DALLAS, Texas — Kyrie Irving poured in 35 points and second-year forward Cooper Flagg added 33 as the Dallas Mavericks came from behind to beat the Houston Rockets 116-111 on Friday night in Dallas, ending the unbeaten start for their in-state rival at American Airlines Center.
The win came in the NBA Cup opener for both clubs. Irving did most of his damage after halftime, scoring 26 in the second half, and his jumper that made it 102-100 gave Dallas a lead it never gave back.
Houston had chances late. Kevin Durant, who scored 28, missed two free throws with the Rockets down two and 1:53 left, and Amen Thompson missed a pair of his own with 42 seconds to play. Flagg answered both times with a basket at the other end, one of them a three-point play.
Irving shot 12 of 19 from the floor and 5 of 8 from deep, and Flagg went 13 of 19. Daniel Gafford chipped in 18 points, including two free throws with 11 seconds left and Dallas up one. Irving went 6 for 6 at the line, pushing his run of made free throws to 54, the longest active streak in the league.
Jabari Smith Jr. led a big second quarter for Houston, which outscored Dallas 31-17 in that period, and finished with 22. The Rockets went just 24 of 33 at the line. With their loss, Memphis at 5-0 stands as the only team in the league without a defeat.
The result moved Dallas to 4-2 and dropped Houston to 5-1 after five straight wins to open the year. Irving also handed out nine assists, Flagg grabbed nine rebounds and scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, and Zaccharie Risacher added 12 points with three steals and three made 3-pointers, his best of the season. Dallas played without Dereck Lively and Santi Aldama, while Houston was missing Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams. The Mavericks are back home Monday at 7 p.m. Central against the Sacramento Kings.
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