Sticking together
Tomjanovich said no lengthy playoff run, however, is void of rough spots. Foul trouble, a hostile environment, a key injury, internal unrest, all can divide a team. Finding a way to snatch a victory or two in the face of dire circumstances is the difference between advancing and going home.

“One characteristic of those Houston (championship) teams was that we were great when our backs were against the wall,” said Tomjanovich, whose team won eight games over two years when facing elimination. “All the bull went out the window, all the complaints went out the window. The thought was, ‘Now it’s time for us to really get together and get this thing done.’”

The current Rockets showed signs of a bit more toughness earlier this month in a victory over the Sonics. After Yao was taken down by Seattle forward Nick Collison, who was issued a flagrant foul, McGrady came to his teammate’s defense. McGrady pushed Collison and earned a technical foul. After the incident, Houston immediately forced the ball into Yao, who scored eight points in the next 54 seconds.

“When a team is really physical with you, you’re either gonna back down from it or you’re gonna respond to it. I thought we did a great job of responding and accepting that challenge,” said McGrady, who doesn’t carry the reputation as an enforcer. Hanging around Jeff Van Gundy, whose New York Knicks teams in the late 1990s thrived when play turned physical, has certainly rubbed off on the superstar. Still, McGrady, who has averaged nearly 30 points in 25 career playoff games, has yet to win a series (0-5). Maybe this is the year.

When it comes to team resolve, it’s hard to top the 1994 Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets, seeded eighth, lost the first two games in a best-of-five series against the 63-19 Sonics, who were favored by many to win the championship. But Denver rallied win three in a row to become the first No. 8 to defeat a No. 1, surviving four shot-clock violations in overtime to win Game 5 on the road.

Then, in the West semifinals, the Nuggets lost the first three games to the Utah Jazz, but won Game 4 by one point, Game 5 in double overtime, and Game 6 by three points, to become just the second team to force a seventh game after falling behind 3-0.

Recalled coach Dan Issel, “It was so much fun because we were just having a good time and playing, and nothing was expected of us. And when you’re winning games in overtime and double overtime, you’re getting the bounces of the ball too. And it seemed like it was kind of a team of destiny that we were doing the things we were.”

Dikembe Mutombo, who turns 41 in June and is still contributing as a backup to Yao, was Denver’s best player in 1994. He smiled recently when recalling the Nuggets’ magical victory over the Sonics and called it “one of the best experiences of my lifetime.”

Bill Walton, a free spirit who won two collegiate championships as the centerpiece of powerful UCLA teams in 1972 and 1973, and led the team-oriented Portland Trail Blazers to an NBA crown in 1977, became depressed after foot injuries forced him to the sidelines.

“The game was my religion and the gym was my church,” Walton said. “When I couldn’t play, it ruined my life.”

By the mid-1980s, Walton desperately wanted to be part of an exceptional group again. He contacted his childhood favorite, the Boston Celtics, who then traded to acquire the big redhead. With Walton as the sixth man, the Bird-led Celtics went 67-15 in 1986, cruised to a title, and are still regarded as one the greatest teams of all-time.

“My whole life was the dream of being part of a special team,” Walton said. “I live for the championships. To me, that’s what it’s all about. To be able to go back and sit on the bench there and be Larry’s Bird’s valet and cheer and yell, I can never thank the people of New England, the Boston Celtics, Red Auerbach, K.C. Jones and Larry Bird enough because they just didn’t just give me my career back, they gave me my life back.”

A rich life that gave him several more of these moments.

“There’s nothing like being in that locker room before the biggest of games,” Walton said. “The walls are just breathin’ down, and you’re in there playing pepper with the ball. You’re doing your pushups, and slap fight, getting all warmed up, but more importantly you’re looking deep into the souls of your teammates. There’s nothing like that. That’s what you sit there and dream about. That chance — that chance to be part of something special.”

Is it game time yet?

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