Rockets defeat the Mavs, 115-104

Posted: January 24, 2016 -- 5:50 pm CDT.

HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- Josh Smith keyed a second-half surge which helped the Houston Rockets erase a 73-65 deficit and defeat the Dallas Mavericks 115-104 Sunday afternoon.

"I'm just trying to contribute, man," Josh Smith said. "I'm glad I'm able to help the team win as much as possible."

Smith checked into the third quarter at the 5:36 mark to replace Clint Capela. At that point, the Rockets trailed 73-65; and, 12 seconds later, the Rockets trailed by 10 (76-66) after a 3 point bucket by Mavs' guard Wesley Matthews.

Then, Trevor Ariza sank a 3 pointer. Next, Smith assisted on a 3 point bucket by Patrick Beverley to pull the Rockets within 4 (76-72). After Matthews split two free throws, Smith drove baseline and threw down a rim-rattling slam dunk to beat the shot clock and inch the Rockets within three (77-74) with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter.

The Rockets (24-22) tied the game at 79 and led 84-82 on a three-point basket by Ty Lawson; but, Raymond Felton drained a three-point shot to give the Mavs an 85-84 lead after three quarters.

Lawson scored the first two points of the fourth quarter. Smith blocked a shot and the Rockets nailed three consecutive three-point shots (Ariza; Terry; and Smith) to give the Rockets a 95-89 lead with 9:56 left in the fourth quarter.

Smith blocked another shot which led to a smooth dribble drive by Ty Lawson for a lay-up and free throw to boost the lead to 98-89.

Next, Smith assisted on a three-point shot by Jason Terry from the corner; then, Smith pump-faked Dirk Nowitzki in the paint and scored a jump hook to push the lead to 103-91 with 8:02 on the clock.

"It's definitely a comfortable feeling being able to get back and seeing the appreciation from the fans and my teammates. Definitely instills confidence that this where I belong," Josh Smith added.

The lead grew to 17 points (112-95) as the Rockets turned on the jets and raced past the Mavericks.

Trevor Ariza scored a team-high (and season-high) 29 points -- 16 points in the first quarter. Ariza made 6 of 9 threes (11 of 15 field goals overall).

James Harden posted his 2nd triple double (in the last 3 games) with 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Smith scored 16 points (6 for 14 field goals) in 23 minutes off the bench. Smith added three rebounds, two assists; and two blocked shots and two steals.

"One of the things we've been able to do with Josh; we understand Josh and his teammates understand him," said JB Bickerstaff. "And, Josh wants to hoop. That's where the problems come in - because, if he doesn't get to play, like any competitor, you want to play. And, you've proven you can play. So, for us there's a fit; and, Josh and I go back a long way. We have a good understanding of one another."

After scoring 36 points in the first quarter and leading by seven, the Rockets were outscored 29-14 in the second quarter before shooting 60% (12 for 20) in the third quarter and 55.8% (12 for 23) in the fourth period.

The Mavs (25-21) shots 23.8% (5 for 21) in the final 12 minutes. Chandler Parsons scored a game-high 31 points; but, he had a minus 30 plus/minus rating in the game.

"Houston is a team that's puts a lot of stress on the defense," said Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle. "We were doing, I thought, a very solid job up until about five minutes left in the third quarter. We were up 10. And, then we had some mistakes on both sides of the ball. We didn't respond well; and, basically, they took the game over from there. It's disappointing. I thought we played two and a half good quarters; but, it's a 48 minute game."

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