Earl K. Sneed, NBA.com/Mavericks
DALLAS — Still flying high after their come-from-behind 115-112 overtime win Tuesday night in Portland, the Dallas Mavericks returned to American Airlines Center and tried to keep the momentum going Friday against a familiar foe.
Hosting the Southwest Division rival Houston Rockets, the Mavericks tried to build on Tuesday’s win with a similar performance on their home floor. The Mavs also attempted to replicate a 110-98 victory in Houston back on Nov. 14, trying to move to 2-0 in the season series.
Instead, the Rockets (9-11) would get their revenge, out-executing the Mavericks (11-9) down the stretch to hand the Dallas team a 100-96 defeat on its home floor.
“It’s frustrating,” three-time All-Star Deron Williams said after the loss. “We’ve got to be a little bit more consistent. You know, this was an important game for us against a division foe. Coming off the big win in Portland and coming back home, we wanted to come and get a win.”
Opting to preserve small forward Chandler Parsons for the second half as he continues to operate under a minute restriction following a hybrid microfracture surgery on his right knee this offseason, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle decided to utilize a small-ball lineup to start the game. Carlisle then sent out a starting lineup of Williams, veteran Raymond Felton, swingman Wesley Matthews, superstar Dirk Nowitzki and center Zaza Pachulia.
“It was just something that we had talked about and something we thought would be beneficial to the entire team,” Parsons explained. “While I’m going through this minute restriction, it’s just a different look to space out my minutes. And it’s been tough on everybody, trying to get in a flow and get in a rhythm.”
However, the Mavs would quickly find themselves playing from behind as Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley caught fire from behind the three-point arc in the opening quarter. Parsons then checked into the game with 6:39 remaining in the period, hoping to lift his team out of a 15-8 hole.
The 6-foot-10 forward then joined forces with Williams and athletic big man Dwight Powell, engineering a 14-0 run as the Mavs assumed the lead. And with ex-Mav Jason Terry igniting a rally for the Rockets, the Dallas team took just a 28-26 edge into the second stanza.
After scoring seven quick points off the bench in the first 12 minutes of play, Parsons stayed on the attack as the second quarter got underway. The Rockets countered with a heavy dose of James Harden as the NBA’s No. 2 scorer began to heat up.
Rockets forward Trevor Ariza then joined the scoring, boosting the visiting team to a double-digit advantage in the process. Sixth man Devin Harris did his best to bring the Mavs back into the game, however, getting a boost from Terrence Jones’ flagrant-one foul call with 1:38 left in the first half.
Still, the Mavs limped into the intermission in a 57-53 hole.
Led by Harris’ 13 first-half points on 5-of-6 shooting in a reserve role, the Mavericks’ 48.9 percent as a team bettered the Rockets’ 42.9 percent at the other end through two quarters. Meanwhile, the Rockets held the halftime lead thanks to 23 combined points from Beverley and Ariza on 8 of 10 from the field, in addition to a 26-20 rebounding edge.
“Tonight, we played a very gritty second half. I wish we had played with the same kind of grit in the first half. We just didn’t do that, and it got us in a hole,” Carlisle confessed.
Starting the second half sluggishly, the Mavs would again see the Rockets begin to separate themselves early in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Harden began to find a rhythm offensively, taking over Houston’s scoring duties.
Nowitzki and Williams tried to will their team back into the game, picking up where they left off at after combining to score 58 points in the win over Portland. Williams’ three-pointer then gave the Mavericks a 73-72 edge to cap a 10-0 Dallas run, forcing a Houston timeout with 2:43 left in the period.
The two teams battled to a 78-78 tie from there as the game moved into the fourth quarter.
Seeing Nowitzki limp off the court with an apparent hip injury on his left side with 11:17 remaining on the game clock, the Mavericks tried to march forward without their leader. The teams then began to exchange heavyweight haymakers, staying evenly knotted on the scoreboard.
Nowitzki made a return to the action with 6:34 left to play, subbing in with his team in an 86-85 hole. The 7-foooter made an immediate impact, hitting a cutting Felton for a score on his first offensive possession to give the lead back to the Mavs.
The Mavericks then reached the bonus with 5:44 remaining on the game clock, attempting to create a cushion with frequent trips to the foul line. Meanwhile, the two teams began to get chippy, leading to a double-technical foul call on Felton and Jones at the 4:14 mark.
Jones then gave the Rockets a 96-92 edge following a score inside, forcing a Dallas timeout with 2:34 left for the Mavs to respond. Parsons subbed back in from there, hoping to provide a spark. Parsons’ presence in the lineup would be enough as Williams found a cutting Nowitzki for a two-handed slam to bring the Mavericks within a deuce.
The Dallas defense did the rest, forcing the ball back over to the home team before Nowitzki’s two free throws tied the game at 96-all with 1:10 remaining. However, after a poor rotation led to a hole in the defense, Jones’ easy dunk inside again gave the Rockets a two-point edge with 55.1 seconds still on the game clock.
Nowitzki would be unable to answer at the other end, coming up with nothing but the rim on a jumper over Harden. The Rockets then went back to their superstar at the offensive end, taking a 100-96 lead after Harden got the roll on a jumper over Matthews with 7.4 ticks left.
“The defense was great. The shot was spectacular and a little lucky to get the bounce,” Carlisle said while recalling the sequence. “Wes played it great, and it was just a little better shot. That’s all.”
And after Williams’ misfire from behind the arc, the Rockets dribbled the clock out in the final moments.
Following his season-high 30-point outing in Portland, Williams finished with 22 points on 8 of 16 from the field, dishing out six assists but committing eight turnovers in the loss.
“Eight turnovers is too much, so I feel like I had a very bad game tonight,” Williams explained. “You know, I scored 22 points, but we lost. And eight turnovers contributed to a lot of points. It wasn’t like they were just going out of bounds. They were going the other way for layups, so I’m disappointed with my effort as far as that’s concerned. And I’ve got to be better.”
Nowitzki pitched in 16 points and 10 rebounds in the first unit, while Harris added 15 points in a reserve role. Meanwhile, Powell finished with 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Harden led four Rockets in double figures with 25 points on 10-of-23 shooting, grabbing eight boards and dishing out nine assists to boot. The Rockets also outshot the Mavericks for the game, 46.4 percent to 45.7 percent, adding a 45-42 rebounding edge and converting Dallas’ 18 turnovers into 24 points at the other end of the court.
“I think what really killed us today were some bad turnovers and some untimely turnovers,” Nowitzki admitted. “They were just really bad. I felt like every time we turned it over they got a layup on the other end, and we shot ourselves in the foot a little bit.”
Note: The Mavericks will now head back out on the road, traveling to the nation’s capital for Sunday’s showdown against the Washington Wizards. The game will tip off at 5 p.m. CT and will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest.
The Mavs return to American Airlines Center on Wednesday, hosting the Atlanta Hawks. That game will tip off at 8:30 p.m. CT, airing nationally on ESPN and locally on Fox Sports Southwest.
