For the second time in under a week, All-Star guard and perennial NBA MVP candidate Luka Doncic was simply too much for the Rockets to handle as the host Mavericks won convincingly on Thursday, 129-114 (box score). Dallas (20-16) has now won five straight games, while Houston (10-25) has dropped seven of eight.
Coming off his historic 60-point triple-double earlier this week, Doncic put up 35 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds in 34 minutes. He made 11-of-21 shots (52.4%) and 4-of-9 on 3-pointers (44.4%).
After scoring a career-high 24 points versus Dallas in last Friday’s meeting between the same teams in Houston, Rockets rookie Jabari Smith Jr. continued to excel in mid-range areas, scoring 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting (77.8%) inside the 3-point arc. He also, however, continued to struggle from 3-point range, going 0-for-4 from deep.
Smith entered shooting just 22.0% on 3-pointers over his last seven outings on an average of 5.9 attempts per game.
Jalen Green led Houston with 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting (46.7%), going 4-of-7 on 3-pointers (57.1%). Former Rockets center Christian Wood was one of several Dallas big men who routinely outhustled his Houston peers up and down the floor Thursday, scoring 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting (53.3%) while making 5-of-8 from 3-point range (62.5%). He also grabbed 6 rebounds and blocked 4 shots.
Scroll on for highlights, analysis, and postgame interview reaction from American Airlines Center. Houston now returns home for four of its next five games, starting with a New Year’s Eve date versus the New York Knicks. Tipoff from Toyota Center is at 6 p.m. on Saturday.