Rockets at Mavericks Injury Update: Dallas Upgrades Marshall and de Larrea for Friday's Cup Opener, While Houston's Sengun Stays Day to Day
The 5-0 Rockets are favored by 4.5 in Dallas on the NBA Cup's opening night - and the injury report moved Thursday on both sides, toward the Mavericks.
HOUSTON - The unbeaten Houston Rockets go to Dallas on Friday night for the opening night of NBA Cup group play, 5-0 and first in the Western Conference, favored by 4.5 points with an over/under of 226.5 - and Thursday's injury news ran in the Mavericks' direction. Dallas upgraded two rotation pieces off the Out list: Naji Marshall, who had been out with an illness, and Sergio de Larrea, who had been out with a right knee injury, both aimed at Friday's game, though Marshall's status for tipoff is not yet final.
Dallas needs the bodies. The Mavericks beat Oklahoma City 120-96 on Wednesday without Marshall, de Larrea, Santi Aldama, Tarik Biberovic or Dereck Lively II - their bench still scored 43, Cooper Flagg carried the scoring with 26 points, 8 assists and no turnovers, and Kyrie Irving, back from his own knee clearance, scored 15 while Dallas won his 27 minutes by 25. Aldama (knee) and Biberovic (heel) remain out for Friday, and Lively's right foot now points to a November 2 return against the Kings, which leaves Daniel Gafford holding the middle - the same matchup problem Dallas faced when Houston won the season's first meeting 128-110 behind 30 points from Jabari Smith Jr., with Flagg scoring 32 in defeat.
Houston's side of the report is the paint, too. Steven Adams is out, and Alperen Sengun's back issue is being tracked game to game - if Sengun plays, Dallas has to hold up inside against the front line that ran it over in the first meeting; if he does not, the Rockets' perfect start runs through a much thinner rotation. Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson and Smith Jr. are not on Houston's injury report, and the game's marquee pairing is its own milestone: Durant and Irving, former teammates, meet for the 20th time, with Irving holding a 10-9 edge. Both teams arrive on one day of rest after three games in seven days. Tip is 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. in Houston, on League Pass.
