LOOK: Rockets experience all five stages of grief in depressing Game 6 loss to Spurs

The grieving process unfolded right before our eyes

By Colin Ward-Henninger

May 12, 2017 at 4:30 pm ET • 1 min read

Elimination game. At home. The other team without its best player.

A near 40-point loss in that situation is almost unthinkable, but that's exactly what the Rockets suffered on Thursday night in an all-time collapse against the Spurs. James Harden was inexplicably terrible. Mike D'Antoni was searching for answers. All the while Spurs coach Gregg Popovich stood there like one of the robbers at the end of "Ocean's Eleven," enjoying the spoils of his master class in coaching.

It was hard to believe what we were watching, and it wasn't any easier for the Rockets or their fans, who appeared to be going through the five stages of grief from a lost opportunity right before our eyes.

Observe:

Denial

Trailing by 19 at halftime, Harden went through the process of stretching and loosening up knowing full well that the game was over. "Hey, we can come back! I'll play better! Let me just get loose!" And look at D'Antoni helplessly dangling that board thinking to himself, "Come on, Mikey ... you've just got to draw up that 20-point play and we're right back in this!" Classic denial.

Anger

You see it all the time when the game is slipping away from a team, but with the Rockets it was even more sad and desperate. Trevor Ariza got tangled up with Danny Green and the frustration from the entire game just boiled over. Luckily it was level-headed Ariza engaged in the altercation -- otherwise things could have gotten really out of hand.