25 years ago on this day, Mario Elie buried the most famous shot in Houston Rockets franchise history, known as the 'Kiss of Death' to eliminate the Phoenix Suns in the 1995 playoffs.
With under 10 seconds remaining in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Elie hit a corner three-pointer which broke the deadlock and lifted the Rockets to victory, completing an epic comeback after previously trailing the series 3-1.
Following the shot, Elie turned to the home bench, blowing a kiss in their direction — and with the 115-114 win, the rest was history.
Elie told the Houston Chronicle in 2015, that the kiss was directed at Suns backup centre Joe Klein. "He started that in Game 5," Elie said. "It started as fun, but I got the last kiss. It was just emotion, friendly competition, and us going at each other for the second year in a row."
Watch the game below:
The Rockets became the fifth team (at the time) and the first in 13 years to overcome a 3-1 deficit, with their victory also snapping a streak of 20 straight wins by the home team in Game 7.
Hakeem Olajuwon led the Rockets with 29 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists, while Clyde Drexler added 29 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, overcoming a 46-point performance from Suns guard Kevin Johnson
The Rockets would go on to beat the San Antonio Spurs in the Conference Finals in six games, before sweeping the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals, becoming only the fifth franchise to win back-to-back titles.
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