Mavericks recap: Dallas staggered by Houston Rockets’ late scoring punch

Why the Mavs lost: The Houston Rockets went on a torrid shooting spree in the second half and posted a 115-104 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon at the Toyota Center in Houston. The Rockets were down by 10 points late in the third quarter, but went on a 46-19 run to go up 112-95 with 4:16 remaining in the game.

Key players: The Rockets were led by James Harden, who recorded his second triple-double of the season while finishing with 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. Also for Houston, Trevor Ariza scored 16 of his team-high 29 points in the first quarter, Josh Smith tallied 16 points, Corey Brewer scored 13 and Ty Lawson added 10 points. Chandler Parson scored 31 and Dirk Nowitzki had 19 for the Mavericks.

Key stat: The Rockets outscored the Mavs in the fourth quarter 31-19.

Records: Mavs 25-21, Rockets 24-22

This story was originally published January 24, 2016 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Mavericks recap: Dallas staggered by Houston Rockets’ late scoring punch."