The Marcus Sasser opening game experience leaves Mavericks fans wanting more

The Dallas Mavericks got blown out 128-110 against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night in their season opener. The game was actually quite competitive for three of the four quarters, but an abysmal second quarter saw the Mavs largely get dismantled. Only able to muster a paltry 12 points while yielding 38, Dallas couldn’t overcome the second quarter swoon despite outscoring Houston by 14 points in the second half.

Cooper Flagg looked amazing in a 32-point effort and his pairing with Kyrie Irving – who dropped 15 points of his own on 6-of-9 shooting – made for some enjoyable basketball. Aside from Flagg and Irving, Naji Marshall put together a solid game off the bench (16 points, 6 assists and 2 rebounds), but the performances largely fell off from there. Then there was Marcus Sasser.

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Sasser was acquired in the large six-team deal that also netted Dallas Santi Aldama and Tarik Biberovic back in July. He was well-regarded when he entered the league during the 2023-2024 season with the Detroit Pistons, but saw his role progressively dwindle as his tenure in Detroit went on. His minutes per game dropped year-over-year, and along with that, his points, assists and rebounds per game decreased year-over-year as well. The emergence of Cade Cunningham certainly didn’t help Sasser’s cause, but what he would bring to the Mavericks remained a question mark.

A Red Oak, TX native, Sasser played college ball at the University of Houston, so even though the season opener was a road game, Sasser surely felt right at home. It’s reasonable to believe the venue contributed to his comfort level, but after missing the first three preseason games, his performance on Wednesday night was more than impressive.

First Quarter

With 6:50 remaining in the first quarter, Sasser checked in for Max Christie. Just over a minute later, he dished his first assist to P.J. Washington. 30 seconds after that, he canned his first shot; a three-pointer. He then checked out at the 3:37 mark.

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Second Quarter

Sasser got about five minutes of burn and managed to get a steal in what proved to be a nightmare quarter for the Mavs….

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Publish date : 2026-10-22 20:00:00

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