The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Houston Rockets, 116-106, at American Airlines Center on Tuesday night.

The Mavericks (2-1) came into the game knowing they were playing an inferior opponent on paper, but the Rockets (1-3) immediately served notice they weren't exactly going to lay down for their division mates. Houston jumped out to a 31-27 lead through the first 12 minutes, and they still held a three-point edge by halftime. The tough first 24 minutes seemed to spring Dallas to life, as it eliminated its deficit altogether in the third quarter and went into the final period with a three-point advantage of its own. The hosts then turned up their defense during the fourth quarter, holding the visitors to 18 points in the final 12 minutes for the win.

Eric Gordon led the Rockets with 22 points, supplementing them with two assists, one rebound, two steals and one block. Christian Wood generated a 16-point, 17-rebound double-double that also included three assists. Daniel Theis supplied 15 points, 10 boards, one assist and one block. Kevin Porter totaled 13 points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals. Jalen Green delivered 10 points, five rebounds and one assist.

Luka Doncic paced the Mavericks with 26 points, complementing them with 14 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block. Tim Hardaway and Reggie Bullock generated matching 16-point tallies while recording two and four rebounds, respectively. Boban Marjanovic and Jalen Brunson provided matching 11-point, four-rebound efforts, with Brunson also dishing out 11 assists.

The Rockets head back home to host the Utah Jazz on Thursday night, while the Mavericks host the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night as well.