Led by a massive game from second-year center Hakeem Olajuwon, the Houston Rockets began their second-round playoff series versus Denver with a 126-119 victory (box score) on April 26, 1986.
The eventual Hall of Famer led the Rockets in Game 1 with 38 points (66.7% shooting), 16 rebounds, six steals, and five blocked shots. All of those figures were game-highs that day at The Summit in Houston.
Fellow big man Ralph Sampson backed Olajuwon’s effort with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while future Hall of Famer Alex English led the Nuggets with 34 points (52.2% FG) and nine assists.
The Nuggets (47-35) were the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, while the Rockets (51-31) had home-court advantage as the No. 2 seed. Houston went on to win the best-of-seven series in six games.
After defeating Denver, the Rockets went on to shock the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals — which they won in just five games. The 1985-86 Rockets advanced to the NBA Finals (where they lost to Boston in six games) for just the second time in team history.
