Cooper Flagg Quiets ‘The Wall’ As Mavericks Fall To Clippers

DHJ Quick Take: Grit in the Face of a Disastrous Start

The 24-2 Hole: Dallas opened the game shooting just 2-of-13 while the Los Angeles Clippers hit nearly everything, building a 23-point lead in the first six minutes. Operating without Kyrie Irving, P.J. Washington, and Daniel Gafford, the Mavericks‘ patchwork rotation was immediately exploited by Kawhi Leonard and Darius Garland.

Flagg vs. The Wall: In his first visit to the Intuit Dome, Cooper Flagg was greeted with “Overrated” chants from the Clippers‘ student-section-style “Wall.” Flagg responded by hitting both free throws, a deep three, and a poster dunk over Brook Lopez on consecutive possessions, finishing with 25 points and noting the atmosphere “brought me back to my high school days.”

Bagley’s Instant Impact: Returning from a shoulder injury, Marvin Bagley III provided the most efficient punch for Jason Kidd, scoring 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. His play catalyzed a third-quarter comeback that briefly saw Dallas take the lead before Leonard (34 points) secured the win for Los Angeles.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Cooper Flagg dunked over Brook Lopez to bring the crowd to a momentary hush. He nailed a 3-pointer with Derrick Jones Jr. draped across him. He silenced The Wall at the free throw line. He did everything a 19-year-old superstar is supposed to do in an opposing building.

It still wasn’t enough.

Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points on 11-of-19 shooting with six made 3-pointers, and the Los Angeles Clippers held on for a 116-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night at Intuit Dome, handing Dallas its 54th loss of the season. The Clippers improved to 41-38 and have now won seven of their last nine games as they jockey for playoff positioning in the Western Conference.

Flagg led Dallas with 25 points and 9 rebounds on 9-of-25 shooting. Marvin Bagley III provided the most consistent punch off the bench with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Max Christie hit all 10 of her free throw attempts and finished with 12 points. Ryan Nembhard added 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists off the bench. Klay Thompson contributed 11 points.

Darius Garland finished with 22 points for Los Angeles. Jones recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds against his former team. Brook Lopez had 9 points and 11 rebounds.

It was Leonard’s 55th consecutive game with at least 20 points.

A Disastrous Start

The Mavericks did not score for the first three minutes of the game. By the time head coach Jason Kidd called a timeout, Los Angeles had put 17 consecutive points on the board. Garland and Leonard drained back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening minutes, and the Clippers extended the lead to 23 on a Lopez 3-pointer to make it 27-4 with 6:18 still remaining in the first quarter. At that point, Dallas was 2-of-13 from the field while Los Angeles was shooting 10-of-13, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range.

The start was particularly costly given the roster Dallas was working with. The Mavericks entered the night without Kyrie Irving (left knee surgery), Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery), Daniel Gafford (right shoulder impingement), P.J. Washington (left elbow soreness), Brandon Williams (illness), and Caleb Martin (right plantar fascia strain) — a group whose absence placed enormous responsibility on a patchwork rotation from the opening tip. Kidd had said before the game that the next-man-up mentality would be essential, and the Clippers exploited the depth limitations immediately.

Flagg, who scored the Mavericks’ first basket on a floater to settle the offense after the initial run, was candid when asked what went wrong in those opening minutes.

“Yeah, just a really slow start,” Flagg said. “We came out flat. They hit a lot of shots early and we didn’t make anything. So just a flat start.”

Leonard had 12 points in the first quarter alone. Garland added eight and Lopez seven, as the Clippers shot 13-of-19 from the field to lead 39-26 after one. Before the game, Kidd had identified Leonard specifically as someone capable of scoring in bunches regardless of the defensive game plan deployed against him.

“When you talk about stars, Kawhi is one of them,” Kidd said before tip-off. “His midrange game, getting to the free-throw line, shooting the three — he understands time and score. He’s seen everything. It’s hard to keep him from catching the ball, but you try to make him do something different.”

Before the game, John Poulakidas had spoken specifically about the importance of keeping Garland out of his comfort zone — a plan that was naturally challenging once the ball went up.

“Just making sure we’re paying attention to the scouting report, knowing guys’ tendencies, knowing that Garland wants to get to that left-hand step-back,” Poulakidas told Dallas Hoops Journal. “He hit a lot of threes on us the last game, so try to make him play inside the line. And obviously Kawhi has had an incredible season this year, so just trying to limit him, keep him off his right hand as much as we can, and just knowing everyone else’s tendencies.”

