1980–81 Houston Rockets season

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

1980–81 Houston Rockets season
Conference champions
Head coach	Del Harris
Arena	The Summit
Results
Record	40–42 (.488)
Place	Division: 2nd (Midwest) Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (lost to Celtics 2–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KHTV
Radio	KTRH
< 1979–80 1981–82 >

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

1980–81 Houston Rockets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB 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 HS (VA) 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) –– St. Mary's (TX) F 42 Stroud, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) –– Mississippi 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 HS (NJ)	Head coach Del Harris Assistant coach(es) Herb Brown Carroll Dawson Legend (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 v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-San Antonio Spurs	52	30	.634	–	34–7	18–23	21–9
x-Kansas City Kings	40	42	.488	12.0	24–17	16–25	19–11
x-Houston Rockets	40	42	.488	12.0	25–16	15–26	19–11
Denver Nuggets	37	45	.451	15.0	23–18	14–27	13–17
Utah Jazz	28	54	.341	24.0	20–21	8–33	13–17
Dallas Mavericks	15	67	.183	37.0	11–30	4–37	5–25

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Phoenix Suns	57	25	.695	–
2	y-San Antonio Spurs	52	30	.634	5
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	54	28	.659	3
4	x-Portland Trail Blazers	45	37	.549	12
5	x-Kansas City Kings	40	42	.488	17
6	x-Houston Rockets	40	42	.488	17
7	Golden State Warriors	39	43	.476	18
8	Denver Nuggets	37	45	.451	20
9	San Diego Clippers	36	46	.439	21
10	Seattle SuperSonics	34	48	.415	23
11	Utah Jazz	28	54	.341	29
12	Dallas Mavericks	15	67	.183	42

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	—	2–4	2–4	1–5	2–0	1–1	4–2	2–0	1–1	1–5	1–1	0–2	1–5	3–2	2–4	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–4
Boston	4–2	—	5–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	4–1	1–1	2–0	3–3	1–1	2–0	3–3	6–0	5–1	3–3	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	5–1
Chicago	4–2	1–5	—	5–1	1–1	1–1	5–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	3–3	3–2	3–3	2–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	5–1
Cleveland	5–1	1–4	1–5	—	2–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	2–4	0–2	0–2	0–6	3–3	0–5	0–6	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–2
Dallas	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	—	3–3	0–2	2–3	0–6	0–2	0–6	0–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–4	1–4	1–5	2–3	1–4	1–5	0–2
Denver	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–3	—	2–0	3–2	2–4	1–1	4–2	3–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–4	2–3	2–4	3–2	3–2	2–4	0–2
Detroit	2–4	1–4	1–5	3–3	2–0	0–2	—	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–1	0–2	1–5	3–3	1–5	1–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–5
Golden State	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	—	3–2	1–1	5–0	1–5	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–4	2–4	1–4	2–4	3–3	4–1	1–1
Houston	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	6–0	4–2	1–1	2–3	—	1–1	2–4	2–3	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–4	3–2	3–3	1–4	4–1	4–2	0–2
Indiana	5–1	3–3	2–3	4–2	2–0	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	0–2	2–4	5–1	3–2	0–6	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–2
Kansas City	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	6–0	2–4	1–1	0–5	4–2	0–2	—	0–5	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–2	3–2	2–4	3–2	2–3	5–1	1–1
Los Angeles	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	5–0	2–3	2–0	5–1	3–2	2–0	5–0	—	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–4	3–3	2–3	3–3	6–0	3–2	1–1
Milwaukee	5–1	3–3	3–3	6–0	2–0	1–1	5–1	1–1	2–0	4–2	1–1	2–0	—	5–1	3–3	3–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–1
New Jersey	2–3	0–6	2–3	3–3	1–1	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	1–5	0–2	0–2	1–5	—	0–6	1–5	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–3
New York	4–2	1–5	3–3	5–0	1–1	2–0	5–1	0–2	2–0	2–3	1–1	0–2	3–3	6–0	—	3–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–2
Philadelphia	5–1	3–3	4–2	6–0	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	6–0	2–0	1–1	2–3	5–1	3–3	—	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–2
Phoenix	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	4–1	2–0	4–2	4–1	1–1	2–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	—	3–3	3–2	6–0	5–1	5–0	1–1
Portland	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	3–2	2–0	4–2	2–3	2–0	2–3	3–3	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–3	—	2–3	4–2	4–2	2–3	2–0
San Antonio	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	5–1	4–2	2–0	4–1	3–3	0–2	4–2	3–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–3	3–2	—	4–1	3–2	5–1	1–1
San Diego	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	1–1	4–2	4–1	1–1	2–3	3–3	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–6	2–4	1–4	—	5–1	3–2	0–2
Seattle	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–1	2–3	2–0	3–3	1–4	2–0	3–2	0–6	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–5	2–4	2–3	1–5	—	4–1	1–1
Utah	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	5–1	4–2	2–0	1–4	2–4	1–1	1–5	2–3	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–5	3–2	1–5	2–3	1–4	—	0–2
Washington	4–1	1–5	1–5	2–4	2–0	2–0	5–1	1–1	2–0	2–4	1–1	1–1	1–4	3–3	2–4	2–4	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	—

