1980–81 Houston Rockets season

The 1980–81 Houston Rockets season saw the Rockets lose the NBA Finals. The 1981 Rockets are the only team since the 1959 Minneapolis Lakers to make the NBA Finals with a losing record.

1980–81 Houston Rockets season
Conference champions
Head coachDel Harris
ArenaThe Summit
Results
Record40–42 (.488)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Midwest)
Conference: 5th (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(Lost to Celtics 2–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKHTV
RadioKTRH

In the playoffs, the Rockets defeated the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in three games in the First Round, then defeated the San Antonio Spurs in seven games in the Semifinals, and the Kansas City Kings in five games in the Conference Finals, reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, only to fall to the Boston Celtics in six games in the NBA Finals.

Draft picks
Main article: 1980 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College/Club team
2 27 John Stroud  United States Ole Miss
2 38 Terry Stotts  United States Oklahoma
2 43 Billy Williams  United States Clemson
4 84 Dean Hunger  United States Utah State
5 106 Albert Jones  United States New Mexico
6 130 Everette Jefferson  United States New Mexico
7 152 Joe Nehls  United States Arizona
8 173 Rosie Barnes  United States Bowling Green

[1]

[2]

Roster
Roster listing
Houston Rockets roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 10 Dunleavy, Mike 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) South Carolina
SF 00 Garrett, Calvin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Oral Roberts
G 6 Henderson, Tom 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Hawaiʻi
F 11 Jones, Major 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Albany State
G 30 Leavell, Allen 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Oklahoma City
C 24 Malone, Moses 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Petersburg High School
PG 23 Murphy, Calvin 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Niagara
F/C 5 Paultz, Billy 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) St. John's
SF 50 Reid, Robert 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Saint Mary's
F 45 Tomjanovich, Rudy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Michigan
SF 32 Willoughby, Bill 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Dwight Morrow H.S.
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

In the 1980–81 season, after the newly established Dallas Mavericks became the third NBA team in Texas,[3] the NBA restructured the conferences and sent the Rockets, who had previously played in the Eastern Conference, to the Midwest Division of the Western Conference. It was head coach Del Harris's second season, and he led Houston to a 40-42 record. The Rockets tied with the Kansas City Kings for second place in the Midwest Division behind San Antonio. Houston had one game remaining to be played on its regular-season schedule when the team qualified for the playoffs.[4] During the season, point guard Calvin Murphy set two NBA records, both of which had previously been held by Rick Barry. Murphy sank 78 consecutive free throws, to break Barry's mark of 60 set in 1976, and Murphy's season free-throw percentage was .958, breaking Barry's record of .947 set in 1979 (when Barry had been a member of the Rockets).[5]

Season standings
Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs5230.634–34–718–2321–9
x-Kansas City Kings4042.48812.024–1716–2519–11
x-Houston Rockets4042.48812.025–1615–2619–11
Denver Nuggets3745.45115.023–1814–2713–17
Utah Jazz2854.34124.020–218–3313–17
Dallas Mavericks1567.18337.011–304–375–25
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Phoenix Suns5725.695–
2 y-San Antonio Spurs5230.6345
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers5428.6593
4 x-Portland Trail Blazers4537.54912
5 x-Kansas City Kings4042.48817
6 x-Houston Rockets4042.48817
7 Golden State Warriors3943.47618
8 Denver Nuggets3745.45120
9 San Diego Clippers3646.43921
10 Seattle SuperSonics3448.41523
11 Utah Jazz2854.34129
12 Dallas Mavericks1567.18342


Notes

  • z, y – division champions
  • x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1980-81 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SDC SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —2–42–41–52–01–14–22–01–11–51–10–21–53–22–41–50–21–11–11–11–12–01–4
Boston 4–2—5–14–12–02–04–11–12–03–31–12–03–36–05–13–32–02–02–02–01–11–15–1
Chicago 4–21–5—5–11–11–15–11–11–13–22–01–13–33–23–32–40–20–20–21–11–12–05–1
Cleveland 5–11–41–5—2–01–13–31–10–22–40–20–20–63–30–50–61–11–11–11–10–21–14–2
Dallas 0–20–21–10–2—3–30–22–30–60–20–60–50–21–11–10–21–41–41–52–31–41–50–2
Denver 1–10–21–11–13–3—2–03–22–41–14–23–21–11–10–21–11–42–32–43–23–22–40–2
Detroit 2–41–41–53–32–00–2—0–21–12–41–10–21–53–31–51–40–20–20–21–10–20–21–5
Golden State 0–21–11–11–13–22–32–0—3–21–15–01–51–11–12–00–22–42–41–42–43–34–11–1
Houston 1–10–21–12–06–04–21–12–3—1–12–42–30–22–00–20–21–43–23–31–44–14–20–2
Indiana 5–13–32–34–22–01–14–21–11–1—2–00–22–45–13–20–61–10–22–01–10–21–14–2
Kansas City 1–11–10–22–06–02–41–10–54–20–2—0–51–12–01–10–23–23–22–43–22–35–11–1
Los Angeles 2–00–21–12–05–02–32–05–13–22–05–0—0–22–02–01–12–43–32–33–36–03–21–1
Milwaukee 5–13–33–36–02–01–15–11–12–04–21–12–0—5–13–33–21–12–01–12–02–02–04–1
New Jersey 2–30–62–33–31–11–13–31–10–21–50–20–21–5—0–61–51–12–00–20–21–11–13–3
New York 4–21–53–35–01–12–05–10–22–02–31–10–23–36–0—3–31–11–10–22–02–02–04–2
Philadelphia 5–13–34–26–02–01–14–12–02–06–02–01–12–35–13–3—1–11–12–02–02–02–04–2
Phoenix 2–00–22–01–14–14–12–04–24–11–12–34–21–11–11–11–1—3–33–26–05–15–01–1
Portland 1–10–22–01–14–13–22–04–22–32–02–33–30–20–21–11–13–3—2–34–24–22–32–0
San Antonio 1–10–22–01–15–14–22–04–13–30–24–23–21–12–02–00–22–33–2—4–13–25–11–1
San Diego 1–10–21–11–13–22–31–14–24–11–12–33–30–22–00–20–20–62–41–4—5–13–20–2
Seattle 1–11–11–12–04–12–32–03–31–42–03–20–60–21–10–20–21–52–42–31–5—4–11–1
Utah 0–21–10–21–15–14–22–01–42–41–11–52–30–21–10–20–20–53–21–52–31–4—0–2
Washington 4–11–51–52–42–02–05–11–12–02–41–11–11–43–32–42–41–10–21–12–01–12–0—

