Jeremy Lin and James Harden Clicking, but Defense Still a Problem for the Rockets (POLL)

It was another spectacular performance on Tuesday for the Rockets.

The James Harden-Jeremy Lin experiment took another step forward in its development of what is becoming one of the hottest backcourts in the NBA, Lin scoring 16 points and dishing eight assists while Harden netted 28 points and passed for five assists in a 123-104 blowout win over the Atlanta Hawks.

The Rockets were on fire from the perimeter all night, shooting 55.2 percent from the three-point line and 53.6 percent from the field altogether.

And they were circulating the ball around masterfully, generating 30 assists in what has become a staple of Houston's turbo-charged offense this season (second-best in the league with 105.8 points per game.)

And yet, there were still signs of trouble in the midst of their handy win. Storm clouds that hovered around the picnic that Houston was having at the Hawks' expense.

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In particular, it was the Rockets' defense that, while overshadowed by the overwhelming power of Houston's offense, showed signs of alarm.

Houston was up by 15 points in the fourth quarter in a game were they were basically torturing the Hawks all night thanks to excellent shooting, which eluded the Rockets in the previous game when the Oklahoma City Thunder pulverized them in a 124-94 shelling.

And then, they almost let it get away from them. By taking their eyes off the finish and getting complacent, perhaps, they let the Hawks rattle off a 12-2 run to cut the lead to 102-97, a mere five-point deficit, with about five minutes remaining.

It took some timely buckets from Harden and super-sub Carlose Delfino to help Houston avoid disaster.

And in the second half, Houston only outscored Atlanta by one point, 59-58, while allowing the Hawks to outscore them in the third quarter 29-26.

While the feat of scoring more than 100 points on Atlanta, which ranks in the Top 10 of NBA teams that allow the fewest points to be scored on them (95.9 points allowed), is impressive, the fact that Houston allowed an opponent to score more than 100 points on them for the third consecutive game is less so impressive.

The bottom line is this: Houston cannot keep hoping to outscore their foes each night.

One need look no further than what happened in Oklahoma City, where their offense fell apart after the Thunder refused to allow them to penetrate the middle and made Houston take shot after errand shot.

And against Minnesota, another top 10 defensive team, on Dec. 26, the Rockets needed a hot night from Harden again when they barely beat the Timberwolves 87-84 on a night where they shot a miserable 40 percent from the field and were held below 90 points, well below Houston's usual standards.

The Rockets are currently the worst defensive team in the NBA, allowing opponents to score 103.8 points per game against them. Sooner or later, that's going to catch up with them if they don't make a renewed commitment towards defense.

They need to stop opposing players from penetrating into the lane. They have to work on their weak transition defense, which has been a glaring flaw in their play all season. And above all else, they have to work on limiting their turnovers, which OKC took advantage of on Saturday and turned into 32 points.

They limited their turnovers to only 11, which only resulted in 12 points on Monday. So there was progress. But Houston's schedule, third-hardest in the NBA, won't allow much wiggle room going forward, so if the Rockets want to avoid being shut down by defensively superior teams going forward, they're going to have to rise to the challenge.

They have to learn how to make stops and hold opponents to below 100 points a night. If they don't adapt, sooner or later, they will pay for it. And when they do, it could mean the difference between a playoff birth in May, or cleaning out their lockers for the summer as they wonder what went wrong.