Suddenly, Steve Francis was on roller skates. Cuttino Mobley was blindfolded. Glen Rice was a rookie searching for his shot. Suddenly, the Rockets were no match for even the Nuggets.

The Rockets had been tempting such a fate since the season began, holding it off no matter how much they invited it to catch up and smack them.

Then Friday, they made winning ugly look beautiful. They turned all those ragged wins into the vision of Shallow Hal, providing a far uglier show than the movie comedians could dream up. The Rockets allowed the struggling Nuggets to run them off the court 108-81 on Friday night, turning the entire second half into an excuse to get the uniforms at the end of the bench sweaty.

"We owe them," Mobley said. "We owe them big time. Next time we play them it will be something to see. The same thing that makes you laugh can make you cry."

But Friday, the Nuggets likely would not shake too much at the threat. The Rockets might owe the Nuggets one. But as spectacularly as Nick Van Exel and Isaiah Rider shot, the Rockets can only blame themselves.