{"id":645371,"date":"2026-03-07T13:47:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T13:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/645371\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T13:47:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T13:47:00","slug":"cooper-flagg-returns-mavericks-lose-115-114-to-magic-on-late-dunk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/645371\/","title":{"rendered":"Cooper Flagg Returns, Mavericks Lose 115-114 To Magic On Late Dunk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cooper Flagg<\/a> was back. For the better part of 26 minutes Thursday night at Kia Center, the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> looked like a different team.<\/p>\n

Then Wendell Carter Jr.<\/a> caught a pass from Jalen Suggs<\/a> and slammed home a dunk with 1.4 seconds left, and the Orlando Magic walked away with a 115-114 win that snapped any momentum Dallas had built around Flagg\u2019s return from an eight-game absence.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks led for most of the fourth quarter. Flagg made it a four-point game with 37.3 seconds left on a three-point play \u2014 blocking Carter at one end, then converting a tough and-one on the other. Before that sequence, Flagg had driven to the basket and appeared to be fouled on a play that was reversed on review. Kidd took issue with the league\u2019s standard on those calls postgame, arguing the allowance puts players at risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said both players were playing,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cI think that\u2019s something that we have to be cautious of. We don\u2019t want anybody to get hurt. They just felt both players were playing, kind of a play-on situation. But it\u2019s something that we have to address because until someone gets hurt, we\u2019re going to allow this, and that\u2019s not what we want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suggs answered the three-point play with a three-pointer five seconds later to cut it to one. Flagg\u2019s midrange jumper with 10 seconds left rattled out, Carter dunked on the other end, and the Mavericks had 1.4 seconds to work with. Middleton\u2019s inbounds pass led Flagg just a bit too far; the ball bounced off his hand, and Dallas lost its fifth straight game, dropping to 21-41 on the season.<\/p>\n

Thompson summed up the feeling in the visiting locker room, sharing a layered perspective. For a team led by such a young star in Flagg, the late-game experiences will only help in the long term. However, there were mistakes the group made that they\u2019d like to have back that could have swung the game in their favor.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight was tough because that game was completely in our hands,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cThere are a couple of mistakes that are going to sting until tomorrow\u2019s tipoff. But it\u2019s going to pay off huge dividends for our young players, especially Cooper. To see him seize the moment toward the end of that game was great and bodes well for his future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cooper Flagg Returns in Historic Fashion for Dallas Mavericks<\/p>\n

The night started with history and nearly ended with a win. Flagg\u2019s first basket \u2014 a putback at the 9:49 mark of the first quarter \u2014 gave him 1,000 career points at 19 years and 74 days old, making him the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach the milestone behind only LeBron James<\/a> (19 years, 41 days). He finished with 18 points on 7-of-22 shooting, five rebounds, six assists, one steal, and a career-high four blocks in 26 minutes after missing eight games with a left midfoot sprain.<\/p>\n

The atmosphere at Kia Center set the tone before tip-off. Flagg spent two years at Montverde Academy \u2014 about 30 minutes away \u2014 where he won a national high school championship. With roughly 15 minutes before tip-off, he made his way onto the court and a lively applause broke out. Mavericks jerseys, Duke jerseys, and Montverde Academy shirts were spotted throughout the building. When the national anthem was performed, a fan sitting directly behind the team\u2019s bench yelled \u201cFlagg!\u201d into the silence.<\/p>\n

After nearly a month away, there was rust. Flagg missed eight of his first 12 shots and went 1-of-5 from three before knocking down his lone triple in the third quarter, immediately following back-to-back turnovers. He threw his hands to the sky on his way back to the defensive end. On the Mavericks\u2019 first possession, he drew two defenders and found Middleton in the corner for the opening points. He found Gafford for a rare alley-oop in the second quarter, picked off a Banchero pass and threw down a two-handed slam in the third, and finished as part of a 14-point fast-break effort for Dallas.<\/p>\n

Defense was where Flagg made his loudest statement. He blocked Desmond Bane<\/a> for an emphatic swat that drew a scream out of him. His fourth block of the night \u2014 a clean swat of Carter\u2019s layup in the final minute \u2014 set up the and-one on the other end that gave Dallas a four-point lead with 37.3 seconds left. Kidd pointed to that sequence as the moment Flagg\u2019s competitive edge took over.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just his points,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cHe had some incredible blocks. When he got a little upset after the whistle \u2014 when he got hit \u2014 I thought his energy and intent picked up on the defensive end and he got us going.\u201d<\/p>\n

