Mavs Notebook: 5 Takeaways As Cooper Flagg Goes 'Clutch' With OKC On Tap

Dallas called timeout with 20.4 seconds left Monday night at Kaseya Center, up two, and ran the possession for Cooper Flagg. He got past Andrew Wiggins and finished at the rim with 10 seconds remaining, and the Dallas Mavericks held on to beat the Miami Heat 113-109.

Flagg finished with 29 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks in 39:44. A left shoulder sprain had kept him out of Saturday's 122-106 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs, and the Mavericks upgraded him to probable after Monday's shootaround.

Dallas is 2-2, with two wins in three road games. Miami fell to 0-4.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists for the Heat, his first triple-double since joining Miami. Davion Mitchell scored 21. The Heat went 14-of-25 at the free-throw line, and the Mavericks made 13 of their 14 attempts.

Dallas assisted on 31 of its 43 field goals and outrebounded Miami 51-43.

As the 2-2 Mavs turn their attention to a Wednesday night visit from the 4-0 Thunder, our 5-Takeaways Notebook ...

Flagg checked back in for Kyrie Irving with 8:51 left and the game tied at 90. He played the rest of the way and scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Thirty-two seconds after he checked in, he blocked an Antetokounmpo layup. His driving finger roll at 5:57 put Dallas ahead 99-96. About a minute later, Pelle Larsson fouled him on a turnaround jumper, and the free throw made it 104-97. A floater at 4:23 stretched the lead to seven.

Twice in 20 seconds, Flagg was then called for an offensive foul, at 3:59 and again at 3:39. A Bam Adebayo fast-break dunk brought Miami within 106-103.

With 2:02 left, Flagg hit a pull-up 3-pointer off an Irving pass for a 111-105 lead. Antetokounmpo and Adebayo answered with the next four points.

Then Flagg closed out on Wiggins and blocked his 3-point attempt with 31.1 seconds left, Zaccharie Risacher grabbed the rebound, and Dallas used its timeout.

Staying on his feet and reading when a defender is sliding over to take a charge is something Flagg has to get better at. He was sped up on both charges, getting downhill before his teammates were in position.

“Just get set. Once I had everybody set and everybody was in good positions, just taking advantage of the space that we had, being able to get downhill and challenge them at the rim,” Flagg said. “And I was confident in my ability to get by him, create an advantage for our team and make the right play.”

His 11 assists tied the career high he set Nov. 28, 2025, at the Los Angeles Lakers. Flagg made 2 of his 8 3-point attempts and all 3 of his free throws.

Mavericks coach Dusty May said the last big possession went into Flagg's hands because Dallas knew he would make a great decision.

“Well, we were struggling to find different ways to just get him in some space. And I thought our guys had good off-ball movement and spacing, and he just needed a crease,” May said. “I mean, that's a bad dude to get in the paint like that and finish. There were three guys trying to block it late. That's one thing when you do get an angle, get to the rim on their perimeter defenders and you have Bam and Giannis coming over to block it, to have the creativity to get it up off the rim. He had a couple that they brought the third defender and drew the charge on him, but he was making the right passes.”

“He was fanning out, he was starting closeouts. That's one thing about Coop, the ball comes out of his hands at the right time,” May continued. “If we get to where we're really finding a rhythm offensively, he's gonna have some 15-, 20-assist games, there's no question.”

Clayton did not play in the first quarter. He checked in with 5:58 left in the second, after Daniel Gafford's flagrant foul on Antetokounmpo, and finished with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in 17:10.

He made both of his 3-point attempts and his only free throw. He also had 4 rebounds and 4 assists, and Dallas was plus-22 in his minutes.

In two games before Monday, Clayton had scored 3 points. The Mavericks signed him to a two-way contract on Oct. 21, two days after the Memphis Grizzlies waived him.

He spent his rookie season with the Utah Jazz after going 18th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, a few months after leading Florida to the national championship.

All 7 of his fourth-quarter points came over a span of 2:51.

His driving finger roll at 8:27 made it 93-92 Miami. On the next trip, he scored in transition, drew a foul from Bobby Portis Jr., and made the free throw for a 95-93 Dallas lead.

He blocked a Portis layup at 7:55, and his floater off a Flagg pass at 5:36 made it 101-97.

Clayton has been in Dallas about a week. Watching how Irving prepares has him locked in and preparing the same way.

“As simple as that, stay ready. Just trying to stay engaged during the timeouts, know the game plan as before,” Clayton said. “And then just a big factor, just the guys trusting me to go out there and shoot the ball and play my game, so definitely.”

His first 3-pointer, with 3:42 left in the first half, cut Miami's lead to 50-45. The second came off a Flagg pass at 4:51 of the third quarter and made it 79-72.

Miami went at Clayton on defense, May said, and Clayton held his own.

“Walt played in the stay-ready game … earlier today. So he basically did a doubleheader. Obviously it was an abbreviated one this morning, but that's Walt,” May explained. “I mean, he's a gamer. If anyone, obviously in this state, they've seen him a lot. He's got ice water in his veins. He's unfazed. Even when he doesn't play up to his best, he's the same way.”

“I thought he dug deep trying to defend. They were trying to go at him. I thought he held his own on the defensive end,” May noted. “And offensively, he just gives us so much because he can get wherever he needs to with the ball. He can create advantages, he can finish in the paint. I thought his shot fake, obviously being such a great three-point shooter, I thought he used his shot fake well and just played really, really good ball.”

