Mavericks Beat Rockets 116-111 to Hand Houston First Loss: Irving Scores 35, Flagg Adds 33
The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Houston Rockets 116-111 on Oct. 30 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, handing Houston its first loss of the season in both teams' NBA Cup opener. Dallas improved to 4-2. Houston fell to 5-1, leaving the idle Memphis Grizzlies (5-0) as the league's only unbeaten team.
Kyrie Irving scored 35 points with nine assists for Dallas, shooting 12 of 19 with five 3-pointers and making all six of his free throws. He scored 26 points in the second half and 16 in the fourth quarter. Cooper Flagg added 33 points, nine rebounds and six assists on 13-of-19 shooting, and the pair combined for 27 points in the fourth quarter. Daniel Gafford had 18 points and seven rebounds. Dallas outscored Houston 28-10 on fast-break points.
Kevin Durant led Houston with 28 points. Jabari Smith Jr. scored 22, Fred VanVleet and Amen Thompson combined for 31 points and 12 assists, and Tari Eason had 11 points and 13 rebounds. Houston went 24 of 33 at the free-throw line, and both Durant and Thompson missed pairs of free throws late in the game.
Dallas led 27-20 after the first quarter, but Houston won the second quarter 31-17 to lead 51-44 at halftime and 84-76 after three quarters. Irving opened the fourth quarter with two 3-pointers, and Flagg converted a three-point play with 1:40 left for a 105-100 lead. After Thompson missed two free throws with 42 seconds left, Flagg hit a turnaround jumper with 24.3 seconds remaining, and Dallas closed the game at the line.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 独行侠球员库珀·弗拉格（大学时期资料图）。Joe Loong 摄，CC BY-SA 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (file photo from his college season). Photo by Joe Loong, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
