Latest news with #KissofDeath
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Robert Horry finally explains the moment that ended his Suns stint
There are a few moments in Phoenix Suns history that stand apart from the rest. Moments etched in memory, some beloved, some bizarre, and others so surreal you have to double-check they actually happened. Sure, there are iconic highlights like the Valley-Oop. But if you really dig into the Suns' archives, you'll uncover a treasure trove of wild and often forgotten chapters. Moments that drift between folklore and fever dream. One of those? January 5, 1997. Robert Horry. Towel. Danny Ainge's face. Ah yes, Robert Horry. Advertisement I've sports hated that man for a long, long time. He was part of those soul-crushing Houston Rockets teams that ripped my adolescent heart out. Twice. That era included Mario Elie's infamous 'Kiss of Death,' which prompted me, in true teenage fashion, to hurl a remote control into the concrete floor of my living room. Maybe that's part of what made Horry so infuriating. He always found a way into your nightmares. But that towel toss? That was personal. Recently, Horry joined Wosny Lambre on In My Feelings with Big Wos, a Ringer podcast, and for the first time in a long time, opened up about the infamous moment that forever tied his name to Phoenix lore, not for the rings, not for the Rockets, but for that one unfiltered act of rebellion. A towel, a coach, and a moment that would become part of Suns history, whether we like it or not. Advertisement 'Mario Ellie, my boy. Danny Ainge takes the ball out. They're down. We about to win the game. He takes it and throws it and hits Mario right in the face with the ball,' Horry begins to explain, referring to when he was playing against the Suns as a member of the Houston Rockets, and Danny Ainge played for the Suns. 'You know, a couple years later, I get traded,' Horry continued. Robert Horry arrived in Phoenix in 1996, part of the package — alongside Chucky Brown, Mark Bryant, and Sam Cassell — that the Suns received in exchange for Charles Barkley. It marked a changing of the guard in more ways than one. Just months earlier, Danny Ainge had hung up his sneakers after a 14-year playing career and returned to the Suns not as a scorer, but as an assistant coach, stepping into a new chapter as the franchise reshaped its identity. Advertisement 'And so, we walking in the hallway and they're showing us the facilities, Sam Cassell and I. And he [Danny Ainge] was like, 'I hit Mario on the face on purpose with the ball.' And so now all this animosity is starting to build up.' 'We got beat by like 40 by Chicago. And we were like, 'Well, our offense...', I say, 'You know what? Can I say something? We keep talking about our offense, man. We got beat by 40. What about our defense?' And then Danny's like, 'You're the worst defensive player on the team.' I'm like, 'Whoa, dude.'' 'And then we traded away Michael Finley, who's my boy,' Horry explained. 'We trade away AC Green, and my dog Sam Cassell got traded. [Ainge] said, 'Well, we traded away those people to give you more time.'' 'So we go to Boston. I had I had three great plays in a row, and all of a sudden he sits me for Danny Manning. I said, 'Dude, I'm playing good.' He said, 'Man, go sit your ass down at the end of the bench.'' Advertisement Ah, here comes the fireworks. 'What did this mother say? I got up and I said, 'What did you fucking say to me?'And he said, 'I said, go said, man.' And I threw the towel in his face and walked down early in the bin. We went back to Phoenix. They suspended me for two games.' 'After that,' Horry finished, 'Danny called me on the phone and said, 'I hate to say this, I just probably won you some more championships.' I'm like, 'What do you mean by that?' 'We just traded you to the Lakers.' And I was like, 'Yes.' I hung up the phone. I didn't even know. I didn't ask who I was traded with, who I was traded for. I got in my car and drove to LA the next day.' Indeed. The Suns shipped Robert Horry off to the Lakers in exchange for Cedric Ceballos and Rumeal Robinson, a short-lived chapter in Phoenix that ended with a towel toss and a soured relationship. Advertisement Meanwhile, Horry's story was just getting started. Already a two-time champion with the Rockets, he'd go on to win five more rings: three with the Lakers during their early-2000s dynasty (1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02) and two more with the Spurs in 2004–05 and 2006–07. Both of those Spurs teams, of course, ended the Suns' season en route to lifting the Larry O'Brien trophy. So, five of Horry's seven titles came at the