Irving Scores 35, Flagg Adds 33 as Mavericks Rally to Hand Rockets Their First Loss

By The Arena Staff

DALLAS, Oct. 30, 2026 — The Dallas Mavericks spent this week taking zeros off other teams' records.

Kyrie Irving scored 35 points, Cooper Flagg added 33, and Dallas came from eight points down after three quarters to beat the Houston Rockets 116-111 on Friday night. Houston arrived at American Airlines Center at 5-0. Two nights earlier, the Mavericks beat Oklahoma City 120-96 to hand the Thunder their first loss.

Irving was efficient all night, going 12 for 19 from the field and 5 for 8 from 3-point range with nine assists, according to the NBA.com box score. Flagg made 13 of 19 shots and finished with nine rebounds and six assists. Daniel Gafford added 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting, and Zaccharie Risacher scored 12.

Houston led 84-76 going into the fourth quarter, and Dallas answered by outscoring the Rockets 40-27 in the final 12 minutes. Flagg's turnaround jumper with 24 seconds left put the Mavericks up 109-105. Jabari Smith Jr. hit a 3-pointer to cut it to one, but Dallas made its free throws the rest of the way.

Kevin Durant led Houston with 28 points on 9-for-20 shooting. Smith scored 22, Fred VanVleet had 16 and Amen Thompson 15. Tari Eason pulled down 13 rebounds.

The game counted in the Emirates NBA Cup's West Group A standings. Dallas improved to 4-2 and Houston fell to 5-1 before a crowd of 18,832.

The NBA posted Flagg's late jumper on its official X account: NBA on X, "FLAGG SCORES AGAIN IN THE CLUTCH".

Sources: NBA.com game page and ESPN box score.