Cooper Flagg recorded 27 points and 10 assists as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-120 on Sunday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
CLEVELAND — Less than 48 hours after being blown out by 33 points in Dallas, the Mavericks went into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Sunday and won the rematch going away.
Cooper Flagg finished with 27 points, 10 assists, and two blocks. Naji Marshall scored 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-120, leading by as many as 22 points and shooting 53% from the floor and 50% from 3-point range.
Flagg joined Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Johnson, and Derik Queen as the only rookies in NBA history to post at least 27 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks in a game.
"Coop was great," coach Jason Kidd said. "As you can see, that second half of the last game against Cleveland he started to find his rhythm. He found his rhythm tonight with 10 assists."
Dallas dropped a 138-105 decision at home Friday in which Cleveland converted 62% of its field goals and outrebounded the Mavericks by five. The Mavericks played on Sunday without Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II, who remain out with season-ending injuries, and with Klay Thompson and Daniel Gafford sidelined.
"I thought the energy, the effort, the physicality — the things that we talked about — knowing we didn't play our best at home," Kidd said. "We had an opportunity to come back, and the group played at a very high level this afternoon. This was a character check, and everybody checked in and passed."
P.J. Washington posted 20 points, 11 rebounds, and five steals and turned in one of the more unusual statistical halves in recent NBA history. Washington recorded 14 points, six rebounds — five offensive — and five steals before halftime, joining Jerome Williams and Tom Gugliotta as just the third player in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97) to post at least 10 points, five offensive rebounds and five steals in a single half, according to NBA research. He also joined Mark Aguirre and Roy Tarpley as the only players in Mavericks history to record at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals and 1 block in a game.
"I felt like they brought it to us in Dallas," Washington said. "They played a lot tougher than we did, and they wanted it more. Obviously, we had a chip on our shoulder coming out here and just played together, played harder than we did in Dallas."
Washington said his role at the five created matchup problems Cleveland struggled to solve.
"I think I'm a mismatch," he said. "I can create for others, I can pass, I can set screens and pop. Me at the five popping opened up a lot of space on the floor for us to get some closeouts and ball reversals to get some good shots."
Flagg agreed that the adjustment changed the game's complexion on both ends.
"P.J. is such a versatile guy," Flagg said. "He's willing to do whatever it takes out there, and he's so strong. It helped us with our coverages and just flying around the court and speeding up on both sides of the ball. I thought that was huge tonight."
Marshall went 8-of-8 from the free throw line and added seven assists. It was his seventh 25-point game of the season and the 11th of his career, all 11 coming over the past two seasons in Dallas. Ryan Nembhard finished with 11 points and three assists. Flagg and Nembhard each recorded five-plus assists for the ninth time this season as a rookie duo, surpassing the eight such games Luka Dončić and Jalen Brunson combined for during the 2018-19 season, per NBA research.
Flagg said the ball movement — Dallas finished with 35 assists — was the defining difference from Friday.
"The ball was moving, everybody was getting touches," Flagg said. "It was a much more fun way to play basketball."
Dallas led 35-31 after the first quarter, 60-59 at halftime, and outscored Cleveland 40-27 in the third. John Poulakidas, on a two-way contract, scored on three consecutive possessions during a stretch late in the third quarter that pushed the lead to 13. He finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 15 minutes and earned the game ball from his teammates after scoring his first career NBA points.
"Feels great. Just a dream come true," Poulakidas said. "I worked very hard for it, and I'm glad I could capitalize on my opportunity today and that we got the win."
Kidd praised what the rookie provided by rising to occassion when his number was called.
"John was great," Kidd said. "Just looking at his energy — he competed on defense. And then offensively, what he gives us is something that we needed."
Dallas extended its advantage to 20 points early in the fourth quarter when Flagg converted a driving layup, drew a foul from Dean Wade for a free throw, made a 14-foot pull-up jumper, blocked a James Harden floater, grabbed the rebound, and assisted on a Ryan Nembhard 3-pointer at the 9:07 mark.
Washington said the win was a reminder of what this group can be.
"It just shows us who we can be when we're healthy and playing the right way," Washington said. "Obviously, we're just trying to establish some unity and establish how we want to play. I think it was a good start for us tonight."
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 26 points and 12 assists. Evan Mobley added 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks two days after a 29-point, seven-rebound effort in the Dallas rematch. Harden, acquired by Cleveland in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers last month, finished with 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting and six turnovers. Max Strus scored 24 points off the bench, going 6-of-7 from 3-point range.
Cleveland shot 14-of-21 from the free throw line and committed 16 turnovers, which Dallas converted into 27 points.
The Mavericks improved to 23-45 overall and 9-25 on the road. The Cavaliers fell to 41-27.
Dallas returns to action on Sunday on the second night of a back-to-back in New Orleans, wrapping up a two-game road trip.