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Tim MacMahon
DALLAS — Cooper Flagg offered a simple, if sarcastic, explanation for the best long-range shooting performance of his spectacular rookie season in the Dallas Mavericks’ 131-130 win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.
«I had my birthday,» Flagg said after scoring 33 points on 14-of-21 shooting, including a season-high four 3s. «I’m 19. I’ve only missed like one 3 since I turned 19.»
Flagg is actually 5-of-7 from 3-point range in the two games since the league’s youngest player turned 19 on Sunday. It’s a sudden improvement of the one significant flaw in Flagg’s game, as he shot only 23.4% from 3-point range in 28 NBA games as an 18-year-old.
It was clear that Flagg was feeling it early against the Nuggets. He made his first seven shots from the floor. After the final shot of that streak, a 3 from well behind the line, Flagg turned and pointed toward the Mavs’ bench, poking out his tongue as he smiled.
«Just having fun,» Flagg said. «I think I’m at my best when I’m just playing free and having fun.»
Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets’ three-time MVP.
«He was definitely a hot hand out there,» said Jokic, whose 29-point, 14-assist performance ended with him drawing a crowd in the paint and finding Peyton Watson for a wide-open corner 3 that rimmed out at the buzzer. «But just, I’m going to say the poise that he played with, he doesn’t feel like he’s so young out there. He seems like he played meaningful games and he was winning before. That’s my opinion. He looked really mature out there.»
Flagg finished with 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, joining Luka Doncic and Jason Kidd as the only rookies to put up those numbers or better in franchise history. His numbers came so much in the flow of the game that Dallas big man Anthony Davis (31 points, nine rebounds) was stunned when he heard Flagg’s statistics.
«Oooh! He’s not good enough to get a triple-double, I guess,» Davis said, joking. «He’s not there yet. … But that’s a hell of a stat line, especially with a win.»
Flagg, who is fourth in the league with 68 points in clutch situations, starred down the stretch again against Denver. His final 3 increased the Mavs’ lead to five points with 3:17 remaining, when he knocked down a shot from the top of the arc despite a tight contest from Watson. Flagg drove for a floater in traffic to bump the Mavs’ lead back to five on their next possession. A couple of possessions later, he made the right read as the Denver defense loaded up against him, whipping a pass from the right wing to the opposite corner to find Naji Marshall for a wide-open 3.
Flagg’s competitiveness, basketball IQ and ability to drive have been consistent, especially since he shifted to his natural forward position after starting the first seven games of his career at point guard. He has been effective from the midrange but struggled to find his 3-point stroke early in the season, continuing a trend from his lone college campaign at Duke, when he shot 25.0% from deep in his first 12 games and 45.1% the rest of the season, a turnaround that began immediately after his 18th birthday.
«Just being confident,» Flagg said of his mentality as a shooter. «Trust the work, trust the reps.»
The work paid off Tuesday night, impressing an opponent that won an NBA title a few seasons ago.
«It was the tough shots he made,» Nuggets coach David Adelman said. «Some of the 3s late in the clock. He got to his spots. I thought Bruce [Brown] really fought him the second half and he still made some really tough shots in key moments. He’s very impressive, man. … Sometimes it doesn’t matter when a really good player can make shots over the top, and that’s what he did.»
