If the Rockets on occasion felt superior to the injury-depleted and rebuilding Bulls, it might have been a dangerous way to think and perhaps got in their way to the romp they spent the night trying to complete.
That was preferable to the way the week began.
The Rockets on Saturday eventually delivered their second blowout win in as many nights, building a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter to get the benches cleared early with the struggles of just five days before well behind them, a 121-105 rout secure.
Even with a few ragged stretches along the way, the Rockets had gone from losing to struggling Eastern Conference teams in Cleveland and Washington to taking one out without ever having much reason to feel threatened.