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NBA fans woke up on Friday morning to find a preseason game already underway.
The Houston Rockets beat the Dallas Mavericks 135-117 in the first of two NBA China Games this preseason. It was held at the Venetian Arena in Macau.
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It was both teams’ first preseason game, giving us the first look at their squads for this season.
The Rockets rolled out their projected starting lineup of Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Şengün and Kevin Durant.
Şengün was Houston’s star, recording a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
VanVleet led the starters with 17 points, and reserve Tari Eason led the Rockets with 20.
Eason also added 10 boards. The forward is projected to come off the bench for Houston, and this kind of performance should give head coach Ime Udoka confidence in Eason’s role and, if his minutes increase, could put him in the eventual conversation for this year’s Sixth Man of the Year Award.
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Dallas was led by second-year star Cooper Flagg, who finished with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists on 7-of-14 shooting. Flagg attempted five shots from range but made only one.
The Mavericks were without projected starters Kyrie Irving, P.J. Washington and Dereck Lively II, who were rested. Naji Marshall had a solid game with 14 points, while former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher — acquired from the Atlanta Hawks this past summer in a three-team deal — had nine points and eight rebounds in his first action with Dallas.
The rematch is 6 a.m. ET Sunday at the Venetian Arena.
The Rockets will play their final preseason game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Oct. 15, before opening the regular season against the Mavericks on Oct. 21.
After the China series, Dallas will play preseason games against the New Orleans Pelicans and the Atlanta Hawks.
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/alperen-sengun-registers-triple-double-as-rockets-best-cooper-flagg-led-mavericks-in-nba-china-game-143317843.html
Author : Teddy Ricketson
Publish date : 2026-10-09 14:33:00
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