Cooper Flagg's Play in 'Clutch' Situations Praised by Mavs' Kidd, 'Pretty Special'
The ascent of Cooper Flagg is upon us just 16 games into his NBA career after he scored a career-high 29 points in the Dallas Mavericks' 118-115 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.
Speaking to reporters after the win, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd highlighted Flagg's "pretty special" ability in "clutch" situations.
"Clutch [situations], he's not afraid," Kidd said. "We get him the ball, and he seems like he's been there before. Being able to score when you need a bucket, when everyone knows that you're coming to him, he's deliberate. For an 18-year-old, that's pretty special."
Playing a Pelicans team that has the worst record in the Western Conference, Dallas looked like it was in a lot of trouble early. New Orleans led by as many as 15 points in the first half.
Flagg had just eight points on 4-of-10 shooting at halftime. Kidd said made a point of telling the rookie during the intermission what he should do in the second half.
The message clearly landed since Flagg dropped 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting. He scored 10 of the Mavs' final 20 points over the last six minutes in the fourth quarter, including three shots that either tied the score or gave his team the lead.
In 10 games since Nov. 3, Flagg is averaging 17.9 points on 52.1 percent shooting, 6.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals per contest.
Wins are still hard to come by for the Mavs because the overall roster talent is lacking, but they are already getting exactly what they wanted from Flagg after selecting him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft.
