For the second time this season, Cooper Flagg is getting matched up against Kevin Durant. The Dallas Mavericks hosted the Houston Rockets on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center, following a lackluster performance the previous night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Flagg started his career off on the wrong foot at point guard and has had his fair share of struggles. He has been moved back to his natural position of small forward and has been thriving. He’s averaging 19.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals in his last 10 games.
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The No.1 pick of this year’s draft was also shooting 52.0% from the field, including just 20.7% from beyond the arc, and 82.2% from the free-throw line. But how did he perform against the Rockets in his duel against Durant?
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Cooper Flagg finished the game by stuffing the statsheet with 19 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Flagg looked good once again as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Houston Rockets 122-109 to even the season series at 1-1.
Kevin Durant, on the other hand, scored 27 points and dished three assists, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the loss. Durant had to score a lot more because the Rockets played without Alperen Sengun, who has missed the last two games with an illness.
Flagg’s consistency should be key to the Mavericks’ success after an awful start to the campaign. They improved to 9-16 for the season, but they need to put together a string of wins if they want a shot at making at least the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Here are Cooper Flagg’s stats for the game.
PlayersPTSREBASTSTLBLKTOPFMINFG3PTFT+/-Cooper FLagg1953220017:067-151-24-4+9
Erik Spoelstra still can’t believe one thing about Cooper Flagg
Erik Spoelstra still can’t believe one thing about Cooper Flagg. (Photo: IMAGN)
The Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat have already finished their season series with one win each. The Mavericks lost the first game in South Beach on Nov. 24 before bouncing back with a win at American Airlines Center on Dec. 3.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had nothing but praise for Cooper Flagg after last week’s game in Dallas. Spoelstra still can’t believe Flagg hasn’t turned 19 years old and is already a very mature player.
“He’s not even 19 years old,” Spoelstra said, according to Sports Illustrated. “I just can’t fathom… it just doesn’t make sense. And if I was 18, I would stat hunt up and not play the right way. He just has a great competitive spirit, plays the right way competes to win. You know, that’s an extremely hard thing to teach young players.”
Flagg is set to turn 19 on Dec. 21. He can celebrate it peacefully since the Mavs don’t have a game on that date, though he’ll be on the road in between games in Philadelphia and New Orleans.
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Edited by Juan Paolo David