5 Takeaways From the Mavericks' Win Over the Rockets in Macao

MACAO — The Dallas Mavericks closed their trip to China with a 132-115 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday at The Venetian Arena, two days after losing the first game, 135-117.

Houston played without Steven Adams, Kevin Durant, Fred VanVleet, and Alperen Şengün. On the Dallas side, Marcus Sasser, Dereck Lively II, Morez Johnson Jr., and Santi Aldama did not play.

Here are five takeaways from the Mavericks' second preseason game in Macao.

Kyrie Irving played his first game since March 3, 2025, and his first alongside Cooper Flagg. He scored 17 points in 22 minutes. Flagg finished with 14 points on 3-of-10 shooting and 7 assists.

One of those assists went to Irving. With 8:34 left in the second quarter, Flagg found him for a layup in transition, the fourth straight Dallas basket. Irving had 3 assists of his own, including a pass to Naji Marshall for a dunk on the break with 9:22 left in that quarter.

Irving would rather be on a team that overpasses at times than one where he or Flagg has the ball every time down.

"I love that he's a two-way player. I love that he cares about using his voice as he's grown into year two," Irving said. "He's coming off Rookie of the Year, so it's a lot of pressure on him, and I feel like I'm here to also alleviate some of that pressure that he feels."

Mavericks coach Dusty May said Dallas still was not getting into its actions quickly enough when Houston was getting second shots.

"I think sometimes everyone kind of just stops and watches Kyrie," May said. "I think especially where we are, I think a little bit more cutting to open up bigger gaps for him and a little bit of off-ball movement will make the game simpler for him, because he's gonna make the right decision."

Zaccharie Risacher went 1-of-5 in the first half on Sunday. After halftime, he went 6-of-8 and scored 14 points.

Nine of those points came in the fourth quarter on 4-of-4 shooting. Two of his makes in the game were tip dunks, one tying the score at 66 in the third quarter and the other pushing the lead to 104-96 in the fourth.

Risacher had 8 rebounds in Friday's loss and 3 on Sunday, 2 of them offensive. May said the staff challenged him after the first game to simply rebound better.

"He got a couple offensive rebounds. He's got great instincts for the ball," May explained.

"But I thought in the second half of both games, he settled in and just looked like he was playing at ease," May continued. "Looked like he was lost in the flow of the game."

Risacher, the first overall pick in the 2024 draft, also scored 7 of his 9 points Friday in the third quarter.

Sergio de Larrea finished plus-34 in 22 minutes. Dwight Powell was plus-14 in 15 minutes.

De Larrea had 9 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. All 4 assists came in the fourth quarter, including an alley-oop to Tobi Lawal and a transition layup by Tarik Biberović that put Dallas up 19.

Dallas traded Ryan Nembhard to Atlanta for Risacher, leaving the backup point guard job to de Larrea.

Lively did not play in either game in Macao. Powell logged 15 minutes Sunday, and Moussa Cisse played 7, all in the fourth quarter.

Powell had 8 assists in 13 minutes Friday and had 3 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists Sunday. May said Powell keeps a young second unit organized and generates great looks.

"There's a number of different components to development of young players. And putting them out there with guys who are trying to assist them, make them better, screen well for them, it's just a decision," May said. "We felt like we're playing well with him on the floor. The groups continue to function well, and so we're very, very comfortable."

Max Christie took 11 3-pointers on Friday. He attempted 3 on Sunday and made 2.

He still scored 14 points, going 4-of-7 from the field and 4-of-4 at the line.

Christie wants to be more than someone who stands still and shoots 3s.

"I would say mostly expanding my game, but being able to playmake with the ball in my hands as well. I thought tonight I actually did a good job, just kind of being aggressive to the rim," Christie said. "And understanding that even if my three-point shot isn't going in or I don't take as many threes, I can still impact the game with the ball in my hands as well."

The Rockets had 21 offensive rebounds to Dallas' 15 and outscored the Mavericks 27-23 in second-chance points. Amen Thompson had 6 offensive rebounds, and Oscar Tshiebwe added 4 in the fourth quarter alone.

In the first half of the opener, Houston had 10 offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points. May said Friday that the Rockets cashing in on the offensive glass was the biggest difference before halftime.

The biggest challenge for Christie in this matchup was Houston's physicality, its offensive rebounding, and its toughness and scrappiness.

"I think in the first game we did do a good job of matching that, and I think tonight we did a little bit better job matching it," Christie explained. "I think that it helped us win the game."

Houston also committed 22 turnovers, and the Mavericks scored 32 points off them. Dallas had a 24-11 edge in fast-break points.

Dallas returns home to face the New Orleans Pelicans at 7 p.m. CT Wednesday.