Stat summary: 4 numbers to know from the Mavericks’ 110-99 loss at the Houston Rockets

The hits keep coming for your Dallas Mavericks (20-14). It looks like things will get worse before they get better after the Mavericks dropped a 110-99 loss, the team’s third in a row, to Houston Rockets (22-11) Wednesday in the Toyota Center. The “new you” version of the 2025 Mavs is short on hot bodies and even shorter on killer instinct.

Dallas was borderline soft in Wednesday’s loss. When Houston took the lead in the second quarter, the Mavs folded up shop. Quentin Grimes led Dallas with 17 points and five rebounds, while Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson each added 16. Alpine Sengun led the Rockets with 23 points and six boards in the win, while shooting guard Jalen Green added 22 points.

Here are four stats that stood out in a borderline, underwhelming Mavs loss to their Southwest Division sister wives in the swamp.

18 minutes: Kyrie Irving’s scoreless stretch to start the game

Midway through the second quarter, Irving was still scoreless — but somehow the Mavs were still up 44-40 at the time. Irving weaved his way through the tall trees and dashed for the cup. Sengun touched the ball while it was still inside the cylinder and Irving was officially off.

He finally saw the ball go into the basket itself four minutes later. His scooping drive kept the Mavericks tied, down 55-49 with just under two minutes left before halftime. The Rockets led 61-52 at halftime. Irving had just four points at halftime on 2-of-6 shooting.

23-4: The Rockets’ run in the second quarter

Those two points came during what grew into a 23-4 Houston run midway through the second quarter. The Mavs led 40-30 on Spencer Dinwiddie’s pull-up 3-pointer with 8:12 left before halftime, but Sengun and Cam Whitmore ignited what had been a stagnant Houston offense until then. Whitmore hit a pair of 3-pointers during the run and went 5-for-6 from the field during the run. Sengun was playing with Daniel Gafford on the low block when Dereck Lively II picked up his third foul with 7:16 left in the second.

The Rockets took the lead on Whitmore’s first 3-pointer with just over five minutes left in the half. It was 45-44 at the time, but the Rockets stepped on the gas and rattled off the next eight on much better outside shooting than this team has been known for. Houston entered the game ranked 28th in the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage (32.7%). Houston somehow outscored Dallas 37-22 in the second quarter.

8-of-16: Mavericks’ free throw shooting

Injuries are what they are, and Dallas got a little more unfortunate news on Wednesday when PJ Washington left the game with a sprained knee in the second quarter. But 7-of-14 from the free throw line is a completely nonsensical effort. The Mavs converted on just four of their first 11 free throws. It seems unprofessional.

Houston’s lead grew to 17, up 86-69 on Jae’Sean Tate’s 3-pointer with under three minutes to play in the third. The Rockets led 89-75 entering the fourth. The Mavs shot 8-of-16 from the line in the loss.

17: Rockets steal

The Rockets’ defenders lived in Dallas’ hip pockets all night long. Dallas turned the ball over 20 times and 17 of those were Houston steals. Houston scored 22 points off of Dallas turnovers in the win.