Balanced Rockets attack overcomes Cooper Flagg in win over Mavs

Amen Thompson scored 21 points, Jabari Smith Jr. added 19, and Alperen Sengun posted a double-double as the Houston Rockets fended off the visiting Dallas Mavericks 111-107 on Saturday.

All five starters scored in double figures for the Rockets, who squared the four-game season series with the Mavericks. That collective effort was key down the stretch after Dallas pulled even on a Naji Marshall pull-up jumper with 47 seconds remaining.

Sengun (14 points, 14 rebounds) scored in the paint with 28.6 seconds left as Houston reclaimed a 109-107 lead. After Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg missed a contested layup, Kevin Durant found Tari Eason (17 points, seven rebounds) for an open dunk to cap the scoring with 14.4 seconds left.

Durant (13 points, eight assists) and Sengun shot a combined 12 for 37. But Thompson, who added eight rebounds and nine assists, and Smith shouldered the load along with Josh Okogie, who added 13 points off the Houston bench.

Flagg (34 points, 12 rebounds) was sensational. He scored on three straight possessions after Houston seized a 101-91 lead. Daniel Gafford chipped in 16 points and 11 rebounds for Dallas.

The Rockets led 82-69 midway through the third quarter after Okogie turned a Durant steal into a corner 3. After an Okogie dunk made it 84-73, Flagg sank his lone 3-pointer and then a midrange jumper before he assisted on a Caleb Martin 3 that cut the deficit to six. A Martin free throw trimmed the lead to 87-82, where the score stood entering the fourth. Flagg finished with five assists.

Flagg and Brandon Williams buoyed the Mavericks early, particularly after the Rockets claimed their largest lead of the opening quarter at 15-8. Flagg ignited the rally with a three-point play before Williams added a 3 and three additional field goals before recording a three-point play.

Flagg and Williams combined for 22 points in the first quarter, but the Mavericks lost Williams (13 points on 5-for-7 shooting) to a lower leg contusion in the second quarter. After Flagg scored in transition to pull Dallas even at 37-37 with 7:59 left in the half, Houston reestablished control.

Sengun was 0-for-7 before his hook shot lifted Houston to a 46-41 lead. Inside the final 34 seconds of the half, Smith converted an alley-oop and Durant hit a 3 to up the lead to 59-51 at the half.

--Field Level Media