A valiant comeback effort falls short as the Mavs bench dominates the Rockets bench
The Houston Rockets wrapped up their four-game road trip in Dallas as the Mavericks played their first home game since trading away Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in return for Anthony Davis and Max Christie.
The Mavericks dominated the Rockets in the first half, outscoring the Rockets by 13 points in the first quarter and ultimately by 17 in the first half. Anthony Davis had 24 points and 13 rebounds to go with five assists and three blocks at halftime while Alperen Sengun registered only five points at the half. The Rockets likely felt fortunate to only be down 17 at the half.
In the third quarter head coach Ime Udoka made the adjustment to bring in two bigs with Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams, to try and bother Anthony Davis with size and physicality since the athletic wing combination of Tari Eason, Dillon Brooks and Amen Thompson was not working. This worked and helped the Rockets climb back in the game as they went on a 14-0 run to start the quarter. Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson did all the heavy lifting on offense, and the Rockets looked energized defensively for the first time in several games.
But the Mavs bench combination of Spencer Dinwiddie, Naji Marshall and newly acquired Max Christie was too much to overcome, even with Anthony Davis leaving the game early in the fourth quarter with a lower body injury. The Mavs bench outscored the Rockets bench 53 to 14, and ultimately it was the Rockets inability to score and consistently get stops that did them in. The Rockets shot just 28.6 percent from the three-point line in opposition to the Mavericks shooting 52.2 percent from three. the lack of stops meant the Rockets were not able to get out in transition as they were outscored 17 to 6 in fast break points.
After the game Ime Udoka gave the team credit for clawing back in, but sited that the first half was not the standard of play this team had been accustomed to prior to this losing streak. When asked if fatigue is becoming an issue for the team Udoka stated that he believed injury more than anything is becoming their issue. With their floor general Fred VanVleet sidelined getting in and out of offensive sets has been a challenge, and Jabari Smith Jr’s defense and rebounding has been missed as well. Factor in the amount of road games the Rockets have played, and it seems the team may have hit a bit of a wall.
Coach Udoka and Rockets fans alike are hopeful that getting back healthy, the All-Star break, and a good stretch of home games upcoming will help the Rockets get back on track. While there are no moral victories the solid play of the Rockets “big three” of Jalen, Alperen, and Amen in this game was a good site to see, with them scoring 24, 30, and 20 respectively. Stephen Adams only registered two points, but his 12 rebounds and overall presence in the paint made a big impact on a performance the Rockets can build on as they try to get back to their winning ways.
They will get started right away trying to get back in the win column when they take on the Toronto Raptors at home tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 PM CST. Watch the game on Space City Home Network or listen on Sports Talk 790 AM. Don’t you can watch the game and chat with your fellow Dream Shake faithful right here on the TDS game thread featuring Playback.