Rockets blow 22-point lead, miss free throws late before losing to Mavs in overtime

The Rockets blew a 22-point lead and missed key free throws late in regulation before losing to the Dallas Mavericks in overtime Sunday.

Houston led Dallas by three points with just 8.3 seconds to go in regulation when Jabari Smith Jr. could have iced the game with a pair of free throws. Instead, he missed them both and while the Rockets could have fouled to prevent the Mavs from tying the game, they failed to do that as well.

Dante Exum hit a 3 to take the game to overtime and it was all Mavericks from there. They outscored the Rockets 18-7 in the extra period on their way to a 147-136 victory.

The loss officially eliminated the Rockets from play-in contention.

They can still achieve a winning record if they win the rest of their remaining four games, or sit right at .500 if they go 3-1.