Flagg Deals Career-High 12 Assists as Mavericks Rout Nets 130-93 in Wire-to-Wire Blowout

The dunk came first, and it set the tone for everything that followed. Early in the second quarter, Cooper Flagg rose over Brooklyn's Noah Clowney and threw down a poster dunk that brought the American Airlines Center crowd to its feet — and from there, the Dallas Mavericks never let the Brooklyn Nets back into the game.

Flagg finished with 25 points and a career-high 12 assists as Dallas coasted to a 130-93 win on Sunday night, a wire-to-wire rout that was effectively decided by half-time. The second-year forward shot 8-of-13 from the field, knocked down three of his five three-point attempts and went a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, adding five rebounds and a steal in just 28 minutes. It was his third consecutive double-double and his fourth of the young season.

The numbers tell only part of the story. Flagg had 20 points by the break, on only 10 shots, and he spent the middle two quarters turning playmaker. Seven of his assists came in the second quarter, when Dallas outscored Brooklyn 33-20, and five more followed in the third. Six different Mavericks scored off his passes, and by the time he checked out for good with 8:28 left in the fourth, the lead had swelled to 32. The NBA noted afterwards that Flagg is the first teenager in league history to record at least 25 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in fewer than 30 minutes of playing time.

The performance also answered the one question that had followed him into the night. Flagg entered the game shooting just 21.6 percent from three-point range this season, a figure his coach, Dusty May, had brushed aside before tip-off as far too early to judge. Flagg then buried threes at the end of the first quarter, early in the second, and on Dallas' first possession of the fourth — a small sample, but a loud one.

He was far from alone. Kyrie Irving scored 21 points against his former team, Daniel Gafford added 18 points and three blocked shots, and Santi Aldama and Zaccharie Risacher chipped in 12 and 11. Dallas shot a season-best 57.1 percent from the field and posted a season-high 130 points, leading 66-46 at half-time and never looking back. The 37-point margin was the Mavericks' largest since October 2022, and the win — their second straight, and fourth in a row over Brooklyn — lifted them to 6-4.

Brooklyn, meanwhile, looked every bit a team on the second night of a road swing. Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 19 points and nine rebounds, Nolan Traore added 14 and Julius Randle 13, but the visitors shot under 39 percent and were outclassed on both ends. The loss dropped Brooklyn to 2-8, with eight defeats in their first 10 games and this one their worst of the season so far.

For Dallas, the night was a reminder of how quickly the picture can change when its young star plays like this. Flagg came in averaging 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists, and last season's Rookie of the Year is already bending games in ways few players his age ever have. The Mavericks close a home back-to-back against the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, and on this evidence, the rest of the league should be watching closely.