Anthony Davis leads Mavericks past Rockets 116-105 in Mavs debut but leaves with lower-body injury
DALLAS (AP) Anthony Davis had 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in his Mavericks debut but left the game late in the third quarter with a lower-body injury as Dallas beat the Houston Rockets 116-105 on Saturday.
Max Christie, who was acquired with Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers a week ago in the trade that sent superstar Luka Doncic to L.A., added 23 points for the Mavericks after playing twice for Dallas on the road this week.
Davis, who had not played since Jan. 28 because of an abdominal strain, assisted on the Mavericks’ first field goal four seconds in, scored six of Dallas’ first 14 points and had a double-double before halftime. He played 31 minutes.
Davis said he felt tightness in his groin and quadriceps, and part of the reasoning for not returning was him still recovering from the abdominal strain. He said the injury isn't serious.
Alperen Sengun scored 30 points and Jalen Green 24 for Houston, which has a season-long six-game losing streak. Sengun scored 15 in the third quarter, when the Rockets opened on a 21-4 run and cut a 21-point second-quarter deficit to two.
With some Mavericks fans still protesting the controversial trade outside American Airlines Center before tipoff, Davis received huge ovations when he took the court for warmups and was announced in the starting lineup.
Rockets: They held Dallas to 38.9% shooting in the fourth quarter (7 of 18) but only shot 40.9% percent themselves (9 of 22, missing all three 3-pointers).
Mavericks: P.J. Washington sprained his right ankle and sat out the second half, scoring six points in 16 minutes.
After the Rockets cut the Mavericks’ lead to 104-100 with 2:43 to play, Kyrie Irving was fouled on a drive and hit both free throws and Christie followed with his team-high fourth 3-pointer for a 109-100 lead with 1:38 left.
The Mavericks set a franchise record with 18 blocks (Daniel Gafford six).
The Rockets will complete a back-to-back Sunday afternoon at home vs. Toronto. The Mavericks will host Sacramento on Monday.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Tari Eason vs. Daniel Gafford (P.J. Washington gains possession) | ||
| 11:44 | | +2 | Daniel Gafford makes two point alley-oop dunk (Anthony Davis assists) | 0-2 |
| 11:23 |  | +3 | Amen Thompson makes three point jump shot (Tari Eason assists) | 3-2 |
| 11:09 | | Klay Thompson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:06 | | Amen Thompson defensive rebound | ||
| 10:47 | | Anthony Davis blocks Alperen Sengun's two point driving layup | ||
| 10:45 | | Anthony Davis defensive rebound | ||
| 10:42 | | +2 | P.J. Washington makes two point running dunk (Anthony Davis assists) | 3-4 |
| 10:28 | | Amen Thompson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:27 | | Amen Thompson offensive rebound | ||
| 10:19 | | P.J. Washington blocks Tari Eason's two point stepback jump shot | ||
| 10:16 | | Anthony Davis defensive rebound | ||
| 10:08 | | +2 | Klay Thompson makes two point driving floating bank jump shot (Anthony Davis assists) | 3-6 |
| 9:49 | | +2 | Alperen Sengun makes two point jump shot (Jalen Green assists) | 5-6 |
| 9:40 | | +2 | Klay Thompson makes two point driving layup (P.J. Washington assists) | 5-8 |
| 9:25 | | P.J. Washington blocks Amen Thompson's two point cutting layup | ||
| 9:25 | | Daniel Gafford defensive rebound | ||
| 9:20 | | Kyrie Irving misses three point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 9:18 | | Dillon Brooks defensive rebound | ||
| 9:10 | | +2 | Jalen Green makes two point driving layup | 7-8 |
| 8:51 | | +2 | Anthony Davis makes two point turnaround jump shot | 7-10 |
| 8:27 | | Alperen Sengun misses two point cutting layup | ||
| 8:26 | | Anthony Davis defensive rebound | ||
| 8:14 | | +2 | Anthony Davis makes two point turnaround hook shot | 7-12 |
| 7:49 | | Alperen Sengun misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:46 | | Daniel Gafford defensive rebound | ||
| 7:35 | | Anthony Davis misses two point driving layup | ||
