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Houston Rockets had a block party in Dallas
Dallas hoped to beat the 2-12 Houston Rockets without Luka Doncic. Houston swatted those hopes away.
The @HoustonRockets established a 'No Fly Zone' as they racked up 19 BLOCKS in their win on the road pic.twitter.com/CrlZN5EVyu
— NBA (@NBA) November 17, 2022
The Rockets upset the Mavericks, 101-92, thanks to a whopping 19 blocks, the second-most by a road team in NBA history. The 1984 Houston Rockets recorded 20 blocks in Denver on the same date, although those Rockets lost by 17 points. As a sign of how much the game has changed in 39 years, both teams combined for three three-pointers in that game. The Mavericks took 55 by themselves Wednesday night.
The block party came out of nowhere, as the Rockets had the second-worst defensive rating in the NBA going into the game, rejecting 4.6 shots per game. After the game, that number jumped to 5.5 per game, and the Rockets are now 10th in the league. 20-year-old Alperen Şengün led the way with five blocks, while 20-year-old Usman Garuba had three, as did guard Kevin Porter Jr. Eight different Rockets recorded blocks in the game.
It was a setback for Jason Kidd's Mavericks, playing without their superstar. Kidd has expressed concern about the team's over-dependence on Doncic's offense, but without him, the Mavs' starting five scored just 27 points combined. Spencer Dinwiddie scored nine points, and had more of his 18 shots blocked (5) than go through the basket (3). Christian Wood scored 26 points off the bench, but he also had six shots blocked.
If the Mavericks are getting shut down by the league's second-youngest team without Luka, Dallas need to get it together - or get Luka some help.
More must-reads:
- Luka Doncic: The upside and perils of radical heliocentrism
- The tallest players in NBA history
- The 'Highest PPG for every NBA franchise' quiz
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Is NBA dragging its feet on expansion to spur arena deals?
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Cowboys' Micah Parsons seen taking bizarre action in preseason finale
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