Chandler Parsons nearly a hero as Houston Rockets eliminated from NBA Playoffs

By Adam Silverstein
May 3, 2014

One second – make that 0.9 of a second – was just too much time on Friday night as the Houston Rockets saw their 2013-14 season come to an end near moments after former Florida Gators forward Chandler Parsons hit a potential game-winning shot that otherwise would have staved off elimination for his team.

Parsons, who had a knack for hitting game-winning buzzer-beater three-pointers at Florida, nearly had his “superstar” moment as an NBA player after grabbing an offensive rebound and hooking it under the hoop for a basket to give Houston a two-point lead with 0.9 seconds remaining in the contest.

That is when Portland Trailblazers guard Damian Lillard stole the show in his home arena, wrestling away Parsons’s thunder by draining a three off an inbounds pass, lifting the building into a frenzy and sending the Rockets home for the summer. Parsons contested the shot and came fingertips away from potentially altering its trajectory.


A stunned Houston team looked on as its season ended in dramatic fashion. All Parsons could do was grab a seat on the scorer’s table and watch the celebration unfold.

As it turns out, Parsons was not originally guarding Lillard on the play but switched onto the smaller, quicker player on the direction of teammate James Harden.

Parsons finished with a double-double of 17 points and 12 boards on Friday and scored in double digits in all six of his first-round games in the NBA Playoffs. He posted 24 points and six rebounds in a Game 1 loss and tacked on 26 points and eight boards in a Game 4 defeat; both contests went to overtime.

It was a productive season for Parsons, who hit a number of career marks and set an NBA record earlier in the year when he drained 10 treys in a single half back on Jan. 24 on his way to a career-high 34-point performance in the game.

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