Mavs Fight Back After Cooper Flagg Cheap Shot; What's Injury Update For Spurs?

The Dallas Mavericks entered the Friday night game at Indiana with a chip on their shoulders in what would be a 121-105 win.

Despite a blowout loss in Houston in Game 2, maybe there was some momentum-building in that failure.

Well, it's safe to say Dallas was feeling it at tip-off. ... but then feeling it again - in a different way - in the midst of a game that featured what some are calling a "cheap shot'' that caused an injury to Dallas' best player.

After building a small 3-point lead midway through the first quarter, Marcus Sasser would knock down a transition three that sparked a 22-6 run to end the quarter. 

The Mavericks offense was firing on all cylinders in the first quarter. They connected on 8 three-pointers and got to the rim at will, resulting in a 44-27 lead by the end. Cooper Flagg showed off his all-around versatility, finishing the quarter with 12 points, two rebounds, and four assists on a perfect four-for-four from the field.

Unfortunately for Flagg, his night wouldn't last much longer when Aaron Nesmith fouled him on a fast-break layup attempt midway through the second quarter. Flagg landed on his shoulder after a hard fall and was ruled out for the rest of the game.

During the postgame press conference, Kyrie Irving was asked what he thought about the hard foul and the team looking out for Flagg.

"The NBA is just momentum-based in terms of when guys are going on a fast break like that; you've got to be careful," Irving said. "It was a tough foul, and we just don't want to have to deal with those things moving forward, but if we do, we've got to be able to galvanize."

After a review, Nesmith's foul was upgraded to a flagrant-one foul, and after an initial altercation between him and Naji Marshall, who was standing up for his budding superstar teammate Flagg, both received technical fouls.

We love fiery basketball.

Despite the loss of Flagg, the Mavs wouldn't let up on either end. At one point in the second quarter, the Pacers turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions, which contributed to the 9 total turnovers they would have during the frame.

When the Pacers were able to get a shot up, it was tightly contested. Indiana only managed 35% from the field in the second, including missing all nine three-point attempts, resulting in 16 total points scored.

Forcing turnovers and getting into the open floor allowed the Mavericks to get easy baskets on the other end, and the lead by the end of the quarter grew to 31. 

A team was able to assert themselves on both ends and allow less than twenty points in the second quarter.

Deja vu?

In the second half, Indiana did their best to mount a comeback, including outscoring the Mavs 33-21 in the third; however, Kyrie Irving and P.J. Washington continued to do work on the offensive end and combined for 17 points in the fourth quarter to put the game out of arm's reach.

Irving finished the night with 24 points, three assists, and five triples. Meanwhile, Washington had a 20-point double-double with 12 rebounds.

Tyrese Haliburton had his return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse spoiled by Dusty May's first win as an NBA head coach.

The 1-1 Mavericks don't have time to be satisfied, as they have to hop back on the plane and get ready for the home opener against the surprisingly 0-2 Spurs on Saturday night.

Not to make the situation any dimmer, but it sounds like Dallas is expecting not to have Flagg in the lineup for this one according to coach Dusty May in his postgame interview.

"Cooper has left shoulder soreness; he'll be evaluated in the next couple of days," May said.

This San Antonio team is winless, coming off two straight home losses to the Thunder and Rockets, so there will be no lack of motivation for the powerhouse Spurs going into Saturday.

Both teams are playing on the second night of a back-to-back, and both are having to travel overnight back to Dallas.

Will there be jet lag? We don't know, but what we do know is that the Mavericks have their first game at the American Airlines Center on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. CT. ... and we hope Dallas is still fightin' mad about the Flagg injury.