Houston Rockets @ Dallas Mavericks
Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 3:00 PM ET
American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX | Game ID: 22400741
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DAL 33 32 24 27 116HOU 20 28 33 24 105
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Anthony Davis leads Mavericks past Rockets 116-105 in Mavs debut but leaves with lower-body injury
DALLAS -- — Anthony Davis had 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in his Mavericks debut but left the game late in the third quarter with a lower-body injury as Dallas beat the Houston Rockets 116-105 on Saturday.
Max Christie , who was acquired with Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers a week ago in the trade that sent superstar Luka Doncic to L.A., added 23 points for the Mavericks after playing twice for Dallas on the road this week.
Davis, who had not played since Jan. 28 because of an abdominal strain, assisted on the Mavericks’ first field goal four seconds in, scored six of Dallas’ first 14 points and had a double-double before halftime. He played 31 minutes.
Davis said he felt tightness in his groin and quadriceps, and part of the reasoning for not returning was him still recovering from the abdominal strain. He said the injury isn't serious.
Alperen Sengun scored 30 points and Jalen Green 24 for Houston, which has a season-long six-game losing streak. Sengun scored 15 in the third quarter, when the Rockets opened on a 21-4 run and cut a 21-point second-quarter deficit to two.
With some Mavericks fans still protesting the controversial trade outside American Airlines Center before tipoff, Davis received huge ovations when he took the court for warmups and was announced in the starting lineup.
Takeaways Rockets: They held Dallas to 38.9% shooting in the fourth quarter (7 of 18) but only shot 40.9% percent themselves (9 of 22, missing all three 3-pointers).
Mavericks: P.J. Washington sprained his right ankle and sat out the second half, scoring six points in 16 minutes.
Key moment After the Rockets cut the Mavericks’ lead to 104-100 with 2:43 to play, Kyrie Irving was fouled on a drive and hit both free throws and Christie followed with his team-high fourth 3-pointer for a 109-100 lead with 1:38 left.
Key stat The Mavericks set a franchise record with 18 blocks ( Daniel Gafford six).
Up next The Rockets will complete a back-to-back Sunday afternoon at home vs. Toronto. The Mavericks will host Sacramento on Monday.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DALAD A. Davis
DE D. Exum
DG D. Gafford
KI K. Irving
KT K. Thompson
MC M. Christie
NM N. Marshall
OP O. Prosper
PW P. Washington
SD S. Dinwiddie
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
CW C. Whitmore
DB D. Brooks
JG J. Green
JT J. Tate
JG Ja. Green
RS R. Sheppard
SA S. Adams
TE T. Eason
DAL/HOU the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur