Mavericks' Comeback to Rockets Falls Just Short, Lose 108-102

The Mavericks were down by as many as 23 points late in the game, but Houston's domination of the glass kept them in control.

Oct 31, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) controls the ball as Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (9) defends during the first quarter at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks returned home after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night to play their in-state rival Houston Rockets. It's the first of a five-game homestand and Dallas wanted to keep their positive momentum going.

The Mavs started their usual five of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, and Daniel Gafford. Houston started Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr., and Alperen Sengun.

READ MORE: Former NBA Player Makes Klay Thompson Realization

It was another sloppy start for the Mavs. The Rockets hit their first two shots from deep and opened up a 10-3 lead following a pair of missed free throws by PJ Washington, a missed dunk by Daniel Gafford, and a bad backcourt turnover where Doncic didn't turn and look for the ball, and Houston took advantage. Kyrie Irving helped stabilize things a little, but Houston's physicality set the tone, letting the Rockets take advantage of the free-throw line.

Luka Doncic again was struggling early, even air-balling a shot, and that allowed the Rockets to open up a 27-15 lead following another made three by Brooks. They carry that lead to a 34-21 advantage by the end of the quarter. Dallas just could not get their offense going against Houston's physicality.

Despite some shot-making by Kyrie Irving, that trend would continue in the second quarter. Dallas faced their biggest deficit of the season - 19 points - in a stretch that featured a scoreless trip to the free-throw line by Doncic. Nothing was going the Mavs' way, even having an overturned foul call that would've resulted in free throws for Jaden Hardy but was changed to an offensive foul.

A drawn charge by Doncic gave them some energy to start to tip away and get the lead back to 15, but Houston's coach, Ime Udoka, quickly called a timeout to try and stop the Mavs from getting any momentum. That seemed to work as Houston quickly got the lead up to 20. Closing defensive possessions with a rebound was an issue, with Houston snagging eight offensive boards in the first half, leading to some clear frustration from the Mavs. Dallas chipped away a little bit, but Klay Thompson missed a three towards the end of the half that would've cut the lead to 10, and Houston led 57-44 at the half.

Houston wasn't lighting the world on fire offensively early, shooting just 21/47 (44.7%) from the floor and 4/15 (26.7%) from three, but they were taking advantage of the free-throw line (11/14). Dallas wasn't efficient from anywhere early, shooting 16/39 (41%) from the field, 2/12 (16.7%) from three, and 10/16 (62.5%) from the charity stripe. Because they were doing a decent job defensively, a quick offensive explosion in the second half could get them right back in the game.

READ MORE: Mavericks a Consistent Top 5 Team in NBA Power Rankings

The first few minutes of the second half were just more of the same as the first half: too many fouls, not enough scoring, and poor defensive rebounding by the Mavs. Sengun and Jabari Smith were killing Dallas on the glass, which led to fouls. Lively and Gafford had four fouls each midway through the quarter, forcing Dwight Powell minutes against Sengun.

Dallas just couldn't do anything right. The first three quarters could be summarized by an offensive rebound by Houston, a bad foul by the Mavs, and then an even worse offense on the other end for Dallas. For most of the game, Houston had as many offensive rebounds as Dallas did defensively. Houston broke open a lead as large as 23 with a few minutes left in the third quarter. Heading into the 4th, Dallas faced an 88-72 deficit despite a buzzer-beater by Irving to end the third.

A few quick baskets by Dallas to start the period cut the lead to 11, though, giving the AAC some life. Because of the foul issues with their bigs, Dallas rolled out a small lineup of Doncic, Irving, Hardy, Naji Marshall, and PJ Washington. Given how badly they were getting beat on the glass, this was a bold lineup by Jason Kidd. They finally cut the lead below ten following a tough bank shot from Doncic with about eight minutes to go, then Irving found a cutting Marshall to cut the lead to seven with seven minutes to go.

Jalen Green responded to that run with five quick points to push the lead right back to 12. Klay Thompson hit his first three of the game a few possessions later to get the lead back down to seven. Then he hit another three following a crazy feed from Irving for his 2500th career make from deep to cut the lead to four with four minutes to go.

Green once again responded with a nice driving layup to get the lead up to six with about three minutes remaining, but Luka Doncic hit a patented step-back three to get the lead down to three with two minutes left. Dallas had a defensive stop, but once again, Houston got an offensive rebound and Jalen Green hit a contested three over Doncic to push the lead back to six with just over a minute remaining.

This rivalry has seen some crazy endings in recent years, and this was close to being another one. Doncic responded with a three on the next inbounds to get it back down to a one-possession game. Amen Thompson hit a tough contested mid-range to the lead back up to five, though. Klay Thompson missed a three on the next possession and would wind up going out of bounds, and Dillon Brooks would ice the game with a turn-around mid-range bucket to go up seven with 18 seconds left. After playing the foul game, Houston would win 108-102.

Dallas was so bad on the defensive glass and on offense in the first half that it prevented them from completing a crazy comeback, and those are things they'll have to address before their next game. Houston snagged 18 offensive rebounds and shot 27 free throws. If Dallas even cuts those by 15-20%, they likely get out of there with a win.

Kyrie Irving was the best Maverick of the night, finishing with 28 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Luka Doncic outscored him with 29, but Irving was the one that kept the offense afloat when the team needed it most. The only other Mav in double-figures was Klay Thompson with 12. That's not enough scoring output from the rest of the team. PJ Washington played a great game defensively, finishing with nine rebounds, three blocks, and three steals, but they needed another scorer to step up.

Jalen Green led the Houston Rockets with 23 points but added 12 rebounds. They also had five other players hit double-figures: Alperen Sengun (17 points, 12 rebounds, six offensive boards), Dillon Brooks (17 points), Tari Eason (15 points), Jabari Smith Jr. (14 points, six rebounds, three offensive rebounds), and Amen Thompson (10 points).

Dallas needs to find a way to start games faster, as slow starts are becoming a worrisome trend for this team. Part of it is working in Klay Thompson, but the team is too talented to consistently start games slowly.

The Mavericks will be back at home on Sunday evening against the Orlando Magic, who will be without their biggest star, Paolo Banchero.

READ MORE: New Mavericks Acquisition Proving His Worth on Defense

Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2024-25 Season

Follow MavericksGameday on Twitter and Austin Veazey on Twitter

More Dallas Mavericks News

• Kyrie Irving Leads Mavericks Over Timberwolves in WCF Rematch, 120-114

• Kendrick Perkins Praises Mavs Center as 'Best Defensive Big'

• Mavericks Extend Young Guard On Three-Year Deal

• Tracy McGrady Predicts Mavericks to Win Championship