RealGM

A newspaper headline blared this new title for Houston after the Rockets blew a 20-point lead to the Phoenix Suns in the fourth quarter in Game Two of the Western Conference Semifinals. It was the biggest blown fourth-quarter lead in the history of the NBA playoffs and came on the heels of the Rockets losing an 18-point lead in Game One, putting them down 0-2 to the Suns.

"We traveled directly to Phoenix after the game," Hakeem Olajuwon said. "That was a terrible flight. It was silent on the plane, as if somebody had died. Nobody was prepared for what had happened."

The Phoenix fans had their brooms out in full force as the teams took the court for Game Three, and after the first half, the Rockets looked as though they were about to be swept out of the playoffs as the Suns took a nine-point lead.

Then the Rockets put the ball in the hands of Vernon Maxwell and went into attack mode.

Maxwell responded with a Rockets' playoff record for points in a half with 31 as the team rolled up 77 second-half points to win 118-102. The Rockets ditched their "dump the ball into Olajuwon and have three players spot up for three-pointers" offense in favor of letting Maxwell, rookie Sam Cassell and Mario Elie drive to the basket on every possession.

"Penetration is just hard work," Olajuwon said. "Max, Elie and Cassell ... they were willing to work for the win. Anybody can settle for the outside jumper. We didn't take the easy way out."

In Game Four, the Rockets went back to Olajuwon, who scored a team-high 28 points, but it was the second-half play of Kenny Smith and Otis Thorpe that propelled Houston to a 107-96 win to even the series at 2-2.