The Rockets (42-13) won their eighth consecutive game and 12th of 13 since the return of James Harden with a 104-97 victory over the rival Dallas Mavericks (18-39) on Sunday night at Toyota Center. - It didn't always come easy for Houston, though, as evidenced by the 36 points scored by the Mavericks in the second quarter. That led to a tight game (57-55) at the half, even against a Dallas squad with Dirk Nowitzki, Wes Matthews, and J.J. Barea all out due to injury or rest considerations. - Our recap explores the inconsistent defense and reasons not to overreact, along with a look at how the Rockets were able to eventually turn it around. James Harden led the way in scoring with 27 points, while Chris Paul shook off a slow start to finish with 25 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, and a team-best plus/minus of +22 — highlighted by an 11-4 spurt to end the third quarter in which Paul scored or assisted on every point. That stretch pushed Houston's lead to double digits, effectively ending the game. - In the final segment of the show (19:35), our Ben DuBose speaks with ClutchFans owner David Hardisty about the recent additions of Joe Johnson and Brandan Wright to the Rockets and the logic behind Mike D'Antoni's sudden decision to start P.J. Tucker over Ryan Anderson at the power forward spot. - #Rockets #NBA #Mavs - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices