The Rockets could keep it close. They could get enough ballhandling magic from Chris Paul and Eric Gordon to make tough shots at the rim. They could ride Gerald Green, their find from local pick-up games, to waves of 3s. They could be in many ways amazing.
The Warriors did not have to be amazing. They just had to be the Warriors.
They could cut and pass their way to so many great shots, they did not have to make the amazing ones that had been the Rockets' only hope. When the Rockets ran out of those, the Warriors at last pulled away down the stretch, sending the Rockets to a 124-114 defeat by saving their best for last.