Jabari Smith Jr. scored thirty points Wednesday, which happened to be exactly as many as Kevin Durant. For Dallas, the equality was an important part of the problem.
Houston beat the Mavericks 128-110 at Toyota Center in the regular-season opener. Smith made eleven of seventeen shots and four of eight threes. His efficiency gave the Rockets a second thirty-point scorer rather than leaving Durant to supply a large scoring total alone.
The comparison needs to be stated accurately. Durant made ten of sixteen attempts from the field, so Smith did not match him while taking dramatically fewer shots. They had similarly productive evenings expressed through slightly different shooting lines. Smith's four made threes were twice Durant's two, while Durant made eight free throws to Smith's four.
That variety made the combined scoring more substantial than a familiar name having an exceptional evening. Dallas had to account for both players' actual production. Smith converted a large share of his chances, giving Houston reliable scoring on a night when Durant was already productive. Dallas needed to contain another successful scorer while coping with the rest of the Rockets' offense.
Smith also collected five rebounds and committed one turnover. Those are separate pieces of his contribution, and they give the scoring performance a little more context. Dallas was dealing with an efficient scorer whose own involvement did not repeatedly end with the ball given away.
His work had an early effect. Smith and Durant each scored sixteen points before halftime. Houston led 70-38 at the break after a second quarter that produced 38 points for Houston and twelve for Dallas. The damage was therefore already shared between the two scorers during the portion of the game that created the overwhelming margin.
Smith's contribution also appeared when Dallas finally produced a late interruption. The Mavericks scored eight unanswered points to reduce Houston's lead from 103-78 to 103-86, with Marcus Sasser supplying six of them. At 8:51 of the fourth quarter, Smith made a three with Bogdan Bogdanovic receiving the assist. Houston's advantage immediately returned to twenty points.
The Rockets then added a Durant basket and, after two Dallas free throws, a VanVleet three. That 8-2 response left Houston ahead 111-88. Smith's shot began the answer. It is a concrete late contribution to place beside his first-half scoring, without confusing the burst Dallas made with a comeback that put the game on equal terms.
Alperen Sengun's production widened the offensive account still further. He finished with 23 points, ten rebounds and five assists. The Rockets received another substantial scoring contribution while also getting passing and second-chance work from their center. Dallas could not reduce the evening to choosing which thirty-point scorer had been more damaging.
