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Coach Jeff Van Gundy likely began with the defensive breakdowns down the stretch and that "finishing mentality" that he has been trying to develop in the Rockets since they led their first-round series against the Mavericks 2-0 and held consecutive fourth-quarter leads at home, only to lose the series.

But Van Gundy's postgame chats are brief, their message clear. So he also made a point Sunday that the Rockets' distressing loss to the Utah Jazz was not a playoff game.

This observation was not meant as consolation or as a reminder that when their presumed first-round series with the Jazz begins,the Rockets will be back even with Utah. It was a warning.

"I told the team this was not a playoff atmosphere at all," Van Gundy said. "This was not playoff-like. This was regular season, hard-fought. Playoff is when you don't get any do-overs. We have too many guys right now making too many mistakes, too many repeat mistakes."

With that clear, the same things that proved so difficult Sunday will be tougher in the playoffs. The loss likely will mean the series will begin in the Jazz's Energy Solutions Arena. Utah's win gives it a two-game lead on the Rockets in the loss column, and the tiebreaker favors the Jazz.

It's how, not where

"I'm not as concerned with where we play in the playoffs," Van Gundy said. "Obviously, every team would want home court. I'm more concerned with how we play.

"You have to be at your best when your best is needed," Van Gundy said, speaking of Sunday's closing stretch, but also of a requirement even more applicable to the postseason. "In this game, our best was needed, obviously, in the fourth (quarter). We didn't play well enough to win. We didn't play well enough offensively to win. We fouled too much. There's things we need to do better."

Sunday's game might not have been a playoff game, but the Rockets expect to see more of roughly the same. The series will likely be filled with low-scoring games determined in the final minutes.

When the Jazz ended Sunday's game with four consecutive dunks or layups down the stretch, the Rockets got a pretty good idea of how disciplined they will have to be.

"Once again, playoff games will come down to the last few possessions," guard Rafer Alston said. "Down the stretch, they ran their offense, executed, scored. We knew how we wanted to defend it. Yet we allowed them to get catches under the rim, layups, a kick-out to a (Mehmet) Okur 3. Basically, we gave them every look they wanted."

They argued that they gave up more than that.

"It's a bad loss," Tracy McGrady said, "because we beat ourselves."

Wanting it not enough

The Jazz, however, had plenty to do with it, perhaps even enough to demonstrate what it will take to beat them.
"Everybody wants to win, but you make game-plan mistakes, you give up a layup," Van Gundy said. "You do that, and no matter how much you want it, you're not going to get it. You have to be disciplined enough, with enough mental strength to get hit and do it the right way. We didn't do it well enough.

"If Rafer's shot goes in and we get a 3, and down on the other end we hold, they're lamenting what they didn't do well enough. If that shot went in ... I would have the same problem with how we played, because I know it's not going to hold up. It's not the result of losing; it's what we did. Even if we came back and made the shot and won, I would know that's not going to hold up."