HOUSTON — Perhaps the Mavericks just needed Luka Doncic to change his shoes.
Five minutes into Dallas’ game Friday night against the Rockets, Doncic changed out his highlighter red Jordans for a standard pair of Mavericks-colored kicks.
Soon after, the Mavericks also transformed their disjointed start in Toyota Center into a 113-100 victory of a lottery-bound Rockets squad that had fuddled some playoff-focused teams over the last week.
Doncic finished with 30 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and two blocks in 36 minutes, while center Dwight Powell added a season-high 26 points and 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocks while shooting 9 of 11 from the field.
The Mavericks’ massive swing between Wednesday night’s 107-77 loss to the Knicks and now happened without two key starters.
Jalen Brunson (right thigh contusion) and Dorian Finney-Smith (right arm contusion) both sat out against the Rockets with their respective nagging injuries, but coach Jason Kidd has no long-term concerns.
In fact, the Mavericks were satisfied with the timing.
The two were among the few Mavericks to play through the December-into-January COVID-19 outbreak and to take on increased playing time when Kidd shortened his rotation in February.
With less than a month before the playoffs, Kidd wanted to give them some rest and planned for them to return Sunday afternoon in Boston.
“He needs a break,” Kidd said of Finney-Smith. “I mean, he’s been doing it all for us this whole season, and then JB, we’ve got to get him a football suit. Guys are running into him, knee on knee, I think, this last time. He’s been getting his foot stepped on, and so this is just a time for him to not get hit.”
They had a front-row seat for the Mavericks’ onslaught.
After falling behind 19-15 with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter, Reggie Bullock hit a corner 3. Then Davis Bertans drained another deep look. Dallas closed the period on a 16-4 run and never allowed the Rockets to threaten again.
Doncic started 1 of 4 from the floor, but after his shoe change, he shot 8 of 15 (53.3%) for the remainder.
The 23-year-old All-Star gave Houston’s young core some extra pizzazz on a few possessions, including a crossover stepback 3 against No. 2 overall rookie Jalen Green in the first half. Doncic appeared engaged and aggressive on defense, too.
No surprise if he wanted to give a little grief to Rockets head coach Stephen Silas, who served as the Mavericks’ lead offensive assistant during Doncic’s first two seasons.
Powell — whom Silas called “such a smart guy” before the game — didn’t hold back, either.
He tied his season-high in scoring (22 points) by halftime and became just the eighth player in the league to record at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a single half this season.
The list includes MVP-worthy players, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, LeBron James, and Nikola Jokic, former frontcourt mate Kristaps Porzingis — and now the Mavericks’ hard-charging 6-10 center.
Doncic and Powell appeared to be finished for the night when the Mavericks led by 24 points (96-72) after three quarters.
But Houston started the fourth on a 12-2 run and cut Dallas’ lead to 14 points (84-78) with about eight minutes remaining.
Time for some Doncic reinforcement — five points, two rebounds and an assist — before he could sit for good a few minutes later.
The Mavericks were also pleased to avoid any eerie occurrences that have happened in the past between the teams, the personnel and the date.
Last time in Houston, a Jan. 7 win sans Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, coach Jason Kidd spent much of the day sleeping, not coaching, because he had tested positive for COVID-19 at the hotel.
His assistants — including acting head coach Sean Sweeney — hesitated to even gather in the cramped coaches’ meeting room at Toyota Center before the game with the team’s outbreak in full force.
Silas has one major COVID-19 memory with the Mavericks, too.
Two years ago on this day, March 11, 2020, the Mavericks participated in the NBA’s final game before the pandemic suspension. Silas remembered well huddling with members of former coach Rick Carlisle’s staff during a break in the third quarter against the Nuggets, when an official interrupted to let them know they wouldn’t be back for a while.
“You never in a million years would’ve thought something like that would’ve happened,” Silas said. “Now here we are two years later, still masked up, still dealing with all of the coronavirus, COVID-19 stuff. It changed a lot.”
