After suspending the 2019-20 NBA season earlier this year, basketball is finally making its triumphant return and the 22 remaining teams in the league will play eight regular season seeding games before the NBA playoffs begin on August 17. Tonight we’ll get to see the Houston Rockets take on the Dallas Mavericks in a Western Conference matchup and we have all the details on how you can watch a Rockets vs Mavericks live stream from anywhere in the world so you don’t miss a second of the NBA action.
Rockets vs Mavericks live stream
The Rockets vs Mavericks game starts at 9pm ET / 6pm PT tonight on ESPN in the US. If you’re in Canada, you can catch the game on SportsNet at the same time, while Sky Sports is offering up a late night broadcast in the UK at 2am BST and Australian viewers can catch it on ESPN at 11am AEST on Saturday morning. If you don’t have the access to the right channel, read on for a look at all the NBA live streaming options.
The Rockets are currently in sixth place in the Western Conference with 40 wins and 24 losses but tonight’s game will be a big one for Houston as the team has just a 1.5 game lead over Dallas. During a recent scrimmage against the Boston Celtics, Rockets’ shooting guard Eric Gordon injured his left ankle pretty badly and he’ll have to sit out tonight’s game along with fellow teammate Thabo Sefolosha who decided to stay home for the NBA’s restart. This likely means that Danuel House, Robert Covington, Ben McLemore and Austin Rivers will get more time on the court.
The Mavericks on the other hand are just below the Rockets in the Western Conference in seventh place with 40 wins and 27 losses before the 2019-20 NBA season was suspended. Dallas was doing quite well before the shut down and it’s really a question of whether the team will be able to regain their momentum during the restart. The last time these two teams met on the court at the end of January earlier this year, the Mavericks struggled to catch up with the Rockets when it came to points on the board and they ultimately ended up losing the game 121-128.
Whether you’re a Rockets fan in Houston, a Mavericks fan in Dallas or just want to tune in to see the return of the NBA this weekend, we’ve got you covered. Follow our guide below for details on how to watch the Rockets vs Mavericks tonight and get a top-quality NBA live stream from wherever you are in the world.
How to watch NBA blackout games and stream basketball from abroad
You may not be able to watch tonight’s Rockets vs Mavericks game using your usual cable TV or streaming service, due to coverage blackout rules in the US or international geo-blocking restrictions.
When this is is the case, the simplest and most reliable solution is to use a VPN service, which VPN masks your IP address – and therefore your location – when you visit a website. On top of that, it gives you the ability to reroute your device’s internet connection through a server in a different country or stage, thereby getting you access to coverage that might not otherwise be available – even though you probably pay for it.
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Plus, you can try it out for free with a 30 day money-back guarantee, so if you’re not sold on being able to watch sports from around the world you can always claim your cash back. There’s a massive range of supported devices on offer, from Smart TVs, Fire TV Stick, PC, Mac, iPhone, Android phone, iPads, tablets etc. And if you subscribe to ExpressVPN now, you’ll also get 49% off the usual price as well as 3-months extra FREE if you take out an annual plan (the best value option).
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Rockets vs Mavericks live stream: watch the NBA tonight in the US
Tonight’s game will be broadcast at 9pm ET / 6pm PT on ESPN, a channel that’s easily accessible if you’re signed up for cable TV.
If you’re not, however, you’ll want to consider picking up a Sling Orange package for just $30 a month. As well as ESPN, you’re also picking up TNT for more nationally televised basketball – and if you’re looking for even more games, you can always add NBA TV to your plan for an extra $10 a month.
Not only that, but there’s also currently a FREE Sling TV trial up for grabs, which means you’ll be able to watch the Rockets vs Mavericks online tonight for free.
If you’re not too happy about picking up a Sling TV subscription just for sports, you can also combine an NBA League Pass with an NBA TV subscription for under $50. You will, however, still be subjected to blackout restrictions for in-market games, in which case you’ll need to grab a quality VPN if you live in the same area your favorite team is based.
Mavericks vs Rockets live stream: how to watch the NBA in the UK
If you’re in the UK, you’ll want to tune into Sky Sports Main Event or Sky Sports Arena at 2am BST to catch the Mavericks vs Rockets game tonight. The channel is operated by Sky, but you can also watch these channels with BT and Virgin Media TV packages.
