HOUSTON — P.J. Washington Jr. tried to save the ball from going out of bounds to prevent yet another Dallas Mavericks turnover, but Fred VanVleet intercepted the pass. The Houston Rockets guard quickly threw the ball to Kevin Durant, who blew by the young Sergio De Larrea to score an and-one layup. This play was a microcosm of how the Mavericks kicked off the 2026-27 season. Their lack of ...

The Dallas Mavericks' Kyrie Irving speaks with Cooper Flagg during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Houston.

Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images North America/TNS

HOUSTON — P.J. Washington Jr. tried to save the ball from going out of bounds to prevent yet another Dallas Mavericks turnover, but Fred VanVleet intercepted the pass. The Houston Rockets guard quickly threw the ball to Kevin Durant, who blew by the young Sergio De Larrea to score an and-one layup.

This play was a microcosm of how the Mavericks kicked off the 2026-27 season. Their lack of execution on the offensive end, coupled with their turnovers and woeful transition defense led to Wednesday's season-opening 128-110 loss at Houston.

Dallas (0-1) finished with 21 turnovers, leading to 32 points for Houston. However, the giveaways weren't reminiscent of last season's turnover problem, caused largely by a lack of adequate guard play. Wednesday's giveaways were caused by Houston's defensive pressure and physical play, but more than anything, a lack of rhythm between the starting unit of Kyrie Irving, Max Christie, Cooper Flagg, PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford.

The Mavericks simply looked like a team that lacked chemistry. That was one of the primary differences between them and the Rockets, a core led by Durant that had a full season to play with each other in 2025-26, sans VanVleet.

Here are more thoughts from the Mavericks' season-opening loss to the Rockets:

Flagg looks poised for sophomore leap

Flagg etched his name into the history books, as he did several times as a rookie, despite Wednesday's loss.

After draining a jumper at the 4:33 mark of the fourth quarter, the Mavericks forward reached a game-high 32 points. The bucket marked a new NBA record for the most points by a teenager in a season opener in NBA history. Flagg scored 23 of those points in the second half, making 8 of 9 from the field.

With just eight shot attempts in the first half, it appeared as if Flagg was feeling the game out and letting it come to him. Once the team was in a 32-point halftime hole, he upped the intensity and put pressure on the Rockets' defense. If Flagg can turn it on seemingly at will, that bodes well for Dallas going forward.

Season debut for Mavericks' new star duo

Flagg and Irving played two games together in the preseason to get a head start on the chemistry-building process, but Wednesday marked their official debut as running mates.

After 597 days, Irving played his first regular season game since suffering a torn ACL in his left knee on March 3, 2025. The 9-time All-Star looked like the Irving of old in exhibition games against Houston and Atlanta. Flagg also looked ready to make a leap in his second season in the NBA.

After a quiet first half, both Flagg and Irving came out of the midway break with aggressive mindsets, leading to a scoring burst in the third quarter. Irving played 23 minutes and scored 15 points with four rebounds and two assists. Both players had a team-high four turnovers apiece, along with Washington.

With only three games of NBA action together, the duo has plenty of room to grow from here.

Early ejection

A member of the Rockets was forced to hit the showers before the end of the first quarter.

Tari Eason was ejected at the 2:47 mark of the first quarter for shoving Washington to the floor. The play was initially ruled a common foul, but upgraded to a flagrant foul 2 after an official review. Washington was booed by the fans throughout Toyota Center as he shot two technical free throws. He missed both, leading to an overwhelming wave of applause from the crowd.

Washington started the game strong, making two 3-pointers and a floater, but he ended the game with 10 points and four rebounds.

Brutal schedule continues

The Mavericks' road doesn't get easier from here. They'll travel east to face the Indiana Pacers on Friday, which marks the first game Tyrese Haliburton will play in front of his home crowd since suffering a torn Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Haliburton scored 16 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter of a win over New Orleans on Wednesday.

Dallas will then return home Saturday for their first back-to-back of the season to host the San Antonio Spurs, followed by games against Miami, Oklahoma City and Houston to end a tough six-game stretch.

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