The Houston Rockets (24-22) defeated the Dallas Mavericks (25-21) 115-104, at Toyota Center in Houston on Sunday.
Houston picked up right where they left off as they jumped out to a quick start in this one. Trevor Ariza fuelled the Rockets' 36-point first quarter by scoring 16 points on 6-7 shooting from the field, including 4-5 from long range. The Mavericks turned things around in the second quarter, outscoring the Rockets 29-14, to take the lead 58-50 going into halftime, however they let their lead slip to 85-84 by the end of the third quarter. In the fourth the Rockets took over for good. They out-scored the Mavs 31-19 in the fourth, with eight of those points coming from recent re-acquisition Josh Smith. Houston has now won two straight, coinciding with the return of Josh Smith.
Patrick Beverley made his return to the starting lineup after he missed a couple of games with a sprained ankle. Beverley finished with seven points, nine rebounds and four assists, in 30 minutes. Trevor Ariza was huge for the Rockets as he dropped 29 points (11-15 FG, 6-9 3Pt), along with three rebounds, three steals and two assists, in 39 minutes. James Harden recorded a triple-double with 23 points (7-18 FG, 310 3Pt, 6-6 FT), 15 rebounds and 10 assists, along with two blocked shots, in 35 minutes. Dwight Howard sat this one out with a sprained ankle.
Chandler Parsons continued his strong play as of late, with 31 points (10-15 FG, 5-6 3Pt, 6-9 FT), six rebounds and three assists, in 35 minutes. Parsons has been a different animal lately as his scoring average in the last four games is almost 20 points higher than it was through the first 40 games. Dirk Nowitzki put up 19 points (7-13 FG) and three rebounds, in 27 minutes. Raymond Felton played well in 34 minutes off the bench, finishing with 16 points (6-10 FG), eight rebounds and two assists. The Mavs went with a different look at the center position in this one, with Salah Mejri starting in place of Zaza Pachulia (leg). Mejri faired well as he tallied 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-2 FT), 11 rebounds and three blocked shots, in 29 minutes.
The Mavericks have now lost two straight games. They will look to turn things around in L.A. on Tuesday when they play the Lakers.
The Rockets will begin a three-game road trip in New Orleans on Monday. They will look to extend their win streak but will be faced with the challenge of playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
