Dallas turned a 95-85 lead into a 132-115 victory by scoring 37 points in the fourth quarter Sunday, with Houston unable to match the visiting Mavericks’ closing stretch. Marcus Smart led the Rockets with 20 points in the game at Venetian Arena.
Fourth-quarter separation
Houston opened the final period with Bruce Thornton’s 10-foot driving floating jump shot, but Dallas answered with free throws from Naji Marshall and later added baskets from Zaccharie Risacher, Tarik Biberovic, Sergio de Larrea and others. The Mavericks pushed their advantage to 114-103 on Biberovic’s 25-foot 3-pointer and reached a 121-105 lead after Seth Lundy’s 25-foot running jump shot.
The Rockets continued to score late, including baskets by Oscar Tshiebwe and Bruce Thornton, but Dallas maintained control. The Mavericks’ final points came from Biberovic’s running layup, while Tshiebwe closed the scoring with a 10-foot floating jump shot for Houston.
How the game unfolded
Dallas led 28-27 after the first quarter and extended the margin during a 30-24 second period, taking a 58-51 advantage into halftime. Houston briefly moved ahead 66-64 in the third quarter after Amen Thompson’s 23-foot 3-pointer, but the Mavericks regained the lead before the period ended. Dallas held a 95-85 edge entering the fourth.
