Dallas Mavericks @ Houston Rockets
Wednesday, January 1, 2025 at 8:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX | Game ID: 22400460
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 24 37 28 21 110DAL 30 22 23 24 99
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Rockets beat the Mavericks 110-99 to snap a 2-game skid
HOUSTON -- — Alperen Sengun had 23 points, Jalen Green added 22 and the Houston Rockets built a big lead early in the second half and sailed to a 110-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Dillon Brooks had 19 points and Cam Whitmore added 18 to help the Rockets get back on track after dropping two straight.
The Mavericks led by four midway through the second quarter before Houston used a 21-8 run to take a 61-52 lead into halftime. Green made eight points in that stretch and Whitmore added two 3-pointers.
The Rockets then opened the second half with an 11-4 spurt that pushed it to 72-56 with nine minutes left in the third.
Houston was up by 14 entering the fourth and maintained a double-digit lead throughout the quarter.
Kyrie Irving (shoulder), Klay Thompson (illness) and Dereck Lively II (hip) returned after sitting out Monday. But Naji Marshall remained out serving a four-game suspension for his role in a fight against the Suns.
Quentin Grimes led the Mavericks with 17 points off the bench. Thompson and Irving added 16 each.
Takeaways Mavericks: Lost for the third time in four games playing without Luka Doncic , who strained his calf on Christmas Day. They’ll need to find a way to win without the star, who will be out at least a month.
Rockets: Didn’t miss a beat without the bench scoring of Amen Thompson , who served the first of a two-game suspension for a fight with Miami’s Tyler Herro Sunday night.
Key moment Houston’s 32-12 run to end the first half and start the second half.
Key stat Houston’s victory was helped by making 18 of 23 free throws compared to just 8 of 16 by Dallas.
Up next Both teams are back in action Friday night. Dallas hosts Cleveland, and Houston hosts Boston.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DALDG D. Gafford
DL D. Lively II
DP D. Powell
JG J. Gortman
JH J. Hardy
KI K. Irving
KT K. Thompson
MK M. Kleber
OP O. Prosper
PW P. Washington
QG Q. Grimes
SD S. Dinwiddie
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
CW C. Whitmore
DB D. Brooks
FV F. VanVleet
JG J. Green
JS J. Smith Jr.
JT J. Tate
SA S. Adams
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