James Harden leads the Houston Rockets to victory vs. the Mavericks

The Houston Rockets were simply too much for Dirk Nowitizki and the Dallas Mavericks.

The Houston Rockets (3-0) took care of business against the Dallas Mavericks (0-3) on an eventful Saturday night.

James Harden was great once again and Nene also had a good game off the bench. No CP3? No problem!

Let’s see some of the night’s stats:

Key Statistics

James Harden: 29 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists

Eric Gordon: 18 points, 2 assists

Clint Capela: 13 points, 10 rebounds

Nene Hilario: 14 points, 2 rebounds, 6/6 from the floor

Recap

The Rockets pulled away early on in this game. By the end of the 3rd quarter the Rockets were up by 34 and it was basically over by then. While Luc Mbah a Moute and P.J. Tucker were relatively quiet, Nene provided energy and toughness that would help seal the game. However, the Rockets still struggled with their 3-point shooting. As a team, Houston shot 11/47 from the 3-point line.

Meanwhile for the Mavs, J.J Barea and Yogi Ferrell scored 19 points each. Outside of those two, no one else chipped in much for Dallas.

While Dirk Nowitizki’s name appears on the box score, he looks nothing like the former the Finals MVP. In just 17 minutes of action, Nowitizki scored 2 points on 1/8 shooting and 5 rebounds.

Defensively, the Rockets remained solid. Tucker and Mbah a Moute had 2 steals each, while Nene and Capela patrolled the paint area.

In addition to the normal bench rotation, Demetrius Jackson and Zhou Qi got some playing time towards the end of the game also.

Chris Paul missed his second consecutive game with the bruised knee and it is likely he will be out for at least another two weeks.

Overall, a solid victory for the Rockets as the young season progresses. This team looks like they’re ready for an amazing season.

Highlights

Zhou Qi was in the house tonight. The big fella made his presence known with this block:

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/921922470592081921

Glad to have you on the squad, big fella!

Harden and Nene connected for this thunderous slam:

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/921919376328220674

Finally, “The Beard” had it going all game.

.@JHarden13 with 10 early points. #Rockets lead 22-12 pic.twitter.com/FsBRmXeXHH

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) October 22, 2017

A hard night’s work done in 29 minutes.

Finally, from all of us at Space City Scoop, congrats to the Houston Astros on a magnificent Game 7 performance! Best of luck in the World Series, and win it all fellas!

Next: Interview: Luc Mbah a Moute of the Rockets

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