Cooper Flagg scored 43 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out six assists to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 125-122 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. As he sat down in the interview room, though, he realized he had forgotten something.
“Oh, I forgot my peanut butter and jelly,” Flagg said, referring to the sandwiches he has been caught eating during recent games as he works to put weight on his 19-year-old frame. “I was supposed to bring the peanut butter and jelly. Dang it!”
A historic night for Flagg
Flagg also recorded three steals and a block. The reigning Rookie of the Year became only the second teenager in NBA history to finish with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds in the same game, joining Kevin Durant. It was the fifth 40-point performance of Flagg’s career. The rest of the teenagers to play in the league have combined for 10.
“It’s unbelievable. He’s a 19-year-old doing this,” Mavericks coach Dusty May said.
Kyrie Irving also delivered. Playing in both games of a back-to-back set for the first time since recovering from a torn ACL that sidelined him all of last season, he scored 35 points on 11-of-18 shooting in 38 minutes. Flagg and Irving combined for 26 points in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks closed out the Pacers to improve to 7-4.
Flagg shot 16-of-25 from the floor and 3-of-6 from three-point range.
“Tonight, me and Kai had it going,” Flagg said. “There’s hopefully going to be a lot of nights like that.”
Elite production this season
Irving, 34, is an eight-time All-Star who has long been one of the league’s elite scorers. Flagg has joined that group, averaging 25.9 points on 50% shooting this season. He is also averaging 6.9 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 2.0 steals. The only other player in the league averaging as many points, rebounds, assists and steals is Luka Doncic, the former Mavericks star who is on a historic run with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“We keep calling him a teenager, but he plays way beyond his years,” Irving said. “Got to give him his flowers. The way he’s always in attack mode, the way he sees the game and he gets others involved. Very selfless. It helps out our team a lot, including myself. Just seeing him being able to make plays for others, but also when he’s calling his own number, he’s getting in that paint and trying to get the most efficient shot possible.”
Mastering the midrange
The midrange jumper has become an extremely efficient shot for Flagg. He finished his 43-point performance with a pair of pull-up 18-footers in the final minute. According to NBA.com tracking, Flagg has shot 29 of 49 (59.2%) on attempts between 10 and 19 feet this season.
“I think just being able to get to my spots at a higher level and being more comfortable with that has allowed me to take a little bit of load off my body,” Flagg said. “Just kind of stop it short, raising up over people. It’s taxing to get downhill all the way to the rim and try and finish over 7-footers all night, every night. I think just adding that in there, it definitely allows me to pace myself a little bit.”
A clutch scorer in his second season
Flagg is also thriving in crunch time. He ranks fourth in the league in clutch scoring with 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting.
Mavericks forward Naji Marshall said he was surprised by how quickly Flagg has developed. “I’m not even going to lie: I didn’t think he was going to be this good,” Marshall said. “I knew he was good. I didn’t think he was going to be this good. Every day, bro, he just breaks the standard for what I thought he was going to be.”