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Dallas Mavericks hand Houston Rockets first loss 116-111 as Kyrie Irving scores 35 and Cooper Flagg 33
Kyrie Irving scored 16 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter and Cooper Flagg added 33 as Dallas erased an eight-point deficit to beat the previously unbeaten Rockets in both teams' NBA Cup group opener.
In this article
Kyrie Irving scored 35 points, 16 of them in the fourth quarter, and Cooper Flagg added 33 as the Dallas Mavericks came back from eight points down after three quarters to beat the Houston Rockets 116-111 at American Airlines Center on Friday, October 30. Houston came in 5-0 and is now 5-1. Dallas, which handed Oklahoma City its first loss two nights earlier, is 4-2.
The game was both teams’ opener in Emirates NBA Cup group play. Irving made 12 of 19 shots, 5 of 8 threes and all six of his free throws, with 9 assists. Flagg went 13 of 19 with 9 rebounds and 6 assists, and Daniel Gafford had 18 points and 7 rebounds on 6-of-7 shooting.
Video: NBA / X.
How it turned
Dallas led 27-20 after the first quarter, but Houston won the second 31-17, using a 14-3 run to turn a 35-30 deficit into a 44-38 lead, and went to halftime up 51-44. The Rockets led by as many as 11 and were still ahead 84-76 going into the fourth.
The Mavericks opened the quarter with a 15-4 run. Irving had 10 points in it, including a 29-foot pull-up three that cut the lead to 86-85 and a 28-footer that put Dallas ahead 91-88 with 7:01 left. Houston tied it at 96 on Fred VanVleet’s three and again at 100 on his floater with 2:26 to play, but Irving answered with a pull-up jumper, and Flagg’s floater and free throw made it 105-100 with 1:40 left.
Kevin Durant scored Houston’s next five points to get the Rockets within 107-105 with a minute left. Flagg hit a turnaround jumper with 24.3 seconds to go, and after Jabari Smith Jr.’s three cut it to 109-108, Gafford, Irving and Flagg made seven free throws in the final 11.3 seconds to close it out.
Video: NBA / X.
The numbers
Dallas shot 42 of 81 from the field and 12 of 33 from three, and outscored Houston 28-10 on fast breaks. Zaccharie Risacher added 12 points and 6 rebounds off the bench, and Caleb Martin hit two threes for 8 points, including the one that tied the game at 88 in the fourth. P.J. Washington had 10 rebounds but went 1 of 8 for 3 points.
Houston got 20 offensive rebounds and took 15 more shots than Dallas, but made just 7 of 29 threes and 24 of 33 free throws. The Rockets committed 13 turnovers to the Mavericks’ 18.
Houston’s side
Durant led the Rockets with 28 points, 11 of them in the fourth quarter, going 9 of 20 from the field and 9 of 13 from the line. Smith scored 22, VanVleet had 16 points and 6 assists, and Amen Thompson had 15 points, 6 assists and 4 steals. Tari Eason grabbed 13 rebounds, 8 of them offensive, and Clint Capela had 11 rebounds. Houston played without Alperen Sengun and Reed Sheppard, who were both out with low back soreness.
What’s next
The Rockets host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, October 31, at 8:30 p.m. ET (2:30 a.m. Sunday Cairo time). The Mavericks host the Sacramento Kings on Monday, November 2, at 8 p.m. ET (3 a.m. Tuesday Cairo time).
Full box score and play-by-play: Game Center. All-time head-to-head.
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