DALLAS — — Jalen Green had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Alperen Sengun added 17 points and 12 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets held off a fourth-quarter rally in Dallas to beat the Mavericks 108-102 on Thursday night.

The Rockets led by 23 points late in the third quarter before the defending Western Conference champions cut Houston’s lead to 103-100 with a minute to play.

Dillon Brooks also had 17 for the Rockets, and Tari Eason scored 15 off the bench for the Rockets, whose reserves outscored the Mavericks 33-21.

Luka Doncic led Dallas with 29 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter.

Kyrie Irving scored 28, and Klay Thompson was the only other Maverick to score in double figures with 12 points.

Takeaways

Rockets: Before Thursday, Houston was third in the NBA with an average of 94.5 field goal attempts per game and made 97 shots. Dallas attempted 85 shots.

Mavericks: The center tandem of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively has been plagued by foul trouble. Lively had five and Gafford four through three quarters. They finished with a combined six rebounds as the Rockets defeated the Mavericks 50-37 and outscored them 20-8 on second-chance points.

Key moment

Doncic sank a 3-pointer with 1:08 left to pull Dallas within three, but Amen Thompson answered for Houston with a fadeaway jumper with 43 seconds left.

Key stat

The Mavericks dug too deep a hole after shooting 2 for 12 on 3-pointers in the first half.

Next

The Rockets begin a three-game homestand against the Warriors on Saturday, and the Mavericks play the first of a homestand against the Magic on Sunday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba