On This Day in Rockets History: The Kiss of Death

The Houston Rockets have had some special moments during their storied history. Obviously, a lot of the great times in the organization were during the back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995.

One of those moments have been forever remembered. It's one of the most iconic shots in Rockets history. A fan favorite. It's the Kiss of Death. The owner of that shot is Mario Elie.

Yesterday, May 20, marked the 31-year anniversary of that clutch shot that helped send the Rockets to the 1995 Western Conference Finals.

The Rockets were the defending NBA champions and entered the playoffs as the sixth seed with 47 regular season wins. Houston first upset the No. 3 seed Utah Jazz in five games that set up the Western Conference semi-final matchup against the No. 2 seed Phoenix Suns.

The Rockets eventually went down in the series 3-1, and the comeback didn't seem possible until it did. Houston won Game 5 on the road in overtime before taking care of home court in Game 6 that set up the winner-take-all Game 7.

After the Suns' Kevin Johnson missed a free throw for the lead with 21.6 seconds left, the Rockets quickly went down after the timeout and passed it to Elie, who was standing open in the corner. Elie drilled the absolutely clutch go-ahead 3-pointer for the lead with 7.1 seconds left, and the Rockets eventually won 115-114.

Right after he made the huge shot, Elie celebrated and looked toward the Suns bench. He then blew the kiss.

The Kiss of Death

𝙆𝙄𝙎𝙎 𝙊𝙁 𝘿𝙀𝘼𝙏𝙃 💋: Est. May 20, 1995@marioelie1 hits a game 7 dagger to go to the Western Conference Finals pic.twitter.com/htw2QVb4FR
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) May 20, 2026

As a result, the Rockets became just the fifth team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit. Elie's shot being on the road made it even more impressive. The powered the Rockets all the way to their second straight championship.

The Rockets took down the No. 1 seed San Antonio Spurs in the Conference Finals in six games before sweeping the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals. Thanks to the Kiss of Death, the Rockets were also the first road team to win a Game 7 of any round in the NBA playoffs in 13 years.

Elie told me in an interview back in 2022 that he got the idea in the moment.

"It all started in Game 5, me and Joe Kleine just going at each other. He'll make a basket, he'll blow a kiss at me, then I would make a basket. It was all fun and jest. Of course, you know who got the last and final kiss," Elie said.

He said playing with two top 50 players in Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler meant it left him open. Robert Horry threw a great pass. The Suns didn't want to leave Olajuwon under the basket, and Elie would've passed it to him if the Suns came to the corner.

"It allowed me to get my feet set. That's what happens when you play with great players and he didn't want to leave Dream, so he (Danny Schayes) allowed me to get that shot off. Looked at Joe Kleine and blew him the Kiss of Death," Elie said.

The 1994-1995 Rockets are still the lowest seeded team to ever win a championship. Elie was a key player in that title run, and not just because of the Kiss of Death. The veteran guard was made a starter in the Finals and performed at a high level.

Elie put up 22 points in the close-out Game 4 on 9/11 shooting overall and four 3-pointers. He averaged 16.3 PPG total and shot 65 percent from the field. Elie was apart of both Rockets championships, but his moments in the second title stands out. In the 1994-95 playoffs, he shot 43 percent from three and 50 percent overall and averaged nine points.

He was known as the "junkyard dog" for his toughness and competitiveness. Elie wouldn't hold back and did all the dirty work. He was also known as a great outside shooter. Elie was a career 37 percent from three and 47 percent overall. He averaged 8.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in his career.

Elie played 15 seasons of basketball and spent time with various teams overseas as well at the start of his career. He eventually retired in 2001 after playing 732 regular season and 116 playoff games. Elie won his third ring with the Spurs in 1999.

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