Mavericks' Cooper Flagg Fumbles Away Chance at Win Against Orlando Magic

The Dallas Mavericks fell on the road to the Orlando Magic on Thursday night, 115-114. Cooper Flagg returned from a midfoot sprain after missing eight straight games to put up a historic statline of 18 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks. However, Flagg only cares about one thing, and that's getting the win, something the Mavs fell short on.

Wendell Carter Jr. gave the Magic a lead with a quick drag screen for Jalen Suggs, slipped early, got the feed from Suggs, and flushed it home with 1.4 seconds to go.

After a timeout from Jason Kidd, a well-drawn-up play had Flagg cutting to the basket, but he and Khris Middleton couldn't connect on the inbounds pass, leading to the team's 41st loss of the season. After the game, Kidd and Flagg talked about the play and Flagg's comfort in late-game situations.

"Well, giving up threes down the stretch. We’re up four, and we give up a three; teaching moment. We talked about it," Kidd said. "They were going to go to [Desmond] Bane. We overcommitted, and they capitalized on it and made a three. And then on that last opportunity we had with Khris [Middleton] taking the ball out, he was trying to lead Coop [Cooper Flagg] because he felt Coop was open. And it’s just the relationship building, and relationships in times like this, we need to go through that. Khris is new, Khris saw it. We talked about it. And Coop was open for a quick second... But the combination of those two not playing together yet in that type of situation, we need to go through that.”

Khris Middleton, Cooper Flagg Still Gaining Chemistry

Khris Middleton is still new to the Mavericks after the Anthony Davis trade, and due to Flagg's foot injury, the two haven't had a lot of time practicing or playing together. That'll come in time, but Flagg remains confident in himself late in the game, even after this failed opportunity.

“Yeah, I would say I am pretty comfortable [late in games]," Flagg said. "Obviously, we have been in a lot of those situations through the season now. We haven’t won a ton of them, but it is all learning experiences for us right now. We got to learn. We got to get better. We will have a ton of these positions moving forward into next year. I am pretty comfortable at this point.”

His next opportunity to prove himself will be on the road against the Boston Celtics on Friday night. He grew up in Maine, so he watched a lot of the Celtics growing up. It will also be Jayson Tatum's return from his Achilles tear, so it'll be a monumental game for a lot of reasons.

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