DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks were in unfamiliar territory Wednesday against the Miami Heat: They had a comfortable lead. In the third quarter, Dallas pulled ahead by 17 points, its biggest advantage in a game this year.

The Heat sliced that down to four points in the fourth quarter, but as soon as they started to truly threaten, the youngest player on the Mavericks’ roster ensured his team would walk away with a third consecutive win. Cooper Flagg hit a 10-foot turnaround jumper at the 1:59 mark in regulation. On Miami’s next possession, Flagg stuffed Andrew Wiggins’ paint attempt. Then, Flagg converted a cutting layup.

Those plays, which took place in a 34-second span, were critical in the Mavericks’ 118-108 win over the Heat. Flagg finished with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.

Cooper Flagg hits a jumpshot on one end, gets a block on the other, then hits a layup in traffic for an impressive stretch late in the fourth quarter vs the Miami Heat pic.twitter.com/i4Yj7GkzMn

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) December 4, 2025

“We haven’t had many games where we’ve been up or had a lot of leads,” a giddy Flagg said afterwards. “It feels good. Built a little bit of a cushion. And to just kind of find something — it was good for us.”

Barely a quarter of the way through his rookie season, Flagg has gotten plenty of reps as a closer; Wednesday’s matchup against Miami was Dallas’ 18th “clutch” game this year. Flagg had some early season stumbles, but it’s scary how comfortable he’s started to look in high-leverage moments. Flagg has scored 52 “clutch” points on 16-of-27 shooting. That’s the fourth-most “clutch” points of any NBA player.

“He’s done it his whole life,” said Ryan Nembhard, who again played an enormous role in a Mavericks win. “Montverde — he didn’t lose. Duke — he barely lost. I’m sure he didn’t lose when he was in Maine. He does it on both ends of the floor consistently every single night. That’s special for an 18-year-old. People forget he’s 18. He shouldn’t even be here right now. It’s crazy what he’s doing.”

The Mavericks faced the Heat in Miami on Nov. 24. What Nembhard did coming off the bench in that game — handing out seven assists  — convinced coach Jason Kidd the undrafted rookie was ready for a bigger role. Nembhard has started the last four games for Dallas, a stretch in which the team has gone 3-1.

On Wednesday, Nembhard scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting with 13 assists and one turnover. Nembhard’s poise and playmaking ability helped the Mavericks have another healthy night offensively. Dallas shot 50.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point line. Seven different Mavericks reached double figures.

“I’m just trying to make the right play out there,” Nembhard said. “We have a bunch of talented guys on the squad. Give them the ball on time, on target and they are going to do the rest. That’s definitely a point of emphasis for me.”

Poor point guard play was the Mavericks’ biggest deficiency early in the season. They signed D’Angelo Russell to address that need last summer, but it hasn’t worked out as hoped. Chris Paul, another point guard in whom the Mavericks were rumored to have interest during free agency, ended up signing with the LA Clippers, but his future is in doubt there after the team unexpectedly sent him home Wednesday. The Mavericks, according to league sources, could look to add a backcourt piece as the Feb. 5 trade deadline approaches, but they are not actively exploring pathways to adding Paul, the 40-year-old who ranks one spot ahead of Kidd on the NBA’s all-time assists list.

Right now, Nembhard has a firm grip on the starting job with the way he has performed over the past week and a half. In his last five games, Nembhard is averaging 14.0 points, 7.4 assists and 1.0 turnovers. He’s tallied 37 assists with just five turnovers dating back to his breakout game last month in Miami. He’s an elite-decision maker, a quality Kidd greatly values.

“He understands his game,” Kidd said. “He understands the game of basketball is not to make it complex. Keep it simple. If they give you the shot, take the shot. If your teammate is open, make sure you get them the ball in a successful place.”

Kidd has two high-IQ rookies in Nembhard and Flagg. He closed the game Wednesday with both of them on the floor. The Heat got within two possessions of the lead in the final two minutes, but Flagg — the reigning Western Conference Rookie of the Month — made sure to coolly extinguish any threat.

“We’ve leaned on him on both ends of the ball,” Kidd said. “Offensively, being able to score. And defensively, coming up with a big block. He makes winning plays. Not just in the clutch. But throughout the game. Another good game for him.”