Rockets top Mavs 106-98 with Nowitzki out for home opener
DALLAS (AP) — Trevor Ariza scored 27 points, James Harden had 26 and the Houston Rockets beat Dallas 106-98 with Dirk Nowitzki missing from the Mavericks' home opener Friday night.
Nowitzki didn't play for just the second time in 19 home openers with Dallas. The 38-year-old had a stomach ailment bad enough that coach Rick Carlisle wasn't sure he would make the trip to Houston for the Rockets' home opener Sunday.
Harrison Barnes, playing his first home game for the Mavericks after signing a max contract in the summer, had a career-high 31 points.
Harden went scoreless while playing the entire first quarter, missing all five shots, before getting 10 points in the second and 12 in the third. His 3-pointer from a couple of feet behind the arc gave the Rockets their first double-digit lead at 77-67 in the final minute of the third.
Two nights after recording a career-high 17 assists in an opening loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Harden had eight assists and seven rebounds.
Ariza was 5 of 7 from 3-point range, including one early in the fourth quarter to push Houston's lead back to nine points. He was fouled on 3-pointers twice and made all six free throws.
The only other home opener Nowitzki missed was in 2012 when he sat the first 27 games recovering from knee surgery. Sliding over to power forward, Barnes was strong inside and out, going 13 of 23 from the field with five rebounds.
Andrew Bogut, a starter alongside Barnes at Golden State before both joined Dallas after the Warriors landed Kevin Durant in free agency, had a game-high 12 rebounds.
Eric Gordon was the other double-figure scorer for Houston with 18 points.
TIP-INS
Rockets: Harden became the second player in NBA history with at least 30 points and 15 assists in an opener when he had 34 points and 17 assists in the 120-114 loss to the Lakers. Tim Hardaway had 32 and 18 for Golden State at Denver in 1990. ... Clint Capela had nine rebounds.
Mavericks: Dallas has the two highest totals for 3-point attempts in a game in league history after shooting 48 in the 130-121 overtime loss to Indiana in the opener. The Mavericks made 18 (38 percent). Dallas shot a record 49 on March 5, 1996, against New Jersey, also making 18 (37 percent). ... Deron Williams had 14 points, but just one in the second half.
UP NEXT
The Rockets' home opener Sunday against the Mavericks is their only home game in the first eight this season. One of three five-game road trips — a season high — follows.