Rockets vs Dallas Mavericks

Lore & Background

The Mavericks played their inaugural season in 1980, joining the Rockets in Texas, who had moved to Houston in the 1972 NBA season. Both teams joined the San Antonio Spurs as the three NBA teams in Texas. The teams first faced each other on October 29, 1980. Houston won the first matchup 109-103.

The teams first met in the playoffs in 1988 in the first round, with the Mavericks winning in five games. On April 11, 1995, the Mavericks defeated the Rockets 156–147 in double overtime. Two years later, the Rockets and Mavericks played the first-ever regular season game played in Mexico City, won by the Rockets 108–106. In 2005, the teams met again in the postseason; Houston took a 2-0 series lead but lost in seven games.

During the 2013 NBA Playoffs, then Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Rockets general manager Daryl Morey exchanged posts on Twitter. In the 2014 offseason, former Rockets forward Chandler Parsons signed an offer sheet to leave the Rockets for the Mavericks for $46 million, while making negative statements about the city of Houston upon leaving. Both teams met in the first round of the 2015 NBA playoffs, with the Rockets winning in five games. Both teams met in the inaugural 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament in West Group B, where the Mavericks defeated the Rockets 121–115 on November 28, 2023.

Both teams finished the group stage 2–2, ending in a three-way tie with the Denver Nuggets for second place; the Rockets placed second behind the group winner New Orleans Pelicans, followed by the Mavericks and Nuggets. As part of the 2026 NBA China Games, the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets are scheduled to play two preseason exhibition games on October 9 and 11 at the Venetian Arena in Macau. Both teams are also slated to face each other in the 2026 NBA Cup under West Group A.

Reader's Guide

The Rockets and Mavericks have met three times in the playoffs: the 1988 Western Conference First Round (Mavericks won 3-2), the 2005 Western Conference First Round (Mavericks won 4-3), and the 2015 Western Conference First Round (Rockets won 4-1).

Did You Know?

• The Mavericks' largest victory against the Rockets was a 40-point differential in Game 7 of the 2005 playoffs.
• The Rockets' largest victory against the Mavericks was a 48-point differential on February 4, 1981.
• The first regular season game played in Mexico City was between the Rockets and Mavericks in 1997, won by the Rockets 108–106.