Cooper Flagg Shines with 13 Points While NBA Legends and Rising Star Watch from the Sidelines

Cooper Flagg just stole the preseason spotlight, stepping up for the Dallas Mavericks in a solid 121-94 rout over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. The kid put up 13 points, dished out three assists, and snagged a couple of rebounds in 28 minutes—the longest stretch he’s clocked this preseason. With the Lakers fielding a patchwork squad and missing some key stars, the game was more about Dallas building momentum and Flagg carving out his space heading into the regular season. It’s clear the Mavericks are ready to lean on their rookie star as he prepares for his official NBA debut. LEARN MORE

Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks can now turn their attention to his official NBA debut.

Flagg and the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 121-94 in their preseason finale on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Flagg had 13 points, three assists and two rebounds in the win for Dallas. He played in 28 minutes, too, marking his longest run in the preseason.

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The contest itself wasn’t anywhere near as entertaining as it could have been, considering the two teams. The Lakers were extremely shorthanded, and former Mavericks star Luka Dončić didn’t play at all for Los Angeles. Dončić played against the Mavericks twice last season after the stunning trade that sent him to the Lakers and Anthony Davis to the Mavericks. That eventually led to the Mavericks winning the NBA Draft lottery for the first time in franchise history and selecting Flagg out of Duke.

Flagg had a few highlights early on Wednesday while running the point, including a perfect backdoor cut that led to a two-handed slam and another wild and-one layup that he got to fall after absolutely working Dalton Knecht in the post.

But the Lakers still held the advantage at the first break, thanks to 18 points from Gabe Vincent. He opened the night going a perfect 5-of-5 from behind the arc. He ended up making another in the second quarter and entered the locker room with 22 points at halftime — which pushed the Lakers to a 13-point lead.

But Dallas finally started chipping away at that lead, and then erupted in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks outscored the Lakers 37-8 in the final period to roll to the 27-point win.

Davis led the Mavericks with 18 points and nine rebounds while shooting 7-of-15 from the field. Dereck Lively added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and P.J. Washington finished with 13 points.

Vincent didn’t score again in the contest after his first half run. Rui Hachimura added 19 points, and Jaxson Hayes had 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Lakers will end their preseason on Friday with a matchup against the Sacramento Kings.

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Where were Luka, LeBron and Bronny?

The Lakers were extremely depleted on Wednesday night.

LeBron James is still sidelined due to sciatica in his right side, which is going to keep him out of the team’s opening night matchup against the Golden State Warriors. He is expected to return in mid-November. Bronny missed Wednesday’s contest due to a minor right ankle sprain, too, though it doesn’t appear to be a long-term issue. Bronny has played in the Lakers’ last four preseason games. He had seven points and four rebounds in Tuesday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Dončić is fine, but the Lakers simply held him out from a back-to-back outing in the preseason — something that was largely expected. Dončić had 25 points and seven rebounds while shooting 7-of-15 from the field in Tuesday’s contest in Arizona.

The Lakers were also without Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart on Wednesday. Jarred Vanderbilt was ruled out of the second half of the game with a quad contusion, too.

So, when do we do this for real?

The Lakers will host the Mavericks first on Nov. 28. Doncic and the Lakers will head to Dallas for the first time this season on Jan. 24.

By then, assuming the elder James is back to full strength and Flagg has settled into his role in the league, we should have a real matchup to get excited for.