Cooper Flagg gets revenge on Derik Queen in Dallas thriller

Cooper Flagg yet got the infinitesimal helium wanted against Derik Queen. Two weeks aft helium missed a imaginable crippled tying jumper successful New Orleans and watched his erstwhile precocious schoolhouse teammate adjacent retired a win, the No. 1 prime walked disconnected the American Airlines Center level relieved.

Young stars crook reunion into connection game

Queen controlled agelong stretches for New Orleans. The Pelicans rookie worked retired of the post, deed cutters and piled up 20 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists arsenic his squad built a 15 constituent lead.

The finish, however, belonged to Cooper. He drove a 118-115 Mavericks comeback, scoring 12 of his vocation precocious 29 successful the 4th quarter. On the last Pelicans trip, Queen roseate for a tying three, lone to spot it autumn short.

"I [saw] him laughter astatine me," Queen said afterward. "That's astir apt what helium was laughing at, but yo, that's crazy. Full circle."

Kidd’s connection pushes Flagg to the rim

At halftime, with Dallas down 14, Jason Kidd told his teen to onslaught the rim. Cooper answered with 21 points aft the interruption connected 8-of-9 shooting, with 20 of his full points coming successful the paint.

"Clutch [situations], he's not afraid," Mavericks manager Jason Kidd said. "We get him the ball, and helium seems similar he's been determination before. Being capable to people erstwhile you request a bucket, erstwhile everyone knows that you're coming to him, he's deliberate. For an 18-year-old, that's beauteous special."

"I was settling excessively much, settling for leap shots," Cooper said. "Not that they're atrocious shots, but conscionable settling a small excessively much. You got to enactment much unit connected the defense."

"He's blossoming into who we each cognize helium is," Mavericks guardant P.J. Washington (24 points, 9 rebounds) said of Flagg. "Just being himself, taking connected the large moments and converting. Getting to the paint, getting to his spots and making the close determination each and each time."

For now, Flagg has evened the people with Queen. It already feels specified arsenic the archetypal section of a rivalry that could signifier the West.