Fifteen extra shots ought to buy more than a near miss. Houston took them, collected another bundle of offensive rebounds and still left American Airlines Center with a 116-111 loss Friday. Dallas made the smaller supply considerably more profitable.
The Mavericks made 42 of 81 field-goal attempts, a 52% rate. The Rockets made 40 of 96, shooting 42%. Dallas therefore made two more field goals despite shooting 15 fewer times.
The larger separation came beyond the arc, where Dallas went 12-for-33 and Houston finished 7-for-29. Five additional three-pointers created a 15-point edge from long range, enough to outweigh Houston’s four-point advantage at the free-throw line.
The contrast becomes sharper when the baskets are sorted by value. Dallas made 30 two-point field goals and 12 threes. Houston made 33 two-pointers and seven threes. The Rockets had more two-point baskets; the Mavericks had more total baskets and the more profitable mixture. Accuracy did the work that volume usually does.
Houston’s volume had a clear foundation. The Rockets grabbed 20 offensive rebounds to Dallas’ 12 and finished with 48 player rebounds against 41 for the Mavericks. Clint Capela collected six offensive rebounds among his 11 total, while Tari Eason had eight offensive boards and 13 rebounds.
Those extra possessions help explain the 96 attempts. Rebounding still mattered plenty; it simply failed to compensate for Houston’s 42% shooting.
Dallas did not protect its own possessions well enough to make the efficiency look comfortable. The Mavericks had 17 player turnovers, 18 when the team turnover is included, compared with Houston’s 12 player turnovers and 13 total. Houston scored 20 points off those takeaways.
Dallas scored 17 off Houston’s turnovers, so this was not a victory built on controlling every possession. It was a victory built on winning the shots that remained after the possession exchanges had finished.
The fourth quarter put the argument in motion. Houston opened the period with an 84-76 lead, but Dallas scored 15 of the next 19 points across 4:59 to take a 91-88 advantage. Caleb Martin’s three at 7:43 tied the game at 88, and Kyrie Irving’s three at 7:01 put Dallas ahead.
Martin finished with eight points and made two of three threes, a small scoring total that carried real weight because each successful perimeter attempt stretched the value of Dallas’ limited shot supply.
Houston kept manufacturing chances and kept the game close. Fred VanVleet’s three at 4:21 tied the score at 96, and his driving shot at 2:26 tied it again at 100. Dallas answered with Irving’s pull-up at 2:08 and Cooper Flagg’s driving basket at 1:40, followed by a free throw.
