‘We Let Go Of The Rope’: Dallas Mavericks Fall To Houston Rockets 128-110 In Opener As Cooper Flagg Scores 32
HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets outscored the Dallas Mavericks 38-12 in the second quarter Wednesday night at Toyota Center and took a 32-point lead into halftime. Houston went on to win the season opener for both teams, 128-110, in front of a sellout crowd of 18,055.
Cooper Flagg scored 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting and went 11-of-13 from the free-throw line. His 32 points were the most by a teenager in a season opener in NBA history, FOX 7 Austin reported. The 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year added 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block, and 23 of his points came after halftime.
Kyrie Irving had 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists on 6-of-9 shooting in 23:45. It was his first regular-season game since he tore the ACL in his left knee on March 3, 2025, 597 days earlier. Marcus Sasser scored 17 points off the bench, 14 of them in the second half, and made 4 of his 5 three-point attempts.
Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 30 points apiece for Houston. Durant shot 10-of-16 and went 8-of-11 from the line, with 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 37:25. Smith went 11-of-17 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range, adding 5 rebounds.
Alperen Şengün had 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists on 9-of-15 shooting. Amen Thompson added 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists, with 6 of the rebounds on the offensive glass. Fred VanVleet finished with 6 points and 11 assists in his own first regular-season game since tearing his right ACL before the 2025-26 season, which he missed entirely.
A couple of breaks went against Dallas before the second quarter got away from it, according to Mavericks coach Dusty May.
“Well, we were pleased with our first quarter performance with the way we played,” May said. “We felt like we had a couple breaks not going in our favor and we just didn’t hold our composure. And we let go of the rope as a group. But overall, I thought we played and competed three out of four quarters. Just the second one, we just couldn’t figure out a way to right the ship.”
Dallas Mavericks Lead Early Before Houston Rockets Close First Quarter On 8-0 Run
P.J. Washington hit a 3-pointer 25 seconds into the game, and Dallas led by as many as 5 in the first quarter. The second time came on Sasser’s transition 3-pointer with 5:10 left, which made it 18-13. The Mavericks made 6 of their 13 three-point attempts in the period, and Washington had 8 of his 10 points.
With 2:47 left in the quarter, Houston forward Tari Eason was assessed a flagrant foul 2 and ejected. Washington missed both free throws. A Naji Marshall 3-pointer with 1:29 left put Dallas ahead 26-24, its last lead of the night. Houston scored the final 8 points of the period on 4 Durant free throws, a Durant fast-break dunk, and a Thompson fast-break dunk.
Rockets Outscore Mavericks 38-12 In Second Quarter
The Rockets opened the second quarter with two more fast-break baskets in the first 39 seconds, a Smith layup and a Thompson alley-oop. Smith’s turnaround fadeaway with 10:05 left made it 38-28, Houston’s first double-digit lead of the night.
Sasser did not attempt a shot in 5:25 of the second quarter. The misses on one end turned into Houston baskets on the other, in his view.
“Feel like we just let go of the rope a little bit and let our offense kind of determine our defense,” Sasser said. “Missed a good amount of shots and led to them getting easy buckets.”
A Marshall floater cut the deficit to 51-36 with 6:17 left in the half. Houston then scored the next 14 points over 3:18, a stretch that ended on Irving’s driving floater with 2:40 left. Şengün scored the Rockets’ last 5 points of the half, closing it with a turnaround fadeaway with 18.8 seconds left for a 70-38 lead.
Many of the second-quarter looks went to the players May wanted shooting, by his account. Dallas sped up once Houston started its run.
“A number of things. Obviously, it’s a make or miss game,” May said. “I thought a lot of our looks were guys that we wanted the shots for. Once they went on a run, I thought we started playing a little too quickly and then shooting some shots, some semi-open shots instead of getting possession back, making them work a little bit, finding some connection.”
