ROCKET NOTES

With the Rockets, it’s never over until it’s over.

In 1994, when they won their first title, they lost the first two games of the Western Conference semifinals on their home court to the Phoenix Suns, after which Houston newspapers ran “Choke City” headlines, then came back to win that series.

They trailed the New York Knicks in the finals, 3-2, but won Games 6 and 7 at home.

The next season, they rallied from a 2-1 deficit against the Utah Jazz in the first round, winning Game 4 in Houston and Game 5 in Salt Lake City.

Then they trailed the Suns, 3-1, in the second round before coming all the way back, winning Games 5 and 7 in Phoenix.

That’s seven elimination games in two playoffs, three on the road, in which the Rockets went 7-0.

Of course, there are only two players left from those teams, Hakeem Olajuwon and Matt Bullard, and Bullard has gone and come back since 1995.

Now, it’s a great story to tell the other guys when times are tough, like now.

“Rudy [Tomjanovich] definitely brings up those years,” Bullard says. “Hakeem’s a pretty quiet guy but I tell the guys, ‘Don’t make any summer plans yet, you can never count the Rockets out.’ We’ve had our backs against the wall many times.”