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) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 10 @ San Diego L 104–120 San Diego Sports Arena 0–1 2 October 12 @ Los Angeles L 103–114 The Forum 0–2 3 October 15 Seattle W 103–100 The Summit 1–2 4 October 17 @ Portland W 102–99 Memorial Coliseum 2–2 5 October 18 @ Golden State L 101–108 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 2–3 6 October 21 @ Denver W 119–117 McNichols Sports Arena 3–3 7 October 23 Kansas City L 96–105 The Summit 3–4 8 October 25 Detroit L 109–112 The Summit 3–5 9 October 29 Dallas W 109–103 The Summit 4–5
November: 7–8 (home: 3–3; road: 4–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 10 November 5 San Diego L 104–111 The Summit 4–6 11 November 8 Phoenix L 115–116 The Summit 4–7 12 November 11 @ Dallas W 105–94 Reunion Arena 5–7 13 November 12 Los Angeles W 107–104 The Summit 6–7 14 November 14 @ Utah L 115–117 Salt Palace Acord Arena 6–8 15 November 15 @ Seattle L 139–143 (OT) Kingdome 6–9 16 November 18 Seattle W 138–118 The Summit 7–9 17 November 20 @ Cleveland W 117–114 Richfield Coliseum 8–9 18 November 21 @ New Jersey W 116–108 Rutgers Athletic Center 9–9 19 November 22 @ Indiana L 120–129 Market Square Arena 9–10 20 November 24 @ New York L 110–113 (OT) Madison Square Garden 9–11 21 November 26 Philadelphia L 100–101 The Summit 9–12 22 November 28 @ San Antonio W 124–115 HemisFair Arena 10–12 23 November 29 Dallas W 115–90 The Summit 11–12 24 November 30 @ Phoenix L 114–117 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 11–13
December: 5–9 (home: 3–3; road: 2–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 25 December 3 Cleveland W 118–109 The Summit 12–13 26 December 5 @ Kansas City L 100–108 Kemper Arena 12–14 27 December 6 Denver W 111–108 The Summit 13–14 28 December 10 Los Angeles L 108–109 The Summit 13–15 29 December 12 @ Portland L 100–106 Memorial Coliseum 13–16 30 December 13 @ Golden State W 99–97 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 14–16 31 December 17 San Antonio L 107–113 The Summit 14–17 32 December 19 @ Boston L 119–133 Boston Garden 14–18 33 December 20 @ Chicago L 109–133 Chicago Stadium 14–19 34 December 21 @ Milwaukee L 91–123 MECCA Arena 14–20 35 December 23 Golden State L 99–114 The Summit 14–21 36 December 26 @ Detroit W 114–94 Pontiac Silverdome 15–21 37 December 27 @ Washington L 97–115 Capital Centre 15–22 38 December 30 San Diego W 104–98 The Summit 16–22
