DALLAS — Jalen Green had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Alperen Sengun added 17 points and 12 rebounds and the Houston Rockets held off a Dallas fourth-quarter rally to beat the Mavericks 108-102 on Thursday night.

The Rockets led by 23 points late in the third quarter before the defending Western Conference champions cut Houston's lead to 103-100 with a minute to play.

Dillon Brooks also scored 17 points for the Rockets, and Tari Eason scored 15 points off the bench for the Rockets, whose reserves outscored the Mavericks 33-21.

Luka Doncic led Dallas with 29 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter.

Kyrie Irving scored 28 points and Klay Thompson was the only other Maverick to score in double figures with 12 points.

Takeaways

Rockets: Houston ranked third in the NBA before Thursday, averaging 94.5 field goal attempts per game and making 97 shots. Dallas attempted 85 shots.

Mavericks: Center tandem Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively were plagued by foul trouble. Lively had five and Gafford four to three quarters. They finished the game with a total of six rebounds, with the Rockets outscoring the Mavericks 50-37 and outscoring them 20-8 on second chance chances.

Key moment

Doncic sank a 3-pointer with 1:08 left to pull Dallas within three points, but Amen Thompson answered for Houston with a fadeaway jumper with 43 seconds left.

Key statistics

The Mavericks dug too deep a hole after going 2 for 12 on 3-pointers in the first half.

Next

The Rockets begin a three-game homestand against the Warriors on Saturday, and the Mavericks play their first straight home game against the Magic on Sunday.

——

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba