Cooper Flagg Injured as Mavs, Pacers Scuffle on Video, Latest News on Star's Status After Exiting

Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg suffered a left shoulder injury after Indiana Pacers wing Aaron Nesmith committed a hard foul while Flagg was driving to the basket on a fast break late in the second quarter on Friday evening.

A trainer checked out Flagg, who went to the locker room and did not start the second half. Dallas, of note, led 77-43 at half in part because Flagg had 14 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Flagg was eventually ruled out with left shoulder soreness. After a 121-105 win over the Pacers, Mavericks head coach Dusty May told reporters Flagg would be evaluated over the next couple of days.

After the incident, Mavericks forward Naji Marshall confronted Nesmith, and both teams got into a baseline scuffle.

Marshall and Nesmith got technicals. Nesmith also received a Flagrant 1 for the initial foul.

The 19-year-old Flagg arrived in the NBA after the Mavs selected him with the first overall pick in the 2025 draft. Flagg was a top-pick lock after earning consensus player of the year honors at Duke in 2024-25.

He met the hype and then some in his NBA Rookie of the Year campaign, posting 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

Flagg is obviously a massive part of the Mavericks' present and long-term future as Dallas looks to return to the playoffs for the first time since its 2023-24 Western Conference title-winning season.

Hopefully Flagg will be back 100 percent ASAP. A "soreness" designation at least brings some hope the injury isn't too serious, even if the fall looked quite painful at first glance.

Dallas returns to the court Saturday at home against the San Antonio Spurs, so that could be a quick turnaround for Flagg. The Mavs' next game after that will be Monday at the Miami Heat.