Rockets dominate boards, keep Mavs reeling

Tari Eason scored a career-high 30 points, Jalen Green added 23 and Alperen Sengun produced his 38th double-double this season as the Houston Rockets cruised to a 133-96 victory over the undermanned Dallas Mavericks on Friday.

The Rockets extended their winning streak to five games, improved to 4-0 on their six-game homestand, and claimed the four-game season series against the Mavericks. Houston dominated the glass, recording a 67-34 rebounding margin including 17 offensive boards that yielded 29 second-chance points.

Eason finished 11 for 15 from the floor, converted all six free-throw attempts and grabbed eight rebounds to pace a balanced offensive attack. Green added nine rebounds and five assists to his ledger while Sengun paired 16 points with 15 rebounds. Jabari Smith Jr. provided 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Eason, Green and Smith blocked two shots each.

Naji Marshall tallied 21 points for the Mavericks, who have dropped seven of eight. Brandon Williams and Spencer Dinwiddie added 25 and 20 points, respectively, off the bench. Dallas surrendered 28 fastbreak points and 68 points in the paint.

Dinwiddie kept the Mavericks in contention early, tallying nine first-quarter points including a driving layup with 16.7 seconds left that erased an early eight-point deficit and knotted the score at 25-25. But Aaron Holiday answered with a driving layup on the other end and the Rockets carried a 27-25 lead into the second period.

Houston incrementally extended its lead in the second, securing a double-digit margin at 48-37 on Dillon Brooks' 3-pointer with 6:20 left in the half. The Rockets pushed to a 16-point lead before Dallas shaved that deficit to 62-49 at the intermission.

Dinwiddie attempted to spark the Mavericks again in the third quarter, countering a Fred VanVleet 3-pointer with his own 3. But the Rockets reeled off a 10-3 run that extended their lead to 80-57 at the 6:43 mark with Green and Eason sinking 3-pointers while Brooks (12 points) delivered a transition dunk and Sengun a second-chance basket.

When Eason dunked through a foul and sank the subsequent free throw, the Rockets' lead ballooned to 96-65. Green beat the third-quarter buzzer with a 3 and Houston took a 99-70 lead into the fourth.

--Field Level Media