SALT LAKE CITY — At this point, the Rockets were only down eight.



They had survived the wacky and emotionally-charged first half full of runs, fouls and even a Rudy Gobert ejection. A comeback couldn’t be ruled out — after all, Houston had the two best players on the floor together.



And then, three minutes undid it all.



In the time it takes to heat up a plate of spaghetti, Utah doubled its lead. And the Rockets looked completely out of it.



After Chris Paul committed a turnover and gave up a three-point play, he signaled to the bench. “EG,” he called out, almost as if he wanted to sub himself out.



A few plays later, a James Harden turnover led to an easy Jazz layup. An irate Mike D’Antoni called timeout, and Harden started a slow walk to the bench, almost zombie-like. Houston was down big, heads were down, solutions nonexistent.



It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Not for a contender.