Conclusion: Mavs hope to shoot better

Point guard Luka Dončić basically blamed himself for the Dallas Mavericks' slow start in their 108-102 loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday.

But coach Jason Kidd didn't want to let the five-time All-Star take all the blame for the loss that left the Mavs 2-3.

“It’s not just him, it’s a we,” Kidd said. “He is one of our leaders and takes responsibility, but I think we need to get better overall.

“We’re looking good and they’re not going to hurt us right now.”

The fact that the Mavs don't like open and/or easy shots has become a source of frustration. But Kidd said that's not the way to solve problems.

“We shouldn’t be upset about failures,” he said. “We get sidelined, we miss some layups, we miss free throws and I think sometimes we get kind of frustrated. And we need to use the positive a little better – redirect our energy and move on to the next game – and we will get there.

“Again, it’s not just Luka. We don't just shoot the ball straight, and that affects our defense and our defense's inability to rebound the ball. To give up (18) offensive rebounds is tough.”

The Rockets had 50 total rebounds, 18 of which were on offense. The Mavs finished the game with 37 rebounds, 10 of which came on the offensive side.

This all led to the Rockets outscoring the Mavs 20-8 on second chances.

The Mavs shot 45.9 percent from the field, including 33.3 percent (10 of 30) from three-pointers.

Here are our takeaways from the Mavs' six-point loss to the Rockets.

GREEN WAS MONEY: Jalen Green was the Rockets' big producer with team-highs of 23 points and 12 rebounds to go along with a team-high four assists. He also sank a crucial three-pointer with 1:12 left that gave the Rockets a 103-97 lead and a path to victory. Green was 9 of 21 from the field, including 3 of 8 from beyond the three-point arc.

DONCIC FOUND HIS RHYTHM IN THE FOURTH: Luka Dončić struggled to find his shot at the start of this season. He found it Thursday in the fourth quarter, when he went 6 of 8 from the field — 3 of 4 from three-point territory — and scored 15 points. Overall, Dončić scored a game-high 29 points on 12 of 25 shots. He was 3 of 7 from downtown and also grabbed five rebounds.

TOO MANY FOULS: Coach Jason Kidd emphasized after the game that his team had to learn to stop so many fouls. The Mavs committed 27 fouls on Thursday, which led to 27 free throw attempts by the Rockets. “We’re out here hacking them,” Kidd said. “There are smart fouls and there are bad fouls, and we have a lot of bad fouls. It’s all coachable. It's all fixable. It's still early in the season, but it's not up to the referees. It’s us.”

X: @DwainPrice