ROCKETS DEFEAT MAVERICKS

Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun help Rockets hold off late Mavericks rally to win 108-102

Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun help Rockets hold off late Mavericks rally to win 108-102
Rockets defeat the Mavericks, 108-102. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Jalen Green had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Alperen Sengun added 17 points and 12 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets held off a fourth-quarter Dallas rally to beat the Mavericks 108-102 on Thursday night.

The Rockets led by 23 points late in the third quarter before the defending Western Conference champions cut Houston's lead to 103-100 with a minute to play.

Dillon Brooks also had 17 for the Rockets, and Tari Eason scored 15 off the bench for the Rockets, whose reserves outscored the Mavericks’ 33-21.

Luka Doncic led Dallas with 29 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter.

Kyrie Irving scored 28, and Klay Thompson was the only other Maverick to score in double figures with 12 points.

Takeaways

Rockets: Houston was third in the NBA averaging 94.5 field goal attempts per game prior to Thursday and put up 97 shots. Dallas attempted 85 shots.

Mavericks: The center tandem of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively was plagued by foul trouble. Lively had five and Gafford four through three quarters. They finished with a combined six rebounds as the Rockets outrebounded the Mavericks 50-37 and outscored them 20-8 on second-chance points.

Key moment

Doncic sank a 3-pointer with 1:08 left pulling Dallas within three, but Amen Thompson answered for Houston with a fadeaway jumper with 43 seconds remaining.

Key stat

The Mavericks dug too deep of a hole after shooting 2 for 12 on 3-pointers in the first half.

Up next

The Rockets begin a three-game homestand on Saturday against the Warriors, and the Mavericks play the first of a home back-to-back on Sunday against the Magic.

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Jake Meyers is the latest Astro to be rushed back from injury too soon. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

Houston center fielder Jake Meyers was removed from Wednesday night’s game against Cleveland during pregame warmups because of right calf tightness.

Meyers, who had missed the last two games with a right calf injury, jogged onto the field before the game but soon summoned the training staff, who joined him on the field to tend to him. He remained on the field on one knee as manager Joe Espada joined the group. After a couple minutes, Meyers got up and was helped off the field and to the tunnel in right field by a trainer.

Mauricio Dubón moved from shortstop to center field and Zack Short entered the game to replace Dubón at shortstop.

Meyers is batting .308 with three homers and 21 RBIs this season.

After the game, Meyers met with the media and spoke about the injury. Meyers declined to answer when asked if the latest injury feels worse than the one he sustained Sunday. Wow, that is not a good sign.

 

Lack of imaging strikes again!

The Athletic's Chandler Rome reported on Thursday that the Astros didn't do any imaging on Meyers after the initial injury. You can't make this stuff up. This is exactly the kind of thing that has the Astros return-to-play policy under constant scrutiny.

The All-Star break is right around the corner, why take the risk in playing Meyers after missing just two games with calf discomfort? The guy literally fell to the ground running out to his position before the game started. The people that make these risk vs. reward assessments clearly are making some serious mistakes.

The question remains: will the Astros finally do something about it?


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