James Harden Responds to Mike D'Antoni Calling Rockets 'Soft' After Game 3 Loss

Houston Rockets star James Harden thought a slow start doomed his team en route to a 126-85 defeat to the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday night.

"We weren't as aggressive as we needed to be," Harden said, per the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen. "We started off the game pretty solid and we let them gain some confidence. They didn't feel us and it showed tonight."

According to Feigen, head coach Mike D'Antoni said the Rockets were soft, to which Harden agreed. He noted how Houston allowed 31 points in the first quarter and said the team "came out too slow, too soft" at the start of the second half. NBA TV shared Harden's comments:

Harden isn't far off in pinpointing the first and third quarters as the points at which the Rockets lost control of the game.

With 5:38 left in the first quarter, the score was tied at 18. The Rockets ended the quarter by scoring just four more points, which allowed Golden State to build a nine-point lead. Compare that to Game 2, when Houston led 26-21 after the opening frame.

At halftime Sunday, Houston was staring at an 11-point deficit. Coming back on the road from that kind of hole was difficult enough on its own, and then the Rockets allowed the Warriors to go on a 10-0 to open the third quarter. Stephen Curry also caught fire, scoring 18 points in the quarter as Golden State pulled away.

The third quarter will be the danger zone for the Rockets over the remainder of the series. According to NBA.com, the Warriors had an 18.5 net rating in the third quarter during the regular season, a number that has climbed to 26.0 in the postseason.

Houston needs to be better prepared to handle the inevitable Warriors second-half explosions, or it doesn't stand much chance of turning things around in the Western Conference Finals.