Here's What You Missed as Rockets Bury Mavericks on Opening Night

The Houston Rockets finally have an opening night win to talk about. Houston beat the Dallas Mavericks 128-110 Wednesday night, snapping an eight-game skid in season openers and grabbing their first home opener win since 2013. That should quiet the panic left over from a preseason split in Macao, at least for one half.

All seven lead changes came in the first quarter. Then the Rockets flipped the game quick. Houston got suffocating, physical and fast, winning the second 38-12 while Dallas went zero for 14 from three. The Mavericks coughed up 13 first-half turnovers, and Houston went into the locker room up 70-38. The Rockets finished the night with 29 fast break points and 32 points off turnovers.

Tari Eason had the wildest three minutes on the floor. He stole a Kyrie Irving pass and put back his own blocked layup to cap a 9-0 run. Twenty-two seconds later, he shoved P.J. Washington from behind, and a review upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 2 and ended his night. Washington missed both free throws, so the damage stayed small.

Kevin Durant made history in his 20th season, as his driving dunk tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in career opening night points, and a pullup jumper less than a minute later passed Michael Jordan. Durant finished with 30 on 10 of 16 shooting and sits third all-time in opening night scoring behind LeBron James and Karl Malone. He brushed off the underdog label this week, saying fans might see the Rockets differently after week one. One night in, he's already making that case.

The word of the day for the second half of the matchup was easily "complacent." Houston led by 37 in the third quarter, then got outscored 72-58 after the break. Dallas closed the third on an 18-5 run as Ime Udoka went to his bench, and three of Durant's four turnovers came in the fourth.

Cooper Flagg was a problem all night with 32 points on 10 of 17 shooting, and Marcus Sasser added 17 off the bench. The Mavericks cut the deficit to 17 five times in the fourth and couldn't get any closer. It got sloppy without ever getting scary.

Jabari Smith Jr. matched Durant with 30 points, and his night deserves its own conversation tomorrow on RocketsRoundtable. Alperen Şengün posted 23 points and 10 rebounds. Fred VanVleet dished out 11 assists without a turnover, a steady answer after Udoka's update on his veteran point guard.

Next up is a road back-to-back against the San Antonio Spurs Friday in Austin and the Atlanta Hawks Saturday, with VanVleet not expected to play both ends early in the season. If Udoka wants a real Coach of the Year case, his group can't treat 37-point leads like finished business. Wednesday showed 24 great minutes. Now they need 48.

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