Suns' expense. That's not just a footnote. It's a full-on vendetta from a Phoenix fan's perspective. I've always sports hated Robert Horry for that very reason. He was the shadow looming over some of the most promising Suns teams, twice as a Rocket during the Jordan-less void when Phoenix looked ready to ascend, and later as a key figure on the teams that broke our hearts in the mid-2000s. And after that infamous towel toss at Danny Ainge, who had morphed from feisty floor general to assistant coach, Horry was practically declared public enemy number one in the Valley. But if I'm being honest, I get it. I see his point of view. He was a champion with standards. He saw dysfunction, and he acted out. Petulant? Maybe. But perhaps he knew what winning was supposed to look like. And Phoenix, in that moment, didn't. Listen to the latest podcast episode of the Suns JAM Session Podcast below. Stay up to date on every episode, subscribe to the pod on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Podcasts, Amazon Music, Podbean, Castbox. Please subscribe, rate, and review. Advertisement More from
USA Today
21-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Rockets, Mario Elie celebrate 30-year anniverary of iconic ‘Kiss of Death' in NBA playoffs
Rockets, Mario Elie celebrate 30-year anniverary of iconic 'Kiss of Death' in NBA playoffs It was exactly 30 years ago when Mario Elie sparked Houston to its most recent NBA championship. With his iconic 'Kiss of Death' at Phoenix, it was the last elimination game those Rockets would face. Known best as the 'Kiss of Death,' this Tuesday marks the 30th anniversary of the most famous shot in Houston Rockets franchise history, courtesy of three-time NBA champion Mario Elie. Via his X account, Elie shared highlights and interviews to celebrate the occasion. It was May 20, 1995, when Elie hit a corner 3-pointer with under 10 seconds left in Game 7 at Phoenix. The legendary shot broke a tie and lifted the Rockets to victory in the game (box score) and the Western Conference semifinal series, which they had previously trailed by a 3-1 margin. Led by Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson, the Suns (59-23) were much better than Houston (47-35) in the 1994-95 regular season. But true to their nickname, 'Clutch City' was a different beast in the playoffs. And just a few weeks later, those Rockets secured their second straight NBA championship. (Elie captured his third title in 1999 with San Antonio.) On Tuesday's anniversary, via their social media outlets, the Rockets posted video of Elie's heroic shot — which proved to be the final elimination game that Houston would face on its 1995 championship run. The Phoenix shot is perhaps best remembered for what occurred right after it, with Elie blowing a kiss in the direction of the home bench. The Suns never had a realistic shot to tie the game after Elie's make, with head coach Rudy Tomjanovich opting to foul the Suns with a 3-point lead. In a story on the shot's 20th anniversary, Elie told the Houston Chronicle that the kiss was gestured at backup Suns center Joe Kleine. Elie said: He started that in Game 5. It started as fun, but I got the last kiss. It was just emotion, friendly competition, and us going at each other for the second year in a row. It was a somewhat risky play by Elie on multiple levels. With the shot clock off, Tomjanovich ideally wanted the Rockets to take the game's last shot, so that the worst-case scenario was overtime. Because Elie shot early, a miss would likely have allowed the Suns a shot to win in regulation. Those Rockets also had two future Hall of Famers on the court in Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. On paper, one of those two would seem be the preferred option in a late-game scenario. But Elie was open after a cross-court pass by Robert Horry, and he fired without hesitation. 'Robert threw a high pass, and I had to jump to get it,' Elie said. 'But I had time to gather myself and get a great look at the basket.' Olajuwon and Drexler each had 29 points in the victory, which was just the fifth time in NBA history that a road team had won a Game 7. But it was the final shot of an 8-point outing by a veteran role player — known best for his defense and toughness — that the game is best remembered for. 'My kids don't think the old man could play,' Elie told the Houston Chronicle in 2015. 'I can show them on video that I was pretty good.' Unfortunately, the 30-year anniversary of Elie's heroic shot also reflects the last season in which the Rockets won the NBA championship. But Houston (52-30) just finished up a 2024-25 season with the league's fourth-best record and a relatively young and improving roster, so there's hope that the drought could end in the not-too-distant future. More: As Rockets celebrate anniversary of 1990s titles, Ime Udoka shares his personal connection
