Cooper Flagg makes NBA history in Mavericks' overtime win over Trail Blazers

The Dallas Mavericks picked up the first win of the post-Nico Harrison era on Sunday evening with a 138-133 overtime victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. As has been the case, they were down for most of the game, as the Trail Blazers led for about three quarters, but the Mavericks made a late fourth quarter run, and this time capitalized in overtime.

It was their second straight overtime game, as they lost to the LA Clippers in double overtime on Friday night, and it's their third straight game with a late fourth quarter run, as they did the same against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, but the Suns still won that game.

In Sunday's win, Cooper Flagg really took the game into his hands in the second half and overtime, getting 19 of his points in the final 29 minutes of the game. But he finished with an impressive statline: 21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal on 9/16 shooting.

With that performance, he became the youngest player in NBA history to put up 20+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ assists with no turnovers in a game.

Cooper Flagg becomes the youngest player in NBA history to record 20/5/5 with 0 TOV. pic.twitter.com/M3ZO9Vnu7L
— Real Sports (@realapp) November 17, 2025

It seemed like Flagg was being frozen out early in the game, as he only had three shot attempts in nearly 16 minutes in the first half: a transition dunk, a corner three, and a missed putback. But he took advantage in the second half with his monster performance, which tied for the team lead in scoring.

Sunday moved the Mavericks to 4-10 on the season, as they've been struggling to get any offense going. But if Cooper Flagg can keep this kind of offensive production going, that should help the offense until Irving returns.

Cooper Flagg end-to-end SHOWTIME 🤩

Mavs/Blazers tied up in the 3Q: https://t.co/9JhUPANJ55 pic.twitter.com/lKJZtbXFdn
— NBA (@NBA) November 17, 2025

Cooper Flagg Thriving While Not at Point Guard

Cooper Flagg started the season at point guard due to the team's lack of playmaking, and Jason Kidd's clear lack of trust in Brandon Williams and D'Angelo Russell. Kidd saw Flagg as a Grant Hill type of player, someone who best operates with the ball in his hands, but Flagg has really been best throughout his life as a secondary initiator.

In Flagg's last seven games, he's averaging 17.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 3.1 APG while shooting 49.5% from the floor. The three-point shot is still a work-in-progress, and he had issues with turnovers against the Wizards, Clippers, and Suns, but this isn't the first time that he's had an impressive game with no turnovers.

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