Even without MVP frontrunner James Harden, the Rockets (52-14) bounced back from Friday's close loss at Toronto with an emphatic 105-82 victory over the rival Mavs in Dallas. - Coupled with a loss by Golden State (51-16) earlier in the day to Minnesota, Houston suddenly finds itself with a two-game advantage in the loss column plus the tiebreaker in the race for the West's No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs. - Chris Paul (24 points, 50% FG, 12 assists, +31) made up for a sluggish night from the field in Toronto, while Eric Gordon replaced Harden in the starting lineup and performed admirably with 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Meanwhile, Houston put the clamps down on the Mavs defensively in the second half to take full control — surrendering just 82 points. - Our postgame show explores those items and more, including thoughts on the status of Harden's sore left knee and the importance of Houston building separation from both Golden State and Toronto as the season heads down the home stretch. - #Rockets #NBA #Mavs #Warriors - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices