The Dallas Mavericks played on the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday night against the LA Clippers, which was the second night of a B2B for them as well. But the Mavericks were missing a lot of key players, down Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Dante Exum, Dereck Lively II, and Daniel Gafford.
That only worsened when P.J. Washington rolled his ankle on a basketball minutes before tip-off and was ruled out. That made an injury-riddled Mavs have even fewer options. Luckily, they still had Cooper Flagg.
And Flagg was IMPRESSIVE in the first quarter, scoring 12 points in the first 8 minutes. We’ve been wanting him to hunt for his own shot more, and he did so in this game. The Clippers were still up by 10 early, but the whole game was the Clippers dominating, and then the Mavs would fight back to take a brief lead. It was a revolving door of that, as the Clippers led by at least seven in each of the first three quarters, and they also led for at least seven minutes in each of those frames.
Klay Thompson came off the bench to give them a nice boost in the second half, as he’s grown more and more comfortable in this role. But he came ALIVE in the fourth, hitting multiple circus threes that kept the game close, and Cooper Flagg started to look like the star we expected when he was selected first overall, hitting a pull-up mid-range to give the Mavs the lead in the final three minutes.
After John Collins gave them the lead, it was Klay Thompson AGAIN with a three as the shot clock was expiring to give them the lead right back. Cooper Flagg scored his season-high 31st points at the free-throw line to push the lead to three, then, after some traded points, he hit two more free throws to push the lead to four. The foul game was played from there, and the Mavericks would actually go on to win a clutch game, 114-110.
Cooper Flagg ended up with a rookie season high of 35 points on 13/22 shooting, Klay Thompson had 23 points, and Naji Marshall added 18.
Here are three overreactions from this win.
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1. Finally, an Aggressive Cooper Flagg
Nov 29, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Cooper Flagg had 13 points and 11 assists on Friday night against the Lakers, but he only took 11 shots. We wanted to see him be more aggressive, and that’s exactly what he was in this game with his 35 points.
2. Vintage Klay Thompson
Nov 24, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) takes a three-point shot as Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson (16) closes in during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Klay Thompson had a rough start to the season, but he was lethal in this game, hitting some vintage Klay Thompson shots. He hit one fading to his right over two defenders that looked like the Klay of ten years ago, and it was such a pleasant sight to see. He ended up with 23 points, going 8/13 from the floor, and 6/10 from three.
3. The Clippers Might Really Be Screwed
Nov 29, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) warms up prior to the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Kawhi Leonard had 30 points and 8 rebounds. James Harden had 29 points and 11 assists. And they lost to a skeleton crew Mavericks team. There is no hope for this team this year if this is the result. They just aren’t a good basketball team right now, and there may be no path forward.
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