Mavericks snap 4-game slump with win over Rockets as Cooper Flagg navigates ‘Rookie Wall’

By Mavericks coach Jason Kidd’s admission, Cooper Flagg is confronting the dreaded, but predictable, NBA rookie wall.

Fortunately for Dallas, Flagg’s teammates had his back on this Saturday night of continued offensive struggles, storming back from an early 11-point deficit and holding on to beat Houston, 110-104 in American Airlines Center.

While breaking a four-game losing streak, Dallas (13-23) got 26 points, 12 rebounds and a key late block from Anthony Davis; as well as 24 points and seven rebounds from guard Max Christie.

Houston (21-11) lost center Alperen Sengun to a right ankle sprain just 1:04 into the game, but that didn’t keep the Rockets from jumping to a 20-9 lead.

Mavericks

Flagg committed two fouls in the first four minutes and sat out the rest of the first quarter. He finished with 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting, but he contributed in other ways, finishing with 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

“You’re not always going to score 30 every night,” Kidd said. “He got in foul trouble, but I thought the maturity of being able to do other things for his teammates, finding them for threes or making plays and rebounding, was big.”

The Mavericks led 87-75 entering the fourth quarter, but Houston ate into the deficit.

With Dallas leading 101-93, Rockets forward Tari Eason drove to the basket but was stonewalled at the rim by Davis with 2:59 left. Showing his versatility, 6-foot-11 Davis snared the ball, dribbled upcourt and Davis fed Klay Thompson in the left corner for a 3-pointer.

Not in my house! See photos from the Mavericks’ home win over the Rockets

Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis is introduced before an NBA basketball game against... View Gallery

Flagg is second among NBA rookies with a 19.2 scoring average and was the Western Conference Rookie of the Month in November and December. But in Dallas’ previous two games, losses to Portland and Philadelphia, he had a combined 27 points on 11-of-35 shooting.

Kidd couldn’t help but notice a drop in Flagg’s energy, along with production.

“He’s playing a lot of minutes,” Kidd noted before Saturday’s game. “So to touch this rookie wall that I think he’s touching right now, and to be able to play through it is a positive.”

Entering Saturday, Flagg’s average of 34.6 minutes led the Mavericks and was 18th-most in the NBA.

But because Flagg had played in 34 of Dallas’ 36 games, the more relevant statistic was his 1,117.5 minutes played – ninth-most in the NBA.

I asked Anthony Davis about Cooper Flagg confronting the proverbial rookie wall, having played roughly the same number of games and minutes as he did all last season at Duke. pic.twitter.com/2reJSqKbmU

— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) January 4, 2026

Kidd’s reference to the proverbial Rookie Wall is timely. At Duke last season, Flagg played 1,135 minutes in 37 games.

How can the Mavericks as an organization help Flagg power through the rookie wall?

“You’ve got to touch it,” Kidd said. “You’ve gotta rub it and hold it. He’s got to embrace it. That’s just a mental thing. For the great ones, they touch it. They don’t run from it. They find a way to go over it or through it or around it, because it’s not going to move.”

This night produced the usual physical and emotional elements of a Mavericks-Rockets Texas tussle, even though the franchises entered the game headed in opposite directions.

Third-in-the-West Houston had won four straight; 13th-place Dallas had lost four in a row.

For the Mavericks, this is uncharted territory during Kidd’s five seasons as head coach.

Prior to this season, the most games under .500 Dallas had been under Kidd was six, when it lost the last two games of the 2022-23 season to finish 38-44.

A 5-15 start to this season produced a new low-water mark, but the Mavericks seemingly were righting the ship when they won six of eight games from Nov. 29 to Dec. 18, culminating with a home overtime win over Detroit.

Since then, however, Dallas had lost six of seven, falling to 11-under .500 entering Saturday night.

As the Mavericks rallied from the early deficit, Christie, Davis and Brandon Williams (15 points off the bench) were the offensive catalysts.

Christie shot 10-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 on 3-pointers, but it was his three dunks that were a talking point in the locker room afterward.

“He just has the utmost confidence,” Davis said. “We actually get mad at him when he doesn’t shoot the ball.”

Said Christie, laughting, of his dunks: “Three might be the most of my career. It felt good to be athletic out there, to be able to attack the rim and get a couple of dunks.”

Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg named Western Conference rookie of the month for second time