Pistons at Mavericks - How to Watch, Betting Odds, Injuries & More
What does he have for an encore?
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg poured in a record-setting 42 points in an overtime loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday to become the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 40 in a game - and the first to accomplish the feat at 18 years old.
With just two more games before his 19th birthday on Dec. 21, Flagg will look to turn the individual success into more victories for his team as the Mavs return home to host the gritty Detroit Pistons, who sit atop the Eastern Conference with a 21-5 record, at American Airlines Center on Thursday.
Flagg will likely draw matchups with a hometown kid returning to his old stomping grounds. Detroit guard Cade Cunningham, the Pistons' engine following an All-NBA season last year, is averaging a career-high 27.1 points and 9.2 assists per game. He originally hails from Arlington in the DFW Metroplex, where he shined at Bowie High School before taking his talents to Montverde Academy in Florida - the same place where Flagg ended his prep career.
Cunningham, the top overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft out of Oklahoma State, has his team enjoying one of the best starts to a season in franchise history. Detroit is winners of its last four games thanks in large part to a defense that ranks second in the league with a rating of 111.8.
Flagg, the top pick in this past summer's draft from Duke, is getting into a groove, but Dallas has continued to struggle finding wins as injury depth has been difficult to overcome. Star forward Anthony Davis missed Monday's game in Salt Lake City, and remains questionable for Thursday.
How to Watch
WHO: Detroit Pistons (21-5, 1st in East) at Dallas Mavericks (10-17, 12th in West)
WHERE: American Airlines Center | Dallas, TX
WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 18 | 7:30 p.m. CST
TV: KFAA-29 (DFW), MavsTV streaming
RADIO: KEGL 97.1 FM The Eagle (DFW); 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)
Betting Odds
Courtesy or DraftKings
SPREAD: Detroit -5.5
TOTAL: 231.5
MONEYLINE: Mavericks +180, Pistons -218
Injuries
Dallas: Anthony Davis (calf) Brandon Williams (Achilles) and D'Angelo Russell (illness) all fully practiced on Wednesday. Russell is expected to be listed as probable while the others are to remain questionable.
Detroit: Isaac Jones (knee) is the only injury concern for Detroit as he is day-to-day.
Hometown Visit
On Wednesday, the Pistons made a stop at Bowie High to support Cunningham's jersey retirement at his high school alma mater. The star point guard played for the Volunteers from 2016-2018 before tranferring to Montverde as the No. 1 ranked recruit in the 2020 high school class.
He saw his No. 2 jersey go up in the rafters in Arlington and spoke to local community that helped raise him.
History for Cooper Flagg
Flagg's 42 points scored against Utah also tied a franchise record for the most points scored by a rookie in Mavs history, tying Mark Aguirre's record from the 1981-82 season. Aguirre and Flagg also happen to be the only No. 1 overall draft picks ever made by Dallas.
"It doesn’t surprise me at all," Mavs forward P.J. Washington said about the rookie's outburst. “I know exactly what he’s capable of. He’s a special player, so it’ll be lot more to come, and we know that.”
“It’s tough,” an uber-competitive Flagg said amid the loss. “I want to look at it through wins and losses. Obviously, we didn’t win, so it’s hard for me to feel happy or anything like that. At the same time, you try to take whatever positives you can and keep getting better from here. But the main thing is winning, and we didn’t do that tonight.”
'Kyrie Claus': Irving Gifts Teammates Golf Carts
Including Detroit, Dallas has four games to play before visiting the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day. This matchup with the Pistons is the second-to-last home game of the calendar year.
To ring in the holiday cheer this week, injured point guard Kyrie Irving gifted every teammate on the squad with new golf carts, fit with bluetooth speakers, LED lights, and a custom monogram of the player's last name and jersey number on the side.