The NBA’s best team during the regular season went up on the Jazz, 2-1, in their second-round playoff series, having won big, 113-92, and having taken back the winning vibe the Jazz had swiped from it at Houston in the second game. In doing so, the Rockets thumped an underdog that they had previously treated in demeanor as a substandard outfit, as a team that was, at most, an upper-level also-ran in the West.
The Jazz to these Rockets, and maybe darn near everybody else, were not viewed as a significant roadblock for a 65-win team that sees its destiny and destination as pretty much assured, at least until it matches up with the Golden State Warriors in the conference finals.