Rockets guard Russell Westbrook had received a technical foul for enjoying a two-handed slam too much, or just too loudly, but this was not a game in which the Rockets could not make anything work.
So, moments later, when he took a steal for a breakaway, spiking home another dunk, he headed back the other way signaling for the Toyota Center crowd to do the shouting for him.
He got his wish. It was that sort of night.
When the Rockets were right, defending with empty-the-tank energy and executing with ease, they turned a game against the Grizzlies on Wednesday into a test of how long they could pay attention.