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Tim MacMahon
FORT WORTH, Texas — No. 1 draft pick Cooper Flagg takes pride in his ability to impact winning in a variety of ways, and that versatility was evident in his NBA preseason debut.
Flagg filled the box score during his one half of work in the Dallas Mavericks‘ 106-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena on Monday night. The 18-year-old rookie scored 10 points and contributed 6 rebounds, 3 assists and a blocked shot in 14 minutes.
“That’s a fun brand of basketball to play when the ball’s moving around,” Flagg said. “It was fun.”
All of Flagg’s points came during a two-minute, 38-second flurry in the second quarter. After grabbing a defensive rebound, Flagg went coast to coast for a contested layup for his first points with 5:32 remaining in the quarter. He knocked down a 3-pointer as the pick-and-roll ball handler the next possession. Flagg also made a pair of free throws after getting fouled on a spin move in the paint and hit another 3 off the dribble.
Flagg shot 3-of-6 overall and 2-of-3 from 3-point range. He did not commit a turnover, playing a clean game while handling some of the Mavs’ point guard responsibilities.
“Just taking whatever the defense gives me,” Flagg said. “Just keep it simple, making the right play — pass or shot, whatever that is.”
Flagg’s most impressive highlight occurred 85 seconds into the game, when he swooped in from the weak side to swat Isaiah Joe‘s driving layup attempt, a stop that sparked a fast break Anthony Davis finished with a dunk on the other end.
“You got to see the defensive side, you got to see the playmaking and then the scoring,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “He was really, really good.”
The defending champion Thunder did not bring any of their regular starters on the back-to-back preseason trip, which included a win over the Charlotte Hornets in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday night.
