Mavericks Finish Strong, Beat Rockets 132-115

Marcus Smart scored 20 points for Houston, but the Dallas Mavericks closed with back-to-back 37-point quarters and defeated the Houston Rockets 132-115 in a preseason game on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, at Venetian Arena in Macao, China. The Rockets were within six early in the fourth quarter before the Mavericks created separation and finished with a 17-point victory.

Dallas takes control late

Houston opened the fourth quarter trailing 95-85. Bogdan Bogdanovic's 24-foot 3-pointer cut Dallas' lead to 97-91, and the Rockets remained within six after Oscar Tshiebwe's basket made it 102-96. Dallas then extended its advantage with baskets from Zaccharie Risacher, Tarik Biberovic and Sergio de Larrea.

Biberovic's 25-foot 3-pointer put the Mavericks ahead 114-103. Dallas continued to add to the margin, reaching 121-105 on Seth Lundy's 25-foot 3-pointer and 132-113 on Biberovic's running layup. Tshiebwe's 10-foot floating jump shot supplied the final points.

Quarter-by-quarter progression

The Mavericks led 28-27 after the first quarter, then widened the margin during a 30-24 second period. Kyrie Irving's basket gave Dallas a 37-31 advantage in the second, and the Mavericks held a 58-51 lead at halftime.

Houston briefly moved in front during the third quarter. Amen Thompson's 23-foot 3-pointer made it 66-64 Rockets, and Marcus Smart's 26-foot 3-pointer put Houston ahead 72-71. Dallas answered before the quarter ended, taking a 95-85 lead into the final period after outscoring Houston 37-34 in the third.

Top contributions and records

Smart finished with 20 points for the Rockets, while Amen Thompson had six assists and Jabari Smith Jr. collected nine rebounds. For Dallas, Irving scored 17 points, Cooper Flagg recorded seven assists and Sergio de Larrea had seven rebounds.

Both teams are 1-1 in the preseason. The game drew an announced attendance of 11,711 in Macao, where Houston was the designated home team at the neutral site.

Sources

ESPN