Fortunes may be turning around for the Rockets after losing four in a row. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead the Mavericks 42-27. The Rockets came into the game with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We'll see if they're able to flip the script or if it'll just be more of the same. Houston Rockets @ Dallas Mavericks Current Records: Houston 38-39, Dallas 47-30 The Rockets are 2-8 against the Mavericks since January of 2022 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Sunday. The Houston Rockets will head out on the road to take on the Dallas Mavericks at 3:30 p.m. ET at
American Airlines Center. The Rockets are expected to lose this one by eight points, so we'll see if that gives them a bit of motivation. The Rockets' recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their fourth straight defeat. The match between them and the Heat wasn't particularly close, with the Rockets falling 119-104. Meanwhile, the Mavericks skirted by the Warriors 108-106 on Friday on a last-minute layup from PJ
Washington with 4 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Kudos to the oddsmakers for accurately forecasting both the winner and the close margin. Among those leading the charge was Washington, who scored 32 points along with five rebounds and five steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Kyrie Irving, who scored 26 points along with eight rebounds and seven assists. Houston now has a losing record at 38-39. As for Dallas, they pushed their record up to 47-30 with that victory, which was their sixth straight at home. This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: The Rockets haven't given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 12.2 turnovers per game. However, it's not like the Mavericks struggle in that department as they've been averaging only 11.9. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. The Rockets lost to the Mavericks on the road by a decisive 125-107 margin in their previous matchup on Sunday. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Mavericks' Luka Doncic, who shot 9-for-16 from downtown and dropped a double-double on 47 points and 12 rebounds. Now that the Rockets know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check CBSSports.com after the match to find out. Dallas is a big 8-point favorite against Houston, according to the latest . The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Mavericks as a 7.5-point favorite. The over/under is 226.5 points. See for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. . Dallas has won 8 out of their last 10 games against Houston.