Houston welcomed the Dallas Mavericks to the Toyota Center in the second Texas derby of the season. The monstrous Doncic led Dallas to a 106:112 victory.
Already in the first part, Slovenian national team player Luka Doncic was inspired and scored 14 points. Dallas had a constant advantage, and at halftime, they left with a double-digit lead, it was 50:61.
After the break, Houston played much better, and the Dallas team was unrecognizable on the floor. The Rockets completely turned it around, winning in the third quarter with 34:20, and Doncic, apparently, played by himself in this section, as he scored 15 of his team’s 20 points.
By the middle of the decisive section, Luka Doncic with his 17 points led the Dallas team to a turnaround and a 97:105 lead. Houston did not give up, with a 7:0 run, they were only one point behind with a minute to go. However, the Mavericks reached the triumph through three-pointers by Bertans and again by Doncic, and won the Texas derby with 106:112. It is now 1:1 in this season’s matches.
The best in the home team was Jabari Smit with a double-double performance of 24 points and 10 rebounds. Jalen Green added one point less, with eight rebounds and four assists. Turkish center Sengun was excellent with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Monstrous game by Luka Doncic, who is seriously highlighting his candidacy for the MVP award this season. He scored 50 points and recorded a double-double with 10 assists. He also had eight rebounds and three steals. Only Bertans and Dinwiddie were in double figures with 11 points each.
In the Western Conference, Dallas is eighth with a record of 17-16, while Houston is last with 9-23. In the next round, Dallas welcomes the Lakers, and the Rockets go to Chicago to play the Bulls.
