In the Texas derby, the Dallas Mavericks welcomed the Houston Rockets to their American Airlines Center. The visitors won with a score of 92:101 and thus ended the series of 3 consecutive defeats.
The guests opened the game better, and had an advantage after the first quarter with a score of 28:31. The second part was marked by two series at the very end. First, the Dallas team took a 51:42 lead with a series of 11:0, before Houston responded with a 15:0 and went to the break with a 51:57 advantage.
In the continuation, Dallas managed to repeat the series of 11:0 and lead with 66:64, however, the guests consolidated and regained the advantage before entering the last 12 minutes.
The tenacious Mavericks once again reached a one-point advantage, but the Rockets once again made a 9:0 run in the middle of the last quarter, going to +7, which, as it turned out in the end, was unattainable for Dallas. The final score was 92:101 for Houston, who registered only the third triumph in the current season.
Tim Hardaway led the list of scorers on the home team with 28 points. He was followed by Houston’s recent player, center Chris Wood, with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Spencer Dinwiddie was in the mood to play with his teammates, so he distributed the 10th assist.
Jalen Green and Kevin Porter each added 17 points for Houston, and Turkish center Alperen Sengun had 14 points, 7 rebounds and even 5 blocks. Usman Garuba had a great game, 5/5 shooting from the field, 12 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks and assists.
The Mavericks are now on a record of 8 wins and 6 losses, while Houston has only 3 victories, along with 12 losses. Dallas welcomes the Denver Nuggets in the next round, while Houston will host the Indiana Pacers.
