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If the Dallas Mavericks fall to the Houston Rockets in the Toyota Center while the Astros play Game 7 of the ALCS, does anyone hear it?
To the benefit of all Houstonians, the Rockets dispatched the Mavericks quickly and efficiently to remain undefeated and allow everyone to watch the end of this Astros Game 7.
At the half, James Harden had 26 points and the Rockets led by 23. Every Rocket was positive in the plus minus at the half. The Beard finished with 29 and sat the entire fourth quarter.
Nene scored 10 points, including a monstrous third quarter jam off a Harden no-look pass, on 4-4 shooting. The Brazilian looked healthy, which is important for Houston to have sustained success.
Meanwhile Tarik Black grabbed 6 rebounds in just 7 minutes. The Mavericks are not the NBA’s measuring stick this season, but Black looked comfortable enough to be considered a contributor should Capela or Nene require time off.
Dallas was simply overmatched by Houston’s offensive firepower on the second night of a back-to-back. Dirk Nowitzki is a dignified shell of himself. His advanced age leaves the Mavericks with no worthwhile offensive options. Yogi Ferrell led the charge with 19 points while Harrison Barnes and Wes Matthews were quiet with 14 and 11 points respectively. Dynamic rookie Dennis Smith Jr. didn’t play with an injury.
The lead reached 30 points for parts of the third and fourth quarters as the Astros simultaneously rallied to a 4-0 lead. The Toyota Center emptied and Mike D’Antoni allowed Zhou Qi to make his debut while Troy Williams started chucking.
The final score of 107-91 doesn’t tell the story of how thoroughly Dallas was dismantled. The blowout did let us know Zhou Qi will foul out of any game he gets serious minutes in while neither Demetrius Jackson nor Bobby Brown are an acceptable answer to Chris Paul’s injury.
After the game Eric Gordon summed tonight up in a sentence "Now we gotta make sure them Astros win tonight."