Irving's 35 Points Hand Houston First Loss in NBA Cup Opener

Kyrie Irving poured in 35 points and Cooper Flagg scored 33 as the Dallas Mavericks came back to beat the Houston Rockets 116-111 in an NBA Cup opener Friday night. The defeat was Houston's first of the season, and it left idle Memphis at 5-0 as the only undefeated team left in the league.

Houston controlled the middle of the game. Jabari Smith Jr. scored 10 of his 22 points in the second quarter, when the Rockets outscored Dallas 31-17 and turned a seven-point deficit into a seven-point lead.

Irving did his damage after the break, putting up 26 of his points in the second half. His jumper at 102-100 gave Dallas the lead for good and set up a tense final two minutes. He finished 12 of 19 from the field, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, and went 6 of 6 at the line. That run extended his streak of made free throws to 54, the longest active streak in the NBA, stretching back to before a torn ACL in his left knee sidelined him for 19 months.

The closing minutes turned on missed free throws. Kevin Durant, an 88% career shooter from the line, missed two with Houston down two at 1:53 remaining. Amen Thompson then missed two with 42 seconds left after P.J. Washington threw the ball right to him for a turnover. Flagg answered both times with a bucket on the other end, including a three-point play. He closed at 13 of 19 from the field.

Daniel Gafford added 18 points for Dallas, including two free throws with the Mavericks up one at 11 seconds. Dallas then fouled on purpose twice in the final 10 seconds while holding a three-point lead, and Irving hit the free throws each time. Fred VanVleet scored 16 and Thompson had 15 for Houston, which went 24 of 33 at the line.

Houston hosts Oklahoma City on Saturday night. Dallas hosts Sacramento on Monday night.