Kyrie Irving's 35 Points Lifts Mavs Over Rockets in Halloween Eve Thriller

The Dallas Mavericks finally figured out the Houston Rockets.

Having already played each other twice in preseason along with Houston blowing out Dallas in the first game of the regular season, the Mavericks answered Friday night with a 116-111 win at American Airlines Center.

Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 35 points to lift Dallas (4-2) to its third straight win and hand Houston (5-1) its first loss.

Cooper Flagg added 33 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Mavs, who won their first NBA Cup game in West Group A.

Kevin Durant paced Houston with 28 points, but two of his four missed free throws on the night would prove costly late in crunch time.

Dallas and Houston's group in the in-season tournament includes the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz.

Flagg hit a turnaround floater to put the Mavericks up by four with 24 seconds remaining. Houston answered with a 3-pointer, but Dallas put the game away with free throws by Daniel Gafford, who played through a rolled ankle in the final minute of the fourth quarter, and Irving.

Amen Thompson was called for a lane violation as he tried to intentionally miss a free throw down by two. Marcus Smart then committed an away-from-the-play foul that gave the Mavs an extra free throw to seal the win.

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Dallas led by seven at the end of the first quarter thanks to shooting 62 percent from the field. Flagg started the game strong, making his first five shot attempts and ending the opening period with 12 points.

Momentum flipped in the second quarter as the Rockets outscored the Mavs 31-17 to take their own seven-point lead at the end of the quarter. Houston, the NBA's top defense to start the season, increased its physicality. While Dallas was able to get out in the fast break, the Mavericks had 12 turnovers by halftime. The Rockets led 51-44 at the break.

"Obviously, their toughness is off the charts," Mavs coach Dusty May said pregame. "They’ve built a roster of size, strength, athleticism, but also the ability to get to [the] basketball. When you start talking about Jabari Smith and [Amen] Thompson and KD, those are big, long, rangy athletes that are aggressive. And you’re not even talking about Fred [VanVleet], who’s one of the best steals guys in the league, and Marcus Smart, who’s just a hawk on the ball."

Dallas scored 28 points in transition and limited Houston to 10 fast-break points, which was a major point of emphasis for May after the teams' previous meeting.

A dominant second quarter was also how Houston pulled away from Dallas in the season-opener just over a week ago. The Rockets outscored the Mavs 38-12 in the second quarter on Oct. 21 as Dallas shot 0-for-14 from 3-point range and committed eight turnovers in that one.

Durant had a thunderous dunk over the defense in the third quarter on Friday, but the Mavericks battled and trailed by eight going into the fourth at 84-76. In comparison, Dallas was down by as many as 37 points to Houston at this point in the opener.

Irving scored seven straight points to bring the Mavericks to within a point at 8:29 mark. A minute later, Caleb Martin's corner 3 tied the game at 88. Irving forced a Houston timeout as the AAC crowd erupted for another triple that gave the Mavericks their first lead of the second half on the next possession.

With 4:20 to go, an offensive rebound and kickout to VanVleet tied the game on a 3-pointer, stretching Houston's second-chance points total to 17. The Mavs answered with back-to-back baskets to hold a slim lead in the final minutes.

Flagg converted a three-point play after Durant uncharacteristically missed two free throws, extending Dallas' lead to five with 1:40 left.

Daniel Gafford rolled his right ankle on a closeout, then needed assistance making his way to the locker room. Gafford struggled with a right ankle injury throughout last season, but would return to the game quickly for the Mavs' final push.

Thompson charged into Irving for an offensive foul, but replay review deemed Irving's defense a blocking foul. Dallas stayed in front by two as Thompson missed both subsequent free throws before Flagg and Gafford sealed the win.

The Mavs carry energy and momentum into a matchup with the winless Sacramento Kings on Monday.

Houston returns home for the second half of a back-to-back, hosting the injury-riddled Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.