An attempt by the Dallas Mavericks to extend their comfortable home winning streak to seven straight games was
unceremoniously blocked Wednesday night by the young Houston Rockets.
The Rockets had seven players score 10 or more points, and also blocked a whopping 19 shots on their way to upsetting the Mavs, 101-92, before a sellout crowd of 19,602 at American Airlines Center. The 19 blocks are the most ever by a Mavs’ opponent and are the most for the Rockets since they set the franchise record of 20 blocks on the same day 38 years ago.
It was an extremely frustrating night for the Mavs, who shot a season-low 30.4 percent from the field and looked disjointed most of the night. The Mavs (8-6) also attempted a franchise-record 55 shots from beyond the three-point arc, but only made 12 of them for a frosty 21.8 percent.
“We didn’t shoot the ball straight,” coach Jason Kidd said. “When you don’t shoot the ball straight and the ball doesn’t touch the paint, you know, there’s a couple of things (wrong).
“And then 19 blocked shots for them, I’ve never seen that stat, either. We didn’t do well finishing at the rim, boxing out or shooting the ball tonight. We had a lot of great looks. Maybe it’s just fatigue from last night. I think maybe we had tired bodies.”
Kidd was referring to Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers when the Mavs held a 25-point lead in the second half, but then had to fight for their lives in order to hold on and win that game, 103-101. So many players were gassed after that game, including point guard Luka Doncic, who didn’t even dress for the game against the Rockets.
Houston, who came to Dallas with the NBA’s worst record, took advantage of Doncic’s absence and got 17 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks from Kevin Porter Jr. and padded their won-loss record to 3-12.
The Mavs attempted a season-high 102 shots, but only made 31 of them. It was a very ineffective night for the Mavs, who will host the Denver Nuggets twice this weekend – on Friday and Sunday – before hitting the road for a three-game trip starting Nov. 23 in Boston.
“I think we can be better,” said Tim Hardaway Jr., who scored a game-high 28 points on 10-of-26 shots. “I think the fourth quarter we had a lot of open looks. They just didn’t go down.
“You give a team 19 blocks you deserve to lose. They protected the paint, they did their thing, so you’ve got to give them credit.”
A three-point play by Hardaway got the Mavs within 93-90 of the Rockets. But Porter drained a three-pointer and later scored on a short jumper.
And when Eric Gordon popped in a three-pointer, that put Houston up, 101-92, with 57.6 seconds to go and basically sealed this game.
“He’s a talented young man,” Kidd said of Porter. “He puts a lot of pressure on your defense. He understands how to score.”
Three-pointers by Facundo Campazzo, Dorian Finney-Smith and former Rockets center Christian Wood (26 points) staked the Mavs to a 51-42 lead with 4:04 remaining before halftime. But coach Stephen Silas’ Rockets finished the first half on a brisk 15-0 run and led, 57-51, at the half after Jalen Green tossed in a three-pointer at the buzzer.
“Silas has done a pretty good job with those guys,” Kidd said. “They’re young, they’re quick, they can score the ball, they’re not afraid.
“And then on the defensive end, if you don’t take care of it they’re going to come up with deflections and steals and get out and run.”
The Mavs, obviously, didn’t have the same snap, crackle and pop they have when Doncic is on the court. But Finney-Smith refused to use that as an excuse.
“We have enough in this locker room,” Finney-Smith said. “If me, Reggie (Bullock) and Spencer (Dinwiddie) made some of those threes, it’ll be a different game. But the ball just didn’t go in.
“We probably settled a little bit too much for the three, but we got good looks. Well, I got good looks, so we’ve got to make shots.”
The Mavs missed their first seven shots of the game, but still managed to only trail, 31-28, after the first quarter. It was one of those nights where converting shots for the Mavs was as difficult and painful as having their teeth pulled.
Dinwiddie distributed a season-high 10 assists, but was only 3-of-18 from the field. Finney-Smith was 3-of-11 from the floor, and Bullock misfired on all six of his field goal attempts.
Getting outrebounded by 18 (56-38) also didn’t help the Mavs’ cause.
“We talked before the game that they’re all going to crash (the boards),” Kidd said of the Rockets. “The way they get their other shots is by crashing (the boards).
“In that first quarter we gave up four offensive rebounds right off the bat and that’s one of the issues we have as a team — giving up rebounds. They dominated the boards.”
Hardaway felt the Mavs forced too many shots when they could have worked for better looks at the basket.
“They were definitely flying around and contesting hard,” Hardaway said. “We just have to do a better job of re-driving and kicking.
“But also, I think we turned down a lot of shots where we thought they were closing in and then we got into a bit of a bind. It’s a little bit about being aggressive and making the right play, just finding the right balance between those two.”
Campazzo provided a spark with five assists and three steals. And Davis Bertans – playing in his first game of the season after recovering from right knee effusion – drilled a quick three-pointer at the outset of the second quarter, but picked up three fouls in less than four minutes and went to the bench for the duration of the game.
In all, it was just a pretty awful day at the office for the Mavs.
“We just have to be better,” Hardaway said. “I don’t know what else to say. We just have to be better.
“We have to end the quarters well. We have to start the quarters well. That goes for everyone. It’s just very disappointing.”
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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