VS
(5 Game Series)

GAME 1 -

GAME 2 - Matt had a cold first half going scoreless but broke the ice in the second. Matt had 2 3-pointers (out of 6 tries), made all his free throws (4-4), only one assist, 3 defensive rebounds, 1 steal and played for 31 minutes. With 3:35 left on the clock the Rockets' lead was only 84-81, but every Rocket on the floor put together a 12-1 run to put the game away.

GAME 3 - This was Maloney's best game of the series. He had the team high in points with 26. He made only 11 shots and made 9 of them, 6 of those being 3-pointers (out of 8 tries). In the 3rd quarter alone Matt had 12 points, making all his shots...all 3-pointers. Add that to his 2 assists, 3 out 4 free-throws, 2 defensive rebounds, 1 steal, had only 1 turnover and played for 39 minutes, including the entire second half.

	VS
(7 Game Series)

GAME 1 -

GAME 2 - This wasn't one of Matt's better games. He only played for 22 minutes and Rudy opted to bench Matt for the more experienced Threatt who played five more minutes than Matt and for the last 16 minutes of the game. Seattle put the pressure on him early with Hersey Hawkins and Gary Payton gave Matt "The Glove" treatment. Matt seemed to struggle with the scrambling defense and made poor choices on when to drive the ball and when to shoot. He only had 5 points, he made 8 field goal attempts and was 1 out of 7 from behind the 3-point line, had 2 assists and 4 turnovers. This was the Rockets 1st loss in the play-offs. Elie, Maloney, Threatt and Johnson who were a combined 10-of-17 from downtown in Game 1 were just 4-of-17 this time.

GAME 3 - After Matts disappearing act in Game 2 he needed just 24 seconds of Game 3 to regain his touch with a 3-pointer. That was just the beginning. Matt who was basically shut out by Hersey Hawkins and Gary Payton, held Hawkins to just 3 points for the entire game. Matt played for 43 minutes, had 19 points, 5 3-pointers (out of 8 tries), 2 defensive rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 turnovers. This by no means was an easy game, at halftime the Rockets had a 55-44 lead but in the 3rd the Sonics made a 25-5 run to take the lead 79-72. Going into the 4th quarter the Rockets put on the pressure and cut the Sonics lead to 1 with 2 Maloney 3-pointers and a Drexler bucket. The Sonics came back and reclaimed the lead but an incredible pass out of the low post by Olajuwon to Maloney who nailed a 3-pointer with 4:49 on the clock gave the Rockets the lead. It was a very close game after that until the Rockets, tied at 93 with 2:13 on the clock, shut down the Sonics and took the victory.

GAME 4 - There is no doubt that this was Maloney's most sensational performance in the whole Play-Offs. He was nothing short of amazing. It was raining 3's at KeyArena, Matt Maloney sank 8 3-pointers (out of 13 tries). That was one short of the play-off record set by Rex Chapman of the Pheonix Suns just a few weeks earlier. Matt had 26 points which ties his play-off high (set against Minnesota in game 3). He played for 48 minutes, had 4 turnovers (well we'll forgive ya for that), 1 defensive rebound, and 6 assists. At halftime the Rockets were down 6 points (53-47) but after halftime Matt came out and had 8 points in the 3rd, hitting 2 3-pointers and a lay-up but the Rockets were still down by 3 points going into the 4th (77-74).

In the 4th quarter Matt Maloney and Hersey Hawkins began a 3-point war. Hawkins hit 2 of his only 6 field goals in the entire game in the last 2:04. The 1st was an answer to a 3 launched by Matt to tie the game at 95. Barkley had a chance to put the game away but bricked 2 free throws with 11 seconds on the clock. That led to Hawkins 2nd 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left. Hawkins pump-faked Drexler and drained a 3 in the corner to force OT. Barkley game back in OT with a vengeance and scored the Rockets first 7 points and 3 rebounds. But Maloney would step up again. On a pass from a double-teamed Olajuwon that included Hawkins, Maloney went to fire another 3. Hawkins was quick to recover and charge back into position and take away his shot. Matt calmly recovered, took one dribble and fired up a 3, that hit nothing but net, plus 2 Elie free-throws iced the game. Matt used the same fake with which Hawkins had used against Drexler to send the game into OT to clinch the win. It was a war and you just gotta love it!

GAME 5 - This is the game probably wishes never happened. Gary Payton apparently took offense at the fact that Matt Maloney was getting more press coverage than him. Payton's defense was so overwhelming that you couldn't have pried him off Maloney with the Jaws of Life. This is indicative in Matt's 1-7 shooting and four turnovers. Also this was the first time Matt didn't make a single 3-pointer in the entire game for 30 straight games (the previous 23 regular season games and 7 play-off games). He played for 26 minutes, was 0-6 from the 3-point line, had 1 defensive rebound, 2 assists, and just 2 points.

GAME 6 - This was just an extension of Game 5 for Matt. Matt played for 27 minutes, only had 4 points, made his first and only 3-pointer of the game in the second quarter. He had 1 free throw, 1 offensive rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal but had 3 turnovers (2 coming in the 3rd). This was still a close game, but Payton's left-handed lay-up with 12 seconds on the clock was all Seattle needed to push this to a 7 game series.

GAME 7 - This when a series is the most exciting... a Do or Die Game 7! Maloney who was basically shut out for the last 2 games drilled his 1st shot, a 3-pointer, and ended up with 7 1st period points. In the closing of the half the Sonics were up 42-40 but the Rockets put together a 15-8 closing run that put the Rockets up 55-50 at half-time. Matt had 5 of those points including a 3 with 16.1 on the clock.

In the closing of the 3rd the Rockets were up by 74-67 but in the 4th the Sonics, down by 14 points and 3:51 left, put together a 12-1 run pulling the score to 89-86 with 1:32 left. You knew this game would come down to the wire, but Drexler found an open Matt and threw him a swing pass who buried a 3-pointer with 1:17 left. It was basically a dagger in the heart of the Sonics, and who better than Matt to deliver such a blow. From there it was a free-throw war until a very fitting slam-dunk by Hakeem "The Dream" with 1.4 seconds left, gave the Rockets the win. Matt had 15 points, 2 assists, played for 37 minutes, shot 3 3-pointers (out of 8 tries), 2 free-throws, 3 defensive rebounds, 1 steal and 3 turnovers (thats forgivable after that last 3-pointer).