New York Times
20-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Do the Timberwolves fear the Thunder? 3 keys to winning West Finals matchup
The Bounce Newsletter | This is The Athletic's daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox. On this date, 30 years ago, Mario Elie delivered the 'Kiss of Death' in Game 7 against the Suns. The Rockets broke a string of 20 straight home teams winning a Game 7. They also went on to win the NBA title as the lowest seed ever (No. 6) to win the title. Minnesota will now try to match that feat. The Timberwolves also have a foreign-born center. It's exactly the same thing. All season long, we've seen the Thunder overwhelm their opponents. While they answered questions about their clutch-time prowess against Denver, they also reminded everybody that things can get out of hand in the blink of an eye. Two of their wins over the Nuggets were by a combined 75 points (!!!). You kind of forget that level of dominance when you think about a seven-game series that felt like it was balanced the whole time. Advertisement Now, they face the Timberwolves, who were here a year ago. This time, it wasn't a struggle to get through to the conference finals. They smacked the Lakers around in five games. Then, they weren't really challenged by a Warriors squad missing Steph Curry for all but 13 minutes. Minnesota is fresh, ready and trying to prove it has learned from last year's Western Conference finals, when the Mavericks were simply too much. Have the Thunder learned enough from this experience to combine that with their regular-season dominance to move on to their first NBA Finals since 2012? Have the Wolves learned from last year's five-game loss to the Mavericks in order to leap into their first NBA Finals in franchise history? Let's preview the Western Conference finals! Shooting Stars The star power in this series resides in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards. We assume some time this week, the NBA might get around to announcing the MVP award. We double-assume that it will go to SGA. Edwards, while three years younger than his SGA, is trying to throw his name into the mix as a true contemporary. Over the last two seasons, SGA has put himself a cut above most of the league, but Edwards battling him toe-to-toe in this series – and even upsetting him by winning the series – would erase any doubt of them being on the same level. But it has to be proven. SGA has been nothing short of spectacular in this postseason run, thus far. The 3-point shot hasn't been there (29.3 percent), but everything else has been top notch: The flip side of that is Edwards' run through the playoffs. He injured his ankle when LeBron James rolled on it in the first round and tweaked it in the second round. But his postseason numbers have been close to brilliant, at 26.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists with 44.5/38.5/73.7 splits. Against OKC this season, Edwards wasn't as efficient or productive, though. He averaged 22.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists in four matchups, but his 36.4/31.6/82.9 splits weren't up to his usual production. With that being said, the Wolves and Thunder went 2-2 against each other, and both stars had big moments. Advertisement The beauty of this matchup is both star guards do it all. They'll both spend time defending each other. They'll both spend time dissecting defenders assigned to them. And they'll both be expected to deliver an NBA Finals berth. The turnover battle The Wolves are going to have to watch the turnovers in this series, more so than they did against Golden State last round. Minnesota was sloppy with the ball in the regular season, ranking 20th in turnover rate. There was a slight uptick in turnovers in the postseason, but that must subside against the Thunder. The latter are the best in the league at forcing turnovers and taking care of the ball. Minnesota will lose the turnover battle, but it can't get dominated in that category. In the Thunder's four-game sweep of the Grizzlies, they won the turnover battle. They won it by 46 in seven games against Denver. The Wolves turned the ball over 92 times in five games against the Warriors, after doing so 56 times against the Lakers in the same number of games. They have to eliminate the dumb mistakes. Keeping up on the perimeter The 3-point shot has completely left the Thunder during the playoff run so far. They're shooting 31.9 percent from