January: 8–7 (home: 6–3; road: 2–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 39 January 1 Utah W 117–103 The Summit 17–22 40 January 2 @ Dallas W 124–120 (OT) Reunion Arena 18–22 41 January 3 Denver L 132–134 The Summit 18–23 42 January 7 Kansas City L 108–114 The Summit 18–24 43 January 9 @ Philadelphia L 94–107 The Spectrum 18–25 44 January 10 Portland W 106–105 The Summit 19–25 45 January 14 Chicago W 109–105 The Summit 20–25 46 January 16 @ Phoenix L 89–92 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 20–26 47 January 17 New York L 98–99 The Summit 20–27 48 January 18 @ Denver W 98–97 McNichols Sports Arena 21–27 49 January 21 Phoenix W 106–100 The Summit 22–27 50 January 23 @ Kansas City L 107–113 Kemper Arena 22–28 51 January 24 Utah W 106–91 The Summit 23–28 52 January 28 New Jersey W 111–99 The Summit 24–28 53 January 29 @ Utah L 97–99 Salt Palace Acord Arena 24–29
February: 9–5 (home: 6–3; road: 3–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 54 February 3 Denver W 135–128 (OT) The Summit 25–29 55 February 4 Dallas W 116–68 The Summit 26–29 56 February 6 @ Phoenix L 99–112 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 26–30 57 February 7 Atlanta W 87–81 The Summit 27–30 58 February 11 San Antonio W 108–89 The Summit 28–30 59 February 13 Los Angeles L 105–114 The Summit 28–31 60 February 14 Milwaukee L 112–117 The Summit 28–32 61 February 19 @ San Diego L 99–116 San Diego Sports Arena 28–33 62 February 20 @ Los Angeles W 110–107 The Forum 29–33 63 February 22 @ Seattle W 111–96 Kingdome 30–33 64 February 23 @ Utah W 106–102 Salt Palace Acord Arena 31–33 65 February 25 Indiana W 101–100 The Summit 32–33 66 February 27 Seattle W 96–92 The Summit 33–33 67 February 28 San Diego L 103–104 The Summit 33–34
March: 7–8 (home: 5–2; road: 2–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 68 March 1 @ San Antonio L 86–102 HemisFair Arena 33–35 69 March 4 Boston L 101–108 The Summit 33–36 70 March 6 Washington L 104–105 The Summit 33–37 71 March 7 @ Atlanta L 108–114 The Omni 33–38 72 March 11 Golden State W 109–92 The Summit 34–38 73 March 13 Portland W 126–104 The Summit 35–38 74 March 14 Utah W 101–82 The Summit 36–38 75 March 15 @ Denver L 127–138 McNichols Sports Arena 36–39 76 March 18 @ Golden State L 117–118 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 36–40 77 March 20 @ Portland L 103–107 Memorial Coliseum 36–41 78 March 22 @ Kansas City W 114–108 Kemper Arena 37–41 79 March 24 @ Dallas W 114–111 (OT) Reunion Arena 38–41 80 March 25 San Antonio W 117–111 The Summit 39–41 81 March 27 Kansas City W 91–84 The Summit 40–41 82 March 29 @ San Antonio L 109–135 HemisFair Arena 40–42
1980–81 schedule

