The Rockets haven’t beaten Luka Doncic, Mavericks, since 2021

The Houston Rockets face the Dallas Mavericks in the final game of their three-game road trip. So far on the road trip, the Rockets are 1-1 after a two-game split with the San Antonio Spurs. The Rockets start their young season at 2-2 on Thursday night.

The Mavericks have gotten off to a solid start to the season and enter the game against the Rockets with a record of 3-1. They have won six of their last seven games against the Rockets. The only time the Rockets won during this stretch was on December 22, 2023, in a game in which Luka Doncic did not participate.

The Rockets have not beaten a Doncic-led team since April 7, 2021. Let’s take a look at who was on this team. In that game, the Rockets had a starting lineup of John Wall, Kevin Porter Jr., Jae’Sean Tate, Christian Wood and Kelly Olynyk.

This season, James Harden left Houston shortly before the arrival of Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun. The Rockets, led by John Wall with 31 points, defeated the Mavericks 102-93.

Outside of Tate and the veterans the Rockets acquired through free agency and trades, no other player has ever beaten a Luka Doncic-led team. This includes Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith, Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore, Amen Thompson and of course Reed Sheppard, who is playing in his first season.

As I mentioned earlier Tuesday’s article, Doncic had some of his best games against the Rockets last season, including his 47-point explosion that helped end the Rockets’ 11-game winning streak. The Rockets were dominating this matchup before Doncic arrived.

The Rockets had won 10 of their last 11 games before Luka Doncic was drafted in 2018. That winning streak ended during Doncic’s first game ever against the Rockets in November 2018. Other than Steph Curry, who they face on Saturday, no other player has caused as much trouble for the Rockets as Doncic.

The Rockets want to take the next step this season and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2020. A win over Luka Doncic and the Mavericks would be a good start to achieving that goal.

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