Depth in West adds to the urgency

The Rockets return hom three games under .500 and in 14th place in the Western Conference, an indication of how deep the conference has become. Another measure of that could be Saturday’s opponent, with the Mavericks going from 7-20 at this time last season to 13-11 this season.

With Dallas bolstered by additions, Memphis by a few subtler changes and better health and Sacramento by the benefit of experience, the West has several teams fighting for playoff spots that were nowhere near the top eight last season.

“Free agency can do that, if you get a couple good players,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “(The Mavericks) got two good ones, ( Luka) Doncic they drafted and DeAndre ( Jordan) came over. Obviously, it doesn’t take a whole lot to turn a team around. Sometimes one piece will do it.”

Asked if there’s a sense of urgency when so many teams as playoff contenders, D’Antoni said, “For sure. We have the urgency. Now, we just have to do it.”

Doncic, 19, plays beyond his years

The Mavericks already had a good idea of what they had in rookie Luka Doncic before he took apart the Rockets with 11 of his 21 points coming in the final minutes Saturday.

“It was something special,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “It is pretty clear that he has a special flare for the moment and he is not afraid. You don’t see that every day, and it was a unique three or four minutes that he put together at the end. I’d say that he is a terrific young player who is getting better all the time.”

Doncic is just 19 but was the Euroleague MVP for Real Madrid last season.

“He has a maturity at the age of 19,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “Just an unbelievable talent that mature. Kind of saw it in Europe. To translate over here, it’s impressive.”