Mavericks Fall To Rockets In Home Opener 106-98
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DALLAS (AP) — James Harden walked the ball up the court in the final seconds of the third quarter, then decided he didn't want to set up the offense.
The Houston star simply pulled up and hit a long 3-pointer for the first double-digit lead during a late-quarter run that put the Rockets in control for good.
Trevor Ariza scored 27 points, Harden had 26 and Houston beat Dallas 106-98 with Dirk Nowitzki missing from the Mavericks' home opener Friday night.
Harden went scoreless while playing the entire first quarter, missing all five shots, before getting 10 points in the second and 12 in the third, including the punctuating 3 that followed two others on a 10-2 run to finish the quarter.
"I was in a groove and it was time to close out the quarter," Harden said. "Think that's one of the things that we're preaching is we got to end quarters the right way."
Harrison Barnes, playing his first home game for the Mavericks after signing a max contract in the summer, had a career-high 31 points.
Nowitzki didn't play for just the second time in 19 home openers with Dallas. The 38-year-old had a stomach ailment bad enough that coach Rick Carlisle wasn't sure he would make the trip to Houston for the Rockets' home opener Sunday.
"Dirk's not going to be around here forever. And we're going to be sitting him sometimes this year," Carlisle said. "The other guys have got to step up and step forward. And I'm one of them. We've all got to really raise the level of our game when a guy like that's not on the floor."
Two nights after recording a career-high 17 assists in an opening loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Harden had eight assists and seven rebounds.
Ariza was 5 of 7 from 3-point range, including one early in the fourth quarter to push Houston's lead back to nine points. He was fouled on 3-pointers twice and made all six free throws.
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