Cooper Flagg scored 12 points on six first-quarter baskets Friday, giving Dallas a 27-20 lead over Houston. The scoring came first. By the end of the Mavericks’ 116-111 win at American Airlines Center, his work had spread across nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block.
Flagg spent the rest of the game changing jobs. He gathered rebounds when Houston’s extra possessions threatened to take over, passed often enough to keep the offense from becoming a queue for Kyrie Irving, and then returned to scoring when the fourth quarter became a negotiation rather than a procession.
The opening was impressive because it had range without requiring a three-pointer. Flagg made a two-point shot at 9:10 of the first quarter, then added an turnaround jumper, a short two-point finish and an pull-up. Another pull-up came with 4:03 left in the period.
The sequence gave him six field goals in the quarter, and Dallas finished ahead even though Houston had opened the game with the early advantage.
The rebounds began arriving early, too. Flagg recorded two defensive rebounds within the opening minutes, collected another later in the first, and kept adding to the total as Houston tested Dallas on the glass. In the second quarter, he secured a defensive rebound, followed shortly by an offensive rebound, and later finished a running dunk assisted by Irving.
Houston still won the rebounding battle, 48-41 in player rebounds, and Tari Eason’s eight offensive rebounds remain a serious problem for Dallas. Flagg’s nine boards did not repair that problem by themselves. They did give the Mavericks another player capable of ending a possession, including eight defensive rebounds, rather than leaving every Houston miss as an invitation to extend the Rockets’ attack.
The middle of the night belonged to Flagg the distributor. In the third quarter, he assisted Irving’s three-pointer, found Max Christie for a dunk and set up Walter Clayton Jr. for a three-pointer with 1:19 remaining. Earlier, Irving had assisted Flagg on the dunk. Flagg’s six assists reached four teammates—Irving, Christie, Clayton and Caleb Martin—rather than attaching every useful possession to his own shooting line.
The passing put several teammates into scoring possessions. Irving made a three, Christie a dunk and Clayton another three on Flagg assists during the third quarter. Those were useful outcomes for an offense trying to overcome Houston’s additional chances. Flagg could contribute a score without having to finish the move himself, and Dallas needed that variety while it worked back toward the lead.
The late scoring arrived as another layer. With 4:07 left in the fourth quarter, Flagg made a driving floating jumper that put Dallas ahead 98-96. He added a two-point basket with 3:28 remaining, then scored on another driving floater and converted the accompanying free throw at 1:40.
