4 of the best Rockets performances that fell on April 26th

3. Charles Barkley- April 26th, 1999

The Rockets entered the 1998-99 season with alot of hype, as they landed Scottie Pippen, who was one of the top players in the league. The Rockets already had a Hall of Fame tandem of Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley, so it was believed that the addition of Pippen was going to take them over the top.

Michael Jordan had retired for the second time in his career, so there was no longer the threat of the Chicago Bulls, and especially not without Pippen. The Rockets ultimately went 31-19 and landed the fifth seed in the Western Conference, in part because of Pippen’s defense and 3-point shooting.

But it was Charles Barkley who turned in a masterful performance on April 26th of that season, which led the Rockets to a 102-80 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Barkley had 20 points on just nine shots, which was an incredibly efficient game.

All in all, Barkley went 7-of-9 from the field, which led to an astronomically high true shooting percentage of 82.8 percent. What’s even more impressive is the fact that Barkley did it without shooting any 3-pointers.

Barkley also nearly had a 20-20 game, as he added 16 rebounds, which was a game-high. As if this weren’t impressive enough, Barkley came within four assists of having a triple-double, as he poured in six assists. Barkley was unstoppable on that day, and it’s safe to say his all-around game played a large part in the Rockets securing the victory.

Next: No. 2