Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving's Comeback Falls Short in Mavs' Loss to Rockets
Fresh off sweeping a home/away back-to-back with a clutch win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night, the Dallas Mavericks turned their attention to a Halloween showdown with the Houston Rockets at American Airlines Center on Thursday night.
Unfortunately for the Mavs, there were more tricks than treats in this matchup, as their attempt to come back from down 23 points fell short in a 108-102 loss to the Rockets. Dallas fell to 3-2 on the young season, and Houston improved to 3-2.
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Luka Doncic ended up leading the Mavs with 29 points on 12-25 shooting from the field and 3-7 shooting from deep, but it was Kyrie Irving who ignited the Mavs' fourth-quarter comeback attempt. Irving finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while shooting 10-20 from the field and 5-6 from deep.
Doncic might have been the preseason MVP favorite according to Las Vegas betting odds, but so far, through five regular-season games, he hasn't even been the MVP on his own team. Doncic knows he must better earlier in games for Dallas to reach its potential this season.
Klay Thompson was the only other Maverick to join Doncic and Irving with double-digit points, finishing with 12 points on 5-13 shooting in 30 minutes. With his two 3-pointers made on Thursday, Thompson reached 2,500 for his storied career.
With Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford battling foul trouble all night, head coach Jason Kidd decided to use P.J. Washington as a small-ball five. That move helped Dallas chip away at the deficit, as Washington played great defense in the paint and finished with six points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
Next up, the Mavs will look to bounce back into the win column against the Orlando Magic in the second game of this early-season five-game homestand. Orlando will be without star forward Paolo Banchero, who is set to miss at least a month with a torn right oblique. Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com and the Mavs Step Back Podcast for all your Mavs gameday coverage.
