--The Rockets have said all along that they never change, describing themselves as being as loose after a 40-point loss as after a thorough win, as before facing playoff elimination as on any regular-season meeting with the Thunder.
"We don't really have a choice," Shane Battier said. "The odds are against us. You have to do things that turn the odds in your favor. That's by turning loose. You need somebody to get hot. "In the parlance of football, you can't go Michigan-Ohio State, circa 1975, and line 'em up and go off tackle left, off tackle right. That's not going to win in this game. You have to channel your inner (University of) Houston with Andre Ware and David Klingler."
--The Rockets led from start to finish, the first time this season they have gone consecutive home games without trailing. The Lakers had led at some point in 194-consecutive playoff and regular-season games before never leading in the last two games in Houston.
--For a second consecutive game in Houston, the Rockets held the Lakers to just 36 first-half points, their fewest in a half this season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "You cannot count us out. We're surprising a lot of people. A lot of people had us written off. If you do that, you really haven't been watching basketball the past month. When people least expect it, somehow we get the job done." -- Rockets center Chuck Hayes.
