Cooper Flagg Stats Tonight: How did Mavericks rookie fare against Miami Heat? (Nov. 24)

Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks visited the Miami Heat on Monday. Fresh off a career-high 29-point game against the New Orleans Pelicans two nights ago, the rookie looked to have another big-scoring game in South Beach. Flagg hoped to lead the Mavs to their first two-game winning run with a victory against the Heat.

Flagg got off to a slow start, finishing the first quarter with two points, one rebound, one assist and two turnovers. Despite the underwhelming performance, the Mavericks only trailed 20-19 at the end of the period.

The Mavericks asked a lot from Flagg on defense in the first half, which was likely a reason he didn't have any rhythm on offense. He played center for some stretches beside Caleb Martin and Naji Marshall, an undersized frontcourt against the Heat, who had Bam Adebayo and Kel'el Ware. Flagg ended the first half with a minus-9 rating, the worst among the starters.

As Cooper Flagg struggled, Tyler Herro got going late to extend Miami's lead to 52-44 at halftime.

P.J. Washington, Brandon Williams, Max Christie and Klay Thompson picked up the scoring load while Flagg continued to struggle. The 6-foot-9 forward ended the third quarter with six points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal and one turnover. The Heat outscored the Mavs by 13 points in Flagg's 24 minutes. Dallas trailed 80-72 entering the fourth quarter.

Flagg made a few crucial shots late to help his team nearly pull off a come from behind win. He scored a layup with 2:45 to go and hit two free throws to tie the game at 102 apiece with 1:05 remaining. Flagg's two bonus shots were the last points the Mavericks scored as the Heat won 106-102.

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3-PT FG	FT	+/-
Cooper Flagg	12	7	3	2	0	3	5-14	0-4	2-2	-10

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Cooper Flagg passed up potential game-tying shot

Cooper Flagg nearly became the hero despite a poor shooting night. With 20.3 seconds left, he surprised Heat guard Davion Mitchell and slapped the ball away. The disruption forced Mitchell to lose possession to P.J. Washington, setting up a potential game-tying play for the Mavericks.

Flagg received the ball from Caleb Martin, who quickly dove into the lane to drag Bam Adebayo with him. Instead of perhaps the most versatile NBA big man guarding him, Flagg faced Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Cooper Flagg assessed Jaquez's defense and the situation before eventually giving up the ball to Washington. Without hesitation, Washington pulled up for a 23-footer that fell short, allowing Miami to escape with a win.