With three losses in four games undermining what was a strong start to the season, the Dallas Mavericks received good news on Monday when All-NBA guard Luka Doncic was cleared to play Tuesday after sustaining a left thumb sprain against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.
Doncic, who entered the week third in the NBA in scoring (30.5 points per game) and sixth in assists per game (7.8), practiced Monday with his thumb wrapped. He underwent X-rays at halftime against the Clippers yet finished with 30 points, three rebounds and four assists in the 107-88 loss.
The Mavericks lamented their lack of physicality against the Clippers, an issue that might play a significant factor when they host the Houston Rockets on Tuesday in the final West Group B game for both teams in the NBA in-season tournament. The Rockets entered the week leading the league in defensive rating at 106.8, while the Mavericks were without defensive-minded rookie center Dereck Lively II (back).
An additional concern for Dallas was the offensive imbalance displayed while producing a season-low point total. Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Tim Hardaway Jr. combined for 63 of the Mavericks’ 91 shot attempts against the Clippers, a disparity that requires immediate rectifying.
Balanced scoring has become an early-season hallmark for the Rockets, who extended their homecourt winning streak to eight games with their 105-86 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Five Rockets are averaging between 13.2 and 20.2 points per game, with third-year center Alperen Sengun leading Houston in scoring and rebounds per game (9.1) while ranking second to veteran guard Fred VanVleet in assists with 5.6 per game.
Down the stretch against the Nuggets, VanVleet teamed with third-year guard Jalen Green — second on the Rockets in scoring at 19.6 points per game — to carry Houston to victory.
Green scored nine of his team-high 25 points in the fourth quarter while VanVleet added six points, three rebounds and three assists in the final frame en route to a 17-point, 11-assist double-double.
Much has been made of the potential two-man pairing of Green and Sengun — who flirted with a triple-double, posting 21 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists — as the foundation for Houston offensively, but the Rockets continue to find success through an egalitarian approach, featuring the aforementioned as well as Dillon Brooks and Jabari Smith Jr.
With a victory over the Mavericks, the Rockets would secure a spot in the NBA in-season tournament knockout round by virtue of their 104-101 home victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Nov. 10. The Pelicans have completed group play with a 3-1 record, a mark Houston would match by defeating Dallas.
