The Rockets Ran Dallas in Macao and the Wizards' New Big Three Took Down the Champs at MSG

LAS VEGAS — The NBA's Far East roadshow opened with a thud for the home team in name only. The Houston Rockets ran the Dallas Mavericks out of the Venetian Arena in Macao, 135-117, in the first of the two NBA China Games — a second-quarter avalanche (38-26) that turned a 27-19 first-quarter edge into a 65-45 halftime lead, and the game was never in doubt again.

Here's the part that should worry the rest of the West: this was a Houston win without drama, not without depth. The Rockets shot 54 percent from the field, hit half their threes (18-of-36), and handed out 36 assists on 47 makes. Alperen Şengün ran the whole thing — 16 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, a triple-double before October even runs out. Kevin Durant sharing a frontcourt with a passing hub like that is the part of this roster construction that keeps rival executives up at night.

For Dallas, the box score tells two stories. The good one: Cooper Flagg went for 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block in 19 minutes — the 19-year-old looked every bit the franchise player, even in a blowout. The uncomfortable one: Kyrie Irving did not appear in the box score at all. Mavericks coach Dusty May said this week that Irving would play in one of the two Macao games, so Sunday is the bet for his first action in 19 months — assuming May holds to the plan. That's the real event of this trip, and it hasn't happened yet.

For the bettors keeping score at home: Houston closed -3.5 and won by 18, so the cover was never in doubt, and the 252 combined points sailed over the 229.5 total. Preseason overs in showcase games — the defense in these things is a rumor, not a rule.

The off-court stuff was its own show. Naji Marshall broke a rim at Mavs practice in Macao and summed it up himself: "I'm too strong." Yao Ming visited the NBA Macao house, which tells you how seriously the league is treating this market. And the NBA posted the KD-Kyrie courtside chat, because the league knows exactly what those two former teammates sharing a bench looks like on a phone screen. Game two goes Sunday.

Washington's Big Three Just Took Down the Champs at MSG

Okay. The season-preview version of this Wizards team exists on paper, but last night was the first time it existed on a floor. Anthony Davis, Trae Young, and AJ Dybantsa started together for the first time in a Washington uniform and beat the defending-champion Knicks 111-109 at Madison Square Garden. Davis had 16 in his Wizards debut, Young had 15, Dybantsa had 11 — and it wasn't a wire-to-wire thing, which makes it more interesting. The Knicks led 63-57 at halftime and stretched it to 10 in the third. Will Riley's go-ahead bucket sparked a fourth-quarter comeback that the Garden crowd did not see coming in a preseason game.

Jalen Brunson and Landry Shamet had 13 apiece for New York, which in October is fine and means nothing. What's real is this: a team that added Davis and Young and a top prospect just went into the Garden and beat the champs with its new core sharing the floor. Washington hosts the Pistons Saturday at 7 PM ET, and suddenly that's a game with actual stakes to evaluate. The Wizards have been a punchline in this town for a decade. One preseason night doesn't end that — but this is what the punchline ending would look like at the start.

Thursday's Five Finals: Garza Goes Off, Reaves Is Back

Celtics 124, Cavaliers 113. The headliner of the Thursday slate, at Rocket Arena — and Boston did it while sitting nearly everybody. Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Paul George, Mitchell Robinson, Anfernee Queta, Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, and Ron Harper Jr. all sat, which means this was the kids and the deep bench against a Cleveland team whose starters all played 17 minutes. The result: Luka Garza, game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds. Devin Carter — on an Exhibit 10 contract, fighting for one of the final two-way spots — went for 17 and 5 off the bench. Boston grabbed 21 offensive rebounds to Cleveland's 6, which is the whole game right there: effort stats from a team that has no business winning with that lineup. Donovan Mitchell had 11 for the Cavs, and Tristan Enaruna led their bench with 13. The Celtics host the 76ers Saturday at TD Garden.

Lakers 114, Kings 110. The Crypto.com Arena rematch, and the news was in the availability report. Austin Reaves was cleared and played after missing two games with a tweaked ankle — that's the headline in any Lakers preseason, given how much of their guard depth flows through him. Luka Doncic was active after resting Tuesday. On the other side of the ledger: Walker Kessler missed his third straight with a finger injury, Ziaire Williams sat with soreness, and Dalton Knecht and Cameron Carr were both out with contusions. The Lakers' next preseason game is Tuesday, October 13 — and if you're tracking the Knecht situation (more on that in the rumor mill), every DNP and every contusion gets scrutinized.