Leonard did exactly what Kidd had anticipated, and Dallas had no answer for it in the early going.

Kidd was asked afterward about the scope of the hole Dallas dug for itself and whether a deficit of that size was still manageable entering the second quarter.

“I think early we were putting pressure on ourselves to make shots because no one could make one,” Kidd said. “It was 24-2 at one point. But to only be down 13 after the first — it’s still anyone’s game. I thought the group fought in the second quarter, and you could see that fight carry into the third.”

The Rally

What followed the disastrous opening was one of the more encouraging stretches of basketball Dallas has played in weeks. Shortly after Kidd’s timeout, Flagg hammered home a thunder dunk over Lopez with 4:54 left in the first quarter that briefly ignited the visiting contingent in the building. Less than two minutes later, Flagg converted an alley-oop off a Nembhard pass for another emphatic slam that forced the Clippers into a timeout and drew Dallas within 34-17.

The Mavericks needed everyone available to contribute in the second quarter, and several unexpected contributors stepped up. Dwight Powell, starting at center in place of the injured Gafford, quietly put together a steady night — finishing with 4 points, 8 rebounds, and four fouls in 19 minutes, providing a physical presence in the paint that kept Dallas competitive on the boards. Tyler Smith, the two-way forward who signed with Dallas on March 1, logged 17 minutes and scored 6 points on 2-of-4 shooting, including two 3-point attempts, in a spot role that reflected just how thin the rotation had become. Poulakidas, also on a two-way contract, played 18 minutes and pulled down 6 rebounds while chipping in 3 points.

Bagley was the catalyst through the second quarter. His 3-pointer with 4:13 left before halftime tied the game at 47, capping a 21-8 run. Before the game, Bagley had outlined exactly what Dallas needed to do to stay competitive.

“Just doing what we do — making it tough on Kawhi and Garland, making it as tough as possible for those guys,” Bagley told Dallas Hoops Journal before tip-off. “Try to take them out of the game and force the other guys to make plays.”

The Clippers closed the half with an 18-8 spurt — Leonard scoring the final seven points on a 3-pointer, a put-back, and two free throws — to lead 65-55 at the break.

Asked what it said about his team that they were able to fight back from 23 down and eventually take the lead, Bagley pointed to a collective refusal to let the early deficit define the game.

“We just stayed with it,” Bagley said. “Slow start for us, but I think we did a good job of slowing down, getting back to what we do, and playing the right way — getting stops and getting out and running. That’s what brought the game back in. We put ourselves in a good position, in my opinion, to win the game. They hit some big shots down the stretch and got some buckets that extended the lead. But I think we fought back and gave ourselves a chance.”

Dallas actually took the lead in the third quarter. Thompson hit a 3-pointer with 3:50 remaining to make it 78-77, the Mavericks’ first lead of the game. Nembhard pushed it to 80-77 with a basket before Leonard took over, scoring seven of Los Angeles’s final 11 points of the quarter — including back-to-back triples — to send the Clippers into the fourth leading 89-84.

Flagg was asked what the comeback demonstrated about a Mavericks team that has played much of this season shorthanded and in the lottery.

“Just competing — guys coming in, bringing good energy and changing the tone,” Flagg said. “It was good for us to fight back and put ourselves in a position to take the lead in the third quarter.”

The Fourth Quarter and Cooper Flagg’s Night

An early Flagg dunk pulled Dallas within 91-86 to open the fourth quarter, but Los Angeles steadily extended the lead from there. When Garland scored with 5:15 remaining to push the Clippers ahead 104-93, Kidd pulled Flagg for the night with a back-to-back in Phoenix on Wednesday looming.

Flagg shot 9-of-25 from the field and was held to a single basket in the second quarter as Leonard and Jones Jr. alternated as his primary defenders. Despite the off shooting night, Flagg attempted 25 shots — a reflection of his continued aggression even against one of the better defensive rosters in the league. Before the game, Kidd had emphasized that getting Flagg into a rhythm early through screen-setting and deliberate shot selection would be critical against a Clippers defense with the length and versatility to make things uncomfortable.

“It’s about setting good screens, making sure Cooper isn’t rushing or taking bad shots, and getting him touches early so he can get into a rhythm,” Kidd said before tip-off.

