Cooper Flagg became the youngest-ever player to score 35 points in an NBA game as he helped the Dallas Mavericks rally to a 114-110 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.
The 18-year-old went 13 for 22 from the field in his 20th career game. The top pick in this year’s draft also grabbed eight rebounds. The only other 18-year-old to score 35 points in an NBA game is LeBron James, who did so twice in his rookie season. His first came when he was 18 years and 348 days old, five days older than Flagg was on Saturday.
“He’s only 18 years old, but he seems like he’s been in this league before,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “He did it all tonight. He had the ball. You can call it point guard or whatever, but he ran the offense for us. He drove the ball. The ball touched the paint. He got to the rim, got to the free throw line, stepped up and made free throws for us late. Just his composure on both ends [impressed me]. He competes at a very high level. You saw that tonight, but you saw that last night, too.”
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Flagg also impressed in Friday’s game, when he faced James’s Lakers. In that game, he had 11 assists, an NBA record for an 18-year-old. His 35-year-old teammate, Klay Thompson, is another admirer.
“Cooper’s upside is limitless,” Thompson said. “He has every tool to be great. Sometimes I can’t believe he should be a freshman in college.”
Flagg was aggressive all game against the Clippers, including a spectacular dunk over Ivica Zubac.
“Being aggressive right now is obviously right for me, and that’s what Coach has stressed to me,” said Flagg. “I’ve got to be aggressive, and we’ll live with some of the mistakes, but you just have to be aggressive and trust all the work.”
Thompson also had an impressive outing: he hit four three-pointers in the fourth quarter, his final one putting Dallas ahead for good with 1:51 left. He shot 6 of 10 from long distance overall as the Mavericks snapped a three-game losing streak. He finished with 23 points, 17 of which came in the final quarter.
Kawhi Leonard led Los Angeles with 30 points and eight rebounds. James Harden added 29 points, 11 assists and eight boards for the Clippers, who dropped their fourth consecutive game. John Collins scored 21 and Ivica Zubac had 19 points and 11 boards.
Los Angeles (5-15) have lost seven straight at the Intuit Dome since beating New Orleans 126-124 on Halloween night. The Mavericks (6-15) scored 20 points off 18 Clippers turnovers.
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