Cooper Flagg had a solid performance Thursday night in his return from an injury that sidelined him for eight straight games.Flagg finished with 18 points, six assists, five rebounds, four blocks and a steal for the Dallas Mavericks in their 115-114 loss to the Orlando Magic.The native of Newport, Maine, surpassed the 1,000 career points mark with his first basket of the game. The NBA said at 19 years and 74 days old, Flagg is the second-youngest player to reach that milestone. The only player to reach 1,000 NBA points at a younger age is LeBron James, who was 19 years and 41 days old when he did it as a rookie in 2004. James is now the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.Watch Flagg’s milestone basket in the embedded video below.Flagg also missed out on the Rising Stars mini-tournament at NBA All-Star Weekend due to the left foot sprain he suffered in a Feb. 10 game against the Phoenix Suns.The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft was on a roll before the injury. On Jan. 29, Flagg set the NBA scoring record for a teenager with 49 points. That record-setting performance was the first of four straight games in which Flagg scored 30 points or more, becoming the youngest player to put together such a scoring streak.”Obviously the hardest part is not playing. I love to compete, I love to play basketball so having that taken away from me for a while is tough,” Flagg said after Thursday’s game. “But it’s a good way for me to learn and get perspective, watch from a different angle. I think I learned a lot in the last couple of weeks, but I was definitely ready to get back out there and compete.”Thursday marked the 50th game of Flagg’s NBA career. According to ESPN Insights, he is just the ninth player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 300 rebounds and 200 assists in his first 50 games. Since the 1976 NBA-ABA merger, only Luka Doncic and Michael Jordan have accomplished that feat.Learning experience for Flagg and the MavsCrunch time of the Mavericks-Magic game was a bit of a mixed bag for Flagg.With Dallas leading 111-110 with less than a minute to play, Flagg came up with a clutch block. On the ensuing offensive possession, Flagg drove to the basket and banked in a shot through contact. He then hit the free throw to put the Mavs up 114-110 with 37.3 seconds remaining.Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said Flagg had some incredible blocks in the fourth quarter after he had taken a couple of hard fouls.”I think he got a little upset when he got hit after the whistle. But I thought his energy picked up on the defensive end and he got us going,” Kidd said.But the Magic were able to respond, as Jalen Suggs got Flagg to bite on a shot fake and made a wide-open 3-pointer to get the Mavericks’ lead back down to one point with 32.2 seconds left.On the ensuing Dallas possession, Flagg tried to extend the lead but he missed a 13-foot jump shot. Orlando secured the rebound with 8 seconds left and Suggs was able to find Wendell Carter Jr. cutting to the basket, and Carter dunked it to give the Magic a 115-114 lead with 1.4 seconds remaining.The Mavericks had one final shot and tried to get the ball back in Flagg’s hands, but he was unable to corral the inbounds pass and the ball rolled away as time expired.“Obviously we’ve been in a lot of those situations throughout the season, (and we) haven’t won a ton of them, but it’s about learning experiences for us right now,” Flagg said. “We’ve got to learn, we’ve got to get better. We’re going to be in a ton of these situations moving forward into next year. I’m pretty comfortable at this point.”Flagg’s New England homecomingThe Mavericks face the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Friday, marking the first time Flagg is set to face his favorite childhood team in the NBA city that is closest to his hometown.”I’m excited. I know there’s going to be a lot of people showing up from Maine and showing support, so I’m really excited just to be up there for the first time and play in that arena,” Flagg said. “It’s really the only arena I went to as a little kid, so I’m really excited to get an opportunity. I’m just blessed.”Friday’s game also could mark the season debut of Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who has been working to return from a ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered in May 2025 during the NBA Playoffs. ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania reported Thursday that Tatum is expected to play for the Celtics against the Mavericks. Tatum is listed as questionable for the game on Boston’s injury report.Flagg faced the Celtics earlier this season when they visited Dallas on Feb. 3. He scored a game-high 36 points for the Mavericks, while Jaylen Brown posted a double-double of 33 points and 11 rebounds in Boston’s 110-100 win.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
PORTLAND, Maine —
Cooper Flagg had a solid performance Thursday night in his return from an injury that sidelined him for eight straight games.
