The Houston Rockets’ unbeaten start ended Friday night. The Dallas Mavericks erased an 11-point second-half deficit and won 116-111 in both teams’ NBA Cup opener, led by a dominant pair. Cooper Flagg scored 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting, and Kyrie Irving added 35 points and nine assists. Afterward, Fred VanVleet was direct about what went wrong and quick to move on to Saturday’s back-to-back against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Flagg and Irving Found Their Rhythm

Flagg set the tone early, scoring 10 straight points in the first quarter. Irving took over late, and the two combined for 27 points in the fourth. VanVleet said Houston’s defense allowed both players to settle in, and that was the difference.

“We didn’t make it tough on them. We let them get too comfortable. Guys of that caliber, once they’re feeling good, it’s hard to slow them down. They got to the spots they wanted to get to and continued to put pressure on the defense. They got probably the easiest shots they’ve had all year — wide-open threes and things like that. If you can’t take those away from players like that, it’s too hard to slow them down after that.”

A Familiar Opponent Made Adjustments

Friday was the fourth meeting between the Texas rivals this fall, counting the preseason, and Houston had controlled the season opener. VanVleet credited Dallas for responding to that.

“You play a team four times, they’ve got coaches too. They’ve got NBA players too. They’re going to look for ways to change the momentum. They’re looking at the film from the games we played them, especially the opener and the way we dominated that game. So they’re going to find ways to be effective, and they executed their game plan tonight. They made more shots than we did. It’s the NBA. You’re not going to go 82-0.”

Where the Game Slipped Away

The Rockets led 51-44 at halftime even without Alperen Sengun, who sat out with a back injury, and Kevin Durant finished with 28 points. VanVleet and Amen Thompson combined for 31 points and 12 assists. But Houston missed six free throws in the fourth quarter, including two from Thompson that would have tied the game in the final two minutes. Flagg answered with a turnaround jumper with 24.3 seconds left to help seal it.

“You ain’t going to win them all. We played a good game. Flagg got hot, and we couldn’t slow him down. We weren’t as sharp, didn’t have as much juice and energy as I thought we would tonight to get us over the hump. We’ve got to be able to win games even when shots aren’t falling. We gave ourselves a chance, had a lead going into the fourth, and then in the fourth quarter, it’s hard to win like that.”

No Time to Dwell Before Oklahoma City

With the Thunder up next on the second night of a back-to-back, VanVleet admitted the loss would sting for a while. He also said the quick turnaround was a chance to respond.

“It’s going to feel like [expletive] until 7, 7:30 tomorrow. We’ve got to sit with this one on the way home, sleep it off and then be ready to lock in. We’ve got another chance at it. I can redeem myself tomorrow. That’s the beautiful thing about the NBA — you don’t really have time to feel sorry for yourself. So stay together, keep the vibes high. We’ve been playing some pretty damn good basketball, like I’ve been saying. Even in the loss tonight, I thought we played pretty well, just not good enough to get it done.”

Oklahoma City remains one of the West’s toughest tests, and Houston will need the defensive edge that was missing Friday. If VanVleet’s message lands, one bad fourth quarter won’t define the Rockets’ start.