Flagg drops double-double but Mavs fall short in San Antonio

Cooper Flagg finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in 40 minutes during Wednesday's 112-111 loss to the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center.

It was the second double-double of the season for the 19-year-old second-year star, and his first involving rebounds.

Flagg shot 7-of-19 from the field, 0-of-3 from three-point range, and 5-of-7 at the free-throw line.

He committed just one turnover.

The game marked a stark split in performance between halves.

Flagg went 1-of-11 from the field in the first half, scoring only four points.

Victor Wembanyama blocked him twice in the first quarter alone — on an 11-foot pullup on Dallas' second possession and a transition layup with 1:28 left — and again on an 8-foot floater with 3:51 left in the second quarter.

Flagg's only two points in the first quarter came at the free-throw line.

At halftime, he had four points, four rebounds and no assists.

Then the second half began.

Flagg scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting after the break.

He grabbed six rebounds and dished five assists in 22:53 of second-half play.

He went 3-of-5 at the free-throw line after halftime.

In the third quarter, Flagg scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, including a transition dunk off a pass from Kyrie Irving.

In the fourth quarter, he added eight points, four rebounds and three assists.

With 6:05 left, Flagg finished an alley-oop from Caleb Martin and made the free throw to tie the game at 100.

His driving finger roll with 2:54 left cut San Antonio's lead to 107-106.

Flagg also set up both of Naji Marshall's biggest fourth-quarter shots — a three-pointer that cut the deficit to 94-92 with 8:17 left, and another that tied the game at 111 with 1:41 remaining.

On the final possession, Dallas had Flagg cutting from the corner while Irving drove middle, but the play did not result in a win.

Flagg finished as the only Mavericks starter with a positive plus-minus for the game, at plus-2.

He was plus-18 in the second half alone.

Dallas' other four starters finished at 0 or below.

Flagg played 40:02, the most minutes of any Dallas player.

"I thought the same thing in the first half. I thought he was making shots that he had made all year up to that point, and they just weren't dropping for him," Mavericks coach Dusty May said.

"But I thought he just got lost in rebounding, and I thought he made great passes. I thought he played really well in just a really good floor game in the second half."

Kyrie Irving pointed to the plus-minus column when he talked about Flagg after the game.

"He's going to go through ups and downs just like every other professional," Irving said.

"It doesn't take away from his talent or his skill set."

Wembanyama finished with 52 points, 24 rebounds, eight blocks, two assists and two steals with just one turnover, shooting 16-of-28 from the field and 19-of-23 from the free-throw line.

It was the first stat line of its kind in the NBA since Bob McAdoo in 1974.

Spurs teammate Dylan Harper, who added 21 points and five rebounds on 9-of-15 shooting, compared Wembanyama to Wilt Chamberlain after the game.

"He basically Wilt," Harper said.

Flagg had scored 17 points on 3-of-19 shooting in Monday's 115-100 loss to the Sacramento Kings.

He missed the first meeting with San Antonio on Oct. 24 with a left shoulder sprain.

Through seven games this season, Flagg is averaging 24.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 2.1 steals, 1.0 threes and 0.9 blocks.

He is shooting 21.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Flagg was the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year.

The Mavericks are not considered contenders this season, but the matchup between Flagg and Wembanyama drew the most attention in the league on Wednesday night.

Many project Flagg to challenge Wembanyama one day as the league's future face.

On this night, Wembanyama held the advantage in experience and production.

Wembanyama blocked Flagg twice and scored an and-1 over him in crucial moments.

Flagg's double-double was his second of the season.