Durant and Smith star as Rockets bury Mavericks before the break

Houston built this win well before the final quarter. The Rockets beat Dallas 128–110 on Wednesday 21 October in the United States, having gone into the break with a 32-point lead. Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 30 points each. Cooper Flagg's 32 points were not enough to help the Mavericks repair a particularly difficult second period.

Second quarter won 38–12

The first quarter had left Dallas within reach, despite a 32–26 advantage for Houston. The game then took a completely different direction. The Rockets scored 38 points in the second quarter and conceded only twelve. A 19–2 run before the break left the visitors in a very difficult position.

At 70–38 at half-time, Houston already had a considerable cushion. Dallas needed to rediscover their shooting touch and offensive rhythm while stopping the Rockets from keeping up their pace. The Mavericks responded better after the interval, but never came close enough to wipe out the first half.

Durant and Smith, two 30-point threats

Durant finished with 30 points, six rebounds and three assists, making ten of sixteen shots. Smith also scored 30 points, with five rebounds and four three-pointers. Together, the two players provided 60 points for the Rockets, posing different problems for the Dallas defence.

Houston were not reliant on that duo alone. Alperen Şengün added 23 points, ten rebounds and five assists. Amen Thompson posted another double-double, with sixteen points and ten rebounds, plus four assists. Fred VanVleet dished out eleven assists. Those contributions gave the Rockets several ways to move the ball and convert their possessions.

Flagg hits back, but Dallas start too far behind

The Mavericks won the third quarter 38–30. That response cut their deficit to 24 points heading into the final twelve minutes, with Houston ahead 100–76. Dallas won the last quarter too, 34–28, but could not turn that improvement into a decisive comeback.

Flagg made ten of his seventeen shots and eleven of his thirteen free throws. He rounded off his 32 points with five rebounds and three steals. Kyrie Irving scored fifteen points on his return in the regular season. Off the bench, Marcus Sasser contributed seventeen points, including four three-pointers, and Naji Marshall added sixteen.

The contrast between the two halves sums up Dallas's opening night: the Mavericks scored 72 points after the break, against just 38 before it. That fightback, however, did not undo the damage of the second quarter. Houston begin with a home win and an attack able to spread responsibility around Durant, Smith and Şengün.

Find the score and stats on the SNA match page.

Dallas–Houston in the official NBA highlights

The sequence from this game starts at 15:12 in the NBA player below.