Reid and Leavell. However, the home team won game four by five points. This time, Reid had 19. Leavell didn't play. Malone sure did! 24 points, 22 rebounds.
This was it for Houston. Boston won game five by 29 points, 109-80. This despite 10 points from Allen Leavell and 9 from Robert Reid. The Rockets lost the series when the Celtics beat them 102-91 in game six. Robert Reid tied Larry Bird with a game-high 27 points. All for naught.
Five years later, the Rockets had both Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. Two tall guys, believe me. Known as the Twin Towers, they caused a lot of trauma for opposing teams. It took only five games to beat the defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals tat year. But the Boston Celtics were too tough in the finals. Here was a team that lost just once at home in the regular season, going 67-15!
Hakeem scored 33. Robert Reid chipped in with 16. Off the bench, Allen Leavell had 8. Not enough, alas. Boston won 112-100. Boston then took game 2, with Reid and Leavell combining for only 11. The Dream and Sampson had just 39 between them, Ralph shooting 1-13 from the field. More was needed. The home team had Robert Parish and Bill Walton to play centre. Both were good in game one. Parish had 23 and Walton 10 in only 18 minutes! This was a problem the young Rockets could not overcome in the last round.
They got that in game three, as the series moved to Houston. The Rockets got a big help from Reid. 20 points and 9 rebounds. Leavell had only 5. But Olajuwan had 22. Sampson had 22 points and 20 boards! Final score, Houston 112, Boston 110.
Alas, Boston took game four, by just three points. 106-103 was the final. Though the two big men had over 20 each, Reid had to settle for 19, while Leavell had just 2. Although, Allen did have 5 assists in just 7 minutes of action.
Houston avoided elimination with a 111-96 win in game five. So it was heading back to Boston. Leavell played 2 more minutes, and made the most of it. 7 points and 4 assists. Reid had only 13 points, but also had 17 assists himself. Sampson scored just 12. But Olajuwon 32, playing all but one minute.
Boston ended it all in game six. Leavell had another 7 points in just 11 minutes. Reid had 12 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. But in this 114-97 loss, The Twin Towers were bad. The Dream had just 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Sampson had 8 points and 10 rebounds. The Celtics had the counter, of course, as they deployed Robert Parish and Bill Walton to great effect. While Parish shot just 4 for 9 from the field and 3 for 10 from the line in the 6th contest, he finished with 11 points plus 11 rebounds. Walton, playing just 17 minutes, nearly had a double-double of his own: 10 points and 8 rebounds! Boston's other big man, Kevin McHale, was all over the place with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Was Larry Bird ever awesome: 29 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds! Houston had been over-matched from the jump ball.
Reid would bounce around after his trade from Houston in 1987/88, retiring in 1991. Leavell stayed with the Rockets, enjoying one last decent year, also in 1987/88. He retired in 1989.
References
Bondy, Filip. Tip-off: How The 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever. Da Capo Press. 2007.
The Official Site Of The NBA" NBA, National Basketball Association. <http://www.nba.com>. (03 May. 2018).
Sports Reference LLC. Basketball-Reference.com - Basketball Statistics and History. http://www.basketball-reference.com/. (03 May. 2018).
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