DALLAS (AP) Eric Gordon scored 33 points, a season high, DeMarcus Cousins had his best game for Houston with 28 points and 17 rebounds and the Rockets beat the Dallas Mavericks 133-108 on Saturday night.
John Wall had seven points and eight assists after missing five straight games with pain in his right knee. It was the first game for Wall since the James Harden trade. The Rockets didn’t have a key part of that deal as Victor Oladipo rested a sore right quadriceps.
Luka Doncic scored 26 points as he sat the entire fourth quarter with the game out of reach. The Slovenian star was once again without his European sidekick Kristaps Porzingis, who rested his surgically repaired right knee as the Mavericks completed five games in seven days finishing their second back-to-back in that streak.
The Rockets were also playing a second straight night for the first time this season and won both to improve to 3-3 from the Harden trade.
“It was a very comprehensive game for us on both sides of the court, especially back to back,” said coach Stephen Silas one night after a 103-102 win in Detroit. “Really good trip for us. “
Houston has never lagged behind as Cousins opened the scoring with a three-point play and scored eight points in the opening three minutes. Cousins tied his most points since a torn Achilles tendon ended his final season with New Orleans in 2017-18.
Gordon was 6 of 9 at a distance of 3 points as the Rockets shot 43% (16 of 37) from beyond the arc. Cousins, who came in shooting at 26% overall and 24% from range, was 9 of 15, including 4 of 8 of 3.
“My thing is the quality of the shots,” Silas said of Cousins. “He’s working conscientiously on his 3-point shot. I knew it would happen. We just had to make sure he was getting good, quality shots. He did this tonight. “
The Rockets led 70-59 after the half with the best score against Dallas this season. The Mavericks shot 74-71 early in the third quarter before Houston finished the quarter on a 30-12 run.
“We have no excuse,” said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle. “Energy was a factor. We were able to bring it up in spurts, but we couldn’t hold it down. They had more juice. “
Rockets: Wall played 21 minutes when coach Stephen Silas said he would watch his minutes closely and make sure he didn’t play long stretches. … David Mwaba scored 18 points, a season high, and Mason Jones 16.
Mavericks: Tim Hardaway Jr., who was 0 of 12 on the field in Dallas’ last loss to Toronto, missed all five shots in the first half before going 4 of 8 after half time to finish with 15 points. … Doncic had eight assists and five rebounds. … Boban Marjanovic tied Hardaway with 15 points and Trey Burke 13.
Carlisle said the Mavericks thought they were going to rest Porzingis as it was their seventh game in 11 days since the 7-foot-3 Latvian made his debut after the offseason operation. Carlisle left no doubt that Dallas was optimistic about Porzingis’ progress.
“He’s doing exceptionally well,” said Carlisle. It’s a decision we’ve talked about a lot, and it’s one of the reasons he wasn’t demoted until later today. Things are really well placed. “
Silas was back in Dallas after the first-year Rockets coach spent the last two seasons as an assistant with the Mavericks. But it wasn’t really a homecoming.
First off, Silas’s family moved from Dallas to Houston the day before the game, “so we missed each other. Even though his family was still in town, Silas couldn’t have seen them. due to COVID-19 protocols.
“Obviously being here, a place that I care so much about but no fans and you aren’t even allowed to shake their hands or hug them,” Silas said. Yeah, we’re going to Dallas, but it’s back to back and there are no fans and I can’t even walk the Katy Trail (near the Mavericks arena). It is a problem. “
Rockets: Washington visits one of Houston’s three home games on Tuesday in a total of 12. This is the second game scheduled for the Wizards since a six-game hiatus due to COVID-19 protocols.
Mavericks: Denver travels Monday to complete just the second straight series of home games for the Mavericks, who have played 11 of their first 15 on the road.
Copyright 2021 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc.
–
