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Tim MacMahon
DALLAS — Cooper Flagg had to stifle a frown when he swapped jerseys with his former high school teammate Derik Queen after the two rookie lottery picks’ first meeting as NBA foes earlier this month. That’s because Flagg was frustrated after missing a potential tying pull-up jumper in the final seconds of the Mavericks’ loss to Queen’s Pelicans that night.
But Flagg was all smiles when he exchanged a hug with Queen after the buzzer Friday night, as the No. 1 pick had just scored 12 of his career-high 29 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Mavericks to a 118-115 comeback win at the American Airlines Center.
On this occasion, it was Queen who missed with an opportunity to tie the score in the final seconds, airballing a 3-pointer on the Pelicans’ final possession. It was a rough finish to an otherwise phenomenal performance for Queen, who had 20 points, 7 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists.
“I [saw] him laugh at me,” Queen said of his postgame meeting with Flagg, his former teammate at Montverde Academy in Florida. “That’s probably what he was laughing at, but yo, that’s crazy. Full circle.”
Flagg, who missed Wednesday’s loss to the New York Knicks with an illness, was a dominant force down the stretch against the Pelicans. After Queen’s running hook shot gave New Orleans the lead with 3:12 remaining, Flagg scored or assisted on five of the Mavericks’ final eight possessions. He had six points and two assists during the closing kick, including a feed to Naji Marshall for the 3 that gave the Mavericks the lead for good with 32 seconds remaining.
While the 5-12 Mavericks have had trouble closing games, Flagg has consistently shown fearlessness late. He is tied for sixth in the NBA with 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting in clutch situations, defined as the final five minutes of regulation or overtime with the score within five points. He is also tied for second in rebounds (14) and fifth in assists (6) in the clutch.
“Clutch [situations], he’s not afraid,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “We get him the ball, and he seems like he’s been there before. Being able to score when you need a bucket, when everyone knows that you’re coming to him, he’s deliberate. For an 18-year-old, that’s pretty special.”
Dallas had to rally from a 15-point deficit, in part because Queen, 20, gave the Mavericks problems, especially with his passing. He had seven assists in the first quarter alone.
“Everybody has seen that he’s just a special player,” Flagg said. “He has a special way about him of just finding teammates and just finding shots around the rim. It’s really incredible.”
The Mavericks trailed by 14 at the half, when Kidd challenged Flagg to attack the paint instead of relying on his jumper, which is a work in progress.
Flagg responded by scoring 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the second half. All but one of his buckets after halftime came in the paint, and the exception was a turnaround jump shot after picking up his dribble at the block and pivoting.
“I was settling too much, settling for jump shots,” Flagg said. “Not that they’re bad shots, but just settling a little too much. You got to put more pressure on the defense.”
Flagg finished with 20 points in the paint, becoming the second-youngest player to do that in the NBA, according to ESPN Research. LeBron James had 20 points in the paint in a game when he was 18 years, 334 days old, a day younger than Flagg on Friday night.
Flagg, who had seven rebounds and five assists, also joined James as the only 18-year-olds to have at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in a game.
“He’s blossoming into who we all know he is,” Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (24 points, 9 rebounds) said of Flagg. “Just being himself, taking on the big moments and converting. Getting to the paint, getting to his spots and making the right decision each and every time.”