No Mavericks player logged more than Washington's 40:38. He scored 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting, went 4-of-11 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 at the line, and added 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

All 20 came in the first three quarters. With 30.8 seconds left in the first half, Flagg found him for the 3-pointer that sent Dallas into the break up 53-52.

Three times, Washington tied up Antetokounmpo for a jump ball. The first came late in the second quarter. The third came at 1:36 of the third, right after he blocked an Antetokounmpo drive.

In his opening statement, May said the hustle plays carried Dallas, Washington's on the last possession among them.

“I think PJ's been great in stretches every game. For him to play 41 minutes tonight, and I haven't reviewed the film, but I would say 39 of them were like really intentional, focused, like determined to do whatever it takes to win,” May said. “Sometimes from my seat it looks like he can just be in the game and not completely engaged. I thought he was engaged for almost the full 41 minutes.”

“The last loose ball he came up with, there was five or 10 of those throughout the game that he just found a way to go get, and then obviously made a huge three,” May added. “He's a weapon because he can stretch the defense, he gets in the paint, he's physical with his bump-offs, some little short shots, and then just he's got a nose for the ball too. He's quick to loose balls.”

Antetokounmpo shot 12-of-23 from the field and 3-of-7 at the line, with 5 turnovers. In the fourth quarter, he scored 4 points on 2-of-6 shooting.

Gafford fouled out with 4:08 left, finishing with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks in 25:36. His flagrant foul on Antetokounmpo in the second quarter also brought a double technical, shared with Portis.

The plan on Antetokounmpo was to meet him early and make every look at the rim a tough one.

“Main thing is he be hitting people. I think people don't understand how big those little hits go as the game goes on, how important they are,” Clayton explained. “And PJ's done that every game I watch, he's been constantly doing that. So PJ's great for us, obviously shooting the ball well, and great rebounder, so he's been great for us.”

Risacher went 2-of-13 from the field and 1-of-6 from 3-point range for 6 points. He also had 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals in 29:45, and Dallas was plus-9 with him on the floor.

Miami blocked 5 of his 11 misses, 4 of them before halftime.

He missed his first six shots before a floater with 1:12 left in the third quarter, then hit a 3-pointer at 9:11 of the fourth that pulled Dallas within 90-89.

Entering Monday, he was shooting 18.2% from 3-point range.

However many shots Risacher missed, May said, he had twice as many loose balls, blocks, steals, and rebounds.

“That's something that over the course of my, our career, I've probably been a little bit loose with shot selection where some coaches, how well you shoot it, you earn the shots. And with us, if you're playing the right way and the ball finds you, we trust you based on your work [in] practice, and also the developmental plan of taking the right shots,” May said. “So I wanted Zacch to keep shooting when he's open, and most importantly, his teammates did too. I heard a couple of them say, actually I heard Kyrie say, ‘He's playing so hard, I want him to keep shooting it.’”

“He's playing so hard, we appreciate that so much that we're never gonna tell him to stop shooting it. He made a big floater. He made a huge three. And he's a good shooter,” May detailed. “That's the crazy part. He's a very good shooter that's just not making it now, but he's finding so many other ways to impact the game. And it looks like he's having fun even though it's not his best.”

His 3 blocks came against Adebayo in the first quarter, Antetokounmpo with 5:05 left in the game, and Mitchell with 5.5 seconds to go. Both of his steals came off Mitchell passes.

Washington grabbed the rebound after the Mitchell block, and Miami did not get another shot.

Flagg said Washington and Gafford have anchored the defense, and he put Risacher alongside them as a player stepping up on that end.

“I think just setting the tone early, being physical, guys like PJ and Zacch, that's — those are the things that they're gonna bring to our team every single night,” Flagg explained. “So for them to just continue to step up these last couple nights and really just showing how much they can provide us without even having to put the ball in the basket.”

“That's what I'm telling Zacch. I think obviously nobody's happy missing shots and stuff like that,” Flagg continued. “But he makes us 15, 20 points better when he's being active and getting steals and playing his defense. So I have no doubt that his shots are gonna start to fall and there's nothing to worry about there. So with him contributing like he has been, it makes it so much better.”

Dallas acquired Risacher from the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team trade this offseason. He made his Mavericks debut on Oct. 21 in the season opener against the Houston Rockets.

Sergio de Larrea went down early in the second quarter and did not return.

The rookie guard took a hard fall trying to catch an inbound pass, and Dallas listed him as doubtful to return before ruling him out. He played 5:40 and did not score.

On Monday night, the team called it a right knee strain. Tuesday's injury report listed a right knee sprain and ruled him out for Wednesday. Dallas has not announced a timeline.

Two days before the Miami game, de Larrea scored 21 points against San Antonio with Flagg and Irving out.

May said de Larrea was due for imaging the next day.

“I don't know what it is. He'll have some imaging tomorrow, but obviously concerned because he's such a tough kid, but whatever it is, we'll be here to support him and get through it,” May said. “Very unfortunate, like all these injuries.”

“You look around the NBA and the first thing you think of when there's an injury is just how much time these guys spend to get their bodies right and how much time they're gonna have to spend just to get back to playing the game that they love to play,” May added. “And so hopefully it's minor, but we'll know sooner than later.”

Irving had 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in 32:40 Monday, his third game back from a torn ACL. He is questionable for Wednesday with left knee injury management.

Dallas opens a three-game homestand Wednesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder (4-0), with tip-off at 8:30 p.m. CT at American Airlines Center. Houston visits Friday, and the Sacramento Kings come in Monday.