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Cooper Flagg entered Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers in a tight race for the NBA Rookie of the Year award with his former Duke Blue Devils teammate Kon Knueppel.
Flagg, who was coming off a 51-point performance, likely needed another dominant game to shorten his odds of becoming the league’s top rookie. He delivered.
The budding Mavericks star scored 45 points in Dallas’ 134-128 win over the injury-depleted Lakers. The victory ended the Mavericks’ longest home losing streak in 32 years. He added nine assists and eight rebounds to his stat line as well.
“I think it’s definitely some sort of statement,” he told reporters, via ESPN. “But it just goes back to what I said: I’m confident in myself, and I know what I’m capable of. I’ll just let the rest of the stuff figure itself out.”
Flagg is the first rookie to have back-to-back games with at least 40 points since Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson did it during the 1996-97 season. The achievement came after he became the first teenager to score at least 50 points in a game when he had 51 points against the Orlando Magic on Friday night.
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“I don’t know if he’s making a closing statement,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said. “I think he’s doing what he’s been doing all season. Being able to play different positions. Being able to be uncomfortable. He’s never complained and has delivered for us.
“Tonight, being able to do it on national television, it’s not easy. Especially coming off a 50-ball. He wants to win, and he helped the team win tonight.”
Flagg is leading the Mavericks, who improved to 25-53 with the win, with 20.8 points per game. He also averages 6.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.
Knueppel has been a bright spot for the Charlotte Hornets this season as they appear set to make the postseason for the first time since 2016. He’s third on the team in scoring, averaging 18.8 points per game. He also averages 5.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
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Dallas has four games left to play, while Charlotte has three.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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