| 7:34 | | Anthony Davis offensive rebound | ||
| 7:34 | | +2 | Anthony Davis makes two point tip dunk | 7-14 |
| 7:34 | | Rockets 60 second timeout | ||
| 7:17 | | Klay Thompson blocks Dillon Brooks's two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 7:15 | | Anthony Davis defensive rebound | ||
| 7:03 | | +3 | Anthony Davis makes three point pullup jump shot | 7-17 |
| 6:46 | | +3 | Jalen Green makes three point pullup jump shot | 10-17 |
| 6:37 | | Klay Thompson misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 6:33 | | Alperen Sengun defensive rebound | ||
| 6:28 | | Daniel Gafford shooting foul (Jalen Green draws the foul) | ||
| 6:28 | | Jalen Green misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 6:28 | | Rockets offensive rebound | ||
| 6:28 | | +1 | Jalen Green makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 11-17 |
| 6:16 | | +2 | Anthony Davis makes two point pullup jump shot | 11-19 |
| 5:59 | | +2 | Cam Whitmore makes two point driving dunk | 13-19 |
| 5:42 | | Kyrie Irving misses two point jump shot | ||
| 5:40 | | Alperen Sengun defensive rebound | ||
| 5:30 | | Jalen Green turnover (out of bounds lost ball) | ||
| 5:10 | | Jalen Green shooting foul (P.J. Washington draws the foul) | ||
| 5:10 | | +1 | P.J. Washington makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 13-20 |
| 5:10 | | +1 | P.J. Washington makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 13-21 |
| 4:58 | | +2 | Amen Thompson makes two point cutting dunk (Alperen Sengun assists) | 15-21 |
| 4:45 | | Spencer Dinwiddie offensive foul (Off the ball) (Alperen Sengun draws the foul) | ||
| 4:45 | | Spencer Dinwiddie turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 4:37 | | Jalen Green misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:34 | | Anthony Davis defensive rebound | ||
| 4:20 | | +2 | Naji Marshall makes two point driving layup | 15-23 |
| 4:04 | | Alperen Sengun misses two point driving hook shot | ||
| 4:02 | | Alperen Sengun offensive rebound | ||
| 4:00 | | Alperen Sengun misses two point putback layup | ||
| 4:00 | | Anthony Davis defensive rebound | ||
| 3:52 | | +2 | Naji Marshall makes two point running layup (Dante Exum assists) | 15-25 |
| 3:44 | | Amen Thompson offensive foul (Off the ball) (Dante Exum draws the foul) | ||
| 3:44 | | Amen Thompson turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 3:28 | | Cam Whitmore shooting foul (Anthony Davis draws the foul) | ||
| 3:28 | | Anthony Davis misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 3:28 | | Mavericks offensive rebound | ||
| 3:28 | | +1 | Anthony Davis makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 15-26 |
| 3:05 | | +2 | Jalen Green makes two point fadeaway jump shot | 17-26 |
| 2:46 | | +2 | Anthony Davis makes two point turnaround hook shot | 17-28 |
| 2:35 | | Amen Thompson turnover (lost ball) (Naji Marshall steals) | ||
| 2:30 | | +3 | Max Christie makes three point running jump shot (Dante Exum assists) | 17-31 |
| 2:29 | | Rockets 60 second timeout | ||
| 2:12 | | Jae'Sean Tate misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:10 | | Mavericks defensive rebound | ||
| 1:47 | | Dante Exum misses two point driving finger roll layup | ||
| 1:46 | | Jae'Sean Tate defensive rebound | ||
| 1:35 | | +3 | Dillon Brooks makes three point jump shot (Jae'Sean Tate assists) | 20-31 |
| 1:10 | | Anthony Davis misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 1:09 | | Cam Whitmore defensive rebound | ||
| 1:01 | | Cam Whitmore misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 0:59 | | Steven Adams offensive rebound | ||
| 0:59 | | Steven Adams misses two point tip layup | ||
| 0:58 | | Anthony Davis defensive rebound | ||
| 0:53 | | Naji Marshall misses two point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 0:52 | | Steven Adams defensive rebound | ||
| 0:44 | | Steven Adams misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 0:41 | | Naji Marshall defensive rebound | ||
| 0:36 | | Dillon Brooks shooting foul (Max Christie draws the foul) | ||
