Put it on the board. The Houston Rockets opened the 2026-27 season Wednesday night at Toyota Center by running the Dallas Mavericks out of the building, 128-110, in front of a sellout crowd of 18,055. Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr. each dropped 30, the second quarter was a flat-out beatdown, and Houston is 1-0 for the first time this year. LFG.
The Second Quarter Was a Crime Scene
The first quarter was competitive. Houston led 32-26 after one, and there were five ties and seven lead changes over the night. Then the second quarter happened. The Rockets outscored Dallas 38-12 in the frame, and after building a 15-point cushion midway through, they closed the half on a 19-2 run to go into the locker room up 70-38.
Seventy points at halftime. Thirty-two-point lead. On opening night. That’s the kind of half that tells the rest of the league this team isn’t messing around.
Durant and Jabari: 30 Apiece
Kevin Durant did Kevin Durant things, finishing with 30 points. The bigger story for a lot of Rockets fans might be Jabari Smith Jr., who matched him with 30 of his own. Both had 16 at the half, so this wasn’t a garbage-time stat-pad either. They set the tone early and kept it going.
When your fifth-year forward is going bucket-for-bucket with one of the greatest scorers ever, that’s a good sign for what this team can be.
Sengun’s Double-Double and FVV’s Comeback
Alperen Sengun was steady as always, putting up 23 points and 10 rebounds. And it was great to see Fred VanVleet back on the floor. After missing all of last season recovering from a torn ACL, VanVleet ran the show with 11 assists to go with six points, and he hit a big three late to shut down any comeback ideas.
The Rockets also did it in transition, winning fast-break points 29-17 and second-chance points 22-14. They were active, physical and opportunistic, which is exactly the identity this group has been building.
Tari Eason’s Early Exit
It wasn’t all clean. Tari Eason was ejected with about three minutes left in the first quarter after a flagrant 2 for shoving P.J. Washington to the floor. Durant also picked up a flagrant 1 early in the fourth. Houston didn’t miss a beat without Eason, but that’s a needless loss of a key energy guy, and Rockets fans will be keeping an eye on whether anything more comes of it.
Dallas Made It Interesting (Briefly)
To their credit, the Mavs didn’t fold. Dallas won the third quarter 38-30 and the fourth 34-28. Cooper Flagg, last season’s Rookie of the Year, led them with 32 points. Kyrie Irving added 15 in his first regular-season game since tearing his ACL in March 2025. A 9-0 run, with six points from Marcus Sasser, got it to 103-86 with about nine minutes left.
Then Houston answered with an 8-2 spurt, highlighted by threes from Durant and VanVleet, to push it to 111-88 about a minute later. Game over. It was also a rough debut for new Dallas coach Dusty May, who came over from Michigan after winning the NCAA title.
What It Means and What’s Next
One game is one game, but the way the Rockets won matters. They had two 30-point scorers, a double-double from the big man, a healthy floor general racking up assists and a 37-point lead at its peak. The second half got loose, and the discipline needs to be cleaner, but the ceiling was on full display.
Next up, the Rockets take on the San Antonio Spurs in Austin on Friday, the second leg of a Texas-heavy opening week. Keep it locked on LFG Houston’s Rockets coverage all season long, and check out our Videos section for more.
Stats via NBA.com official box score and the AP game recap.
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