Though the Rockets celebrated their buzzer-beating win in Philadelphia exuberantly, and appropriately for the occasion, they seemed happier with pulling safely away in Charlotte when they won without the drama.
Perhaps more than at any point this season, they looked like themselves, operating smoothly and shooting confidently. Things did not go easily. Though the Hornets were shorthanded, they had their two most important players, Kemba Walker and Dwight Howard, playing well. The Rockets misfired long enough to give them reason to doubt.
The Rockets, however, stayed true to their plan, shut down the Hornets' young and injury-depleted second unit and just kept shooting until they caught a wave and rode it the rest of the way in.