Finals for the first time in 18 years. In the Conference Finals, the Rockets were defeated by the Golden State Warriors 4–1. The 2015–16 season saw Kevin McHale fired after a bad start where the team only won 4 of its first 11 games, and assistant J. B. Bickerstaff took over coaching duties. Inconsistent play led to the Rockets struggling to remain in the playoff qualifying zone, and surrounded by trade rumors. Houston only clinched its 2016 playoffs spot by winning its last game, finishing the season 41–41 to earn an eight seed and a match-up against the Warriors. Like in the previous year, the Rockets were once again defeated by Golden State in five games. During the 2016 off-season, Mike D'Antoni was named as the Rockets' new head coach, and Dwight Howard opted out of his contract's final year, becoming a free agent. In the following free-agency period, the Rockets looked to embrace the play styles of both coach D'Antoni and Harden through the signings of Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon, two predominately perimeter players and good fits in Houston's up-tempo offense style. When the 2016–17 season started, Harden was off to a great start and was widely considered a top MVP runner along with Kawhi Leonard, alongside former teammate Russell Westbrook. When the season ended, the Rockets were third in both the Western Conference and overall rankings, a major improvement from the season before. D'Antoni was named the NBA Coach of the Year, Eric Gordon the Sixth Man of the Year, and Harden finished second in MVP voting to Russell Westbrook. In the playoffs, the Rockets faced the sixth seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in a battle of the MVP frontrunners, as the winner was not announced until after the finals. The Rockets won the series 4–1 including Nene Hilario's perfect 12–12 in field goals in Game 4. In the following round, Houston opened with a dominating 27 points win over the San Antonio Spurs, lost the following two games and then tied the series again. The fifth game went into overtime and had both Manu Ginobili blocking James Harden's game tying three point attempt at the final second, and Nene injuring himself out of the postseason. Without Nene, the Rockets could not guard LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the series-closing match. During the 2017 off-season, the Rockets were purchased by Houston restaurant