Sixth men stutter against rockets; Thompson hits 2,500 triples

Sometimes it takes a village. Or a committee. Or a group of brothers all willing to pull together, even though the Mavericks haven't been able to pull everyone together at once.

Through the first four games, the Mavericks had four players who could lay claim to being their primary backup in at least one of those games.

Dereck Lively II has been the most consistent producer in a reserve role. But Spencer Dinwiddie, Jaden Hardy and Quentin Grimes also had games in which they provided the crucial spark that got the Mavericks going when they needed help. And Naji Marshall is undoubtedly ready to join the party soon.

The Mavericks feature three future Hall of Famers who are outstanding offensive players.

But even this wealth of firepower needs help.

And while teams sometimes rely on a player to be the sixth man and do the majority of the damage offensively off the bench, the Mavericks aren't built that way so far in the infancy of this season.

“We would love to have Jason Terry or that type of player,” coach Jason Kidd said. “It makes it easy because that role is cast.

“We try to make the boys feel comfortable in their role. On this journey we saw different faces to see who would be comfortable in this role.”

Thursday wasn't particularly pleasant for anyone coming off the bench. And sure enough, even the starters were weak in the first three quarters as the Houston Rockets built a lead of as many as 23 points. The big three came to life in the fourth quarter, but the Rockets were able to pull out a 108-102 victory, the Mavericks' first home loss of the young season.

The Mavericks' reserves were outscored 33-21 by the Rockets' bench, not a good sign for a team that considers itself one of the deepest in the NBA.

Aside from that clunker, Lively has been the most reliable bench member so far. He is not necessarily the prototype for bank scoring. Typically, it's a guard or small forward who fills that role, as Terry did so well for years with the Mavericks, including the 2011 championship run.

But the 7-1 center, who splits time with Daniel Gafford but has played an average of 26 minutes compared to Gafford's 20, has been a force on both ends of the court.

“(He's) one of the guys who might be a little bigger than Jason Terry and might not shoot the three at a high rate, but D-Live is looked at as that sixth man,” Kidd said. “He could be Jason Terry in a different light.”

Another possibility, Kidd said, is Dinwiddie, who scored 11 key points in Monday's 110-102 win over Utah.

“Spencer, he’s a professional,” Kidd said. “If he comes here he could be the 15th^Th Guy. It turns out that he is currently the sixth guy. That role could change as we get healthy, or that role could change if someone is no longer where they could start.

“You need people like that on your team who can adapt to a role spontaneously and he is one of those who can do that. He’s doing that at a high level for us right now.”

Klay reaches 2,500: With his second three-pointer, which put the Mavericks up 98-94 with less than four minutes left, Klay Thompson reached 2,500 career triples.

He is the sixth player to make as many three-pointers in NBA history, joining Steph Curry (the leader with 3,758 or more), Ray Allen, James Harden, Damian Lillard and Reggie Miller.

Thompson will pass Miller for fifth place on the list with 61 more three-pointers, which could happen sometime around New Year's Day.

Rockets grow up: The Rockets are a team made up of a handful of good players, none of whom have made the leap to superstar status.

Jalen Green may be trying to change that. He came into Thursday's game averaging 28.8 points and shooting 41.5 percent from three-point land.

At halftime against the Mavericks, the 6-4 fourth-year guard had just seven points. He heated up the second half and put the Rockets up 103-97 with his three-pointer with 1:12 left. He would finish with 23 points to go and 12 rebounds.

Behind Green, the Rockets entered Thursday's game with four other players averaging between 10 and 15 points. That trend continued as five players behind Green scored between 10 and 17 points.

Meager: Dereck Lively II, who cites Jurassic Park as his favorite movie, arrived at the American Airlines Center dressed as one of the dinosaur park workers. . . Dante Exum (right wrist) and Maxi Kleber (right hamstring) remained out for the Mavericks. Kidd did not provide a timetable for Kleber, saying it was unclear whether the 6-10 center forward would be able to return after five games at home. Exum is out indefinitely after wrist surgery. . . Rockets coach Ime Udoka said of the Mavericks with Klay Thompson: “It’s another threat out there. It's difficult enough with two really good scorers and creators like Irving and Dončić. So another threat that everyone respects. Great addition, another good job from Nico complementing the pieces they already have. Now I have the lob threats, the goal threats with these two and the shot threats.”

X: @ESefko