deep in 11 games. SGA, Lu Dort and Jalen Williams are all under 30 percent in the postseason. That won't fly against Minnesota's defense. Minnesota gave up the sixth-lowest 3-point percentage (35.3) this season. That went to 35.1 percent against the Lakers and then 34.4 percent against the Warriors (remember, there was pretty much no Curry). The Wolves are great at defending the perimeter, so the Thunder have to regain their outside shooting touch to put pressure on a really good defense. Game 1 is tonight in OKC at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN (You can also watch on Fubo for free!). We want to hear from you again! We have another poll for you, The Bouncers, to vote in to make your predictions for the Western Conference finals! We'll share your results for the Eastern Conference finals predictions below. Did WWE script Knicks-Pacers East finals? 💪 Royal Rumble. Wrestling paved the way for this year's East finals matchup. Grab a chair and brass knuckles! 🔮 Who wins? We've got writers here at The Athletic predicting the conference finals. Who's picking Minnesota? 🏀 The bigger picture. Chris Finch knew the plan would work if they stuck to it. The Wolves made it back. 🏀 Time for change? Is Brad Stevens ready to talk about big changes to the Celtics? Not yet. Advertisement 🧍 Standing tall. Under coach Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks are enjoying their deepest playoff run in a quarter century. 🎧 Tuning in. Today's 'NBA Daily' previews the keys to each conference finals series. Likewise for the 'No Dunks' crew! The story of the greatest players in NBA history. In 100 riveting profiles, top basketball writers justify their selections and uncover the history of the NBA in the process. The story of the greatest players in NBA history. East finals predictions are now in! Yesterday, we asked you (yes, specifically you 🫵) to vote for and predict the outcome of the Eastern Conference finals and beyond. You did, so it's time to go over the results! Who will win the East finals? In how many games? Who will be the East finals MVP? Then, we had other options to receive smaller portions of the vote. We also allowed write-in votes. Mitchell Robinson got one. Frank Ntilikina, a.k.a. Frankie Smokes, who plays in the Serbian League, received a vote. And, of course, one person wrote in Thanasis Antetokounmpo, as always. I will find you someday, whoever you are. Will the winner of the East finals win the NBA Finals? Who do I have advancing, you ask? I guess if I'm asking everybody else to make predictions and we have a link to our writers making predictions, then I should put my own predictions on the line. I've thought a lot about where I think these two series will go, and what potential storylines might happen. Also, check out the latest episode of The Bounce by clicking on my moving face! Did you know this league has trade demands? During the first couple of years of the Big 3, I was casually into it. You got a little bit of nostalgia with players out of the league still giving it a go. It was my only chance to still watch Ricky Davis – one of my all-time favorites – hoop. And I was in the building when Charles Oakley 'accidentally' hit Al Harrington in the teeth with the backfist. Since then, the only time I really think about it is when Jeff Teague is discussing his experience on his podcast. I'm not trying to be dismissive about it. It still seems like a good, fun product, and people are enjoying it. It's successful. I just kind of check out of hoops during the summer to recharge my battery. Well, I saw a social media post today that definitely got me interested in it. This was from Chris Haynes, reporting that Michael Beasley (yes, that Michael Beasley) is upset that the expansion Miami Big 3 team drafted Lance Stephenson (yes, that Lance Stephenson), and is contemplating requesting a trade. This reads like 2012 basketball MadLibs. This led to one of my group chats having a lot of questions: I'm curious if Beasley will try to get traded to the Houston Rig Hands or Boston Ball Hogs or LA Riot. Yes, those are all real team names. I know it seems like I'm making fun of the Big 3, and I promise that's not the intention. I do actually want to get back into it this season. Teague's podcast has been a big part of that, and I love watching Beasley cook. That's especially so if we're about to get a big-time Beasley-Stephenson rivalry and drama either with them on the same or opposite team. Or is it just forced promotion for some one-on-one battle they're doing on the internet? (I'm not linking to it). I just need to know when Ricky Davis is getting elected into the Big 3 Hall of Fame.
