The Dallas Mavericks (9-16) picked up their fourth win in five games on Saturday, toppling the Houston Rockets (15-6) 122-109 behind a full-throttle second-half surge at American Airlines Center. Anthony Davis led the Mavericks with 29 points on 14-of-19 shooting, eight rebounds and two steals in the win. Brandon Williams chipped in a new season-high scoring mark of 20 points off the bench to go along with five assists, while Cooper Flagg added 19 points, five boards, two steals and two blocks in one of the most exciting wins of the 2025-26 season.
Every member of the Mavericks’ starting five scored in double figures in the win over Houston, who were led by Kevin Durant’s 27 points in the loss. Jabari Smith Jr. added 22.
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No matter what happens with this team going forward, Saturday night’s win was one the Mavs can hang their hat on. They played with joy. They played with verve. They played with wit and grit, outscoring the Rockets 74-58 in the paint.
Here are five more stats that loomed large over one of the Mavs’ best performances of 2025.
16-of-22: Mavericks’ combined shooting start over team’s last two games
Friday night saw the Mavericks start their 132-111 loss at the Oklahoma City Thunder 7-of-11 from the field. They were even better on Saturday night to start the game against the Rockets, making eight field goals in a row after missing their first shot attempt. The 9-of-11 shooting start against Houston was the team’s best start to a game all season.
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Davis, who went 1-for-9 from the field on Friday, started the game off by air-balling a fading turnaround attempt in the lane, but made his next four, recording eight points in the game’s first 5:17. After finding little-to-no room to work on Friday against the defense of Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams, Davis was decidedly more aggressive to start the game against the Rockets, who were without Alperen Sengun (illness) and Steven Adams (ankle).
Davis helped the Mavs sprint out to an early 19-8 lead in the game’s first five-plus minutes and led Dallas with eight points and three boards in the first quarter. Houston responded with a 14-4 run as the Mavericks’ subs trickled into the game, and the Mavs took a 29-26 lead after one. Durant led all scorers with 13 first-quarter points on 6-of-8 shooting for the Rockets.
13-3: Mavericks’ second-quarter scoring run
DALLAS, TX – DECEMBER 6: Cooper Flagg #32 of the Dallas Mavericks dunks the ball during the game against the Houston Rockets on December 6, 2025 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
Williams and Cormac Karl “Max” Christie fueled a 13-3 Mavericks’ run late in the second quarter after the Rockets spent the first six minutes of the quarter wrestling back the lead. Christie nailed a nasty banking 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock and was fouled on his follow-through by Smith with 4:58 left in the first half. He sunk the free throw to complete the four-point play to tie the game at 44-44.
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Flagg scored on a run-out off a P.J. Washington steal to put the Mavs back in front before Williams scored the game’s next seven points on a 3-pointer of his own, a high-flying dunk when the Rockets’ defense broke down and a fading jumper the next time down to give the Mavs a 53-47 advantage.
Washington committed a bad foul on Durant’s 3-point attempt on the final possession of the first half, and Durant converted all three free throws. The Mavs would have carried the lead into halftime without that blemish, but after the free throws, the game was tied at the break, 57-57. Durant, once again, led all scorers at the half with 20 points for Houston.
19/6: First-half production for the Mavericks’ point guards
Williams’ second-quarter heater gave the backup point guard 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first half to lead Dallas. It was his highest-scoring half of the season. Starter Ryan Nembhard played the quiet distributor throughout the first half, scoring six points to go along with six assists before the break.
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What’s even better — the pair combined for zero first-half turnovers. This is what the Mavericks need from their backcourt while Kyrie Irving is on the shelf. They need a steady hand steering the thing, and that’s what Nembhard, in particular, has brought to the team in the last six games.
Since moving into the starting lineup, Nembhard had turned the ball over just five times in five games going into Saturday. In those five games, the Mavericks have turned the ball over just 10.5 times per game, a far cry from their 16.6 per game average before Nembhard became the starter. With each passing game, that correlation is starting to feel less and less like a coincidence.
“We’re just picking up the intensity on both ends of the floor,” Williams said in his televised post-game interview after picking up a season-high 20 points in the win over Houston.
Dallas turned the ball over just six times in the first half against the Rockets.
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14-0: Dallas’ third-quarter run
The Mavericks’ recent three-game winning streak, which was halted with Friday’s loss at the juggernaut that is the Thunder, may have raised some eyebrows. But at few, if at any, points did it feel like any sort of turnaround was really going to happen. I mean, really really happen. It was nice to see, it was fun, but at every point, beleaguered Mavs fans everywhere had to be wondering, is this real?
For me, the first time all season I said to myself, “The Mavericks deserve to win this game and have good things happen” came in the third quarter on Saturday against the Rockets. They were playing with a swagger heretofore unseen this season — like they deserved to beat a good team.
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After falling down 68-65 on a wide open Clint Capela dunk with 7:24 left in the third, Dallas ran off 14 unanswered points on their way to out-gunning the Rockets 37-20 in what might have been the best quarter the team has played all year. They were forcing turnovers and converting fast-break opportunities at will. They made all 13 of their third-quarter paint attempts.
After taking a 79-68 lead on Washington’s steal and runaway slam with 4:33 left in the third to complete the 14-0 spurt, the Mavs weren’t done. No, not by a long shot. They kept getting to the bucket. Davis scored on two more drives to give him 25 points through three quarters, and Williams scored on another. Washington battled on the offensive glass to tip in Williams’ miss with 1:40 left in the frame, then the AAC erupted when Naji Marshall nailed a long 3-pointer near the top of the key to put an exclamation mark on the quarter and give the Mavs a 94-77 lead headed to the fourth.
What was a 14-0 run extended into a 29-9 full-body catharsis over the last seven-plus minutes of the third quarter. It was inspired. It was beautiful. And, yes, our little Mavs deserved every bit of it.
34-14: Dallas’ points-off-turnovers advantage
The Mavericks recorded 17 combined steals and blocked shots on the night, and used those opportunities to steal a win against the Rockets with both teams playing on the second night their respective back-to-back sets. They forced 20 Houston turnovers and outscored the Rockets 28-8 on the fast break as a direct result.
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Washington had five steals in his first game back after missing four games with that freak ankle injury he sustained in pre-game warmups before Dallas’ 114-110 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers. The Mavs mauled the Rockets off turnovers, outscoring Houston 34-14 in that department on their way to the 13-point win.
“Super excited to be back out there with my guys,” Washington said in his postgame presser. “It’s been a long four games. Just trying to be active on the defensive end and make it as hard as possible for [Durant] to get a touch.”
Durant scored just seven points in the second half on Saturday, in no small part to Washington’s active hands on defense.