The Houston Rockets may have lost their season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night but they still have some positive takeaways from the game.

In his first start as the team's point guard, James Harden dished out a career-high 17 assists and it only took him less than three quarters to do it.

Although they lost the game, 120-114, Harden was able to show that he can run the team's offense and that there's more to his game than just being a great scorer. He also added 34 points and eight rebounds to his impressive stat-line.

The Rockets led for most of the game but hit a slump during the fourth quarter and were outscored 30-18 by the Lakers.

Mike D'Antoni and his staff would need to review the tapes in order to correct their lapses in their first game. It was noticeable that Harden was not able to involve his teammates anymore in the final quarter and appeared to carry the scoring load on his own.

The good news for the team is that it's still very early in the season and they have a lot of time to improve and string a few wins together. They will look to bounce back from this loss when face the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.