2 duds, 2 guys from the Mavericks' heartbreakingly failed comeback against the Rockets

On Thursday night, the Dallas Mavericks battled the Houston Rockets in the first game of their five-game home stretch at the American Airlines Center.

Dallas came into this game with a decisive road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night and it seemed like they had a lot of momentum after that wild game ended earlier in the week with one of the Western Conference's powerhouses.

That wasn't the case, however, as Dallas got off to a slow start, trailing by 17 points just three minutes into the second quarter. The Mavs cut their lead to 13 points at halftime, but couldn't muster enough consistent firepower late in the game to secure the win.

The offense looked extremely stagnant early on and the all-around contributions that fans saw on Tuesday night were no longer present at the start of this game. With just over a minute left, the Mavs cut Houston's lead to three points, but were unable to secure the victory as they lost 108-102.

Other than a few players, no one had much to offer, and Dallas falls to 3-2 with the loss.

In a game where Luka Doncic wasn't at his best for most of the game outside of the fourth quarter, Kyrie Irving stepped up to the plate with a great performance.

Irving finished the game with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while shooting 10-20 from the field and 5-6 from downtown. He was in the game from the first tip and his 3-pointers remain automatic through the first five games of the season.

Irving always managed to find his spots all over the field and made the defense pay off. Early in the game he made some difficult shots when no one else could.

In the third quarter, when Dallas needed a comeback, Irving was arguably the only reliable offensive option as he drove to the rim and did everything he could to spark a momentum, but no one else could really follow suit. He took over this game, but no one helped him in that regard until the last 12 minutes.

Entering Thursday night's game against Houston, Doncic had 24 points against the Timberwolves, and although he made a big shot down the stretch, it wasn't his best game. He shot 10-27 from the field and 1-8 from three, and that shooting slump continued against the Rockets.

Doncic finished the game with 29 points while shooting 12-25 from the field and 3-7 from downtown, and he didn't look like himself right away. He couldn't get anything done anywhere on the field in the first half and had to settle for some questionable shots early on.

The rust continued into the second half, but he dominated the fourth quarter. Doncic got the team going and hit some incredibly tough shots, but it still wasn't the all-around dominant game we've come to expect from him. His foul trouble hasn't helped either, but it's clear there's still some rust from the offseason.

29 points on nearly 50 percent shooting wouldn't justify a dud for almost anyone in the NBA, but his first-half struggles combined with Dallas' terrible rebounding were two of the reasons the Mavs were in such a big hole early got into trouble.

Doncic took the blame for the team's slow start after the game and will look to bounce back on Sunday against the Orlando Magic.

Naji Marshall had a slow start offensively in the first week of the season, but his defense was outstanding. He prides himself on taking on the toughest defensive assignments, and he helped seal the game against the Timberwolves with a game-winning steal on Anthony Edwards.

Marshall had a good second half against the Rockets, finishing the game with four points, two rebounds, three assists and a block, and his energy was the best we've ever seen from him. He got the crowd going in the fourth quarter and played the best defense of the night against Jalen Green.

Playing with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, and PJ Washington across the board will show Marshall how well he has been playing, and he could develop into one of the most underrated X-factors on the team if he continues like this can.

His full impact isn't always reflected in the stats, and he should be able to reach his full offensive potential over the next month or two.

PJ Washington hasn't been able to get his offensive flow going this season, and despite his great defense in recent games, he hasn't been able to produce the same offensive production as he did, especially in the playoffs last season the city center.

Washington finished the game with six points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks, which ended up being a good all-around game, but he shot 0-for-2 from downtown. He doesn't seem as confident in catch-and-shoot situations, and he needs to gain some confidence and rhythm in executing those shots to become a complete offensive threat.

His team scoring prowess has been a strength of his game so far, but he needs to be able to be the same threat from downtown that we saw in the playoffs in order to be the lethal threat we know he is he can be when he dials in.

He's given Mavs fans a lot to be excited about defensively, and his 3-point shooting should be able to improve again with time. There were some reports suggesting that he reworked his jumper over the summer, and it might just take him a little longer to get used to it if he actually made any big changes to his mechanics.

Washington's defense was the best on the team against Houston, but they have to keep dropping some threes. Jason Kidd praised Washington's defense after the game and he's becoming the team's favorite lockdown defender.

Although Washington only shot two three-pointers, there seemed to be a lot of looks he missed.