Missing Luka Magic: Mavs Fall to Lowly Rockets Without Doncic

Despite Christian Wood and Tim Hardaway Jr. combining for 54 points without Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks fell short against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks couldn't string together consecutive wins on the second night of a back-to-back as they fell to the lowly Houston Rockets, 101-92. The Mavs fell to 8-6 on the year, while the Rockets improved to 3-12.

With Luka Doncic out due to rest, it was Christian Wood and Tim Hardaway Jr. who took the reins and led the Mavs in scoring off the bench, combing for 54 points. However, Dallas' offense sputtered down the stretch without their superstar.

Hardaway Jr. scored a season-high 28 points, four rebounds, and three assists on just 10-26 shooting from the floor and 5-14 from 3-point range. Wood finished with 26 points on 9-22 shooting, including 2-7 from deep. He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists in his season-high 30 minutes played.

It was evident that the Mavericks were hesitant on offense in the first quarter without Doncic on the floor, as they got off to a slow start in the first few minutes of the game before Wood and Hardaway Jr. came off the bench and got the offense flowing. 

In the second quarter, the two teams traded buckets back-and-forth before the Mavericks hit three-straight 3-pointers to jump out to a nine-point lead with just over four minutes remaining. But, the Rockets rallied in a big way, going on a 15-0 run to close the quarter to take a 57-51 lead into halftime.

The Mavericks got it going to start the third quarter as Dallas' defense picked up the slack from the first half and held the Rockets to just 19 points in the period. However, in the fourth, the Mavs simply fizzled out down the stretch, as the Rockets finished the game on an 18-9 run from when the game was tied at 83-all with 7:31 remaining.

No other Maverick aside from Wood or Hardaway Jr. scored in double-figures on the night. After having a breakthrough fourth-quarter performance against the Los Angeles Clippers the night before, Reggie Bullock score zero points on 0-6 shooting in 33 minutes of action on Wednesday night.

Next up, the Mavericks host the Denver Nuggets (9-4) on Friday in the first of back-to-back games against Nikola Jokic and the No. 2 team in the Western Conference. Jokic's status is up in the air due to him currently being in the league's health and safety protocols.

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