Hoping to redeem themselves after Wednesday’s 117-111 loss to Atlanta and Friday’s 93-88 defeat by Sacramento, the Mavericks searched for success away from home. The Mavs also tried to pick up the slack minus a few of their top contributors, traveling to Houston without the services of rookie point guard Dennis Smith Jr (left-knee effusion), sharpshooter Seth Curry (stress reaction, left tibia), veteran combo guard Devin Harris (personal reasons) and big man Josh McRoberts (lower-extremity injury). And without their full roster intact, the Mavericks (0-3) would prove to be little challenge to the division rival Rockets (3-0) while suffering a lopsided 107-91 loss.

“You know, we knew it was going to be tough. We just had bad luck early,” veteran guard JJ Barea said after the loss. “We missed some games at home, but hey, this is the NBA. It’s a long season, and you’ve just got to fight through it. We’ll fight through it, stay together and take it one day at a time. But right now, we’ve got to stay together and try to find a way to get out of this start.”

Using a starting lineup of second-year point guard Yogi Ferrell, swingman Wesley Matthews, forward Dorian Finney-Smith, leading scorer Harrison Barnes and 13-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavericks tried to come out aggressively. Barnes then did his part, opening the scoring after posting a game-high 24 points in Friday’s loss.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Matthews and Ferrell would follow as the Mavs grabbed an early edge. But with the Rockets’ backcourt of MVP candidate James Harden and Eric Gordon finding success early, it wouldn’t take long for the home team to surge in front by double digits. And behind Harden’s 12 points in the first quarter, the Rockets slid into the second stanza with a 33-20 advantage.

Falling into a widening hole as the second period got underway, the Mavericks put the ball in the hands of Barea to attempt a comeback. Barea then showed he was ready for the opportunity, sinking a 3-pointer to trim the Dallas deficit to 11, 36-25.

However, the sequence would prove to be short-lived momentum as the Rockets again pulled away. Harden’s 3-pointer from the wing gave the Rockets a 49-28 advantage from there before the perennial All-Star tallied 26 first-half points to take his team into the intermission with a 62-39 margin under their belt.

Led by Harden’s 9-of-15 shooting, the Rockets’ 54.5 percent from the field bettered the Mavericks’ 34.9 percent through two quarters. The Rockets also held a 28-18 rebounding advantage, overshadowing Barea’s 15-point first half.

Seeing Gordon go on the attack as the second half got going, things would get worse before they got better for the Mavericks in the third quarter. Frustration then began to boil over for the Mavs, leading to a technical foul on Nowitzki with 10:27 left in the quarter for arguing with the officials.

The Houston lead ballooned to 36 from there as the Dallas offense continued to sputter. Meanwhile, Barnes and Matthews tried to lend some assistance while joining Barea in double figures. Still, the Mavericks looked up to a sizable 92-58 deficit entering the fourth period.

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle conceded the loss from there, finishing the game out with Ferrell and the Dallas reserves.

Scoring 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 3-of-5 from 3-point range, Barea led the Mavericks in a losing effort. Ferrell finished with 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting in a starting role, grabbing three rebounds and dishing six assists to boot. Barnes added 14 points in the first unit. Meanwhile, Matthews pitched in 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting.

Harden led four Rockets in double figures with 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting and 6-of-13 from three, dishing seven assists as well. The Rockets also finished the night outshooting the Mavericks, 47.6 percent to 36.9 percent, adding a 54-41 rebounding advantage and forcing 15 Dallas turnovers.

“I’m not going to make any excuses. It’s a hard schedule for everybody,” Carlisle confessed. “I’d like to see us play better in the first half. I loved the way we played in the fourth [quarter], but I’m not going to make excuses. Everybody’s got to play, everybody gets banged up, everybody’s got things that happen, unfortunately, and guys miss games. We’ve just got to keep slugging.”

“Houston is a great team, especially here at home,” Barea concluded. “They’re in a great rhythm early, so they’re a tough team. We did some good things today that we’ve got to learn from and keep going. We played pretty good defense on their threes. We’re still struggling to get rebounds. We’ve got to get way better rebounding to be able to stay close in games, so we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Note: The Mavericks will now return to AmericanAirlines Center on Monday against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

By NBA News