Game log

Regular season
1980–81 game log
Total: 40–42 (Home: 25–16; Road: 15–26)
October: 4–5 (Home: 2–2; Road: 2–3)
November: 7–8 (Home: 3–3; Road: 4–5)
December: 5–9 (Home: 3–3; Road: 2–6)
January: 8–7 (Home: 6–3; Road: 2–4)
February: 9–5 (Home: 6–3; Road: 3–2)
March: 7–8 (Home: 5–2; Road: 2–6)
1980–81 schedule

Playoffs
1981 playoff game log
Western Conference First Round: 2–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 2–0)
Western Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 3–1)
Western Conference Finals: 4–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–1)
NBA Finals: 2–4 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–2)
1981 schedule

Playoffs

West First Round

(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Houston Rockets: Rockets win series 2-1

  • Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Houston 111, Los Angeles 107
  • Game 2 @ Houston: Los Angeles 111, Houston 106
  • Game 3 @ Los Angeles: Houston 89, Los Angeles 86

Last playoff meeting: This the first playoff meeting between the Lakers and the Rockets

West Conference Semifinals

(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Houston Rockets: Rockets win series 4-3

  • Game 1 @ San Antonio: Houston 107, San Antonio 98
  • Game 2 @ San Antonio: San Antonio 125, Houston 113
  • Game 3 @ Houston: Houston 112, San Antonio 99
  • Game 4 @ Houston: San Antonio 114, Houston 112
  • Game 5 @ San Antonio: Houston 123, San Antonio 117
  • Game 6 @ Houston: San Antonio 101, Houston 96
  • Game 7 @ San Antonio: Houston 105, San Antonio 100

Last playoff meeting: 1980 Eastern conference first round (Houston won 2-1)

West Conference Finals

(5) Kansas City Kings vs. (6) Houston Rockets: Rockets win series 4-1

  • Game 1 @ Kansas City: Houston 97, Kansas City 78
  • Game 2 @ Kansas City: Kansas City 88, Houston 79
  • Game 3 @ Houston: Houston 92, Kansas City 88
  • Game 4 @ Houston: Houston 100, Kansas City 89
  • Game 5 @ Kansas City: Houston 97, Kansas City 88

Last playoff meeting: This is the first meeting between the Kings and the Rockets

NBA Finals
GameDateHome TeamAway TeamScore
1May 5Boston CelticsHouston Rockets98–95
2May 7Boston CelticsHouston Rockets90–92
3May 9Houston RocketsBoston Celtics71–94
4May 10Houston RocketsBoston Celtics91–86
5May 12Boston CelticsHouston Rockets109–80
6May 14Houston RocketsBoston Celtics91–102
  • Boston Celtics win series in 6 games (4–2)

Player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Moses Malone8040.6.522.333.75714.81.81.01.927.8
Calvin Murphy7626.5.492.235.9581.12.91.50.116.7
Robert Reid8236.1.482.000.7567.14.22.00.815.9
Rudy Tomjanovich5224.3.467.235.7934.01.60.40.111.6
Mike Dunleavy7421.7.491.063.8391.63.60.90.010.5
Allen Leavell7921.3.471.118.8321.74.91.20.28.1
Billy Paultz8120.5.507.000.4904.81.30.30.97.4
Bill Willoughby5520.8.523.7664.11.20.30.66.3
Calvin Garrett7023.4.453.333.8063.81.90.70.16.1
Tom Henderson6621.4.413.000.8211.64.70.80.15.3

[6]

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG

Awards and records

Awards

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2012-02-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Houston Rockets Draft Picks". Basketball Reference. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  3. "Mavs History". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  4. "1980-81 Houston Rockets". Basketball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  5. "NBA.com Calvin Murphy Bio". NBA. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  6. https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/1981.html
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