TORONTO — Cooper Flagg looked toward the rafters of Scotiabank Arena and cracked a smile after his first triple of the night went through the net.
The 3-pointer, one of just five for his Mavericks, didn’t do much to stop the bleeding in Sunday’s 30-point loss to the Toronto Raptors, but it was a rare sight of relief for the rookie forward. Flagg spent most of the night frustrated by an immense amount of defensive pressure from the Raptors and a lack of whistles blown in his favor by the officials.
Dallas stumbled, fumbled and grumbled its way to a 122-92 loss, which was somehow not its most lopsided game of the season. The Mavericks hadn’t seen a larger deficit since their 33-point defeat on opening night to San Antonio.
“Of course, the frustration was there tonight,” said Daniel Gafford. “As a team, I feel like we all could have come together a lot more and just put our hands together, try to push each other to just keep our heads up in certain circumstances. I think it was one of those nights for us.”
Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg (32) scores during second half NBA basketball action against the Toronto Raptors, in Toronto on Sunday, March 8, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Chris Young / AP
Gafford’s night of perfection included a season-high 21 points and 11 rebounds with no misses from the field, converting on all 10 of his attempts. The same couldn’t be said for the Mavericks as a team, who struggled and converted on just 35 of 88 from the field. Even worse, they committed 20 turnovers, a sign of their lack of offensive cohesion.
Flagg was the culprit of four of those giveaways, a credit to the Raptors for speeding him up on the offensive end. He finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks.
This season has been full of firsts for Flagg, from record-breaking performances to playing in TD Garden for the first time on Friday. Sunday marked another new experience. His first technical foul was issued in the fourth quarter when he barked at an official for not calling a foul after one of his several drives to the basket.
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“It is what it is,” said Flagg, who finished with just three free throw attempts. “I gotta be better at just slowing down a little bit. Been playing a little too fast since I got back. I don’t know. I was frustrated. Kind of let it out. Gotta just move on.”
Moving on to the next play is the recommendation of Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who wasn’t concerned about Flagg’s passion and competitive spirit.
“He’s attacking. I think he just has to play,” Kidd said. “He has a right to express his feelings to the officials and he did that. I don’t mind the T, but I also understand we’re on the road. Frustration can set in, but you gotta keep your composure and you gotta continue to keep attacking until they blow the whistle.
“That’s just part of the game. He received his first T. It won’t be his last T. He is driving and some of them might be fouls, but if that whistle doesn’t blow, you gotta keep playing.”
Flagg is understandably frustrated at this point of the season, as are most of his teammates. The Mavericks have 43 losses this season, including seven straight, and they’re headed toward a second consecutive year in the NBA draft lottery. He was playing at an elite level worthy of the Rookie of the Year award before suffering a foot sprain that cost him three weeks of action, now he’s working himself back into form.
Gafford has experienced his fair share of frustrations with injuries and officiating this season and offered his perspective on what he’s seeing from his 19-year-old teammate.
“I think he’s just getting the full effect of what the league is all about,” Gafford said. “I think he’s learning on a day-to-day basis. … He’s just now getting to that point to where he blows up on the refs. I feel like he’s in the right spot because now he can learn from that, even though he hadn’t been doing that too much throughout the season where he just went off the rails.
“I feel like he’s taking a step in the right direction because he’s voicing his opinion about a lot of stuff that goes on with the whistle.”
Twitter/X: @MikeACurtis2
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