The 23-point first-quarter deficit made it almost impossible to establish that early rhythm. When asked what made the Clippers so difficult to attack consistently once the game settled, Flagg pointed to their length and versatility.

“They’ve got a lot of length and size,” Flagg said. “They’re very versatile and can switch. They’ve got a lot of guys willing to sit down and guard.”

Kidd was asked to assess Flagg’s shot selection on a night when the ball simply wasn’t falling, and whether the process was sound despite the numbers.

“I think he got some of the same looks — they just didn’t go down for him,” Kidd said. “Some of the floaters he had opportunities to make were right there — just hit the rim and fell off. That’s part of the game. But he kept attacking. Looking at it, we didn’t shoot the ball very well, but the score was still close. We were down six and had an opportunity there.”

Flagg was asked what he thought about the offensive process on a night when several good looks didn’t fall.

“I thought it was solid. Like Coach said, we missed a lot of easy looks that usually fall. But those are the shots we want to get, so for the most part, I think it was pretty solid.”

One of the game’s more memorable individual moments came midway through the first quarter when Flagg approached the free throw line to the sound of the home crowd’s “Overrated!” chants from The Wall — a section of Clippers fans known for trying to rattle opposing free throw shooters. He converted both attempts, then hit a 3-pointer over Jones and posterized Lopez on the very next two possessions. Asked afterward whether the crowd’s taunting had motivated him, Flagg kept the moment in perspective.

“I wouldn’t say it motivated me,” Flagg said. “That’s something I’ve heard since high school, so it kind of brought me back a little bit. The whole wall thing is kind of funny — you don’t see that in the league very often. It definitely took me back to my high school days.”

Asked more broadly whether he feeds off negative crowd energy in general, Flagg didn’t hesitate.

“Yeah, it’s always fun,” Flagg said. “You get energy from the crowd, good or bad. Obviously, the home crowd gets me going, but even from opposing fans, it’s the same thing.”

Marvin Bagley III’s Performance and Jason Kidd’s Takeaways

Bagley, returning from a three-game absence with a left shoulder impingement, was one of the few consistent offensive options for Dallas from start to finish. His 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting included the pivotal 3-pointer that tied the game at 47 in the second quarter. When asked what allowed him to be so effective offensively on a night when several of his teammates struggled to find their footing, Bagley credited patience and process.

“Just playing the game and letting it come to me — not forcing,” Bagley said. “Playing within the flow, what we were trying to do, understanding what they were trying to do, and just getting to my spots and being effective.”

Kidd made clear that having Bagley back and productive was a meaningful development for a roster operating with significant absences on the night.

“Coming back from injury, I thought he was really good tonight,” Kidd said. “His energy — he was one of the few that was scoring for us early. Him and Cooper were really the only ones producing there for us. He was a positive tonight, and it was good to have him back on the floor.”

Bagley was asked what the last three games have looked like from his vantage point as Flagg has put together the most dominant individual stretch of his rookie season, and his admiration for what he has witnessed was unambiguous.

“It’s great,” Bagley said. “I’ve never seen somebody go back-to-back games and do what he’s supposed to do, and even tonight, just leaving his stamp on the game. It’s unbelievable. I don’t see the debate — he’s definitely shown that. I’m just happy he’s able to put these games together and finish the season strong.”

Bagley was then asked about the ripple effect Flagg’s aggressiveness creates for the rest of the offense — specifically how defenses rotating toward Flagg opens up opportunities for the other Mavericks around him.

“He puts pressure on the defense and opens things up for the rest of the team,” Bagley said. “When he’s aggressive, you’ve got guys helping, and now you’ve got corner threes, cutters, different plays opening up. He’s unselfish, sees all those things, and makes his teammates better. It’s been a pleasure to play alongside him since I’ve been here, and he’s only going to keep getting better.”

Kidd was asked to compare the offensive process from Tuesday’s game against the efficiency Dallas showed in Sunday’s 134-128 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, a game where the Mavericks shot considerably better from outside.

“I think we’re taking care of the ball at a high level and getting a lot of good looks,” Kidd said. “In the Lakers game, we were making them. Again, different group out there — it seems like every night. We didn’t have PJ, Gaff, or B-Will tonight, so it’s next-man-up. We created a lot of good looks offensively from three and in the paint. We just missed some bunnies tonight that we made in the last game. But again, they’re taking care of the ball. The process is there — if we take care of it, we can get a good look.”

