The Rockets kept expecting another run, another wave of 3s or streak or stops to carry them past their struggles and the Lakers.
They had been given weeks of evidence to believe in their power to surge past any problems, but they also had days of their defense leaking points and challenging the streak.
When the Rockets could not stop the Lakers at the start or finish, the shooting that had so often rescued them could bail them out no longer, with their winning streak ending at 14 games with a 122-116 loss to the Lakers on Wednesday.