Flagg takes over after the break
Cooper Flagg scored 30 of his season-high 43 points in the second half overnight, and the Dallas Mavericks erased a 13-point deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers 125-122 on Monday. Kyrie Irving added 35, including seven threes on ten attempts.
Flagg shot 16 of 25 and finished with 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals. At 19, he became only the second teenager to put up a 40-10-5 game. The other was Kevin Durant, who did it for the Seattle SuperSonics on the last night of the 2007-08 season.
Indiana had control early thanks to Pascal Siakam. He scored 26 of his 29 points in the first half and at one stage was perfect from the floor, with 8 of 8 shooting, 5 of 5 from three and 4 of 4 at the line. After his fifth triple he did a chef’s kiss celebration, and the Pacers led 63-50.
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The third quarter flips it
Dallas had briefly led 43-39 in the second quarter after Irving hit two threes and a jumper inside 90 seconds, but Siakam answered with a 13-0 Pacers run. The real turn came after halftime. Flagg poured in 14 third-quarter points without a miss, going 6 for 6, while Irving chipped in 10. A left-handed drive from Irving over Siakam made it 84-84, though Indiana still edged ahead 93-90 heading into the fourth.
Flagg opened the final period with a three to level the game and Irving’s seventh triple put Dallas in front. A second Flagg three, a string of free throws and a few mid-range jumpers stretched the lead to 116-108, and the Mavericks held on.
A messy final few seconds
Two Irving free throws made it 125-122 with 18 seconds left. Aaron Nesmith missed a three, P.J. Washington grabbed the rebound and was fouled, then missed both foul shots. That handed Indiana one last chance, but Andrew Nembhard’s inbound pass with 3.7 seconds on the clock was stolen by Caleb Martin, in a heavy mid-air collision with Siakam that went unwhistled.
Nesmith finished with 18 points and Ivica Zubac had 16 for the Pacers, who spent most of the first half in command and walked away with nothing to show for it.
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