New York Times
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Goth Band's Journey From Screams to Whispers
When IC3PEAK released its last album, 'Kiss of Death,' the record had all the characteristics that had made the band into a boogeyman in Russia and led authorities to try and shut down its shows: death-obsessed lyrics, anti-state provocations and bloodcurdling screams. But on the Russian duo's new album, 'Coming Home,' released Friday, the vibe has drastically changed. The harsh electro and heavy metal sounds are largely gone. Instead the band's vocalist, Nastya Kreslina, gently coos and whispers over melodic indie rock. Kreslina said that there was a simple explanation for the shift: 'Everything in our lives has changed.' Three years ago, Kreslina left Moscow just days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ever since, Kreslina and her bandmate, Nikolay Kostylev, have been coping with the emotional and creative fallout of the conflict. Kreslina said she used to scream so that Russian listeners would notice her. Now, she said, a quiet voice felt like the only way to get 'noticed among all the screaming.' Since leaving Russia, Kreslina has wandered between Paris, Los Angeles, Istanbul and Turin, Italy, among other cities; Kostylev now lives in Berlin. Kreslina has an apartment in Riga, Latvia, but she said it didn't feel like a permanent address. Since leaving Russia, she said, she still hadn't found a place that 'gave a feeling of home.' Exiled Russian musicians often struggle to rebuild their careers abroad. Distanced from their domestic fan base and, in some cases, designated traitors by their government, many wind up playing small concerts to other émigrés. This is particularly true of mainstream pop acts, but some alternative groups, like IC3PEAK and the deathcore band Slaughter to Prevail, have maintained or even grown in popularity from abroad, even as Russia's cultural cachet has nose-dived. Kostylev said that, based on streaming data, he estimated that about 70 percent of IC3PEAK's fans live outside Russia, so going into exile had not had a significant financial impact. 'In a way we're lucky,' he said: 'We can have personal crises, because we have food on the table.' The band's distinctive look was a key part of its international appeal, said Michael Idov, a former editor-in-chief of GQ Russia who lives in the United States. The band wears all-black with white face paint and its videos often look like horror movies, with zombies and monsters. Idov said those images appealed to social media users searching out unusual acts online, as well as music fans. 'They've always felt ripe for crossover,' he said. During a joint interview with Kreslina in a restaurant on Riga's outskirts, Kostylev said the duo intended to maintain its bold fashion sense, even as it pivots to gentler music. For the 'Coming Home' album campaign, the duo dress as Goth angels in tracksuits. Formed in 2013, when Kreslina and Kostylev were at college in Moscow, IC3PEAK had run-ins with Russian authorities from its early days. In 2018, it released 'Death No More' a track whose video features the band members setting themselves alight in front of a government building in Moscow while Kreslina sings 'All Russia is watching me / Let it all burn.' Around that time, Kostylev said, police officers and security service agents tried to shut down many IC3PEAK shows. He and Kreslina were detained and spied on, Kostylev added. (The F.S.B. did not respond to a request for comment.) At first, the pair found the attention 'fun,' Kostylev said, and every performance felt 'like showing the middle finger' to the authorities. But over time, paranoia grew, and Kostylev left Russia before the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine began because he had found the atmosphere stifling. Nadya Tolokonnikova, a founder of the art collective Pussy Riot, who also had trouble with the Russian authorities and now also lives in exile, said she had first seen IC3PEAK in Moscow around 2018, at a gig with 'thousands of teenage girls dancing and screaming along.' IC3PEAK was important as 'one of the first artists' in Russia to speak openly about state repression, Tolokonnikova added. 'They're more than a band,' she said: 'They build a world.' 'Coming Home' doesn't feature any openly political tracks, though there are subtle allusions to the war in Ukraine and the experience of exile. On 'Where is My Home?,' for instance, Kreslina said she was singing from the perspective of a soldier returning from a foreign battlefield to find that their country had changed. 'There is my home / But where is my home?' she sings. Both Kreslina and Kostylev said they wanted to reach a Russian audience with the new album, as well as listeners in the West. They had agonized for months over whether to pull their music from streaming services in Russia, Kreslina added, but decided not to so they could maintain a connection with fans there who oppose the government. What long-term IC3PEAK enthusiasts will make of the band's new direction, Kostylev seemed unsure. 'A lot of fans will find it confusing,' he said, 'but we can't do anything about that. We're just doing what we feel.'
