The Rockets left Toronto with a win on Thursday night, though what they learned about themselves going up against the latest unique defense from the Raptors may carry more weight than a win, even in a tight Western Conference.

As the Raptors continued to aggressively double James Harden, the rest of the Rockets were able to feast.

Ben McLemore came through with a season-high 28 points, going 9-of-18 from the field and a ridiculous 8-of-17 from behind the arc. PJ Tucker hit five threes of his own en route to 18 points and 11 rebounds. Danuel House clicked for 16 points and three threes off the bench, while Austin Rivers hit three longballs himself. All told, the Rockets hit 10 more 3-pointers than the Raptors and those four guys combined to shoot 23-for-50.

That’s obviously an outlier clip, considering McLemore is shooting .338 from deep after this explosion, but the Rockets at least know that their secondary scorers are capable of punishing defenses that may employ such ruthless, rigid schemes to slow Harden down. Opponents will dare anyone other than Harden to hit their shots, especially while Eric Gordon is on the shelf, and Thursday’s performance was promising in that regard.

But beyond the strong output from unlikely sources, the Rockets showed that they can also win a game of a uniquely different style.

Ultimately, Houston proved both willing and capable to turn into a ball-movement team. That’s certainly helped along by the Raptors conceding 4-on-3 opportunities, but it is still a major adjustment that the Rockets made over time. They had some issues with it in the first quarter, and though Harden in particular was generally making the right passes to escape extra pressure, his teammates struggled to jump into the flow of things.

Look at this possession. Note how far away Harden is from any aspect of the play (with OG Anunoby ignoring any notion to provide help defense elsewhere), and how none of the other Rockets do anything to react to what’s become a 4-on-4. The Raptors effectively changed the geometry of the floor, and for a little while Houston seemed a little confused about what to do without Harden’s fingerprints all over the ball.

By the end of the night, Houston, who ranks 28^th in the league with just 54.0 percent of their field goals coming from assists, and dead last with 67.2 percent of their 3-pointers coming off assists, ended up with 29 assists on 40 field goals (72.5 percent) and assists on 20 of their 22 3-pointers (90.9 percent).

There’s nothing wrong or improper about those stats in and of themselves – you’d be a fool not to spam Harden’s isolations considering how unstoppable he is – but the question has always been whether the Rockets could beat good teams without Harden’s heroics. For one night, at least, Houston pulled it off. Even with Harden only dropping three dimes, the Rockets proved they could play an immensely different style, and play it well.

Houston took another decisive victory in the rebounding battle, and once they adjusted to quick 4-on-3 situations to get the Raptors scrambling a bit more, the Rockets decimated the Raptors on the offensive glass. One of the major downsides of such aggressive doubling schemes is that it leaves the defense vulnerable to outnumbered battles, and the Rockets were able to pick up 20 offensive rebounds and turn them into 24 second chance points.

On top of all that, on a night where Russell Westbrook was mostly terrible, going 7-for-27 from the field while committing eight turnovers, and yes, getting a triple-double despite it all, Harden showed tremendous restraint while his teammates were generating good shots. He relinquished control of Houston’s offense without fuss and never forced any of the action. He wasn’t shy about getting his shots when windows of space were open, and that patience might have gone out the window had McLemore not shot the lights out, but The Beard proved to be a willing part of the gameplan.

He was also sound defensively too, bringing surprising physicality to the table in the instances where he had to guard Pascal Siakam, and looked fairly engaged on that end of the floor. Scorers may let their offensive numbers weigh heavily on their games overall, but Harden was able to fight through it to provide a positive impact in a different way.

Although the game was essentially won from beyond the arc, where the Rockets hit 10 more threes than the Raptors, there were more than enough good things that this shouldn’t be waved away as a win based on unsustainable percentages. Strategies like Toronto’s become less viable when the aforementioned Gordon returns, but Houston had to like a lot about what they showed on Thursday.

The secondary players stepped up. They found a rhythm against a scheme that dared anyone but Harden to do the heavy lifting. They attacked the scheme’s weak points decisively, and Harden resisted any urges to go into takeover mode and bog the game down. As the competition stiffens, an effort like this is one that Houston will look back to as a shining example of how they can adapt and react.

The Rockets won a game that unfolded in a very un-Rockets way, which should be the biggest takeaway from a fun matchup in early December.