Overview

The Los Angeles Lakers enjoyed a stunning run of form early on in this fixture. They won 16 of their first 17 games against the Houston Rockets (then the San Diego Rockets). The rivalry then intensified in the 1980s, the period of the Showtime Lakers. LA were the NBA’s top team in that era. They reached eight NBA Finals in ten years between 1980 and 1989. The only two times they didn’t make the finals was in 1981 and 1986, when they'd been beaten by the Rockets in earlier rounds. Since then, the two have continued to meet often in the playoffs, including four times in the 90s and twice in the 00s.