Flagg finished with 18 points, six assists, five rebounds, four blocks and a steal for the Dallas Mavericks in their 115-114 loss to the Orlando Magic.
The native of Newport, Maine, surpassed the 1,000 career points mark with his first basket of the game. The NBA said at 19 years and 74 days old, Flagg is the second-youngest player to reach that milestone. The only player to reach 1,000 NBA points at a younger age is LeBron James, who was 19 years and 41 days old when he did it as a rookie in 2004. James is now the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
Watch Flagg’s milestone basket in the embedded video below.
This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Flagg also missed out on the Rising Stars mini-tournament at NBA All-Star Weekend due to the left foot sprain he suffered in a Feb. 10 game against the Phoenix Suns.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft was on a roll before the injury. On Jan. 29, Flagg set the NBA scoring record for a teenager with 49 points. That record-setting performance was the first of four straight games in which Flagg scored 30 points or more, becoming the youngest player to put together such a scoring streak.
“Obviously the hardest part is not playing. I love to compete, I love to play basketball so having that taken away from me for a while is tough,” Flagg said after Thursday’s game. “But it’s a good way for me to learn and get perspective, watch from a different angle. I think I learned a lot in the last couple of weeks, but I was definitely ready to get back out there and compete.”
Thursday marked the 50th game of Flagg’s NBA career. According to ESPN Insights, he is just the ninth player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 300 rebounds and 200 assists in his first 50 games. Since the 1976 NBA-ABA merger, only Luka Doncic and Michael Jordan have accomplished that feat.
Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
Cooper Flagg (#32) of the Dallas Mavericks drives to the basket against Jalen Suggs of the Orlando Magic in the first half of a game at Kia Center on March 5, 2026 in Orlando, Florida.
Learning experience for Flagg and the Mavs
Crunch time of the Mavericks-Magic game was a bit of a mixed bag for Flagg.
With Dallas leading 111-110 with less than a minute to play, Flagg came up with a clutch block. On the ensuing offensive possession, Flagg drove to the basket and banked in a shot through contact. He then hit the free throw to put the Mavs up 114-110 with 37.3 seconds remaining.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said Flagg had some incredible blocks in the fourth quarter after he had taken a couple of hard fouls.
“I think he got a little upset when he got hit after the whistle. But I thought his energy picked up on the defensive end and he got us going,” Kidd said.
But the Magic were able to respond, as Jalen Suggs got Flagg to bite on a shot fake and made a wide-open 3-pointer to get the Mavericks’ lead back down to one point with 32.2 seconds left.
On the ensuing Dallas possession, Flagg tried to extend the lead but he missed a 13-foot jump shot. Orlando secured the rebound with 8 seconds left and Suggs was able to find Wendell Carter Jr. cutting to the basket, and Carter dunked it to give the Magic a 115-114 lead with 1.4 seconds remaining.
The Mavericks had one final shot and tried to get the ball back in Flagg’s hands, but he was unable to corral the inbounds pass and the ball rolled away as time expired.
“Obviously we’ve been in a lot of those situations throughout the season, (and we) haven’t won a ton of them, but it’s about learning experiences for us right now,” Flagg said. “We’ve got to learn, we’ve got to get better. We’re going to be in a ton of these situations moving forward into next year. I’m pretty comfortable at this point.”
Flagg’s New England homecoming
The Mavericks face the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Friday, marking the first time Flagg is set to face his favorite childhood team in the NBA city that is closest to his hometown.
“I’m excited. I know there’s going to be a lot of people showing up from Maine and showing support, so I’m really excited just to be up there for the first time and play in that arena,” Flagg said. “It’s really the only arena I went to as a little kid, so I’m really excited to get an opportunity. I’m just blessed.”
Friday’s game also could mark the season debut of Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who has been working to return from a ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered in May 2025 during the NBA Playoffs. ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania reported Thursday that Tatum is expected to play for the Celtics against the Mavericks. Tatum is listed as questionable for the game on Boston’s injury report.
Flagg faced the Celtics earlier this season when they visited Dallas on Feb. 3. He scored a game-high 36 points for the Mavericks, while Jaylen Brown posted a double-double of 33 points and 11 rebounds in Boston’s 110-100 win.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.