Heat 128, Pelicans 118. Nets 114, 76ers 108. Hawks 123, Spurs 116. Three finals with no real reporting to chew on — October scoreboard filler, which is the honest answer on nights like this. The Spurs loss lands with a little extra weight given who's hurt (below). Check the Sports hub for the full scoreboard.

Injury Notebook: A Season-Ender in Philly

Ariel Hukporti is done for the season. The 76ers center tore his right Achilles five minutes into the preseason opener, the surgery is already done, and per Shams that's it for his year. The roster math is now ugly: with Joel Embiid managing his load as always, the only traditional backup center left is Adem Bona — and Bona is nursing a foot sprain. Philadelphia's frontcourt depth has gone from thin to theoretical, and the season is still eleven days from starting. Daryl Morey has a problem that only a trade can fix.

Miles Bridges rolled his right ankle Wednesday against the Bulls, colliding with Norman Powell on a loose ball, and did not return after sitting out the second half. The Suns acquired Bridges this summer from the Hornets — Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, and an unprotected 2033 first went out, Bridges plus a 2029 first and a 2027 second came back — which makes his health a franchise-level concern, not a training-staff note. Phoenix opens the regular season October 21 at Portland, and the severity here decides whether that's a debut or a delay.

Kristaps Porzingis still hasn't joined Warriors camp and is out indefinitely with a health issue — and now the vultures are circling. ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel reports a rival executive calls Porzingis Golden State's top trade candidate, which makes cold business sense: the two-year, $40 million extension has only $3 million guaranteed in year two, which is basically an expiring-contract trade chip dressed up as a commitment. A team that needs a stretch big at the deadline will call. Whether Golden State answers depends on whether Porzingis is even on a court by then.

Tobias Harris has a left calf strain, is out for the preseason, and is questionable for San Antonio's October 20 opener against Oklahoma City — the Western Conference Finals rematch. We flagged this one yesterday in the last roundup; nothing has improved since. The full injury picture lives in our preseason injury report.

Rumor Mill: Bronny, P.J., and the January Market

Bronny James is drawing genuine front-office interest, per Heavy.com — real enough that the Lakers could reportedly command second-round pick(s) for him. That's a meaningful sentence for a second-round pick who has mostly been a developmental project. And the flip side of that coin: Dalton Knecht is now presumed to be the roster odd man out in Los Angeles. When a team starts shopping its young guard for seconds while its other young wing can't get on the floor, the pecking order is being set in public.

P.J. Washington watch: Marc Stein reported October 5 in The Stein Line that rival teams believe the Mavericks will consider parting with Washington — who's in year one of a four-year, $88 million extension — after an offseason overhaul that brought in Zaccharie Risacher, Morez Johnson Jr., and Tarik Biberovic. Dallas just got run by Houston with Flagg as its best player. When the vets look expendable and the kids look ready, the phones ring.

De'Aaron Fox is back on the trade board, per Heavy.com's big board — the Spurs guard's four-year, $223 million deal is one of the biggest contracts in the league, and somebody thinks it's movable. Kyrie Irving (two years, $82 million, player option in year two) is the opposite story: nothing imminent, with the Mavs reportedly planning to build his value through January. Which, by the way, makes Sunday in Macao the start of a very expensive audition — if he plays.

Tonight and the Week Ahead

The Friday slate is light: Grizzlies at Bulls, 8 PM ET on NBA TV, is the only nationally televised game. Then it's back to Macao on Sunday for Rockets-Mavericks, Part II — and the question that will own the weekend's NBA conversation: does Kyrie Irving finally play?

Opening week is eleven days out and the calendar is doing the talking now. October 20: Spurs at Thunder, the West Finals rematch, Harris's calf permitting. October 21: the Suns open at Portland — Bridges' ankle permitting — and the Mavericks visit Houston to face the same Rockets who just beat them by 18 in Macao. Preseason is for eyes, not for money. But the eyes are telling us things.