On April 8, Beijing time, in a regular season game that ended in the morning, the Mavericks defeated the Rockets 147-136 at home, and this game was crucial for the Rockets, and the two sides finally fought in overtime. After losing this game, the Mavericks helped the Warriors successfully qualify for the play-offs this season, and the Rockets were officially eliminated and went home fishing.
It's a very exciting matchup, this game can be said to be a combination of various elements that fans like, including evictions, garbage, and superstar moments. The Rockets once led the Mavericks by 20+, but in the end they were reversed by their opponents. After the game, Irving Doncic walked with his arms together, and this scene moved the fans, like a general returning triumphantly with scars!
One by one, the Mavericks focus on mentioning three players, first of all, the biggest contributor to the win, Ou Shenxian! The last time against the Rockets, Doncic led the team to kill crazy, and today it is Irving who stood up. He played 44 minutes, shooting 15-of-25, 3-of-8 from three-point range, and 15-of-17 from the free-throw line, scoring a season-high 48 points, plus 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal, with a plus/minus of +21.
Irving played well on the offensive end of the whole game, especially when the team fell behind in the final quarter, and turned the tide with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting in a single quarter! Although the final equalizing three-point shot was missed, he continued to maintain a good state in overtime, scoring 6 points alone to help the team win (the Rockets only scored 7 points in overtime)!
Speaking after the game, Ou Shenxian was humble again: "It's all thanks to my team-mates, thanks to their perseverance and hard work, we are under a lot of pressure and we want to win. "I don't know if everyone has noticed, Owen is really divine in Ramadan this year, and many fans said that the attitude is still very important, and there is a big difference between wanting to play and not wanting to play. Anta won the numbness.
Doncic also exploded, playing 45 minutes, 12-of-21 shooting, 4-of-10 three-pointers, 9-of-9 free throws, 37 points, 9 rebounds, 12 assists and 2 blocks, the fly in the ointment was 7 turnovers and 5 fouls, plus/minus +20. The toughest thing is these two rounds, first shaking Dillon to hit a three-point shot, and then turning around to wipe Dillon for a layup 2+1! Today I can win Dillon's respect again.
If it weren't for his last-minute tiebreaker, the Mavericks would have been out of the game. At the decisive moment of the final quarter, Doncic made the last attack, and Exum made a three-point shot directly from the outside, and the magical hit of the whistle dragged the game into overtime! ”
It's really a pity, the Rockets led by up to 22 points in the whole game, and before the Mavericks tied the three-point game, the Rockets even had two free throw opportunities, and a random goal could kill the game, but Smith Jr. missed two free throws! This season, Smith Jr.'s free throw shooting rate was 82%, but he fell off the chain at the critical moment.
In this game, the Rockets scored seven double-doubles but still lost. Among them, Dillon had 29 points, Van Jordan 24, Jalen Green 21, Smith Jr. 12, Landale 13, and Bullock and Whitmore 11.
Jalen Green, who has attracted much attention recently, played 39 minutes, 6 of 15 shots, 2 of 7 three-pointers, 7 of 7 free throws, contributed 21 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 5 turnovers, with a plus/minus of -12. Obviously, Green was targeted by opponents after the outbreak, and the Rockets recently lost 5 in a row, Jalen Green averaged only 18.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1.2 steals and 3.8 turnovers per game, shooting 37.8% from the field and 22.5% from three-point range.
Life is really up and down, during the 11-game winning streak, the Rockets were only 0.5 wins away from the play-offs, and then suffered 5 consecutive defeats and completely missed the play-offs.