A Comeback Victory for the Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks (12-23) faced off against the Houston Rockets (21-11) on Saturday night, entering the game on a four-game losing streak. Despite this, they managed to secure a second consecutive win over their rivals from the South, with a final score of 110-104.

The game started slowly, with Rockets center Alperen Sengun rolling his ankle just a minute into the contest, leading to a timeout and his departure to the locker room. By the time the game picked up, the Mavs had already turned the ball over three times in as many minutes and were down by nine points. Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford started the game, which meant that the Cooper-Flagg-as-point-guard experiment was back for at least one night. Unfortunately, it did not go well. Dallas turned the ball over five times in the first quarter, and they found themselves trailing 31-25 after the first period.

A Strong Second Quarter

The second quarter saw a more conventional lineup for the Mavericks, which led to much better results. Dallas shot well from the field, making 13 of 22 shots, while the Rockets struggled, hitting only 7 of 28. The Mavs turned a six-point deficit into a four-point lead, and things were looking good. However, P.J. Washington’s night came to an end when he injured his right ankle while fighting over a screen. Kevin Durant, who had been dominant up to that point, committed his fourth foul and had to sit out, allowing the Mavs to build a 57-50 lead at halftime.

A Dominant Third Quarter

In the third quarter, the Rockets reminded everyone of their prowess in rebounding, using their size to punish the Mavs on the boards. Dallas countered with speed and high-percentage shots at the rim, led by Brandon Williams’ drives to open up the offense. Max Christie joined in with a ferocious two-handed slam. With the game tied at 65, Dallas went on a 22-10 run to take a 87-75 lead into the fourth quarter.

A Grind in the Fourth Quarter

The fourth quarter proved to be a grind for the Mavs as a 17-point lead dropped to nine. Ryan Nembhard hit a tricky flip shot followed by a Christie three-pointer to give Dallas some breathing room. Naji Marshall controlled the offense despite Williams being on the floor, but the results were mixed. Houston was able to force turnovers and cut a 14-point lead to eight, where it hovered until the game was all but out of reach after a drive and dunk by Christie with under a minute remaining.

The Need for a Point Guard

It’s understandable that head coach Jason Kidd played Flagg as the starting point guard to match Houston’s size with both Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford starting down low. However, this strategy did not work well. The Mavs got roasted by Houston’s guards, not their bigs (granted, Sengun went down early), then found themselves with the lead once Williams and Nembhard got some burn. Flagg had two turnovers and two fouls in the blink of an eye. When Flagg moved to his natural position, Dallas played almost eight minutes of turnover-free ball. Again, the logic was defensible against the Rockets, but enough is enough. Flagg is significantly better in his natural position on the wing. Oh, and he ended up with five first-half assists when he shifted away from point guard. Go figure.

Max Christie’s Rise

Christie has looked like a different player since dropping 25 points against the Blazers two games ago. At some point shortly after arriving in Dallas, Christie seemed almost relegated to shooting from beyond the arc. Over the past week, Kidd indicated he wanted Christie more involved, and Christie has taken full advantage. His game is clearly much more than just shooting corner 3-pointers. Christie has been a point of excitement since he’s taken on a more featured role.

The Mavs’ roster is likely to look very different as soon as the upcoming NBA trade deadline. It will be nice to see Christie get more looks and possibly become a bigger part of the action going forward. He shot 10-for-13 from the floor and 4-for-6 from deep en route to 24 points to go along with 7 rebounds in the win over Houston. He’s put together his best three-game stretch of his young career in the Mavs’ last three games — and it doesn’t feel like a fluke.

Battle of the Boards

The Rockets are the best rebounding team in the league by a huge margin (2.2 rebounds per game over the second-best team). Tonight they pulled in 51 to the Mavericks’ 47. Being outrebounded by only four is a huge accomplishment, whether or not Sengun (or Steven Adams) was able to play. The Rockets rebound as a squad, and hanging that close with them was a significant part of a successful outcome for Dallas. In addition to the pure rebounding totals, there were at least two sequences in the game where Dallas ceded multiple offensive boards to the Rockets. While maddening, the ultimate outcome was Dallas getting stops both times. That tenacity was demonstrated in various aspects of the game and made a big difference.

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