Irving's free throws lift Mavericks past Rockets 116-111

Kyrie Irving scored 35 points and made four free throws in the final 6.2 seconds to lift the Dallas Mavericks past the Houston Rockets 116-111 on Friday.

Irving shot 12-of-19, made five of his eight 3-pointers and had nine assists. Dallas scored 40 points in the fourth quarter after trailing 84-73 late in the third.

Houston (5-1) led by as many as 11 points in that stretch, while Dallas (4-2) never led by more than seven.

Cooper Flagg had 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting, with nine rebounds and six assists. After Fred VanVleet hit a 3-pointer with 4:21 left, Flagg answered with a 10-foot floater and a 7-footer. He then added a 12-foot floater off an Irving assist, a free throw and a 13-foot turnaround.

Houston stayed close on Kevin Durant's jumpers and free throws, and Jabari Smith Jr. hit a 3-pointer with 15.8 seconds left. Irving made two free throws for a 113-110 lead, Amen Thompson answered with one, and Flagg made his one free throw for 114-111. Irving closed it with two more.

Durant finished with 28 points on 9-of-20 shooting and 9-of-13 at the line, with five rebounds. Smith had 22 points and made three of his seven 3-pointers. Tari Eason had 11 points and 13 rebounds off the bench.

Houston grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, but Dallas shot an effective field goal percentage of 59.3 to Houston's 45.3. Smith's 3-pointer was Houston's last field goal, and Dallas finished with seven straight points from the line.

Up next

Rockets: host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, October 31.

Mavericks: host the Sacramento Kings on Monday, November 2.