Here is what I saw from press row as the Rockets winning streak comes to an end. The Mavericks defeat the Rockets 125-107.
The Houston Rockets came into Sunday’s matchup with the Dallas Mavericks as the hottest team in the league, winners of 11 straight games. The Mavericks, however, aren’t too far behind, as they had won six consecutive games.
Coach Udoka confirmed before the game that Cam Whitmore was ready to play on a minutes restriction. Luka Doncic came into the game questionable, but it was confirmed right before the game that he would play.
1st half
The Rockets got off to a fast start, with Jabari Smith nailing his first shot from beyond the arc and the Rockets taking an early three-point lead. The Rockets started the game with Amen Thompson guarding Luka. Unfortunately, Thompson got into early foul trouble, picking up his second foul in the first three minutes of the game.
That was when Luka started to heat up. He scored 16 of the Mavericks’ first 30 points, helping the Mavs take a 30-17 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter. The Rockets started 6-for-17 from the field and could not get anything going. Luka continued to torch the Rockets, scoring 22 of the Mavericks’ 36 points as the Rockets trailed 36-24 after the first quarter. Coach Udoka was unhappy with the referees as it seemed Whitmore was fouled on a three-point attempt to end the quarter.
The Rockets’ only chance of making this a closer game was to win the non-Luka minutes early in the second quarter. However, the Rockets lost those early minutes 9-8, which was the worst-case scenario. Luka came back in the game, and the Mavericks were able to take their biggest lead 55-39.
It was the Luka show the entire first half, as the Rockets had no answer for him. Luka finished the half with 32 points, and the Mavericks led 66-45 at the half.
Second half
The second half went exactly as the first half, with Luka dominating and the Rockets missing everything. They started the second half 2-for-8 from beyond the arch. Luka nailed another three and put the Mavericks up 27 in the third. After being one of the best players in the league for the month of March, Jalen Green struggled through three quarters, going 5-for-13 for only 12 points.
The Rockets were able to cut the lead under 20 on a few occasions in the fourth quarter and had it down to 16 with under six minutes left in the game, but Kyrie Irving made a mid-range jump shot, and then Tim Hardaway Jr. nailed a three-pointer, which put the game away. The Mavericks cruised to an 18-point win, ending the Rockets’ 11-game winning streak.
Luka Doncic finished with 47, Irving with 24, and the Mavericks won their seventh straight game.
Post-game
After the game, we heard from Ime Udoka, Cam Whitmore, Amen Thompson, and Jabari Smith. The most pressing question that many wanted to know was why Coach Udoka waited until the second half to trap Luka, who already had over 30 in the first half.
Coach Udoka on why the Rockets didn’t trap Luka earlier
“Because of the size and passing ability kind of pick apart the gym” pic.twitter.com/C9jFZBqFTy— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) April 1, 2024
Coach Udoka has made it a point all season not to automatically run double teams at opposing teams’ star players. Luka was on a different level last night and practically couldn’t miss in the first three quarters. Once the Rockets did start to double-team Luka, it worked briefly, but the Mavericks were just on fire from 3-point range last night, finishing 24-for-47 from beyond the arc.
The Rockets are now two games in the loss column behind the Warriors after the Warriors defeated the Spurs on Sunday night. Still, they are essentially three games behind Golden State since the Warriors hold the tiebreaker.
The Rockets will travel to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves on Tuesday night in a quick one-game road trip before the big game vs the Warriors on April 4.