Nembhard’s performance off the bench also drew specific praise from Kidd, who pointed to the undrafted rookie’s ability to both create for others and look for his own scoring opportunities in a game where Dallas needed production from unexpected places.

“I thought he was really good,” Kidd said. “Ryan was someone who attacked, looked for others, set the table well for us tonight — getting guys shots and also looking for his chance to score.”

Darius Garland Contained, but Kawhi Leonard Too Much

One of the more encouraging defensive storylines for Dallas was the job done on Garland, who had torched the Mavericks for 41 points and eight 3-pointers in the March 21 overtime game at American Airlines Center. Before Tuesday’s game, Kidd had made containing Garland behind the arc the primary defensive priority.

“The last time we saw him, he made a lot of threes,” Kidd said before tip-off. “So we’ve got to take him off the three-point line. He can shoot it, but he can also get to the rim and create.”

Poulakidas had echoed that point specifically before the game, focusing on Garland’s left-hand step-back as the primary action Dallas needed to take away.

“Knowing that Garland wants to get to that left-hand step-back — he hit a lot of threes on us the last game, so try to make him play inside the line,” Poulakidas told Dallas Hoops Journal before tip-off.

The game plan worked to a degree. Garland shot just 2-of-6 from 3-point range on Tuesday after his eight-3-pointer performance three weeks prior. But Leonard more than compensated, and Kidd acknowledged after the game that the Clippers star delivered exactly what had been anticipated, regardless of the preparation.

“Understanding Garland was someone who hurt us last time, we wanted to be cautious of him,” Kidd said. “I thought the guys did a really good job there. But Kawhi is Kawhi. Like we said pregame, he can score in bunches, and he did that tonight. He was very effective from the floor.”

Defensive Adjustments and Injuries

After surrendering 39 points in the first quarter, Dallas held the Clippers to 26, 24, and 27 in the final three quarters, respectively. Flagg was asked what changed defensively after the disastrous opening period, and he credited it to a shift in collective energy and communication rather than to any specific adjustment.

“Just helping each other out and playing with better energy,” Flagg said. “That first quarter wasn’t good, but after that, the energy picked up, and that’s how we were able to claw back and take the lead in the third.”

Bagley was asked the same question and pointed to a simple yet fundamental shift in the group’s defensive disposition after falling so far behind.

“We just got stops,” Bagley told Dallas Hoops Journal. “We locked in. The slow start put us in a bad position, but we didn’t let that stop us from getting back into the game. We locked in defensively and were able to get stops — that was the biggest thing.”

Kidd was asked specifically about Lopez’s impact on the game, noting that the Clippers center altered several Mavericks attempts at the rim before Dallas made adjustments at halftime.

“Brook — I thought he made some great plays at the rim,” Kidd said. “If he didn’t block shots, he changed them. That was something we talked about at halftime — being more aware of him.”

Naji Marshall did not return in the second half after suffering a hip contusion. Kidd said Marshall would be monitored ahead of Wednesday’s back-to-back in Phoenix but stopped short of ruling him out.

“He left the game with a hip contusion,” Kidd said. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. It’s a quick turnaround — not ruling him out right now, but we’ll see how he feels.”

Box Score Notables

The Mavericks went 27-of-28 from the free throw line as a team, with Christie converting all 10 of her attempts and Flagg going 6-of-6. Johnson accounted for the lone miss late in the game. Dallas finished with 15 offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points — a bright spot Bagley pointed to after the game as evidence of the team’s effort even within a loss.

“That gives you extra possessions,” Bagley told Dallas Hoops Journal. “Getting those hustle plays and offensive rebounds can lead to kick-out threes or putbacks — that’s big for the team. It shows our effort and our want. Sometimes the games don’t go our way, but the process and the fight — like tonight — that’s what you can ask for.”

The Clippers turned it over 15 times, leading to 17 Mavericks points, but the early field goal advantage was too substantial to overcome. Leonard, Jones, and Lopez all sat for the entire fourth quarter. The Clippers shot 44.6% from the field and 37.8% from 3-point range for the game after their first-quarter shooting pace of 68% cooled considerably in the second half.

Up Next

The Mavericks visit the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday in the final back-to-back of the regular season. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. CT on MavsTV.