LOS ANGELES - With Rockets guard James Harden producing one of the all-time best offensive seasons, coach Mike D'Antoni pushed back hard about questions and criticism about the style of play.
Harden is averaging 36.6 points and 7.7 assists per game. He went into Thursday's game with a 31-game streak with at least 30 points.
He has averaged 40 points in a span of 34 games, the second-longest in league history, with the Rockets' offense going from fifth in the NBA to second in that span while the Rockets went 22-12 despite the absences of Chris Paul (for 17 games), Clint Capela (for 15 games) and Eric Gordon (for eight games in that stretch.