A slog of a sad, slow effort, and Dallas has now dropped its last three.
The hits keep coming for your Dallas Mavericks (20-14). It appears things are going to get worse before they get any better after the Mavericks dropped a 110-99 loss, the team’s third in a row, to the Houston Rockets (22-11) on Wednesday at the Toyota Center. The “new you” version of the Mavs for 2025 is short on warm bodies and even shorter on killer instinct.
Dallas was borderline soft in Wednesday’s loss. Once Houston took the lead in the second quarter, the Mavs folded up shop. Quentin Grimes led Dallas with 17 points and five rebounds, while Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson added 16 apiece. Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 23 points and six boards in the win, while shooting guard Jalen Green added 22 points.
Here are four stats that stood out in a borderline unwatchable Mavs loss to their Southwest Division sister-wives in the swamp.
18 minutes: Kyrie Irving’s scoreless stretch to start the game
Midway through the second quarter, Irving was still scoreless — yet somehow, the Mavs were still ahead, up 44-40 at the time. Irving weaved his way through the tall trees and dashed to the cup. Sengun touched the ball while it was still within the cylinder, and Irving was officially off the snide.
He finally saw the ball go in the actual basket four minutes later. His scooping drive kept the Mavericks connected, down 55-49 with just under two minutes left before the break. The Rockets took a 61-52 lead into halftime. Irving had just four points at the break, on 2-of-6 shooting.
23-4: Rockets’ second-quarter run
Those two points came during what grew to a 23-4 Houston run midway through the second quarter. The Mavs led 40-30 on Spencer Dinwiddie’s pull-up 3-pointer with 8:12 left before halftime, but Sengun and Cam Whitmore ignited what was until then a stagnant Houston offense. Whitmore hit a pair of 3-pointers during the run and went 5-for-6 from the field during the run. Sengun toyed with Daniel Gafford on the low block as Dereck Lively II picked up his third foul with 7:16 left in the second.
The Rockets took the lead on Whitmore’s first 3-ball with just over five minutes left before half. It was 45-44 at the time, but the Rockets stepped on the gas, rattling off the next eight on much better outside shooting than this team has become known for. Houston came into the game 28th in the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage (32.7%). Houston outscored Dallas 37-22 in the second quarter somehow.
8-of-16: Mavericks’ free-throw shooting
Injuries are what they are and Dallas got a little more unfortunate news on Wednesday when PJ Washington left the game with a sprained knee in the second quarter. But 7-of-14 from the free throw line is a completely unserious effort. The Mavs converted on just four of their first 11 free throws. It seems unprofessional.
Houston’s lead swelled to 17, up 86-69 on Jae’Sean Tate’s 3-pointer with under three minutes to play in the third. The Rockets took an 89-75 lead into the fourth. The Mavs shot 8-of-16 from the line in the loss.
17: Rockets steals
Rockets defenders lived in Dallas’ hip pockets all night long. Dallas turned the ball over 20 times, and 17 of those were Houston steals. Houston scored 22 points off Dallas turnovers in the win.