I still get chills thinking about that Game 7 buzzer in Houston. The 2018 Western Conference Finals between the Warriors and Rockets wasn't just basketball—it felt like watching two heavyweight champions trading blows for seven straight rounds. What's fascinating is how the scoreboard tells its own story quarter by quarter. That opening period ended 16-16, which sounds almost impossibly low until you remember both teams were playing defense like their lives depended on it. I remember watching Klay Thompson and Trevor Ariza trading desperate close-outs, the ball bouncing off the rim like it was made of rubber.

Then came the second quarter where Golden State exploded for 38 points while holding Houston to just 25. This was when Kevin Durant decided to become an unstoppable scoring machine—I counted at least three possessions where he just rose up over defenders like it was a practice shootaround. The Rockets' switching defense that had worked so well suddenly looked vulnerable, and you could see the frustration building on Chris Paul's face as he watched from the bench with that hamstring injury. Honestly, that 38-25 quarter changed everything—it gave the Warriors breathing room and planted that seed of doubt in Houston's mind.

By halftime it was 53-43, and what struck me was how both teams seemed to be playing completely different styles. The Warriors were doing their beautiful basketball thing with all those crisp passes and off-ball movement, while Houston was grinding through isolation plays. I've never seen a series where the contrast in philosophies was so stark. The third quarter ended with the exact same ten-point margin at 69-59, which tells you how evenly matched they were when both teams were at their best. Those back-to-back threes from Steph Curry late in the third were absolutely demoralizing—the kind of shots that make you just shake your head and laugh.

What many people forget is how the Rockets missed 27 consecutive three-point attempts in that decisive Game 7. I still can't believe that stat—it's one of those basketball anomalies that just doesn't make sense given how lethal Houston's shooting had been all season. Meanwhile, the Warriors kept finding ways to score when it mattered most. Draymond Green's defense during that final stretch was maybe the most underrated performance of the entire series—he was everywhere, switching onto guards, protecting the rim, and somehow still directing traffic like a floor general.

Looking back, I think this series represented the peak of that Warriors-Rockets rivalry. The intensity, the strategic adjustments game to game, the sheer talent on both sides—we might not see something like this again for a long time. That final score of 101-92 doesn't fully capture how tense those last minutes were, with Houston desperately fouling and the Warriors calmly sinking free throws. When that final buzzer sounded, you could see the mixture of exhaustion and relief on Golden State's faces—they knew they'd survived basketball's version of a street fight.