After nearly a month away, the adjustment back to game speed was real, though Flagg kept his assessment straightforward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt pretty good,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to get back into a rhythm. We haven\u2019t had a ton of games with the new guys, and Khris and I haven\u2019t shared the court a ton. But just getting back into a rhythm, I felt pretty good. I\u2019m ready to get back to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dallas has now played in its league-high 39th clutch game and has struggled to close them out. Flagg has been in enough of those situations to know what they\u2019re worth, win or lose.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say I\u2019m pretty comfortable,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been in a lot of those situations throughout the season now. We haven\u2019t won a ton of them, but they\u2019re all learning experiences for us right now. What we\u2019ve got to take away from it is that we\u2019ve got to learn and we\u2019ve got to get better. We\u2019re going to be in a lot of those positions moving forward into next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flagg also played against a familiar face Thursday. Banchero attended Duke, and the two crossed paths in pickup runs before either reached the NBA. Matching up against him in a real game carried a different weight.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was good,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cHe\u2019s a tough guy. Really skilled, gets to his spots, huge body obviously, and he\u2019s dynamic. He\u2019s a great player. I\u2019ve played against Paolo a little bit in pickup and stuff back in school, so it was cool to get to go against him in a real NBA game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klay Thompson Delivers in Return, Passes Ray Allen on All-Time Three-Point List<\/p>\n

Coming off the bench in his first game back from a right adductor contusion, Thompson was the most consistent offensive presence on the floor for Dallas. He finished with 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting from three \u2014 a season-high seven three-pointers \u2014 and added four rebounds and one assist in 26 minutes. Thursday\u2019s performance also made Thompson one of three players in NBA history to record 200 or more games with five or more three-pointers, joining Stephen Curry<\/a> and James Harden<\/a>. Thursday also marked another individual milestone: Thompson passed Ray Allen on the all-time three-point list. The record meant something to him, and he was careful not to let the moment pass without acknowledging what Allen represented to the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I passed Ray yet in the regular season because that is very meaningful to me,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cHe was one of the greatest shooting guards of all time. He had the prettiest jump shot for the longest. He was just the ultimate workhorse. He played effectively until he was 40, and he left a great imprint on the game. So to be even in the same sentence as him is a huge honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shooting looked effortless from the opening possessions, and Thompson traced it back to something simple \u2014 the absence of overthinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think maybe when I made my first shot and didn\u2019t really think about it,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI felt great pregame. Those few days off really were helpful. Anytime I\u2019m in a good zone, it just feels like the game slows down for me. So it was a great flow for me, and I\u2019m going to take that same mindset and flow state into Boston.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the opposing side and now as his coach, Kidd has watched Thompson do this for long enough that the explanation came easily.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been doing it for so long,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cI don\u2019t think there is anything hard in his book. If he gets a clean look or if he touches the ball, he\u2019s capable. His performance tonight was really good for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Max Christie<\/a>, who has been in a prolonged shooting slump, scored six points on 2-of-6 shooting from three in 28 minutes Thursday. Thompson has taken on a mentorship role with Christie this season, and his message to the young shooter was rooted in perspective rather than mechanics.<\/p>\n

\u201cMax so far has already had a great season,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cHe\u2019s a great shooter who\u2019s only going to get better. I just tell him to give himself some grace because Max might be 22 years old and there\u2019s not a lot of players in the NBA who are as effective as him at such a young age. He\u2019s got so many great years ahead of him. I just tell him to be as present as possible and enjoy these early years because there\u2019s nothing like the first major experiences of your NBA career.\u201d<\/p>\n

