The Rockets would have been just fine with pouring in 3s and winning a high-scoring game. They would love to have Trevor Ariza back from his strained hamstring and Eric Gordon from back spasms and for Chris Paul to shoot well, without concerns about his sore groin.
Winning this way might have been more meaningful. The Rockets fell short of the usual collection of 15.6 3-pointers per game, even with James Harden dropping in consecutive treys to close out the win. They did not hit their customary percentage, 36.3 percent, instead connecting on 33.3 percent. They got a strong first quarter from deep from Ryan Anderson and a boost in the second quarter from Gerald Green.