Cooper Flagg Makes History, But It's Not Enough in Mavs Opener Loss

There's at least one thing we know about these Dallas Mavericks after their regular season-opening-loss at the Houston Rockets:

Cooper Flagg is still that guy.

The teenage forward made history in leading Dallas in scoring, pouring in 32 points to set the record for the most points scored by a teenager in a season opener in NBA history.

It's the latest bit of teenage history for Flagg, who became the first player younger than 20 to score 50 points in a game on his way to Rookie of the Year honors.

Flagg was an efficient 10 of 17 from the field (1/4 from 3-point range) and used his newfound strength to get to the charity stripe 13 times, converting 11 free throws.

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However, a sluggish second quarter all around for the Mavs allowed the Rockets to surge ahead and never look back. Houston built a lead as large as 37 before ultimately completing the 128-110 win at Toyota Center.

"I think in the second quarter especially, I could have done a better job of getting us set up and being vocal and being that leader and getting us into actions," Flagg said postgame. "It didn’t have to be me taking shots, but just getting us into the right actions. I think we miss a lot of easy shots too during that stretch."

It was a brutal introduction to NBA basketball for new Mavericks coach Dusty May, who took over this offseason after winning a national championship at Michigan in March.

“Obviously, it’s a make-or-miss game," May said about the Mavs' 38-12 deficit in the second period, in which Dallas missed 14 attempts from 3-point range at one point. "I thought a lot of our looks were guys that we wanted the shots for."

Among them was Kyrie Irving, the Mavs' veteran point guard who was playing in his first regular-season contest in almost 600 days since tearing his ACL in March of 2025. Irving added 15 points, four rebounds and two assists.

While the Mavericks' issues of shot creation carried over from last season in the opener, Flagg's added physicality and shot-making were positives. May points to Flagg's ability to draw fouls and get free chances at the line.

"That’s been a point of emphasis, and that’s one thing," May said. "When we evaluated ourselves after four [preseason] games, getting to the line wasn’t something we did well. We thought Coop was probably the best way to capitalize on the paint. I thought he was strong. I thought he made good decisions, and when we started knocking down some open shots, his assist numbers will increase."

"I thought he was setting us up in the first half. I thought he was just being very, very intentional with getting his teammates shots," May added about Flagg's mentality. "And then in the second half, we did a better job of getting some off-ball movement. We played a little faster, and then obviously, if you’re not taking the ball out of the net, you can get it up and attack quickly. I thought that was the biggest difference."

Ultimately, it wasn't enough, but Dallas will eventually see performances like this from its best player turn into wins. But it may not be soon, given the Mavs' tough start to the season.

The Mavericks play at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 23.

"I mean, Coop, we’re trying to develop by film, by practice tomorrow, by the Pacers game," May said. "Obviously, the games expedite the development."