Playoffs

1981 playoff game log
First Round: 2–1 (home: 0–1; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 1 @ Los Angeles W 111–107 Moses Malone (38) Moses Malone (23) Allen Leavell (8) The Forum 15,517 1–0 2 April 3 Los Angeles L 106–111 Moses Malone (33) Moses Malone (15) Calvin Murphy (8) The Summit 16,121 1–1 3 April 5 @ Los Angeles W 89–86 Moses Malone (23) Moses Malone (15) Tom Henderson (7) The Forum 14,813 2–1
Conference semifinals: 4–3 (home: 1–2; road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 7 @ San Antonio W 107–98 Moses Malone (27) Moses Malone (10) Reid, Murphy (6) HemisFair Arena 13,319 1–0 2 April 8 @ San Antonio L 113–125 Calvin Murphy (34) Moses Malone (12) Robert Reid (10) HemisFair Arena 12,128 1–1 3 April 10 San Antonio W 112–99 Moses Malone (41) Moses Malone (15) Reid, Murphy (4) The Summit 16,121 2–1 4 April 12 San Antonio L 112–114 Robert Reid (33) Moses Malone (9) Reid, Henderson (6) The Summit 16,121 2–2 5 April 14 @ San Antonio W 123–117 Calvin Murphy (36) Moses Malone (13) Tom Henderson (7) HemisFair Arena 16,114 3–2 6 April 15 San Antonio L 96–101 Moses Malone (36) Moses Malone (10) Reid, Henderson (7) The Summit 16,121 3–3 7 April 17 @ San Antonio W 105–100 Calvin Murphy (42) Moses Malone (16) Tom Henderson (8) HemisFair Arena 16,114 4–3
Conference finals: 4–1 (home: 2–0; road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 21 @ Kansas City W 97–78 Moses Malone (29) Moses Malone (12) Mike Dunleavy (6) Kemper Arena 13,885 1–0 2 April 22 @ Kansas City L 79–88 Moses Malone (18) Moses Malone (15) Tom Henderson (7) Kemper Arena 14,326 1–1 3 April 24 Kansas City W 92–88 Reid, Paultz (20) Malone, Paultz (12) Mike Dunleavy (10) The Summit 16,121 2–1 4 April 26 Kansas City W 100–89 Moses Malone (42) Moses Malone (23) Robert Reid (9) The Summit 16,121 3–1 5 April 29 @ Kansas City W 97–88 Moses Malone (36) Moses Malone (11) Tom Henderson (6) Kemper Arena 14,640 4–1
NBA Finals: 2–4 (home: 1–2; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 5 @ Boston L 95–98 Robert Reid (27) Moses Malone (15) Mike Dunleavy (7) Boston Garden 15,320 0–1 2 May 7 @ Boston W 92–90 Moses Malone (31) Moses Malone (15) three players tied (3) Boston Garden 15,320 1–1 3 May 9 Boston L 71–94 Moses Malone (23) Moses Malone (15) three players tied (2) The Summit 16,121 1–2 4 May 10 Boston W 91–86 Mike Dunleavy (28) Moses Malone (22) Tom Henderson (9) The Summit 16,121 2–2 5 May 12 @ Boston L 80–109 Moses Malone (20) Moses Malone (11) Allen Leavell (6) Boston Garden 15,320 2–3 6 May 14 Boston L 91–102 Robert Reid (27) Moses Malone (16) Henderson, Reid (5) The Summit 16,121 2–4
1981 schedule

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 Malone	80		40.6	.522	.333	.757	14.8	1.8	1.0	1.9	27.8
Calvin Murphy	76		26.5	.492	.235	.958	1.1	2.9	1.5	0.1	16.7
Robert Reid	82		36.1	.482	.000	.756	7.1	4.2	2.0	0.8	15.9
Rudy Tomjanovich	52		24.3	.467	.235	.793	4.0	1.6	0.4	0.1	11.6
Mike Dunleavy	74		21.7	.491	.063	.839	1.6	3.6	0.9	0.0	10.5
Allen Leavell	79		21.3	.471	.118	.832	1.7	4.9	1.2	0.2	8.1
Billy Paultz	81		20.5	.507	.000	.490	4.8	1.3	0.3	0.9	7.4
Bill Willoughby	55		20.8	.523		.766	4.1	1.2	0.3	0.6	6.3
Calvin Garrett	70		23.4	.453	.333	.806	3.8	1.9	0.7	0.1	6.1
Tom Henderson	66		21.4	.413	.000	.821	1.6	4.7	0.8	0.1	5.3

^[6]

Playoffs

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

Awards and records

Awards

• Moses Malone, All-NBA Second Team

Records

Transactions

Trades

• October 7, 1980: Traded Paul Mokeski to the Detroit Pistons for a 1982 2nd round draft pick.

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team

Subtractions Player Left New team

See also

• 1980–81 NBA season

References

1. . Archived from the original on February 9, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
2. "Houston Rockets Draft Picks". Basketball Reference. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
3. "Mavs History". NBA.com. from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
4. "1980-81 Houston Rockets". Basketball-Reference.com. from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
5. "NBA.com Calvin Murphy Bio". NBA. from the original on February 20, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
6. "1980-81 Houston Rockets Roster and Stats".