Dallas shot 4-of-19 from the field in the second quarter and missed all 14 of its 3-point attempts. The Mavericks committed 8 turnovers in the quarter, and Houston scored 11 points off them. The Rockets went 13-of-19 in the period, outscored Dallas 16-6 in the paint, and had 9 fast-break points to Dallas’ none. Flagg made 4 free throws, Morez Johnson Jr. scored 4 points, and Marshall and Irving had 2 apiece for all 12 of the Mavericks’ points.
Flagg went 0-of-3 from the field in the second quarter and was minus-21 in 9:08. The Mavericks got out of what they had done since training camp opened, he said.
“I would say, got stagnant,” Flagg said. “They obviously went on a run and we just didn’t have any answers. We weren’t organized. We weren’t getting back in transition. We just got out of the norm for us and what we’ve been doing since training camp started, it showed. People were doing things that they don’t normally do and it really showed.”
Irving had 3 turnovers in the first half and went 2-of-5 from the field. He would not put the second quarter on one person, himself included.
“There was just the effort just horrendous man. Be honest with you,” Irving said. “I don’t want to use a graphic word like to just negatively put it on just one person or even just myself, it was a total team effort. We were just horrendous defensively. When you score 12 points in an NBA game, give up 38, a few fast break points and turnovers, it’s just going to work like that. It was rough to go through, but I think we needed it. It was necessary just for us to grow as a group, just develop this chemistry that we need moving forward in order to win basketball games.”
Fast-Break Points, Turnovers, And Mavericks’ First-Half Shot Selection
Houston finished the first half with 20 fast-break points to Dallas’ 3 and a 32-14 edge in the paint. Dallas turned it over 13 times before halftime, and the Rockets scored 18 points off those turnovers.
Transition defense was one of the priorities Dallas set in training camp, May said. The Mavericks thought they had made strides there before Wednesday.
“First and foremost, the communication, half court and full court. We’ve spent a lot of time. That was one of our priorities in training camp was to fix the transition defense,” May explained. “We thought we had made strides, and tonight when things weren’t going well, we just, we let go of our principles, we lost our urgency.”
“And that was ultimately when the game got away from us when they were just, we had three or four guys back and we were assuming one guy was gonna match up with Jabari or whoever,” May continued. “To be honest, they did a better job.”
Dallas took 27 three-point attempts and 12 shots in the paint in the first half. Several Mavericks are new to one another, and Irving counted forced plays and turnovers among the costs of players trying to prove themselves.
“It’s progressively getting better, and a lot of new faces will do that. Guys coming from different teams,” Irving said of Dallas’ communication. “I have a lot of guys that wanna prove themselves as well, wanna play extremely well when they get out there in those minutes, wanna make it meaningful, wanna be impactful. And sometimes that comes with forcing some things, it comes with some turnovers.”
“But I think our communication has to be better and it will be. But tonight was a good challenge for us going against a team that’s played together for a year or two. It came out, hit us in the mouth, like I said. We responded, but we didn’t respond well enough,” Irving continued. “And when you’re getting down 30 and you start looking at the scoreboard, instead of hitting little singles and doubles, just quick hitters, getting points on the board, slowing the game down, we settled for a lot of three-pointers. And coming into halftime, we can’t have more three-pointers than we have shot attempts at the rim.”
“We gotta touch that paint, and a switching team like this is a great challenge,” Irving added. “Like I said, it was a great learning experience. So take our bumps and bruises and move on.”
Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving, And Marcus Sasser Lead Mavericks’ Second-Half Push
Houston’s lead reached 37 twice in the third quarter, first on a Şengün 3-pointer with 6:28 left that made it 86-49. Durant’s fast-break dunk with 3:28 left made it 95-58. Dallas won a coach’s challenge with 8:06 left in the period, overturning an out-of-bounds call on Durant.
The Mavericks closed the quarter on an 18-5 run, with Irving scoring 9 of the points, Sasser 5, and Flagg 4. Irving hit a pull-up 3-pointer with 59.1 seconds left and scored on a cutting layup from Zaccharie Risacher at the buzzer to make it 100-76.
