Wembanyama scored 40 points in 26 minutes as the Spurs beat Dallas 139-120. Flagg had 33 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists for the Mavericks in Friday's loss.
SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama returned from injury and provided a dynamic impact on Friday night, finishing with 40 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Dallas Mavericks 139-120 at a sold-out Frost Bank Center.
Wembanyama went 14-of-23 from the field in just 26 minutes while adding 2 blocks and shooting 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. He set the tone in the first quarter with 16 points, repeatedly attacking Dallas' shorthanded frontcourt and converting inside and out.
"When you look at what Victor Wembanyama did in 25 minutes, he's the best player in the world," Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said postgame. "We tried to slow him down, but he was able to control the paint."
Max Christie shared a similar perspective regarding the challenges of slowing down Wembanyama.
"He's always a problem regardless of whether he's got it going or not," Christie said. "His length and size, his ability to block shots and deter shots around the rim — defensively and offensively — it's tough. You're not going to block his shot. His long strides make him hard to defend. He's a great player for a reason."
Cooper Flagg finished with 33 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists on 13-of-25 shooting, recording his sixth career 30-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist game — more than the rest of this year's rookie class combined, with no other first-year player having more than one such performance. Flagg scored 25 of those points in the first half, helping fuel a second-quarter run that briefly erased an 11-point hole and gave Dallas its only lead of the game at 63-62 with 1:47 left in the second period. Khris Middleton's 3-pointer capped a 37-20 Mavericks second quarter that pulled Dallas within three at the break, trailing 68-65.
Asked what got him going during his 16-point second-quarter stretch, Flagg kept it short.
"Just being aggressive and getting to my spots," Flagg said. "Once a couple go in, you start to feel a rhythm."
Kidd didn't hold back when talking about his rookie's performance against the frontrunner for league MVP.
"When you look at Victor, he's been in the league and was Rookie of the Year, and now he's one of the best players in the world," Kidd said. "So for Coop to do what he did this evening — he set the tone. He was finding guys, scoring the ball, and competing at a very high level. That just shows the leadership of our rookie, and it's good to see this late in the season."
Flagg was measured when asked about going head-to-head with Wembanyama.
"It's very difficult," Flagg said. "He's something different that you don't see every day. He's knocking down shots and getting to his spots. It's tough to deal with. It's fun, though. They're an incredible team and have locked up the second seed in the West. It's fun to compete in a game like that."
Whatever Dallas built in the second quarter came apart fast in the third. De'Aaron Fox scored 14 of his 18 points in that period alone, and Keldon Johnson added 7 more as San Antonio outscored Dallas 40-28 and pushed the lead to 15 heading into the fourth. The Spurs got it up to 24 at one point — their largest margin of the night.
Kidd pointed to Wembanyama's paint dominance as the central problem.
"When he's shooting the three and you understand how hard it is to control him or guard him in the paint, it's tough," Kidd said. "He did both at a high rate tonight. We took away the three in the second half, but his ability to get to the paint and still score makes him extremely difficult to guard."
San Antonio's execution in the paint was an advantage, scoring 72 points to Dallas' 42 on 36-of-51 shooting near the basket, compared to 21-of-41 for the Mavericks. Dallas only turned it over 7 times and scored 120 points, a combination that usually wins games.
"One-twenty for us is great, but 140 for them is not," Christie said. "Defensively, we could have done better. But seven turnovers is pretty good — we gave ourselves an opportunity to win and had a good offensive game. The Spurs are a great team, the two seed in the West. They're great for a reason."
Fox finished with 18 points and 10 assists for San Antonio (62-19). Dylan Harper added 13 points and 6 assists, Harrison Barnes contributed 15 off the bench, and Carter Bryant went a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point range for 12 points.
Christie chipped in 16 points on 4-of-7 from deep, part of a late-season shooting adjustment he has been working through in recent games.
"I've been experimenting a little bit, trying to shoot it quicker and faster," Christie said. "Knowing we had nothing to lose at this point helped. We're not going to be in the playoffs, so it gave me a chance to experiment. There's no real consequence to missing shots right now, so it's been a good practice ground to get real game reps. You can't replicate that in the summer."
Ryan Nembhard totaled 13 points and 7 assists, AJ Johnson scored 13 points off the bench, and John Poulakidas went 3-of-5 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter to finish with 12 points. Kidd singled out Johnson after the game.
"AJ was good offensively," Kidd said. "I thought he did a good job finding guys and getting to the basket. His speed and length allow him to get downhill, and he was really good tonight."
Christie has appreciated watching the younger players around him take steps as the season winds down.
"It's always great to be around young guys trying to find their way in the league," Christie said. "John's been playing really well, Tyler's been great too. They show up every day trying to make a name for themselves. It's cool to see their tenacity and willingness to grow."
Marvin Bagley III exited in the first quarter and did not return due to a left shoulder impingement. Dallas also played without Kyrie Irving (left knee surgery), Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery), Naji Marshall (left hip contusion), P.J. Washington Jr. (left elbow sprain), Caleb Martin (right plantar fascia strain), Klay Thompson (illness), and Brandon Williams (illness), while Daniel Gafford was held out for rest.
The loss drops Dallas to 25-56 on the season.
The Mavericks return home Monday to close out the 2025-26 regular season against the Chicago Bulls.