Rockets Vs. Mavericks: Luis Scola Leads Houston Charge, But Dallas Prevails

The Houston Rockets trailed the Dallas Mavericks by up to 25 points in the first half and 22 early in the third, but behind Luis Scola and Kevin Martin made it a game. With less than a minute remaining, Scola hit a jumper to pull the Rockets within one point at 104-103. But the Mavericks scored the next five points as Scola and Aaron Brooks each missed lay-ups, and Dallas walked away with a 111-106 victory.

Tyson Chandler has apparently figured out his role in the Dallas offense. He scored 21 points for the Mavericks, matching Tuesday's season-high performance. He's averaging better than 20 points over his last three games, helping fill the bucket while Dirk Nowitzki (7-16, 18 points) trys to get back in the flow and the Mavericks try to survive with Sasha Pavlovic as the starting small forward.

J.J. Barea is picking up the production as well; he had 18 points for Dallas off the bench. Scola finished with 30 and Martin 27 for the Rockets, but Houston got very little from its bench, including Aaron Brooks, who shot just 2-10 for six points.