**HOUSTON – Tori Eason and Jalen Green combined for 53 points, and the Houston Rockets went on to beat the injury-riddled Dallas Mavericks, 133-96, Friday night at the Toyota Center in yet another game where a member of the Mavs was injured.**
Brandon Williams (15 points, five rebounds), Naji Marshall (21 points, five rebounds) and Spencer Dinwiddie (20 points) led the Mavs, who dropped to 33-35 entering Sunday’s 12-noon game at home against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Rockets, meanwhile, won their fifth straight game and improved to 42-25.
“He was great,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said in praising Williams. “He was attacking (and) he was playmaking.
“I thought he used his speed in a positive way tonight, getting in the paint and being able to knock down some threes.”
Houston, which got 30 points from Eason and 23 from Green, won the rebounding battle over the injury-riddled Mavs, 67-35, including a 17-6 advantage on offensive rebounds. That led to the Rockets out-scoring the Mavs in second-chance points, 29-2.
“I mean, basically (we’re) playing with no bigs,” Marshall said. “A lot of us are 6-7, 6-6 out there trying to elbow with (Alperen) Sengun, an All-Star big. And the other guy, (Jock Landale) is 6-11.
“So, we’re trying our hardest, man. Like I said, just what we’re dealing with right now, (we) just got to get through it. No excuses. No complaints. It just is what it is.”
In the meantime, Mavs guard Dante Exum left the game midway through the second quarter and did not return after fracturing his left hand. By the way, Exum fractured his right hand during training camp way back in September and didn’t play his first game this season until Jan. 31.
It’s been that kind of a snake-bitten season for the Mavs, who dressed just nine players Friday and that was whittled down to eight following the injury to Exum. The Rockets took full advantage of the short-handed – and much shorter – Mavs and led, 27-25, after the first quarter, 62-49 at the half and 99-70 after the third quarter.
Mavs centers Dereck Lively II (right ankle stress fracture), Daniel Gafford (right MCL sprain) and Kai Jones (quadriceps) did not play Friday. Forwards Anthony Davis (strained left adductor), PJ Washington (right ankle sprain) and Olivier-Maxence Prosper (right wrist surgery) also missed the game, as well as guards Kyrie Irving (left knee ACL surgery) and Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain).
The Mavs shot 41.5 percent from the field and converted eight of their 22 shots from beyond the three-point arc for 36.4 percent. The Rockets made 50.9 percent of their shots and were 15-of-31 from three-point range for 48.4 percent.
In addition to Eason and Green, the Rockets got 16 points and 15 rebounds from Alperen Sengen, 13 points apiece from Jabari Smith and Aaron Holiday, 12 points from Dillion Brooks and 10points from Cam Whitmore. Kessler Edwards (12 points, six boards) was the only other Mavs players who scored at least 10 points.
After splitting a pair of games in San Antonio earlier this week, the Mavs finished this Texas road trip with a 1-2 record.
**X: @DwainPrice**