Previously, on "Warriors against Rockets" … It was a typical NBA "backs against the wall" game that would have come off to annoying script had it not been so entertaining. [ Follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball ] We're working in the Western Conference, here, where Houston had to claw its way toward the second seed despite playing in a hellacious division while missing center Dwight Howard for half a season. One could classify this as the first step toward a 4-1 Golden State "gentleman's sweep" of the Rockets had Houston not acted so rudely to the rest of the NBA throughout the year – this was a championship contender from the start of the season, one ill-suited to the 0-3 tag that dogged it as the squad entered Game 4. The entrance was the thing, well before the Rox torched Golden State in a 128-115 win . Houston put up an astonishing 45 points against the Warriors in the first quarter, a mark that would have been worth a laurel and hearty handshake even against a listless Toronto or Brooklyn squad in the first round. Instead, these points came against a Warriors squad that nearly led the NBA in defensive efficiency from wire to...