Rockets Vs. Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki Drops 21 In Fourth As Dallas Stuns Houston With Comeback

At this point, the phrase "losing streak" doesn't do the Houston Rockets justice. Anyone who just started watching Rockets this week might think they've been commissioned by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Houston has mixed close losses with clear defeats along the way, and now it no longer control its playoff destiny. On Wednesday it had the game in hand heading into the fourth quarter, and then the grizzled playoff veterans on the Mavericks snatched it away like candy from a (post-season) baby. Dirk Nowitzki pumped in 21 of his game-high 35 points in the final period and Dallas seized a 117-110 win.

All five Rockets starters -- Chandler Parsons (12), Luis Scola (18), Marcus Camby (11), Courtney Lee (16) and Goran Dragic (20) -- scored in double figures, while Kyle Lowry (11) and Chase Budinger (14) chipped in to make it seven Houston players hitting that mark in total. Unfortunately, nearly all of that group front-loaded its effort into the first three periods. Dragic hit his first six shots and dished out all 10 of his assists before the fourth quarter, and Scola saved 12 of his 18 points for a third-quarter run that put the team up 84-78 heading into the penultimate period. Then the collapse came.

The strategic turn of the game came when the Mavericks -- who had been torched by Houston's perimeter shooting since the early stages of the first quarter -- began switching on every pick and roll. The Rockets immediately looked to exploit that fact by involving Brandan Wright (four points, five rebounds) in mandatory switches and then looking to exploit him off the bounce, but Wright did a fantastic job of getting down into a defensive stance and rebuffing dribble penetration. Similarly, Jason Kidd (12 points, 4-7 3FG, eight assists, one turnover) was as brilliant in denying the post as can be expected. ... Houston warily tried to attack what they initially perceived as created mismatches, only to fall back into a less aggressive offense and let Dallas switch without penalty.

He was sparkling on spot ups, swift on drives and even sweetened it all with a back-door spin and cut around Dragic on a layup for his last field goal of the night. Sprinkle in smaller contributions from Jason Terry, Vince Carter and Jason Kidd -- which added up to 64.7 percent shooting, nine assists on 11 made baskets and just one turnover for the team -- and that's how the Mavs outscored the Rockets 39-26 in the final period to claim their victory.

Meanwhile, Luis Scola literally did nothing but commit fouls in his final six-minute stint, while Goran Dragic coughed up more turnovers (1) than he dished out assists (0) and the bench trio of Kyle Lowry, Patrick Patterson and Chase Budinger kept the game within "close, but not-good-enough" range, which is probably better than the "total meltdown" alternative as a matter of degree on the team's failure.

Offensive Efficiency of #Mavs 4th quarter (187.21) is the best by any team this season for 4Qs. #NBA #dalvshou

— Janosch Ferda (@j0Shi_f) April 19, 2012

Nevertheless, the Rockets still did fail. Houston has lost five straight games and they dropped out of the Western Conference playoff bracket on earlier in the week on Monday, but James Harden smoked the Phoenix Suns with a career-high 40 points on Wednesday to give them a bit of hope for the rest of the season. As for the Mavs, they slid back into the No. 6 slot as the Denver Nuggets lost to the Clippers.