Flagg scored 13 points in the third quarter on 5-of-5 shooting and 3-of-3 from the line. Irving had 11 on 4-of-4 shooting. Dallas shot 15-of-21 in the period and outscored Houston 38-30.
Cooper Flagg And Dusty May On Getting To The Rim And The Line
Before halftime, the Mavericks talked about how many more threes than twos they had taken. Flagg went 8-of-9 from the field after the break.
“Just being aggressive. I think some of us we talked about going into the half, we had shot more threes than twos. And that’s okay if you’re making them but I mean, we weren’t knocking them down,” Flagg said. “So just getting to the rim, starting the domino effect of creating advantages again downhill and they weren’t over helping too much. So just taking what they were giving us and getting to the rim and making a play.”
Flagg had 1 assist in the first half. May saw him trying to set up his teammates before halftime.
“I thought he was setting us up in the first half. I thought he was just being very, very intentional with getting his teammates shots,” May said. “And then in the second half, we did a better job of getting some off-ball movement. We played a little faster, and then obviously, if you’re not taking the ball out of the net, you can get it up and attack quickly. I thought that was the biggest difference. Our pace got a lot better in the second half.”
Flagg’s 13 free-throw attempts were half of the Mavericks’ 26. May saw him as Dallas’ best way to capitalize on the paint.
“That’s been a point of emphasis, and that’s one thing,” May said. “When we evaluated ourselves after four games, getting to the line wasn’t something we did well. We thought Coop was probably the best way to capitalize on the paint. I thought he was strong. I thought he made good decisions, and when we started knocking down some open shots, his assist numbers will increase.”
Marcus Sasser Scores 14 After Halftime In Return To Houston
Sasser went 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point range in the second half. He passed up a 3-pointer in the second quarter and took a similar one after halftime.
“Just being ultra aggressive. I feel like I passed up a couple shots in the first half,” Sasser said. “So just trusting myself and my teammates kept giving me confidence to shoot the ball, so that was the difference between first and second.”
Sasser, a Dallas native, played four college seasons at the University of Houston. Dallas acquired him from the Detroit Pistons on July 8, and an adductor injury kept him out of the Mavericks’ first three preseason games.
“It was fun. Like I said, it’s always just fun playing in front of the fans that I used to play in front of and seeing some of the familiar faces out there,” Sasser said. “So it was always fun playing here for sure.”
Irving watched Sasser take pressure off him as the other lead guard in the second half.
“Man, he was ultra aggressive and I think he did an incredible job of coming in and maintaining our possession by possession,” Irving said. “They were kind of attacking in the second half, we won both quarters. And third and fourth, obviously that’s not good enough, but he had a lot to do with us getting back into the game, being that other lead guard that can create and make decisions and take some pressure off myself. So really proud of him having a great game, very impactful, and I just want him to keep it up.”
Sasser’s 3-pointer with 9:56 left in the fourth quarter made it 103-83. Dallas got within 17 three times after that, the last at 125-108 on a Moussa Cisse alley-oop layup from Marshall with 1:21 left. Durant was called for a flagrant foul 1 on Flagg with 11:37 left, and Flagg made 2 of the 3 free throws.
The Mavericks shot 12-of-16 in the fourth quarter and outscored Houston 16-4 in the paint. After halftime, they went 27-of-37 from the field, scored 38 points in the paint to Houston’s 18, and won the half 72-58.
May And Irving On Rockets’ Double Teams
Irving attempted 9 shots, 4 of them in the third quarter. May saw leadership from him in the second half, with Dallas down by more than 30.
“Yeah, he’s obviously the focal point. They put two on the ball,” May said. “I thought he made the right plays, right decisions. There’s going to be puzzles we have to figure out, and playing four on three with our other guys, we’ve got to do a better job and find some solutions there. But I thought in the second half he showed a real, his true character of being a leader when things weren’t going well. I thought he set a great example.”
