Cooper Flagg drops 13 points in preseason finale win over Lakers while Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Bronny James all sit out
Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks can now turn their attention to his official NBA debut.
Flagg and the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 121-94 in the preseason finale Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Flagg had 13 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds in the win for Dallas. He played 28 minutes, his longest run in the preseason.
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The match itself wasn’t nearly as fun as it could have been, considering the two teams. The Lakers were extremely shorthanded, and former Mavericks star Luka Dončić did not play at all for Los Angeles. Dončić played twice against the Mavericks last season after the stunning trade that sent him to the Lakers and Anthony Davis to the Mavericks. This ultimately led to the Mavericks winning the NBA Draft lottery for the first time in franchise history and selecting Flagg from Duke.
Flagg had some highlights early Wednesday while running the point, including a perfect backdoor cut that led to a two-handed slam and another wild one and a layup that he managed to fall after absolutely working Dalton Knecht in the post.
But the Lakers were still ahead at the first break, thanks to 18 points from Gabe Vincent. He opened the night with a perfect 5-of-5 from behind the arc. He finally made another in the second quarter and entered the locker room with 22 points at halftime, which gave the Lakers a 13-point lead.
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Dallas eventually started to chip away at that lead, only to explode in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks outscored the Lakers 37-8 in the final period and took the win by 27 points.
Davis led the Mavericks with 18 points and nine rebounds while shooting 7 of 15 from the field. Dereck Lively added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and PJ Washington finished with 13 points.
Vincent did not score again in the contest after his run in the first half. Rui Hachimura added 19 points and Jaxson Hayes had 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Lakers will conclude their preseason on Friday with a matchup against the Sacramento Kings.
Where were Luka, LeBron and Bronny?
The Lakers were extremely depleted Wednesday night.
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LeBron James is still out due to sciatica in his right side, which will keep him out of the team’s opening night game against the Golden State Warriors. His return is scheduled for mid-November. Bronny missed Wednesday’s game due to a mild right ankle sprain, although it doesn’t appear to be a long-term issue. Bronny played in the Lakers’ final four preseason games. He had seven points and four rebounds in Tuesday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Dončić is fine, but the Lakers simply held him out of back-to-back outings in the preseason, something that was widely expected. Dončić had 25 points and seven rebounds while shooting 7 of 15 from the field in Tuesday’s game at Arizona.
The Lakers were also without Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart on Wednesday. Jarred Vanderbilt was ruled out in the second half of the game with a quad contusion.
So when are we actually going to do it?
The Lakers will first host the Mavericks on November 28, then Dončić and the Lakers will travel to Dallas on January 24.
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At that point, assuming the elder James is back to full strength and Flagg is settled into his role in the league, we should have a real matchup to be excited about.