Amen Thompson's near triple-double lifts Rockets over Mavericks in thrilling finish

Published Jan. 31, 2026 11:05 p.m. ET

Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — Amen Thompson had 21 points, nine assists and eight rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets to a 111-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.

An alley-oop dunk by Thompson put Houston up four with under two minutes left before the Mavericks scored the next four points, with baskets from rookie Cooper Flagg and Naji Marshall, to tie it about a minute later.

Alperen Sengun’s layup put Houston on top with 28.6 seconds left before Flagg missed a shot in the lane on the other end. The Rockets grabbed the rebound and a dunk by Tari Eason made it 111-107 with 14.4 seconds remaining.

A 3-point attempt by Flagg bounced off the rim after that to end it.

Flagg led the Mavericks with 34 points and 12 rebounds a game after the 19-year-old set the NBA record for points by a teenager with 49 in a loss to Charlotte on Thursday night. Saturday was the fifth game this season with at least 30 points for the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft.

Jabari Smith Jr. added 19 points for the Rockets and Sengun had 14 points and 14 rebounds.

A 7-2 run by Houston extended the lead to 11 with about seven minutes to go before Klay Thompson made consecutive 3-pointers to power a 6-3 run by Dallas that cut the lead to 99-91 midway through the quarter.

The Mavericks trailed by 10 before Flagg scored all their points in a 6-2 run that got them within 103-97 with 3 1/2 minutes remaining. Kevin Durant made a jump shot for the Rockets after that, but Dallas scored the next six points to cut the lead to 105-103 with two minutes left.

The Rockets were up by 13 after a 3-pointer by Josh Okogie with about 5 1/2 minutes in the third quarter before the Mavericks used a 13-5 run to cut the lead to 87-82 entering the fourth quarter.