Dominant team in regular season returns in Game 3 with vengeance

SALT LAKE CITY — A brilliant invasion. A relentless road attack. An unflinching team-wide commitment to playing modern basketball the right way.

Or just another way to say the revived Rockets beat the living heck out of the Utah Jazz on Friday night. What Game 2 letdown? In Game 3, the Mike D’Antoni Show roared back to full blast and simply destroyed Utah.

A 30-halftime lead captured it. A 113-92 final made the torching official.

Eric Gordon, James Harden, Chris Paul and Clint Capela constantly having their way with the Jazz, stunning once-fiery Vivint Smart Home Arena into the acceptance of si--

lence, also means it’s 2-1 Rockets in this Western Conference second-round series. Advantage: Rockets. Again. Just like Game 1, the limited Jazz couldn’t hang with the NBA’s best regular-season team and No. 1 playoff seed. In an echo of the 50-point quarter the Rockets unleashed at Minnesota during the first round, there was no stopping D’Antoni’s team.

They also played defense with — the key words during this postseason — intensity and emotion. And I swear Harden delivered one of the strongest performances of his career on the other side of the court, igniting the Rockets from the opening tip.

The frustration and disappointment during Game 2?

A 65-win team that didn’t show up until the third quarter on its home court?

Instant inspiration for the road team in Game 3.

Everything the Rockets did wrong Wednesday, they initially reversed and corrected Friday night in Salt Lake.

Harden bodied up Derrick Favors on the first possession of the game, setting a tone that was only paused by hasty Utah timeouts.

Trevor Ariza knocked down two early 3-pointers. P.J. Tucker turned rapid ball movement into a right-corner 3. Harden and Paul attacked and scored when they had openings, then set up open teammates when the Jazz closed in.

Rockets 10-3 suddenly became 15-5 and 28-12. A team that let itself down early in Game 2, falling behind by 19, scorched from the start in Game 3 and opened up a 20point lead, in turn quieting a red-orange-and-yellow arena that absolutely roared before tipoff.

Eight Rockets recorded points during the first quarter, while D’Antoni’s squad shot 61.5 percent (16-of-26) from the floor and sank four 3s.

It was 39-22 Rockets after 12 minutes; the baskets for the road team came so fast it was hard to keep up.

Just as encouraging during the initial period: Star rookie Donovan Mitchell was held to two points on 1-of-6 shooting, while Joe Ingles didn’t score again after an opening 3.

The Jazz finally made a mini-run. A stunned crowd erupted, shouting “Defense! Defense!” as the arena echoed and shook.

Capela stuffed Favors, then capped Rudy Gobert. The 6-10, 240-pound Capela also dribbled the ball down the entire court, bouncing past the lifeless Jazz.

Gordon finally got rolling in the playoffs — unleashing 17 first-half points on 6-of-8 shooting — never hesitating and burning Utah every time he got an open look.

Then Capela passed to Harden, who bounced the ball back to Capela for another nasty slam.

It was 70-40 road team in SLC.

Then it was 88-50 while Mitchell still had just two points.

There were boos from the Jazz’s faithful.

We were again reminded of who is clearly the better team.

The real Rockets were so easy to believe in again during Game 3.

Brilliant. Attacking. Proud and committed.

Keep this fire going and the Western Conference finals is next.