3 Overreactions as Cooper Flagg's 49 Points Aren't Enough, Mavericks Fall to Hornets

The Dallas Mavericks hosted the red-hot Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night, looking to end a four-game winning streak for the Hornets. It was also a potential battle for the Rookie of the Year, as the two favorites, Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg, faced off for the first time this year.

Knueppel came out of the gate on fire, hitting four threes in the first seven-ish minutes of the game. That got the Hornets out to a large lead in the first quarter, finding themselves up 33-18 in the closing seconds before Brandon Williams finally gave the Mavs 20 points as a team.

Cooper Flagg would not let that go unanswered. He had a RIDICULOUS second quarter, scoring 23 points on 8/9 shooting, which included two threes at the top of the key, an impressive and-one in transition, and a thunderous slam over Moussa Diabate. He'd end up with 25 points for the half, which was enough to close the Hornets' lead to 1 at halftime, 59-58.

COOPER FLAGG JAMS IT OVER THE DEFENDER ‼️ pic.twitter.com/Wco9ya6uu9
— NBA (@NBA) January 30, 2026

Cooper got to 30 points at the start of the third quarter, but then Knueppel drilled three straight triples to help push the Hornets' lead back up to 10. The only three he had missed in the game, and at this point, he was 8/9, was blocked in the first half. That's the kind of incredible action we were seeing. But LaMelo Ball also played a big part in building that lead up, as he hit a stepback three over Flagg that pushed the lead to 11.

Knueppel finally showed he was human by missing a heat-check corner three over Flagg. And Flagg continued his impressive night by soon getting to 40 points in the game, and it was still the third quarter.

The Mavericks finally took a lead at the start of the fourth quarter after threes by Klay Thompson and Caleb Martin to close the third tied the game. And it was a three from Thompson again that gave them the lead. Flagg tied his career high of 42 points with a pull-up elbow jumper early in the fourth.

But a big reason why the Mavericks were able to surge and take the lead was that Brandon Miller was in foul trouble. When he returned to the game, he instantly helped tie the game back up, and they eventually retook the lead with a three from Collin Sexton. Flagg broke his career-high with a lefty layup with four minutes to go, which gave the Mavericks the lead again, but we were in a full back-and-forth contest at this point.

With the Hornets leading by three in the final two minutes, Max Christie hit a triple from the left wing to tie the game, but Brandon Miller answered with a three from the left corner to retake the lead. But Cooper Flagg would hit a pull-up three on the next series to tie the game up again, giving him 49 for the game.

COOPER FLAGG TIES THE GAME WITH A TRIPLE 🔥

HE'S GOT 49 PTS! pic.twitter.com/Mb5PGVgnbb
— NBA (@NBA) January 30, 2026

Miles Bridges missed a go-ahead opportunity, but the Hornets doubled Flagg on the next possession, and a bad pass from the star rookie became a turnover and free throws for Kon Knueppel. He'd make both, putting the Hornets ahead by 2 with 4.1 seconds left.

With the game on the line, Jason Kidd went to Flagg, whose shot hit the back iron, and the Hornets hung on for the win, 123-121.

Here are three overreactions to this close loss.

1. Coop vs. Kon: Absolute Cinema

Jan 29, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) controls the ball as Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) defends during the first quarter at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

I mean, what more could you ask for in the first official battle before the two former roommates at Duke? Cooper Flagg scored a career-high 49 points, while adding in 10 rebounds. Knueppel set a new career-high for threes made in a game with 8, as he started 8/9 from deep, and finished with 34 points, which was also a career-high. It was as electric a battle as anyone could've hoped for between the two Rookie of the Year favorites.

2. You Know Cooper Flagg is Rolling When...

Jan 29, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) reacts during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

After Cooper Flagg scored his 44th point, we saw something we may never see again. Klay Thompson was left open in the corner because the Hornets left him to double a rookie at the top of the key. Thompson can probably count on one hand the number of times a defender left him open in the corner to double-team someone. I doubt it's ever been a rookie that they double-teamed. That's how special Cooper Flagg's night was.

3. Trade Daniel Gafford While There's Still Interest

Jan 29, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Daniel Gafford (21) reacts after scoring against the Charlotte Hornets during the first quarter at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Daniel Gafford has received a lot of trade buzz over the last few weeks, as a lot of teams have shown interest in the center. But he cannot stay healthy this season. He's dealt with a nagging ankle injury since training camp that apparently isn't healing the right way. He started this game, reaggravated the same ankle two minutes into the game, and left the game. He would return by the end of the quarter, but as one of the few players with demand on the trade market, the Mavericks need to move him now before he gets hurt again. A trade with the Indiana Pacers would make a ton of sense, since they could allow him to get healthy this year and bounce back next year with Tyrese Haliburton.

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