Houston never trailed, building a 28-point cushion before cruising to a 135-117 preseason win over Dallas. Alperen Sengun's triple-double set the tone, and scoring punches from Tari Eason, Fred VanVleet and Reed Sheppard turned a comfortable lead into a laugher.
First quarter
Houston never let Dallas breathe. A 9-0 run forced the Mavericks into an early timeout down 15-5, and the Rockets closed the frame 27-19. Fred VanVleet, back from an ACL injury according to The Athletic, set the tone early with sharp decision-making, while Houston's defense held Dallas scoreless across a four-minute stretch.
Second quarter
The margin kept growing. Houston ripped off a 10-0 run from 34-26 to 44-28, then a 9-0 spurt pushed the lead to 24 before Dallas answered with an 8-0 run. Reed Sheppard caught fire off the bench, hitting 4 of 7 from three, and Houston still carried a 65-45 score into the half.
Third quarter
Dallas chipped away, but Houston answered with a 9-0 run from 88-76 to 97-77 to keep the margin near 20. Alperen Sengun ran the offense from the elbow, piling up assists on the way to a triple-double finished at 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Fourth quarter
A 10-0 run early in the fourth, from 101-83 to 111-86, stretched Houston's lead to a game-high 28. With the outcome settled, Ime Udoka turned to a bench-heavy closing group of Bruce Thornton, Isaiah Crawford, Julian Phillips, Oscar Tshiebwe and Quadir Copeland, who ceded a harmless 9-0 Dallas run in the final minute of a 135-117 final.
Final line
Sengun graded out best: a plus-22 in 22 minutes to go with the triple-double. Eason matched him for impact, scoring 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting with a plus-17. VanVleet added 17 points and 7 assists in his comeback appearance. Copeland and Thornton each finished at minus-8, a product of bench-lineup noise, not a real concern this early. Houston gets a rematch with these same Mavericks on October 11 before tougher preseason tests against Oklahoma City and San Antonio.
Did Alperen Sengun record a triple-double against Dallas?
Yes, Sengun finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in Houston's 135-117 preseason win.
Who led Houston in scoring in the preseason win over the Mavericks?
Tari Eason led Houston with 20 points off the bench, shooting 6 of 10 from the field.
