The Rockets had insisted that the game would be just another night on the schedule, but no one believed them.
The final regular-season meeting with the Warriors was a last chance to measure themselves against the league's best, a last chance to make a statement – if only to themselves – about their championship potential, a last game against the Warriors played with a post-season meeting in mind.
The Warriors have grown accustomed to taking opponents' best shot. They use that to maintain their intensity and focus through the regular-season and if a team lets up, they pounce.