However, if you’re only going to be watching the NBA, there are more cost effective options than signing up for the full commitment of a Sky contract.
A Now TV Sky Sports Pass offers all 11 Sky Sports channels to watch and can be cancelled at any time. As well as the NBA, there’s also loads of football, cricket, golf, and F1 action, with pricing that starts at £9.99 for a day’s use.
That’s fine if you just want to watch tonight’s games, but we’d highly recommend the better value Monthly Pass for the majority of viewers. £33.99 gets you coverage of the rest of the season as well as early playoff games as well as the full month of content from other sports as well.
If you’re really only interested in an NBA live stream, you could also consider an NBA League Pass, which is an all-in-one subscription that offers every game left in the season on a range of devices. An annual pass comes in at £42.99, which is far better value than the £24.99 monthly pass, but you can also grab a seven day free trial if you’re just looking to watch a Mavericks vs Rockets live stream.
If you’re looking to watch tonight’s game from abroad, you might be geo-blocked out of some of these viewing options. Using a reliable VPN can easily get around this so you can get back to the game.
How to watch the Rockets vs Mavericks: live stream the NBA in Canada
SportsNet and TSN are hosting the rest of the NBA season’s televised games in Canada and you’ll want to tune into SportsNet at 9pm ET / 6pm PT to watch tonight’s Rockets vs Mavericks game.
As both of these channels are widely available on cable, watching the NBA online shouldn’t be too difficult for Canadian viewers. For tonight’s game, simply head to the SportsNet Now website and enter the credentials from your cable provider to watch the Rockets vs Mavericks.
If you’ve already cut the cord but still want to watch the NBA on SportsNet, you can sign up for the network’s streaming service SN Now for $19.99 a month. Additionally, there is also SN Now+ which gives you access to additional NHL games for $27.99 a month or $9.99 for a 7-day pass.
You’ll also be able to watch the Rockets vs Mavericks online with NBA League Pass, with only Raptors games being subject to blackouts. That’s not a problem, however, as a VPN can easily swap your location so when the Raptors do step out onto the court you can still live stream it all.
How to get a Rockets vs Mavericks live stream and watch the NBA online in Australia
Basketball fans in Australia have two options to tune in to the 2019/20 NBA regular season restart.
The first is through cable and, more specifically, Foxtel. It offers ESPN, which is the home of NBA basketball Down Under, but will require you to commit to a contract.
If that’s not for you, then excellent value streaming service Kayo Sports also has you covered for all things ESPN and can be cancelled at any time – so we’d recommend looking into this option first.
Costing either $25 or$35 monthly, it’s far cheaper than Foxtel and you can grab a 14-day FREE TRIAL to test it out. Perhaps best of all, a single subscription can be used simultaneously across multiple devices, meaning you can share one with family or friends and pay less.
Lastly, hardcore NBA fans can grab an NBA League Pass for full coverage of the rest of the season, as well as loads of added value content, for an annual fee.
The Rockets vs Mavericks game will be shown on ESPN beginning at 11am AEST on Saturday morning.
NBA League Pass: the best way to live stream the NBA online?
If you’ve been shopping for ways to pick up a Rockets vs Mavericks live stream online, then you’ve likely come across the NBA League Pass. As the league’s official streaming service, it offers coverage of plenty of games and is available all around the world.
However, if you’re in the US, you’ll find a reduced-price subscription now available for $28.99. The caveat is that it doesn’t include any nationally televised games. That means you’ll still have to turn to ESPN, ABC, NBA TV or TNT.
The solution? Adding an NBA TV subscription to your account (available for $19.99) will give you access to full coverage, or you can bundle League Pass Premium with an NBA TV package for $59.98 for every game in all its commercial-free glory.
Note that NBA League Pass and NBA TV subscriptions are subject to blackout rules, meaning that if you live in the same area as your favorite team, you won’t be able to watch them – unless you utilize the VPN workaround as explained above, of course.
NBA League Pass is an international service, so you’ll be able to find different packages to suit international markets as well. In the UK, for example, a £42.99 annual fee gets you access to every remaining NBA game, without blackout restrictions or qualms over nationally televised broadcasts.
As ever, if you’re out of the country you subscribed to NBA League Pass in, it’s likely you can use a VPN to get around these restrictions – based on comprehensive testing, we rate ExpressVPN as the best and it offers a free trial so you can check it out, no strings attached.