As challenges go, ignoring the 20-something lead was about the Rockets' toughest.
They could have chased statistics. James Harden was in the neighborhood of a third-consecutive triple double. Eric Gordon continued to drain 3s. Trevor Ariza had one of his best end-to-end games of the season. But even the collection of numbers seemed uninteresting the way they could pound the 76ers.
Instead, the Rockets played with no doubt that they could win with ease and never found a reason to believe otherwise. The Rockets led by as much as 29 before cruising in with a 115-88 blowout of Philadelphia in which they could clear the bench for good with six minutes left and still hold an opponent to the fewest points they have allowed this season.