Mavericks Beat the Rockets 116-111 in the NBA Cup: Irving Scores 35, Flagg Adds 33 as Dallas Hands Houston Its First Loss
Dallas erased an 11-point second-half deficit at the American Airlines Center, won the fourth quarter 40-27, and survived a final minute of missed Houston free throws to open Cup play with the Texas win.
The Dallas Mavericks gave the Houston Rockets their first loss of the season on Friday night, rallying for a 116-111 win in Dallas in an NBA Cup opener for both Texas teams, Reuters reported. Kyrie Irving scored 35 points on 12-of-19 shooting with nine assists, and Cooper Flagg added 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting with nine rebounds and six assists.
The game turned in the fourth quarter, which the Mavericks won 40-27. Irving and Flagg combined for 27 points in the period alone: Irving drilled two 3-pointers early in the quarter, and Flagg's floater and three-point play with 1:40 left gave Dallas a 105-100 lead after Houston had led by as many as 11 in the second half and 51-44 at halftime.
The final minute was decided at the line — by the shots Houston missed. Kevin Durant, who led the Rockets with 28 points, missed a pair of free throws with Houston trailing by two with 1:53 remaining, and Amen Thompson missed two that would have tied the game with 42 seconds left. After each pair of misses, Flagg converted at the other end, including a turnaround jumper with 24.3 seconds to play. Jabari Smith Jr., who scored 22, pulled Houston within 109-108 with a late 3-pointer before Daniel Gafford — 18 points and two blocks — answered with two free throws.
Houston played without Alperen Sengun and Reed Sheppard, both out with back injuries, and missed six free throws in the fourth quarter; Fred VanVleet and Thompson combined for 31 points and 12 assists, and Tari Eason had 11 points and 13 rebounds. Dallas improves to 4-2 and shot 51.9 percent for the game; Houston falls to 5-1, leaving idle Memphis (5-0) as the league's only unbeaten team.
