Tired: Rockets can’t beat the Warriors. Wired: Rockets can’t beat the Warriors by 30.

For all the hand-wringing about the impact of the Warriors’ undeniable superiority on our fair sport, the Warriors couldn’t do a damn thing to slow down the Rockets on Wednesday night. Houston won Game 2, 127-105, dominating on the strength of effective shooting (16-for-42 on threes) and effective defense on Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson (combined 10-for-29 shooting).

Many who are not Golden State partisans or Houston haters hoped all year that a team could rival the Warriors to make a predictable postseason more appealing to watch. Game 1 seemed to indicate our hopes were futile. Game 2 turned that around. Despite screaming they wouldn’t change in the wake of the unnerving loss on Monday, the Rockets changed some things up and found way more success.

Most of the credit should go to two things: much tighter defense in the half court with better communication and attention to detail, and a connected effort to put some giddy-up in the attack instead of dribbling out the shot clock. James Harden wasn’t nearly as effective on an individual level in Game 2 — he scored 27 points on 24 shots with more turnovers than assists, and hit just 3-for-15 from deep — but pretty much every other Rocket was better. Getting open looks in transition and delayed transition, cutting, swinging the ball — it all added up to success, especially for P.J. Tucker (22 points on nine shots) and Eric Gordon (27 points on 15 shots).

Kevin Durant showed out again (we’ll have more on him later Thursday) but the Warriors never really challenged in the second half. They couldn’t do anything to break through the Rockets’ dominance.

Now we find out if that’s a one-night aberration or if we really, really have a series. And by “now” I mean on Sunday, because that’s the next time these teams play.

Rockets 127, Warriors 105
Series tied 1-1
Recaps: The Dream Shake | Golden State Of Mind

There are no NBA playoff games until Saturday. The WNBA season doesn’t tip off until Friday. Fortnite, anyone?

From before Game 2, here’s an excellent Tim Cato piece on the debate around the Rockets’ beloved isolation style.

Remember when Stephen Curry put Chris Paul on his tail in 2015 with a nasty dribble move, and it was in every highlight montage for a month? CP3 got his revenge Wednesday with a nifty behind-the-back deke that sent Curry to the floor. (There may have been a little push-off, too.)

The Bucks are hiring Mike Budenholzer as their next head coach. Milwaukee had considered something like a dozen or so candidates and narrowed it down to Budenholzer and Ettore Messina. The Raptors were reportedly hot on Budenholzer, too, but hadn’t made an offer. Based on his work with the Hawks before the rebuild set in, this looks like a really good match in Milwaukee. Now we see where Toronto goes next.

One more note on Budenholzer: what a brilliant summer for him! He had one more year on his Hawks deal. He wriggled out of it early in the broad coaching turnover season, and ended up with a four-year deal with a much, much more promising franchise. His agent earned that commission, no question.

The Kyrie Irving trade reached its nadir on Tuesday night. The thing is that it could be so much worse if Irving were healthy and toasting up the Cavaliers!

I wrote about how the Suns’ bizarre rebuild absolutely needed that lottery win. Meanwhile, it seems like there’s a real debate in Phoenix. Dave King makes the case for Deandre Ayton. Evan Sidery makes the case for Luka Doncic. Here are Ricky O’Donnell’s winners and losers from the lottery.

Most top prospects have been in workout mode since March or early April. But you can still catch Doncic in high-level competition this weekend in his last big performance before the draft.

Tamika Catchings might soon become the NBA’s first female general manager.

Zach Lowe’s rollicking tales from backstage at the NBA Draft lottery are always enjoyable. And here’s Yaron Weitzman on all the lucky charms.

Why NBA fans should care about legalized sports betting. What legal sports betting will look like. A deep dive into New York’s betting legalization bill.

Inside the house where the Hamptons 5 were born. (Are we sure it didn’t get torched during Game 2?)

Kristian Winfield on the big potential for a Deandre Ayton-De’Aaron Fox 5-1 battery.

Tom Haberstroh on James Harden’s dribbling and how that may contribute to exhaustion in playoff series. Ethan Strauss on the battle of philosophies being waged in Rockets vs. Warriors ... except, well, the actual teams implementing the philosophies abandoned ship just a bit in Game 2, didn’t they?

Terry Rozier made one of the bravest plays possible — fend off a LeBron James chasedown block — and succeeded. Emboldened, he tried it one more time and ... he got got.

The NBA released the top three finishers in each of the major award categories going into the June 25 awards show. No real surprises. Coach of the Year finalists include Dwane Casey, which ... awkward tweet, Raptors.

The Magic had been radio silent on their coaching search. Marc Stein says they are off the radar with ... uh, Kelvin Sampson as the top candidate. That’s outside the box!

Be excellent to each other.