Cooper Flagg becomes youngest player to score 42 points but laments Mavericks’ overtime loss to Jazz
SALT LAKE CITY AP Cooper Flagg scored the largest part points by an -year-old in NBA history but he couldn t enjoy the accomplishment because it came in a loss Flagg had points topping the previous mark of set by LeBron James on Dec in a - loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday night Obviously we didn t win So it s tough for me to want to be happy or any of that but obviously it s a success mentioned Flagg who had a bag of ice on his ankle after rolling it at the end of regulation Flagg also became just the fifth rookie to record points five rebounds and five assists in the last years as he finished with seven board and six assists The more time he spends on the floor the more he sees the better he gets He displayed it all tonight Dallas coach Jason Kidd noted Flagg has been playing his best basketball the past scarce weeks as the No overall draft pick has averaged points in the last seven games He s also playing aggressive enough to get to the line and went for against Utah It s come a long way from the start of the season so I m proud of that fourth quarter Flagg commented It s a new challenge but I am getting more and more assured and just settling in honestly just being myself and letting the tournament come to me He scored points in the fourth quarter and made a savvy play to get the tournament into overtime when he missed a free throw on purpose with such a big carom that teammate Max Christie got the rebound with seconds remaining and was fouled With Anthony Davis out and Dallas missing several other teammates to injuries this competition may be a harbinger of things to come as Flagg becomes a centerpiece of the Mavericks offense We were going to Coop He was killing them the whole challenge so they eventually tried to double him P J Washington commented It doesn t surprise me at all I know exactly what he s capable of He s a special competitor so there will be a lot more to come Flagg also tied Mark Aguirre for the the majority points by a rookie in Mavs history as he begins to make his mark on the franchise But he couldn t stop thinking of what he could have done to get the win despite the throbbing ankle The Jazz made a late - run and then dominated in overtime as Flagg didn t tally a basket in the extra period I gotta be better I had a couple of dumb turnovers missed a couple easy ones but I gotta be better executing down the stretch like that Flagg announced Setting records might be nice but Flagg feels it just means he s consistently improving and that s been his goal all season I m not really focused on a lot of that stuff the records I m more just focused on being present day to day and trying to get better and and getting our band as numerous wins as we can Flagg revealed AP NBA https www apnews com hub NBA Source
