The Dallas Mavericks won the fourth quarter 40-27 to beat the Houston Rockets 116-111 on Friday night in Dallas, handing Houston its first loss of the season. The win also opened NBA Cup Group Play for both teams and came eight days after Houston beat Dallas by 18.

The Mavericks needed a late surge to turn the result around.

Irving did most of his damage late. He scored 26 of his points after halftime. One of those baskets was the jumper that put Dallas ahead 102-100, a lead the Mavericks never gave up.

The game swung at the free-throw line. Kevin Durant led Houston with 28 points. With the Rockets down two and 1:53 left, he missed two free throws. Amen Thompson then missed two with 42 seconds remaining. Flagg answered both trips with a clutch basket at the other end, one of them a three-point play.

Daniel Gafford sealed it. He finished with 18 points and made two free throws with 11 seconds left and Dallas up by one.

Shooting from deep outweighed Houston’s edge on the glass

The Mavericks hit 12 of 33 3-pointers. The Rockets made just 7 of 29. Houston won the offensive glass 20 to 12, but the misses at the line undid that advantage.

The game moved in streaks. Dallas took the first quarter 27-20. Houston won the second 31-17 and edged the third 33-32. The fourth quarter belonged to the Mavericks.

Jabari Smith Jr. added 22 points for Houston. Fred VanVleet scored 16 and Thompson 15.

The NBA billed the game as an all-Texas clash and as the 20th meeting between former teammates Durant and Irving, with Irving holding a 10-9 edge going in.

Dallas opens its Cup group with a head-to-head edge

The win carries extra weight in the Emirates NBA Cup. West Group A has five teams: Denver, Houston, Phoenix, Dallas and Utah. Group Play is spread over seven Cup Nights in 28 days. Eight of the 30 teams move on to a single-elimination bracket.

Friday’s result could matter later. If teams finish tied in a group, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head record in Group Play. Point differential in Group Play comes next, so the five-point margin also counts.

The Quarterfinals are set for Dec. 4-5 and the Semifinals for Dec. 8-9. The higher seed hosts each of those games in its NBA market. The Championship will be played Friday, Dec. 11, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

In the Western Conference, Houston holds second place and Dallas sits seventh. The Mavericks are also third in the Southwest Division, one spot behind the Rockets. The win was the Mavericks’ third straight, after a 113-109 victory at Miami and a 120-96 win over Oklahoma City.

Houston hosts Oklahoma City on Sunday, Nov. 1. Dallas faces the Sacramento Kings at home on Tuesday, Nov. 3.