The Dallas Mavericks and Cooper Flagg will play the Houston Rockets in front of a national audience Saturday night just days removed from Flagg's historic 49-point double-double that set a new bar for his already stellar rookie season.
"You saw history."
Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said it best in a one-line statement that encapsulated all that went on inside the American Airlines Center on Thursday.
First, Mavs legend Mark Aguirre got to see his No. 24 jersey raised to the rafters at halftime, an honor Kidd said pregame was "well overdue".
Then, the only other No. 1 overall draft pick in Mavericks history after Aguirre, Cooper Flagg, turned in the best game of his young NBA career, surpassing Aguirre's franchise scoring record for a rookie with 49 points.
"We saw history at halftime, and we got to see a young man play the game at a very high level," Kidd added. "To have Mark in the building and break his record is pretty special."
Ultimately, the party was spoiled as Flagg's former Duke roommate Kon Knueppel forced a turnover and drew a foul with under 10 seconds left in the tie game. He sank both free throws and Flagg couldn't hit a game-tying shot at the buzzer as the Charlotte Hornets edged out Dallas 123-121.
Flagg's 49 points is the most points ever scored by a teenager. After turning 19 years old last month, he now holds the NBA record for points scored in a game at 18 (42) and 19 (49) years old.
The Mavericks' star now takes a national stage where all eyes will be on whether he can muster an encore.
Dallas plays at the Houston Rockets Saturday at Toyota Center. The game will air live on ABC at 7:30 p.m. CST.
The Rockets are no stranger to history, either. Superstar forward Kevin Durant recently passed Dallas' own Dirk Nowitzki for sixth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
He tied the Mavs Hall of Famer with an iconic one-legged fadeaway jumper, a move Durant has carried into the modern game after Nowitzki made it so popular upon entering the league.
"Not super happy about him passing me," Nowitzki chuckled in a recorded message shown to Durant at the arena. "No seriously, to me he's one of the purest, smoothest scorers the game has ever seen. A seven footer, basically - which he says he's not, I think he's a seven footer - with, really, a two-guard's game.
"The shotmaking, the off-the-dribble stuff, the off balance stuff, I mean, there's really nothing you can do to stop him one on one. ... It's been incredible to watch his career. ... So congrats KD. Keep it going. Move up a couple more spots, and keep it up. Good luck."
History is on the mind, but fans will be tuning in hoping to see an old-fashioned Texas shootout, despite the team's record disparity suggesting otherwise.
The Mavs are on a three-game skid after winning four in a row. Dallas sits 12th in the Western Conference 10 games below .500 at 19-29 with the All-Star break arriving shortly.
The Rockets remain in the playoff hunt despite multiple season-ending injuries. Houston is 29-17 in fourth place in the conference, but they've been without point guard Fred VanVleet who tore his ACL during the preseason. Imposing center Steven Adams was recently ruled out for the rest of the season as he will be having surgery on his ankle.