James Harden threw his pass to Clint Capela, a Jazz lead that had reached 16 reduced to five and the Toyota Center crowd at last alive.
Harden raised his hands to call for the roars to perhaps push the Rockets through the finish ahead.
Then, a bad start to the season grew worse, and perhaps much more foreboding than with a 100-89 loss to the Jazz that dropped the Rockets to 1-3.
Moments after he had been cheered, Harden drove to the basket only to land awkwardly, immediately calling for a timeout and attention from Rockets athletic trainers Jason Biles and Keith Jones.