Veteran guard Marcus Smart had a strong debut with the Rockets during Sunday’s 132-115 exhibition loss (box score) to the Mavericks.
With both weekend results in the books, Houston and Dallas officially split their two-game preseason series in China.
For maintenance reasons, the Rockets held out Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, Fred VanVleet, and Steven Adams on Sunday, and that made it tougher to win versus a Dallas squad featuring Kyrie Irving (who sat out Friday’s Houston victory).
But the short-handed Rockets did stay competitive for much of Sunday’s game in large part because of Smart, who didn’t play on Friday.
In just under 24 minutes, Smart — who signed with Houston in July as a free agent — finished with a game-high 20 points, 5 rebounds,
and 4 assists. The 32-year-old shot 7-of-13 from the field (53.8%), including 4-of-9 from 3-point range (44.4%).
“His experience, and the edge and toughness that he brings every night, is going to be invaluable for us,” head coach Ime Udoka said postgame. “He’s another guy who is really celebral. He has his imprint on both sides of the ball.”
Marcus Smart in his @HoustonRockets preseason debut in Game 2 of the NBA China Games 2026:
— NBA (@NBA) October 11, 2026
🚀 20 PTS (game-high)
🚀 5 REB
🚀 4 AST
🚀 4 3PM
🚀 24 MIN pic.twitter.com/RupqVr6Cci
Other individual standouts included:
- Reed Sheppard: 17 points, 2 blocks, 5 turnovers; 4-of-10 on 3-pointers (40.0%)
- Jabari Smith Jr.: 14 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists; 6-of-10 shooting (60.0%)
- Amen Thompson: 14 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists; 4-of-12 shooting (33.3%), 5-of-6 on free throws (83.3%)
- Kyrie Irving (Mavs): 17 points, 3 assists; 6-of-13 shooting (46.2%)
The Mavericks and Rockets play twice in the first 10 days of the upcoming 2026-27 regular season, so it’s possible that both teams may have wanted to avoid tipping their hands in advance of those more meaningful matchups. Perhaps with that in mind, neither team featured the entirety of its full-strength rotation in either game.
Houston (1-1 in preseason) concludes its exhibition slate with Thursday’s home matchup versus Oklahoma City (0-2). Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. Central from Toyota Center.
The Rockets-Thunder exhibition will be televised and streamed regionally on Space City Home Network (SCHN) and nationally via NBA TV.
"His experience...is going to be invaluable for us." 🏀
— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 11, 2026
Rockets head coach Ime Udoka complimented Marcus Smart for his leadership and how he has an impact on both sides of the ball. pic.twitter.com/wpn4iS4Rib
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: ‘Cerebral’ Marcus Smart impresses in preseason debut with Rockets
