Houston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni said his team must iron out their defensive kinks after a James Harden-inspired victory over the Washington Wizards.
Harden scored 32 points -- including 14 in the final quarter -- as the Rockets prevailed 114-106 to improve their season record to 4-3.
Harden's final quarter points spree rescued the Rockets, who had trailed 95-94 with just over seven minutes remaining in the game.
However Houston pulled away with a run of 12 points to lead 106-95 with 3:43 remaining.
Ryan Anderson chipped in with 23 points while Trevor Ariza added 15 points.
But D'Antoni was alarmed by the way his team had shipped points in the first and third quarters, conceding 30 and 36 points respectively.
"We had two really good defensive quarters and two really bad ones," D'Antoni told reporters.
"We've got to smooth it out and keep working on it. We did enough to win. It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it."
Nevertheless, D'Antoni is confident his team has the savvy to improve their defense.
John Wall of the Washington Wizards dribbles in front of Eric Gordon of the Houston Rockets on November 7, 2016 in Washington, DC (Getty/AFP)
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