The Dallas Mavericks wrapped their preseason with a 135-111 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, but honestly, that score means way less than how Cooper Flagg showed up. This was the final preseason test for Dallas, and while the team stumbled, Flagg made a statement.
Look, the first half was a mess for Dallas. We saw a quick back-and-forth, with Flagg throwing down a dunk and Kyrie Irving knocking down his first of five threes. But then? The foul fest began. Four team fouls in the first three minutes? C’mon. CJ McCollum was dropping bombs from deep, and Atlanta grabbed offensive control fast. Honestly, defense was optional for both squads early on. Dallas tried to rally with a relentless pace, trading leads, but Atlanta still closed the first up 39-34, mostly off a crazy 16 free-throw attempts. The second quarter kept that same vibe, with the Hawks raining from beyond the arc while the whistle kept blowing. Atlanta built a 17-point lead super quick, like five minutes in, and the Dallas offense just went ice cold. Even Kyrie Irving, an 88.8% free throw shooter, missed one! That’s how bad it was. Dallas shot a measly 1-of-10 from deep in that second quarter, letting Atlanta push the lead to 73-54 by halftime.
Dallas tried to make a push in the second half, cutting it to 14, but Atlanta answered with back-to-back threes and pushed it right back to twenty. The Dallas defense was frenetic, yeah, but still poor. Sergio De Larrea kept it hot, hitting both his threes in the third, but Dallas still ended the third down a whopping 102-78. The fourth quarter started with a Flagg transition attack that forced an Atlanta timeout. That was it for Flagg and Kyrie, though; their night was done. Dallas kept playing within what should be their regular rotation, and De Larrea played well to finish out, but by then, the real goal for both teams was just getting everyone out healthy. And thankfully, it looks like they did.
Forget the final score for a sec, because the biggest takeaway from this “dress rehearsal” was Cooper Flagg. This kid looks absolutely primetime ready. Seriously, there’s a play he made that you gotta see, a move with serious “sauce.” We didn’t see that last year. Back then, it was all head-down drives or a strong one-dribble jumper. This new move? It shows he’s adding layers to his game, growing beyond what we’ve already seen. He dropped 26 points and grabbed 12 boards, too. Nickeil Alexander-Walker also had an efficient 25 points for the Hawks in just 27 minutes.
So, preseason is done. What’s next? The real games start. The main thing is everyone is healthy, especially with Kyrie and Flagg getting some rest in the fourth. If Flagg can bring that “sauce” and overall game into the regular season, things are gonna get interesting fast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Mavs Moneyball.
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