The Houston Rockets (24 - 22) defeated the visiting Dallas Mavericks (25 - 21) 115 - 104 at Toyota Center on Sunday. Houston picked up right where they left off as they jumped out to a quick start in this one. Trevor Ariza fuelled the Rockets' 36 - point first quarter by scoring 16 points on 6 - 7 shooting from the field, including 4 - 5 from long range. The Mavericks turned things around in the second quarter, outscoring the Rockets 29 - 14, to take the lead 58 - 50 going into halftime, however they let their lead slip to 85 - 84 by the end of the third quarter. In the fourth the Rockets took over for good. They out - scored the Mavs 31 - 19 in the fourth, with eight of those points coming from recent re - acquisition Josh Smith. Houston has now won two straight, coinciding with the return of Josh Smith. Patrick Beverley made his return to the starting lineup after he missed a couple of games with a sprained ankle. Beverley finished with seven points, nine rebounds and four assists, in 30 minutes. Trevor Ariza was huge for the Rockets as he dropped 29 points (11 - 15 FG, 6 - 9 3Pt), along with three rebounds, three steals and two assists, in 39 minutes. James Harden recorded a triple - double with 23 points (7 - 18 FG, 310 3Pt, 6 - 6 FT), 15 rebounds and 10 assists, along with two blocked shots, in 35 minutes. Dwight Howard sat this one out with a sprained ankle. Chandler Parsons continued his strong play as of late, with 31 points (10 - 15 FG, 5 - 6 3Pt, 6 - 9 FT), six rebounds and three assists, in 35 minutes. Parsons has been a different animal lately as his scoring average in the last four games is about 17 points higher than it was through the first 40 games. Dirk Nowitzki put up 19 points (7 - 13 FG) and three rebounds, in 27 minutes. Raymond Felton played well in 34 minutes off the bench, finishing with 16 points (6 - 10 FG), eight rebounds and two assists. The Mavs went with a different look at the center position in this one, with Salah Mejri starting in place of Zaza Pachulia (leg). Mejri faired well as he tallied 10 points (4 - 6 FG, 2 - 2 FT), 11 rebounds and three blocked shots, in 29 minutes. The Mavericks have now lost two straight games. They will look to turn things around in L.A. on Tuesday when they play the Lakers. The Rockets will begin a three - game road trip in New Orleans on Monday. They will look to extend their win streak but will be faced with the challenge of playing on the second night of a back - to - back.
["TeamStat(G,'Rockets') has 22 Losses ,has 115 Total points ,has 36 Points in 1st quarter ,has 14 Points in 2nd quarter ,has 31 Points in 4th quarter ,has 24 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Mavericks') has 21 Losses ,has 104 Total points ,has 29 Points in 1st quarter ,has 19 Points in 2nd quarter ,has 25 Points in 4th quarter ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Chandler Parsons') has 3 Assists ,has 6 Blocks ,has 5 Defensive rebounds ,has 15 3-pointers attempted ,has 10 3-pointers made ,has 9 Field goals attempted ,has 6 Field goals made ,has 31 Free throws attempted ,has 6 Free throws made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Dirk Nowitzki') has 13 Assists ,has 7 Blocks ,has 27 Defensive rebounds ,has 19 3-pointers attempted ,has 3 3-pointers made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Salah Mejri') has 3 Assists ,has 6 Blocks ,has 4 Defensive rebounds ,has 2 3-pointers attempted ,has 2 3-pointers made ,has 29 Field goals attempted ,has 10 Field goals made ,has 11 Free throws attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Raymond Felton') has 2 Assists ,has 10 Blocks ,has 6 Defensive rebounds ,has 34 3-pointers attempted ,has 16 3-pointers made ,has 8 Field goals attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Trevor Ariza') has 2 Assists ,has 9 Blocks ,has 6 Defensive rebounds ,has 15 3-pointers attempted ,has 11 3-pointers made ,has 39 Field goals attempted ,has 29 Field goals made ,has 3 Free throws attempted ,has 3 Free throws made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'James Harden') has 10 Assists ,has 2 Blocks ,has 18 Defensive rebounds ,has 7 3-pointers attempted ,has 6 3-pointers made ,has 6 Field goals attempted ,has 23 Field goals made ,has 15 Free throws attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Patrick Beverley') has 4 Assists ,has 7 Blocks ,has 9 Defensive rebounds ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Josh Smith') has 2 Assists ,has 2 Blocks ,has 2 Defensive rebounds ,has 2 3-pointers attempted ,has 2 3-pointers made ,has 2 Field goals attempted ,has 2 Field goals made ."]