| 0:36 | | +1 | Max Christie makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 20-32 |
| 0:36 | | +1 | Max Christie makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 20-33 |
| 0:18 | | Dillon Brooks misses two point stepback jump shot | ||
| 0:15 | | Dante Exum defensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | Kyrie Irving misses two point stepback jump shot | ||
| 0:00 | | Mavericks offensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:50 | | Max Christie shooting foul (Cam Whitmore draws the foul) | ||
| 11:50 | | +1 | Cam Whitmore makes regular free throw 1 of 3 | 21-33 |
| 11:50 | | +1 | Cam Whitmore makes regular free throw 2 of 3 | 22-33 |
| 11:50 | | +1 | Cam Whitmore makes regular free throw 3 of 3 | 23-33 |
| 11:33 | | +2 | Klay Thompson makes two point driving finger roll layup (Max Christie assists) | 23-35 |
| 11:13 | | Steven Adams misses two point driving hook shot | ||
| 11:12 | | Steven Adams offensive rebound | ||
| 11:03 | | Tari Eason misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 11:01 | | Reed Sheppard offensive rebound | ||
| 10:59 | | Reed Sheppard misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 10:58 | | Reed Sheppard offensive rebound | ||
| 10:49 | | Steven Adams misses two point hook shot | ||
| 10:47 | | Steven Adams offensive rebound | ||
| 10:45 | | Daniel Gafford blocks Steven Adams's two point layup | ||
| 10:41 | | Tari Eason offensive rebound | ||
| 10:41 | | Daniel Gafford blocks Tari Eason's two point layup | ||
| 10:39 | | Klay Thompson defensive rebound | ||
| 10:37 | | +3 | Klay Thompson makes three point running pullup jump shot | 23-38 |
| 10:24 | | Reed Sheppard misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 10:23 | | Klay Thompson defensive rebound | ||
| 10:19 | | Klay Thompson misses three point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 10:16 | | Tari Eason defensive rebound | ||
| 10:09 | | Klay Thompson personal foul (Tari Eason draws the foul) | ||
| 10:09 | | Ime Udoka technical foul | ||
| 10:09 | | +1 | Kyrie Irving makes technical free throw 1 of 1 | 23-39 |
| 10:01 | | P.J. Washington blocks Jae'Sean Tate's two point driving dunk | ||
| 10:01 | | Rockets offensive rebound | ||
| 9:53 | | Reed Sheppard misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 9:53 | | Rockets offensive rebound | ||
| 9:53 | | Rockets turnover (shot clock violation) | ||
| 9:33 | | Kyrie Irving misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | ||
| 9:31 | | Daniel Gafford offensive rebound | ||
| 9:29 | | Daniel Gafford turnover (lost ball) (Tari Eason steals) | ||
| 9:26 | | Cam Whitmore misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 9:23 | | Tari Eason offensive rebound | ||
| 9:23 | | Daniel Gafford shooting foul (Tari Eason draws the foul) | ||
| 9:23 | | +1 | Tari Eason makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 24-39 |
| 9:23 | | +1 | Tari Eason makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 25-39 |
| 9:10 | | Klay Thompson misses two point driving finger roll layup | ||
| 9:10 | | Rockets defensive rebound | ||
| 9:10 | | Daniel Gafford personal foul (Loose ball) (Alperen Sengun draws the foul) | ||
| 9:10 | | Mavericks delay of game violation | ||
| 9:10 | | Daniel Gafford technical foul | ||
| 9:10 | | +1 | Reed Sheppard makes technical free throw 1 of 1 | 26-39 |
| 8:57 | | Cam Whitmore misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 8:57 | | Mavericks defensive rebound | ||
| 8:42 | | Alperen Sengun personal foul (Kyrie Irving draws the foul) | ||
| 8:40 | | Klay Thompson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:37 | | Cam Whitmore defensive rebound | ||
| 8:28 | | +2 | Amen Thompson makes two point jump shot (Cam Whitmore assists) | 28-39 |
| 8:16 | | Reed Sheppard shooting foul (Kyrie Irving draws the foul) | ||
| 8:16 | | Kyrie Irving misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 8:16 | | Mavericks offensive rebound | ||
| 8:16 | | +1 | Kyrie Irving makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 28-40 |
| 7:58 | | P.J. Washington shooting foul (Alperen Sengun draws the foul) | ||
| 7:58 |