Mike D'Antoni really meant it. He did not misspeak or engage in a little hyperbole. He was not being a cranky coach seeking a way to demand more of a team that has won 19 of 21 games since the start of December.

Sure, the Rockets are putting up large numbers. He allowed that much. They can be better. He expects them to be better.

"I think we've been really good offensively," D'Antoni said, "and we can get a lot better."

Coaches often think that way, but "a lot better?"

"We have too many turnovers," he said. "The last five or six minutes, we're not efficient yet. We have to do better there."

What else do you want?

As it is, the Rockets are second in scoring to Golden State's collection of All-Stars. They are third in offensive rating, trailing the Warriors by nine-tenths of a point per 100 possessions for the top spot. They are smashing 3-point records, hungrily shooting and making 3s like a sumo wrestler taking things literally at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

The Rockets are in the top five in scoring, 3-pointers made, points in the paint, second-chance points, fast-break points, assists and pace.

More Information Scouting report: vs. Charlotte When/where: 7 p.m. today; Toyota Center. TV/radio: Root; 790 AM and 850 AM (Spanish). Rockets update: They have outscored opponents by 11.1 points per game during their eight-game winning streak. … James Harden is averaging 28.2 points, 11.8 assists and 8.2 rebounds. Oscar Robertson is the only player to average 28 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for a full season. … Guard Pat Beverley has made 55 percent of his shots and 57.9 percent of his 3-pointers in the five games he has played during the Rockets' winning streak. … Montrezl Harrell has made 69 percent of his shots in the past eight games. … The Rockets have an 11-game home winning streak against Charlotte. … Guard Eric Gordon is questionable with a sprained left big toe. Hornets update: They are 8-11 on the road with a three-game road losing streak. … Charlotte has lost three of its past four games. … Guard Nicolas Batum is day-to-day with a hyperextended right knee. Former Rockets first-round draft pick Jeremy Lamb started Saturday in San Antonio. … Guard Kemba Walker averages 23.1 points per game on 46.8 percent shooting and 41.9 percent 3-point shooting, all career bests. … The Hornets' win in Charlotte last season ended a 10-game losing streak to the Rockets. Statistically speaking: 3 - Seasons in which the Rockets have had multiple winning streaks of at least eight games: this season, 1992-93 and 1976-77.

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That's not good enough, D'Antoni said, but at least they are heading in the right direction.

"We are getting better at moving the ball," he said. "When things break down, we're doing a better job finding good shots. We have to continue to do that. Our pace is up to where we're second in the league or third. That's where it should be, if not first. We'll continue to get that better."

Until then, there is a bright side to be found in the Rockets' eight-game winning streak. D'Antoni believes they have successfully taken to their pace-and-space, 3s-and-layups offense and embraced it.

As they have demonstrated in comebacks from double-digit deficits in each of their past four games, they would sooner make their way through the NBA schedule by train than stray from their style.

"We have our formula, and we're going to stick with it," D'Antoni said. "We're just going to have to try to do it harder and better."

As reliably as the Rockets have scored and won, there's that "get better" thing again.

The players do not disagree.

"One hundred percent," Harden said. "Different games, we see different defenses, guards guarding Ryan (Anderson) now, so we just have to figure it out. We're almost halfway through the season, and we're a fairly good team still. I'll get better. My turnovers will start dropping as I get familiar with what different defenses are doing.

"Until then, we're rolling, guys are happy, and we're making shots."

Harden described his role simply: "Every game, my job is to be the best player on the court."

But as with D'Antoni's assessment of the offense, Harden expects more.

Reducing his turnovers would be a way for Harden to improve, though many come with the job. He has said he is willing to take a few turnovers on full-court passes to encourage his teammates to run the floor and reward them when they do. Some giveaways come from confusion in the offense when a cutter goes one direction and Harden sends a pass the other way.

While Harden posted his 10th triple-double of the season Sunday - more than the in rest of his career combined - he also had 10 turnovers. His average of 5.8 turnovers per game is the highest in the NBA, but he considers many of those turnovers the price of doing business in the Rockets' offense.

"I have the ball in my hands 90 percent of the time, so it's going to happen," said Harden, who alluded to the Rockets not wanting to have more than 15 turnovers in a game. "As coach says, I can have 15 turnovers, as long as we have 15 as a team. That's all that matters. Who cares?"

Nit-picking just fine

There is a sense that complaining about turnovers during a winning streak with near nightly rewrites of the record book is a bit nit-picky.

The Rockets have made at least 15 3s in a game 22 times. No other team has done it in more than eight. Their 581 3s are 85 more than Golden State made through 39 games last season, when the Warriors were the most prolific 3-point-shooting team ever. The Rockets have scored at least 120 points 15 times - their most since they had 16 games with 120 points in the 1988-89 season - nearly averaging that much per game since the start of December.

Yet, they still expect more.

"Of course we're striving for perfection," Anderson said. "There's no such thing as perfect basketball, but at the same time, you want to strive to be the best you possibly can be. We can nit-pick and say we can improve on a lot of things. Just the fact of playing more and more together is going to make our offense better. We have such good chemistry, but it is going to get better. It's not even halfway through the season. We have a long way to go."