Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving Lead Dallas Mavs Win vs. Rockets, Spoil Houston's NBA In-Season Tournament Hopes

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving led a second-half push to lead the Mavs to a victory over the Rockets to begin a three-game homestand.

DALLAS — Coming off a loss that involved scoring a season-low 88 points against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Dallas Mavericks sought to bounce back against the Houston Rockets. With Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving leading a second-half surge, the Mavs won 121-112, improving to 11-6 as the Rockets dropped to 8-7.

"[It was] very satisfying. I'm pretty sure my teammates hate losing as much as I hate losing," Mavs forward Derrick Jones Jr. said. "I know everybody had a sour taste in their mouth after losing that game. Personally, I lose sleep after losing, so I'm just glad we got a win. I can go to sleep tonight."

Dereck Lively II returned to the Mavs' lineup after a one-game absence. He suffered a lower back contusion against the Los Angeles Lakers due to a scary fall on a failed alley-oop exchange with Doncic. Dallas has gone 11-4 in 15 games with Livey in the lineup but is 0-2 without him. 

“Being able to change shots [was impactful]. I thought he did an incredible job on the offensive boards, giving us second or third opportunities there. There in the fourth, rim-running, understanding a lot of teams will slow it down. We were talking about how we have to get our pace higher. Kai [Kyrie Irving] found him for an easy lob. Those things will go unnoticed of his hustle. 

"I thought he did a pretty good job defensively. [Alperen] Sengun is a very good player to have 31 points, but I thought he made him work," Lively explained. "We missed him [Lively] the other day in L.A. I thought today he was really good, bounce back game, especially coming back from that injury.”

Another change the Mavs experienced in their lineup involved starting Josh Green instead of Jones. The team didn't demote Jones based on performance, but rather to see how the unit would look by swapping the two players. The team saw positive results from both players in handing it. 

“We came up with that decision just to see how Josh [Green] handled it and also see how D. Jones [Derrick Jones Jr.] handled it," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "We talked to D. Jones about it and he's a pro, man. He said, ‘All I want to do is win. Whatever you need me to do, Coach.’ He didn't do anything to come out of the starting lineup.

"D. Jones is a pro, that's why we wanted him. It's not just because of the shots or the rebounds or the defense he's playing," Kidd explained. "He's about winning, and he showed that by giving a teammate the opportunity to start. Josh did a great job starting.”

With the Rockets struggling to produce offensively early in the game, the Mavs had momentum early and led 23-11 with 3:31 left. Jalen Green gave Houston a spark by scoring eight points for the remainder of the period, reducing Dalas' advantage to 29-22 entering the second period. 

The Mavs led by as many as 13 points midway through the second quarter after a mid-range pull-up from Irving with 5:02 left. After Doncic converted a step-back 3-pointer later in the frame, the Rockets scored eight unanswered points to make it a tightly contested game. 

After Alperen Sengun made a floater with under a minute left, the Rockets trailed by only two points. A pair of made free throws from Doncic extended the Mavs' advantage to 54-50 entering halftime. 

Houston Rockets' Dillon Brooks guards Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Coming out of the break, the Mavs had a sluggish performance and lost their lead as a result. The Rockets achieved an 11-2 run early, establishing a 61-56 advantage at the 10:03 mark of the third period. Houston led for the remainder of the quarter after achieving that early run. 

It continued to be a problem for the Mavs to execute defensively, preventing the team from rallying back before the end of the quarter. The Rockets used a 9-0 run to build an 84-75 edge over Dallas with 1:25 left in the period but experienced some slippage to close it out with Irving scoring the Mavs' nine remaining points — making it 88-84 with the Rockets up at the end of the quarter. 

"He can go off [at] anytime. There were a couple of insane layups, which isn't insane for us because we see it all the time," Doncic said of Irving. "But his play has been amazing, and his leadership has been amazing. We are just happy to have him on our team."

Doncic began the final period with a made 3-pointer operating out of a triple-threat jab step, making it a two-point game. Jones finished in transition to tie it up 90-90, then later made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 7:23 left in regulation. 

After Sengun threw a behind-the-back bounce pass to an open cutter for the Rockets to retake the lead, the Mavs responded with a 6-0 run to go up 103-98 with 5:36 still in the fourth quarter. Irving continued the momentum with a made pull-up 3-pointer to give the Mavs an eight-point edge with about five minutes to go. 

Doncic seemingly iced the game with a skyhook, but the Rockets continued to find a way to keep it close. Jabari Smith Jr. converted a contested 3-pointer to make it a two-point game with 8.1 seconds left but immediately gave up a dunk to Jones on a transition leak out to essentially end the game. 

"That I am going to make it," Doncic said about what he thought when taking the skyhook.

After defeating the Rockets, Dallas played spoiler to Houston's NBA In-Season Tournament hopes, resulting in the New Orleans Pelicans clinching Group B.

When the Mavs return to action on Friday, they'll do so in a matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, continuing a three-game homestand at American Airlines Center.