The Dallas Mavericks knew they’d be in for a long game when they received word Chandler Parsons and Point Guard Devin Harris would be out on Tuesday night. They came into the game already trying to fight off the struggles from their first meeting in the playoffs and it didn’t get any better for Dallas. The Mavericks proved they had struggles on the offensive end shooting 37% and 27% from beyond the arc.
The Rockets opened up the game on a 7-0 run to start their night off on the right foot, but Dallas would respond later in the quarter to go on a 7-0 run of their own and Dallas would be up 24-23 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter The Mavericks would hold The Rockets off for most of the quarter, but The Rockets would go into halftime with a three-point lead.
This game for The Rockets was filled with highlight reel plays with Houston connecting on 14 dunks which is the most in the last 15 post seasons, and 7 of those dunks were by Dwight Howard.
James Harden as usual also provided us with a highlight of dropping point guard Rajon Rondo and drilling the open jumper.
Josh Smith spent most of the first half on the bench after being in foul trouble, but Terrence Jones in the 3rd quarter would leave to the bench with a nose bleed and that’s where Smith came in and took over for the rest of the quarter to help keep Houston close to Dallas.
Smith would have 9 points in the quarter scoring 7 of those 9 within a 2 minute span to shift momentum towards The Rockets.
Houston would have the lead going into the 4th quarter 81-80 and then Dwight Howard would take over from there scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter. Josh Smith would help cap it off sending Houston up 2-0 with this dunk in the final 2:00 of the ball game.
Houston would go on to win 111-99 and take the series lead to 2-0 on Dallas. Dallas has big concerns with Chandler Parsons possibly out for the series and Rajon Rondo struggling greatly these are not quick fixes you can say with confidence Dallas can fix.
Rondo would only play 10 minutes in this game with 4 personal fouls. Rondo did not talk to the media after the game he was seen leaving the arena. When Head Coach Rick Carlisle was asked about Rondo playing ten minutes he responded with,
“You can ask him that question,” Carlisle said. “All I know … is that we need everybody at their competitive best. This isn’t about one guy who did or didn’t play.”
It’s sad to say one of the biggest midseason trades which looked so good on paper has not worked out to this point, and the Mavericks who were once decided as the title favorites after that deal look to have their post season done in the first round.
The Mavericks do not have the offensive fire power and as soon as Houston got out and ran on Dallas it was over. I loved the athleticism displayed by not only Harden and Howard, but Josh Smith and Corey Brewer as well.
Howard would finish with 28 points and 12 rebounds and MVP candidate James Harden would finish with 24 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds in Game 2.
After the game Harden described Josh Smith and Dwight Howard “Man, like they were little boys again,”. Smith and Howard have been friends since they were kids, and even played AAU basketball together they clearly had the chemistry going tonight on full display.
The Rockets go up 2-0 and will play Dallas on Friday at 7:00 PM Eastern Time in Dallas.
