Australia’s Dante Exum forces OT with buzzer-beating 3 as Dallas Mavericks win

Australian guard Dante Exum has forced overtime with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as the Dallas Mavericks rallied from 22 points down for a 147-136 NBA victory over the Houston Rockets.

Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 48 points and Luka Doncic had 37 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds as the Mavericks took another step toward the fifth seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Dillon Brooks scored a season-high 29 points, and Fred VanVleet had 24 points and 12 assists for the Rockets, who were eliminated from postseason contention after not trailing until the final three minutes of regulation.

It was a fifth consecutive loss for Houston following an 11-game winning streak that is tied for the longest in the NBA this season.

With Houston leading by three with 8.3 seconds to go in regulation on Sunday (Monday AEST), Jabari Smith Jr missed two free throws.

Dallas was out of timeouts, and Exum scrambled up the court and passed to Doncic.

The Dallas superstar dribbled toward midcourt and faked a shot before passing back to Exum, whose 3 over Smith beat the buzzer.

“I just went and grabbed it and tried to get the ball to Luka,” said Exum, who took the ball after P.J. Washington’s rebound.

“Luka is obviously great knowing that two guys are going to double him and trusting his teammates.”

Exum ended the game with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Irving, who scored 25 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, put Dallas ahead for good in the extra period at 133-131 with two free throws.

Washington, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds, finished off the Rockets with consecutive corner 3s for a nine-point lead with 33 seconds to go.

The Mavericks have won 14 of 16 to take the inside track to a guaranteed spot in the West playoffs.