The Houston Rockets battled the Dallas Mavericks in Macao for the second time on Sunday, and while the Rockets came out on top 135-117 in the first matchup, the second matchup had a different outcome as the Mavericks won 132-115.

While the Mavericks did come out on top, it is important to note that this is the preseason, and in the regular season, the rotation will likely be a lot different. In this game, the Rockets were without Kevin Durant, Fred VanVleet, Alperen Sengun, and Steven Adams, who all rested.

Despite being without four key rotational players, the Rockets still gave a great effort and actually had a chance to win this game. 

With that said, it is time to take a look at the top takeaways from the Rockets' loss against the Mavericks on Sunday.

To start, veteran Marcus Smart did a great job in this game of being able to score and showcase that he can do so from the perimeter as well as all over the floor.

For the game, Smart shot 4/9 from the three-point range, which was a great sign to see as he showed that he can still provide solid spacing, which could be very valuable for the Rockets in 2026. Additionally, Smart had 20 points over the course of the game, which led the Rockets and proved that he still has the ability to be an effective scorer.

So, as the Rockets head into the final preseason game, it will be interesting to see if Smart plays, as well as how he looks in the regular season opener, because if he can play close to this level, Houston may have one of the better scorers off the bench in the entire NBA.

Focusing on the defensive side now, one thing that has to improve is the fast break defense for the Rockets as the Mavericks were able to score quite a bit in transition during this game.

On Sunday, Dallas was able to score 24 points on fast break opportunities which was largely due to the fact that Houston had 22 turnovers and conceded 32 points off turnovers. While this is a preseason game, this is something that has to improve and it should, especially when VanVleet and Durant return to the lineup as both players take care of the ball very consistently.

Moving forward, it is going to be important to monitor how the Rockets run this offense and if they can take care of the ball much better across the board, because if they cannot this could possibly turn into a key problem, however that is not something to worry about just yet as the regular season has not yet begun.

As mentioned earlier, the Rockets were without Durant, VanVleet, Sengun, and Adams, and because of that it created an opportunity for Reed Sheppard to showcase his ability and in this game he did that, but overall it was an interesting performance.

Throughout this game, Sheppard had 17 points, one rebound, one assist, one steal, two blocks, and five turnovers. On the efficiency side, Sheppard was solid as he went 5/12 from the field, 4/10 from three, and 3/4 at the free-throw line. When looking at Sheppard's stats, he showed the ability to contribute on both ends, but he did have a team-high five turnovers, which will be something to watch over the course of this season.

Heading into the end of the preseason and the start of the regular season, how Sheppard performs and if he can continue to show the ability to provide solid contributions on both ends, because if he can, he could very well become a critical component of this rotation.