Cooper Flagg scores 18 in return from injury as Mavericks lose

Cooper Flagg returned to the Dallas Mavericks‘ lineup Thursday evening after lacking eight video games due to a left midfoot sprain and had 18 factors and 6 assists in a 115-114 loss to the Orlando Magic.

Flagg’s three-point play with 37.3 seconds left gave Dallas a four-point lead, however Orlando scored the final 5 factors. He completed 7-of-22 capturing in 26 minutes and added 5 rebounds and 4 blocks, together with three in the fourth quarter after he had taken a few exhausting fouls.

“Obviously, the hardest part is not playing. I love to compete, I love to play basketball, so having that taken away from me for a while is tough,” he stated. “But it’s a good way for me to learn and get perspective, watch from a different angle. I think I learned a lot in the last couple of weeks, but I was definitely ready to get back out there and compete.”

The Mavs haven’t dominated out Flagg enjoying in each ends of the back-to-back set, with the second sport in Boston on Friday evening. Flagg has stated he rooted for the Celtics whereas rising up in Newport, Maine.

Flagg injured his foot in a Feb. 10 loss to the Phoenix Suns, forcing the No. 1 choose to overlook the Rising Stars sport throughout All-Star Weekend.

Flagg, 19, has averaged 20.4 factors, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 49 video games. The solely different rookies to common at the least 20 factors, six rebounds and 4 assists for the reason that ABA-NBA merger are Luka Doncic, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird.

“Coop is going to be a superstar in this league,” stated Klay Thompson, who scored 24 factors for the Mavericks on Thursday. “It’s been a pleasure to be his teammate, and I’ll be excited to tell future generations that I got to play with him in his rookie season.”

Flagg, nonetheless, has been surpassed by former Duke roommate Kon Knueppel as the betting favourite for Rookie of the Year. Knueppel has performed a serious position in the surging Charlotte Hornets‘ midseason turnaround, averaging 19.2 factors, 5.5 rebounds and three.4 assists whereas shattering the rookie document for made 3s whereas capturing 43.6% from lengthy vary.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.