Mavs at Rockets Preview: Dallas Attempts to Do Something It Hasn't Done Since 2011
The Dallas Mavericks take on the Houston Rockets on Monday night at Toyota Center for the fourth and final time this season. Dallas leads the season series 2-1 with the only loss coming in a game where Luka Doncic didn't suit up due to rest.
In two games against the Rockets, Doncic is averaging 42.5 points, 10 rebounds and 11.5 assists while shooting 54.9 percent from the field, including 47.6 percent from deep. His 50-point performance in Houston on Dec. 23 is the one that ignited the historic five-game tear he's on.
“Just winning feels good,” Doncic said after the 126-125 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. “The locker room feels good. Everybody is happy, just joking around. When you’re winning, everything is great. So that was our goal. We got to keep winning.”
Over his last five games, Doncic is averaging 45.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 10.2 assists and 2.4 steals per game while shooting 59.8 percent from the field, including 50 percent from deep. The Rockets have no one on their roster who can realistically stop Doncic, and the Mavs are still shorthanded without Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Green and Maxi Kleber, so there's a good chance his hot streak continues on Monday.
The Mavs enter 2023 riding a six-game win streak, which matches the longest they had during the entire 2021-22 season. Dallas hasn't had a win streak of at least seven games since 2011. With Doncic playing at a historic MVP level, and the Rockets being the worst team in the worst team in the Western Conference, the Mavs will have no better opportunity to buck that trend.
FUN FACT: Despite battling foul trouble in the Mavs' 129-114 win over the Rockets on Thursday, Christian Wood still finished with 21 points, six rebounds and four blocks in just 21 minutes of action.
Over his last 10 games, Wood is averaging 20.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.2 blocks while shooting 53.6 percent from the field, including 40.6 percent from deep. The Mavs are 7-3 during that span and 6-1 when Wood and Doncic start together.
RECORDS: Dallas Mavericks (21-16), Houston Rockets (10-26)
WHEN: Monday, January 2, 2023 – 7 p.m. CT
WHERE: Toyota Center (Houston, TX)
TV: Bally Sports Southwest, NBA League Pass
RADIO: 97.1 The Freak, 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)
ODDS: The Mavs are 7.5-point favorites over the Rockets
NEXT UP: The schedule becomes considerably tougher for the Mavs now, as the next two games come against the Boston Celtics on Thursday and the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday. The good news for the Mavs is that both of those games will be at American Airlines Center, where they're 15-5 this season.
Dallas is already up to fourth in the Western Conference standings with its recent win streak.
FINAL WORD: “It’s incredible,” said Wood of Doncic's hot streak. “In my seven years in the league, I’ve never seen anything like it, to do what he’s doing. He just has to keep it up. He’s on an incredible run. He’s playing like the MVP. Clearly one of the best players in the league. And I’m happy for him.”
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