Green Halloween: Rockets Evade Scary Collapse, Topple Mavs, 108-102, to Close Road Trip
Nightmare Killers. Containment Company. The First.
The festivities in Dallas almost turned nightmarish for the Rockets on Halloween night. Houston was coasting in the third quarter, leading by as many as 23 points late in the period. The Mavericks stormed back in the final frame, cutting the Rockets lead to 3, 103-100, with a minute remaining in the contest. Led once again by Jalen Green, Houston fended-off a furious Dallas rally en route to a 108-102 victory. This win is by far the squad’s most impressive of the young season by far. Despite the proceedings turning close in clutch time, the Rockets led this game wire-to-wire, as they never trailed. Green scored 11 of his team-high 23 points in the final period, showing once again he’s taken his game to another level this season.
Just as it seemed Green was on the verge of having an average night, he crashed the Mavs comeback plans in the fourth quarter, taking the game over and sealing the win for the Rockets. Alperen Sengun added 17 points and 12 boards. Dillon Brooks chipped in 17 points in another solid performance. And Tari Eason and Amen Thompson fueled Houston’s bench, as the pair combined for 25 points to boost the reserves. Fred VanVleet struggle once again, scoring only 4 points on 2-for-13 shooting. We’re still only five games into the season and FVV is a ten-year veteran in this league. Rockets fans shouldn’t be worried. Expect VanVleet to turn things around on Houston’s upcoming three-game home-stand.
Defensively, the Rockets were outstanding in this contest, especially in the first half. Houston held Dallas to only 44 points before halftime. And they contained the Mavs’ deadly duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving from exploding for huge performances. Granted, Doncic scored 29, and Irving added 28, but the Rockets prevented either superstar from reaching the 30-point plateau. And besides Doncic and Irving, Klay Thompson was the only Maverick to score in double-figures, as the usual Rocket-killer in the past only had 12 points in this matchup. In his Golden State Warriors days, Thompson usually scored at least 20 points against Houston, with 30 or more being his usual routine. Holding Klay to only a dozen points on the scoreboard is an impressive feat for this young Rockets team on the defensive end.
As in their last game, a win over the Spurs in San Antonio in similar rally-killing fashion, Houston struggled offensively in the fourth quarter. The Rockets scored only 20 points in their latest win over the Mavs, and managed only 19 points in their previous victory in San Antonio. Beating the defending champion Western Conference champs in the Mavs is certainly Houston’s best win on this young season. Their first “prove-it” win of the season to the rest of the league. Hopefully the first of many to come. With wins like Thursday in Dallas, the Rockets will only boost their reputation as a team you don’t want to face on any given night. However, the squad has still yet to play four solid quarters in a single game all season. They’ll aim to change that, as they head home for a three-game home-stand coming up.
After finishing 2-1 on their Texas road trip, Houston will now return to Toyota Center for a three game stretch, beginning Saturday night with a showdown against the Golden State Warriors. The home-stand also brings matchups against the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, the latter being a familiar face for the Rockets in this early season. The opportunity arises for Houston to climb the standings in the Western Conference if they can protect home-court, and avoid any defeats similar to Opening Night’s nightmarish loss to the Charlotte Hornets.