Durant and Smith Score 30 Each as Rockets Rout Mavericks

Ten days after splitting two preseason games in Macao, the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks met for real, and this time the result was never in doubt. Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr. each scored 30 points as Houston beat Dallas 128-110 in Wednesday night’s season opener for both teams on 21 October. The Rockets won the second quarter 38-12 and led by 32 points at half-time.

Cooper Flagg scored a game-high 32 points for Dallas, and Kyrie Irving added 15 in his first regular-season game since tearing his left ACL on 3 March 2025. It was a tough debut for new Mavericks coach Dusty May, who was hired after leading Michigan to the NCAA championship and replaced the fired Jason Kidd.

How the game was decided

The first quarter gave little sign of what was coming. Dallas made 6 of 13 three-point attempts and trailed only 32-26 after 12 minutes. Then the shooting disappeared entirely. Field Level Media reported that the Mavericks missed all 14 of their three-point attempts in the second quarter, while Houston ran, scoring 20 fast-break points in the first half on the way to a 70-38 lead at the break.

Houston pushed the advantage to as many as 37 points in the third quarter before Dallas closed the period on an 18-5 run. Marcus Sasser’s three-pointer cut the margin to 103-83 early in the fourth, but the Mavericks never got closer than 17. The AP described an 8-2 Houston burst, including threes from Durant and Fred VanVleet, that took the lead back to 111-88 and settled the evening.

• Kevin Durant: 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting.
• Jabari Smith Jr.: 30 points on 11-of-18, with four three-pointers.
• Alperen Sengun: 23 points and 10 rebounds on 9-of-15 shooting.
• Amen Thompson: 16 points and 10 rebounds.
• Fred VanVleet: a game-high 11 assists in his return from a torn ACL.

Houston’s balance on show

The Rockets’ performance was notable for how many different players contributed. Durant was efficient, as he usually is, scoring 16 of his points in the first half. Smith matched him, which matters because Houston needs a reliable second scorer from its younger core. Sengun was his usual hub inside, and Amen Thompson, who signed a five-year, $208 million rookie-scale extension before the 19 October deadline, added a double-double.

VanVleet’s presence may be the most important development. He missed the whole of last season recovering from a torn ACL, and his 11 assists showed how much calmer Houston’s half-court offence can look with an experienced point guard organising it. Houston shot 52.2 percent from the field, and Marcus Smart, who scored 20 points on his Rockets debut in Macao, also chipped in.

There was one negative. Tari Eason was ejected with about three minutes left in the first quarter after a flagrant foul 2 for shoving P.J. Washington to the floor, according to the AP, which left Houston a rotation player short for most of the night.

Bright spots for Dallas

For the Mavericks, the scoreline hides some genuine positives. Flagg, the 2025 No. 1 pick and last season’s Rookie of the Year, scored 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting and looked every inch a franchise player in his second season. Irving’s 15 points, after he had looked sharp in Macao, confirmed that he is healthy enough to play meaningful minutes again after a long rehabilitation.

The bench also fought. Sasser scored 17 points and Naji Marshall 16, and Dallas actually shot 51.2 percent overall, close to Houston’s mark. The problem was concentrated in a single disastrous quarter, the 0-for-14 stretch from deep that turned a competitive game into a rout. New coaches often have nights like this early on, as players learn new systems and rotations are still being tested.

• Cooper Flagg: 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting.
• Marcus Sasser: 17 points off the bench.
• Naji Marshall: 16 points off the bench.
• Kyrie Irving: 15 points in his first regular-season game since March 2025.
• Second-quarter three-point shooting: 0-for-14.

From Macao to the regular season

The two Texas rivals had already seen plenty of each other this month. In the NBA China Games at the Venetian Arena in Macao, Houston won 135-117 on 9 October and Dallas replied with a 132-115 victory two days later. Those exhibitions were watched by fans in the same time zone as Malaysia, but the opener in Houston was the first meeting that counted.

Both teams return to action on Friday. The Mavericks travel to Indiana, while the Rockets face the San Antonio Spurs in Austin, Texas. For Malaysian viewers, those games tip off on Saturday morning local time. Houston will be looking to build on an opening performance that suggested its mix of veterans and young players can be a serious force in the West, while Dallas will want to show that one bad quarter was an exception rather than a warning.

How to read the next chapter

The first step in reading Durant and Smith Score 30 Each as Rockets Rout Mavericks is to separate the confirmed event from what it may mean for the rest of the season. One game, injury update or contract decision can change a team's immediate options, but it rarely settles a longer trend. Look at the official game book or team announcement for the event itself, then compare it with the wider schedule and the players actually available. Early-season numbers are particularly sensitive to small samples: a high shooting percentage over two games says less than the quality and type of the shots that created it.

Lineups are the most practical follow-up. A team can lose a scorer yet improve defensively with a different five, or win one night while a weak bench rotation remains unresolved. Watch how the coach distributes minutes, which players close each half and who handles the ball when the first option is denied. In the case of Durant and Smith Score 30 Each as Rockets Rout Mavericks, those details will show whether the immediate headline translates into a stable change. They are questions to test in subsequent games, not claims that a specific rotation has already been chosen.