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So much of the criticism of the Golden State Warriors this season has been about consistency.

Never mind that they’re in first place in the NBA’s Western Conference. Expectations are simply higher for the defending champions and they’ve played sloppily at times, including on Sunday when they lost at home to the Phoenix Suns, the league’s worst team. The Warriors had dropped two of their previous three and four of six as they went on the road to play the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

Maybe they found some of their magic as they hung on for a 106-104 victory. Or maybe it’s the Rockets struggling with consistency in their own way.

Houston saw its nine-game winning streak end, though the Rockets erased most of a 13-point deficit down the stretch against he Warriors. And James Harden accepted the defeat for what it was – “one loss.”

Still …

Having won nine straight and having played the Warriors so closely, the Rockets are only tied for third in the west with the Oklahoma City Thunder. They’re 4 ½ games behind the Warriors, who will no doubt raise their level of play for the postseason. So the Rockets need to pull themselves back together.

“Sometimes you don’t learn a lot when you win,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antonio said. “If this didn’t get their attention, then we’re in big trouble.”

The Rockets’ next game is Sunday … against those pesky Suns.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman