NBA: Rockets dominate second quarter to rout mavericks in season opener

Kevin Durant scored 30 points, Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. combined for 53, and the Houston Rockets rolled to a 128-110 victory over the visiting Dallas Mavericks in the teams' season opener Wednesday night.

The Rockets shot 53.4% from the floor, led by Durant (10-for-16), Sengun (9-for-15) and Smith (11-for-17). Sengun posted 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Smith scored 30 points and hit four 3-pointers. Houston, which outscored Dallas 38-12 in the second quarter, led by as many as 37 points in the third quarter before the visitors rallied.

Cooper Flagg paced Dallas with a game-high 32 points on 10-for-17 shooting. Kyrie Irving scored 15 points in his first game since March 3, 2025, when he tore his left ACL. Marcus Sasser added 17 points off the bench for the Mavericks, who shot 51.9% from the floor.

Durant converted a fastbreak dunk into a 95-58 lead before the Mavericks closed the third quarter with an 18-5 run. Irving, Sasser and Flagg combined for all 18 points, and Sasser drilled a second-chance 3-pointer with 9:54 remaining to pull Dallas within 103-83. The Mavericks got no closer than 17 points the rest of the way.

Amen Thompson posted 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets. Fred VanVleet tallied a game-high 11 assists after missing last season with a torn right ACL.

Houston answered Dallas' hot start from beyond the arc with a 9-0 run to take a 22-18 lead. The Mavericks reclaimed the advantage on consecutive 3-pointers by Max Christie and Naji Marshall, who scored 16 points off the bench. However, Durant and Thompson threw down transition dunks late in the first quarter to give the Rockets a 32-26 lead entering the second.

Dallas shot 6-for-13 from 3-point range in the first quarter, but its shooting touch deserted the team in the second. Houston built a 32-point halftime lead while recording 20 fastbreak points.

Smith gave Houston its first double-digit lead at 38-28 with a baseline fadeaway. The margin grew to 51-34 when Marcus Smart followed a Smith 3-pointer with one of his own.

Thompson capped a 12-0 run with a second-chance dunk at the 3:42 mark, and the Rockets took a 70-38 lead into halftime after Dallas missed all 14 of its 3-point attempts in the second quarter.

-Field Level Media/Reuters