The late-game execution broke down despite Thompson\u2019s shooting. Dallas led by four with 37.3 seconds left and gave up five straight points. Kidd walked through both mistakes that cost the Mavericks the game. Given how rarely Flagg has been able to play since the Mavericks\u2019 recent blockbuster trade to move on from Anthony Davis<\/a>, there haven\u2019t been many opportunities to build chemistry late in games with Middleton.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiving up threes down the stretch,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cWe\u2019re up four, and we give up a three. Teaching moment. We overcommitted, and they capitalized. And then that last opportunity \u2014 Khris was trying to lead Coop because he felt Cooper was open. It\u2019s just the relationship building in times like this. We need to go through that. Khris is new. Khris saw it. We talked about it, and Cooper was open for a quick second. But it\u2019s just the combination of those two not playing together yet in that type of situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The loss extended the streak to five games, but Kidd framed the close game as part of a longer education for a young roster that will be better for having gone through it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we learn from both \u2014 we learn from making mistakes,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to fail in this as a professional athlete, and you can learn from that as a team. It\u2019s not always going to be perfect. For us, being a young team, we\u2019re going through that. We\u2019ve played a lot of close games. We\u2019ve won some, we\u2019ve lost some, but it\u2019s good to go through. Even though we lost, we are winning because we\u2019ve been in a lot of close games and we\u2019re just going to get better as we go forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khris Middleton, Daniel Gafford Steady Dallas Mavericks<\/p>\n

The impact of getting Flagg, Thompson, and Naji Marshall<\/a> back in the lineup showed up immediately in the first half. Dallas scored 62 points before the break, a significant jump from the 49 it managed against Oklahoma City and 48 against Charlotte in the previous two games.<\/p>\n

Middleton was central to that output. He finished with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting with two rebounds and seven assists in 32 minutes, scoring 10 of those 19 in the fourth quarter. During Flagg\u2019s eight-game absence, the two spent time breaking down film and talking through the game. It showed in how Flagg talked about him afterward.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a professional bucket-getter,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cHe gets to his spots better than a lot of people in this league. So just having the opportunity to learn from him and be alongside him \u2014 I\u2019m really excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gafford was equally productive in only 25 minutes. He finished with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, a game-high 13 rebounds, and two blocks. The night illustrated yet again the challenge of building real continuity on a roster that has rarely been fully healthy, and Kidd didn\u2019t sugarcoat it.<\/p>\n

\u201cGaff was really good,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cWhen you look at it, the consistency of guys playing as a whole won\u2019t happen this season. Tomorrow we\u2019re going to look different. It\u2019s just the nature of this situation. But I thought this group played well. We can never get this group to play five or six games together. Hopefully, that\u2019ll be next season. Because it\u2019s hard to be consistent when you have one out, two out, two in. That\u2019s just the way the season has been going for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

P.J. Washington<\/a> added 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting, going 3-of-4 from three and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line with five rebounds in 33 minutes. Ryan Nembhard<\/a> contributed six points on 3-of-5 shooting with two rebounds and four assists in 14 minutes off the bench. Marshall finished with six points on 2-of-10 shooting, going 2-of-2 from the free-throw line with four rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes in his return from a four-game absence with a right finger contusion. Brandon Williams<\/a> did not play with a left quad contusion. Marvin Bagley III<\/a> also sat out with a neck sprain, while Kyrie Irving<\/a> and Dereck Lively II<\/a> remain sidelined for the season.<\/p>\n

Orlando Magic\u2019s Tristan da Silva, Jalen Suggs Come Up Clutch<\/p>\n

Off the Orlando bench, Tristan da Silva was nearly perfect. He finished with 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting, going 4-of-4 from three in 25 minutes \u2014 a performance that swung momentum in the third quarter and gave the Magic enough cushion to survive a late Dallas charge. Mosley did not overcomplicate his assessment of what da Silva brought.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t miss a shot,\u201d Mosley said. \u201cThat\u2019s a pretty good lift. And I\u2019ve got to give a shout out to our bench \u2014 that\u2019s another night that Goga Bitadze<\/a> comes in, plays the right way, does the right thing, just continues to have a presence on the rim, setting great screens, defending the right way. And then Noah Penda<\/a> did an unbelievable job in there, blocking shots, physicality \u2014 all those things are big keys to us winning games and it\u2019s by committee as always.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suggs made the two biggest plays of the final 40 seconds \u2014 the go-ahead three with 32.2 seconds left and the decisive feed to Carter for the game-winning dunk. He finished with 17 points, seven assists, and three steals. Mosley credited the possession before the dunk as the one that created the real opening \u2014 the stop that gave Orlando the transition opportunity in the first place.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the play before that essentially,\u201d Mosley said. \u201cDesmond and Jalen connect on the three that got us back into it, and our ability to sit down and get the stop. And then being able to push the break when the team is not balanced \u2014 Jalen made a heck of a play after the stop to get out in transition and find Wendell. It was big time for him to go up and finish with authority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suggs said he considered pulling up for the three before deciding to push it to Carter on the roll, ultimately deferring to the read that opened up in front of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust trying to get it up the floor,\u201d Suggs said. \u201cSee if we call a timeout or not. He let us rock. Wendell did a good job flowing into the drag instead of just stalling out. Got a good hit which led to the big stepping up and he was wide open. I thought about shooting it. Good roll and good finish by Wendell. I think he made the play on that one, to be honest. All I had to do was facilitate it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carter said he noticed Gafford trailing behind him in transition and used that read to set up the drag \u2014 knowing Dallas would be caught between guarding the roll and stopping the ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started with the stop,\u201d Carter said. \u201cWe did a really good job of baiting them into a tough two. We got a good box out, and I knew Gafford was behind me on the way down the court, so I thought it would\u2019ve been a good idea to go into a quick drag to put them in no man\u2019s land. And then like Jalen said, he just found me on the roll, and I just finished the play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carter added 15 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes. Banchero had 16 points and 12 rebounds on 7-of-17 shooting in 36 minutes. Bane contributed 14 points in 38 minutes, and Anthony Black<\/a> added eight points.<\/p>\n

