Dallas Mavericks Take Down Lowly Brooklyn Nets Behind Another Career Night For Cooper Flagg

The Dallas Mavericks took care of business Sunday night against the Brooklyn Nets, putting up a season-high in points in a 130-93 win.

Cooper Flagg led the way for Dallas with 25 points and a career-high 12 assists, while Michael Porter Jr. paced the Nets with 19 points and nine boards. 

The Mavs got off to a quick start in the first quarter, building a lead as high as 13 midway through. After a Porter Jr. stretch in which he hit three straight threes for Brooklyn in the last couple of minutes, Flagg would end the quarter with a three-pointer fading away from the basket. This would be three of Flagg's 14 points in the first quarter on 5-for-6 shooting. 

In the second quarter, Dallas started to flex its muscles to the tune of a 20-point lead by the end. They took advantage of poor interior defense by Brooklyn, scoring 18 points in the paint, to go with three three-point makes as well.

Dallas went 13-for-21 from the floor in the quarter, with 10 of those shots being assisted. Seven of those assists belonged to Cooper Flagg, along with his 20 points and four rebounds in the half.

The heavy paint touches continued into the third, with Dallas finishing with 16 points in the restricted area on the way to a 100-71 lead by the end of the quarter. Daniel Gafford went to work down low, pouring in 11 points, all of which were assisted. At the 5:17 mark, a Gafford dunk gave Flagg a career-high twelfth assist, beating his former mark of 11 set against Miami earlier this season. 

Things got chippy in the last third of the quarter, with Morez Johnson Jr. knocking Noah Clowney to the ground, sparking a response from the Nets center. Johnson received a technical foul for the initial contact. Clowney would eventually foul out later in the quarter, playing just under eight minutes in the game.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Mavericks led the Nets in points in the paint, 52-32, while also hitting 10 threes. Flagg added to the three-point total immediately with his third of the night to open the quarter. 

The final frame was nothing more than a formality, as a couple of nice buckets from Santi Aldama, who went into double figures in scoring in his first two appearances as a Maverick, would be the focal point down the stretch. 

After back-to-back games against teams with below .500 records, Dallas will see three current playoff teams in the next four: Minnesota, Cleveland, and Boston. All of which are on the road.

Before the difficult road trip, the Mavs (6-4) will face the Indiana Pacers (3-7) for the second time this season on Monday at 7:00 p.m. CT at American Airlines Center.