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The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Houston Rockets 121-115 at home on Tuesday night to raise their record to 11-6 on the year. Leading Dallas, Luka Doncic finished with 41 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists. With 31, Alpern Sengun led the Rockets in their loss.

One of the Dallas Mavericks’ stronger defensive beginnings of the regular season may have been sparked by a change in the starting lineup. Houston contributed by missing every shot they had, and the Mavericks led by as much as 12 at one point until the Rockets bench enabled them to tie the game. After twelve minutes of play, the Mavericks lead 29-22 thanks to two three-pointers from Tim Hardaway that gave Dallas some breathing room.

Basketball’s second quarter was brutal, with numerous foul calls on both sides. The Rockets held onto the lead for the majority of the period, but after Dillon Brooks committed his third foul, Dallas was able to re-extend their lead to double digits. In the last two minutes, Houston managed to close the gap to two, but Luka Doncic’s free throws gave Dallas a 54-50 edge going into the half.

The Dallas Mavericks attempted to regain the lead in the third quarter, but the Rockets established an early lead. For both teams, fouls and free throws remained the main narrative. Halfway through the period, Dereck Lively committed his fourth foul, continuing his poor play. Dallas cut the advantage to two points, but the Rockets responded immediately. After Aaron Holiday scored eight points to keep Houston ahead, Kyrie Irving made a basket to cut Dallas’ lead to four points, and the Mavericks ended the quarter down 88-84.

It was a boisterous final quarter. Dallas tied the game right away, but it took the Mavericks about four and a half minutes to retake the lead from Houston, this time on a three-pointer from Derrick Jones Jr. A Lively ally-oop gave Dallas a five-point advantage, which prompted the Rockets to call a timeout. The fourth and final quarter was a bit of a grind; Dallas was ahead, but the game felt much longer because of several play stoppages. Houston put on a run in the closing minutes to make the game unpleasant, but Dallas defeated Houston 121-115 to win their 11th game of the year.

Now, a few ideas:

Irving Kyrie as the “X-factor”

It’s challenging to describe Kyrie Irving’s expectations from game to game. I could probably be fairly accurate if I gave you some generic facts, but it’s hard to say how he arrives at his figures and impacts the game. He could have a quick spurt in the first few minutes. When Irving takes over and Doncic sits, he might lose it. Alternatively, as tonight, he might struggle early and end up with a bottle of lightning. Despite only shooting 3 of 13 for 7 points in the third quarter, he finished with 27 points in the game! Despite his poor shooting efficiency, Dallas was able to grab and maintain the lead thanks to his march to the free throw line. When Kyrie does something ridiculous during a game, it seems inevitable; it’s just a matter of when.

Ball control offers Dallas the advantage.

Although every coach detests turnovers, it’s very amazing that the Mavericks committed just seven in a game in which they scored 121 points. As the primary ball handlers, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for ZERO turnovers, which is quite incredible.

Dereck Lively receives a dismal call.

I stopped being a refs man toward the end of the 2000s. It’s not enjoyable. However, I’m tired of seeing Lively get called for ridiculous infractions. Since Lively is too crucial to this club, I hope the Mavericks are protesting to the league about this; it’s getting out of hand. They will lose games if he doesn’t start receiving better whistles.