Orlando leaned on a collective composure to close after Dallas had wrestled back the lead. Da Silva spoke to what was required down the stretch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it shows a great amount of poise to be able to execute down the stretch and not get caught up in the heat of the moment,\u201d da Silva said. \u201cKudos to Jalen for making that big shot at the end, for setting up Wendell to go ahead late. He\u2019s been making great plays for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mosley said the game came down to a principle the Magic have leaned on all season \u2014 one that nearly slipped away before it held.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of the game \u2014 you have to play 48 minutes all the way through no matter what is happening,\u201d Mosley said. \u201cIt could have gone down when they got the block or the and-one with Cooper Flagg. It\u2019s a big portion of us just continuing to play all the way through. That\u2019s the momentum we\u2019re going to continue to need \u2014 play 48 no matter what happens within the game, because it is a game of runs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley spent six years as a Mavericks assistant before taking the Magic job. He was also on the Team USA staff in the summer of 2024 when Flagg \u2014 then 17 years old \u2014 scrimmaged against the Olympic roster as a member of the Select Team. The talent was unmistakable from the start, Mosley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight away, you could just see his level of confidence he had in himself and his game because of the work he\u2019s put in,\u201d Mosley said. \u201cHis ability to ask the right questions and try to get things right \u2014 that\u2019s the mark of a very great player. They\u2019re always curious about what it takes to be your best, but also the level of confidence you have to keep no matter who you\u2019re playing against night in and night out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Up Next: Cooper Flagg\u2019s Boston Homecoming<\/p>\n

Flagg became the ninth player in NBA history to record 1,000 points, 300 rebounds, and 200 assists in his first 50 games. Since the 1976-77 merger, only Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a> and Michael Jordan<\/a> have done it. Of the six retired players on that list, all but one are Hall of Famers.<\/p>\n

Missing eight games was difficult in a way that went beyond the physical, and Flagg was candid about what the absence cost him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love to compete. I love to play basketball, so having that taken away for a little while is tough,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cBut it was a good opportunity for me to learn and get perspective, watch from a different angle. I think I learned a lot over the last couple weeks, but I was definitely ready to get back out there and compete.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s game in Boston carries its own weight. TD Garden is the arena Flagg grew up going to as a kid in Newport, Maine. Jayson Tatum<\/a> is expected to make his season debut for the Celtics after missing nearly 10 months with a right Achilles tear \u2014 and Flagg grew up watching Tatum, modeling his game after Tatum\u2019s path from Duke to the league. The admiration for what Tatum has worked through came through clearly.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis whole recovery has been nothing short of incredible,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cJust how hard he\u2019s worked \u2014 you have to give him so much credit for being so driven. To come back as soon as he has is incredible. It\u2019s going to be a really fun game. He\u2019s someone I\u2019ve always looked up to, and I\u2019m excited to face off and compete against him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being able to play at the arena he attended games as a child for the first time as an NBA player, Flagg did not need many words to describe what Friday means.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really the only arena I went to as a little kid,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cI\u2019m really excited. It\u2019s a great opportunity, and I\u2019m just blessed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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