Cooper Flagg saw the double-team coming — a situation many players look to escape. The rookie out of Duke chose a different route. Flagg rose into an off-balance, one-legged fadeaway,...
Cooper Flagg saw the double-team coming — a situation many players look to escape. The rookie out of Duke chose a different route.
Flagg rose into an off-balance, one-legged fadeaway, knocking down the shot to beat Brooklyn’s coverage. On the other end, he sent a Nets shot into the stands, then exchanged a handshake with teammate Max Christie as the crowd reacted.
Late in the fourth quarter, Flagg knocked down a 3-pointer, which helped the Mavericks put the game away.
The performance marked a bounce-back showing for Flagg after struggling in several recent outings.
Flagg finished with 27 points, five assists and five rebounds to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 113-105 win against the Brooklyn Nets at the American Airlines Center on Monday night.
On back-to-back possessions in the second quarter, Flagg knocked down two contested midrange jumpers, continuing to find his rhythm. The game was part of a stretch in which Dallas (15-25) is playing four home games in five days.
The Mavericks got early contributions from Jaden Hardy. Early in the first quarter, forward Naji Marshall swung a pass to Hardy at the top of the arc, resulting in Dallas’ first made basket of the game.
Later in the quarter, Marshall drove toward the left side of the lane before kicking the ball out to Hardy again, but this time with a defender closing hard.
The pressure didn’t matter. Hardy buried his third 3-pointer of the night, drilling the shot over Nets (11-26) guard Terrance Mann.
It marked just Hardy’s second start of the season. Hardy finished with 15 points.
Hardy wasn’t the only Maverick connecting from deep. Klay Thompson caught fire in the first half, knocking down three of his six 3-pointers.
Category: General Sports