“Our bench was phenomenal. They were cheering for each other there,” May continued. “We’re worried about getting better, especially starting a couple games on the road like we are. We’re focused on getting better. I was proud of the way the guys stayed connected and kept fighting until the end. It showed us some character.”
Before the second quarter, Dallas felt like it was in rhythm, according to Irving.
“Easy fix? I mean, in theory, but it really comes down to effort. We can make a little bit of an excuse, but we just gotta take this one on the chin,” Irving said. “They put on their boxing gloves and then beat us up pretty good in that second quarter and we got off to a great start. Felt like we were within rhythm and then starting off that second quarter I gotta do a better job.”
“Leading us out and just not necessarily playing so timid and getting some shots up and aggressively attacking double teams,” Irving continued. “It surprised me a bit when they made some double teams at me coming off those screens, which, first game coming back, because I knew I was going to see some different looks and I just got to adjust moving forward.”
Irving left the game with 8:09 left in the first quarter, after 3:51 on the floor. He is used to playing 10 to 12 minutes to open games.
“Just gotta get used to them. I came out very early in that first quarter. I’m used to playing 12 minutes through or 11 minutes, 10 minutes through,” Irving said of his minutes. “And I gotta do a better job of adjusting to what our game plan is and just getting other guys involved.”
Pressure on Irving is something Flagg wants to take off of him. Houston will be physical with both of them full-court, Flagg said.
“Kai is Kai. We can do a better job of helping him. And obviously, I think Kai is just a one-of-a-kind talent,” Flagg said. “Obviously he’s gonna be really good for us and we just gotta do a better job, me included, just helping him, getting him some easier looks, getting the pressure off of him. And they’re gonna just try to be really physical and pick up 94, me and him. And so I think as a team that’ll be a big thing for us, just find ways to combat that and have some guy step up, bring it up and get us set up in action.”
Kevin Durant And Jabari Smith Jr. Score 30 Apiece For Rockets
Durant had a size advantage much of the night, and Smith made Dallas pay every time it gave him an inch, according to May.
“I mean, just Jabari. Every time we gave him an inch, he made us pay. He played very well. I mean, KD, he was just able to get to his spots, and he had a size advantage a lot of the night for numerous reasons,” May said. “But I also thought just the way they outran us and stole some easy baskets in transition were the ways that they really got in a rhythm and a flow, and they just make you pay.”
Houston shot 53.4% from the field and 16-of-36 from 3-point range, and it had 32 assists on 47 made field goals. The Rockets outrebounded Dallas 42-33, including 17-8 on the offensive glass, and outscored the Mavericks 22-14 in second-chance points and 29-17 in fast-break points. Dallas committed 21 turnovers that Houston turned into 32 points.
Mavericks Box Score Notes And Injury Report
The Mavericks shot 51.9% from the field, 11-of-37 from 3-point range, and 17-of-26 from the free-throw line. They had 12 steals, 5 of them by Risacher, and outscored Houston 52-50 in the paint.
Marshall scored 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting with 6 assists. Washington finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists with 4 turnovers, and his minus-27 was the lowest mark in the game. Max Christie started alongside Irving and scored 5 points, going 1-of-7 from 3-point range. Johnson had 6 points and 3 rebounds with 5 fouls in 13:50, and Daniel Gafford had 2 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Risacher had 4 points and 6 rebounds off the bench. Sergio de Larrea went scoreless in 6:51, and Cisse scored 3 in 2:30. Walter Clayton Jr. and Tobi Lawal did not play.
Santi Aldama (right knee surgery), Tarik Biberović (right heel bursitis), Jett Howard (right calf tightness), Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery), and Caleb Martin (right thumb sprain) were inactive for Dallas.
Marcus Smart scored 10 points off Houston’s bench, and Bogdan Bogdanović added 5. Reed Sheppard went 1-of-6, all from 3-point range, with 3 turnovers. Steven Adams did not dress with right calf tightness.
The Mavericks face the Indiana Pacers on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, with tip-off at 6 p.m. CT. Dallas hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in its home opener. Houston plays at Dallas on Oct. 30.
