Jabari Smith enjoys career night in loss to Doncic, Mavs

The Rockets wrapped up a season-long homestand of seven games with Friday’s 112-106 loss (box score) to the in-state rival Mavericks. Houston (9-23) lost its fifth straight game, while Dallas (17-16) broke above .500 thanks to perennial MVP candidate Luka Doncic.

Jabari Smith Jr. scored a career-high 24 points for the Rockets on 10-of-17 shooting (58.8%) and 3-of-8 on 3-pointers (37.5%), and he also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 3 assists. But it still wasn’t enough to win thanks to an other-worldly night by Doncic, who led the visiting Mavs with 50 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds on 17-of-30 shooting (56.7%) and 6-of-12 on 3-pointers (50.0%).

Jalen Green had 23 points and 8 rebounds but struggled to shoot, making just 6-of-17 shots (35.3%) and 0-of-4 on 3-pointers. Backcourt mate Kevin Porter Jr. was similarly inefficient with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting (38.5%) and 1-of-7 from 3-point range (14.3%).

Alperen Sengun had 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists on 6-of-9 shooting (66.7%), but two of his misses came on close shots late in the game, with Houston trailing by only a small margin.

Scroll on for highlights, analysis and postgame interview reaction from Toyota Center. With the homestand finally complete, Houston hits the road for a three-game road trip, starting with Monday’s game at Chicago. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central.