‘He Wasn’t Overthinking’: Dusty May Explains Cooper Flagg’s Second-Half Turnaround Against San Antonio Spurs
DALLAS — Over three straight halves, Cooper Flagg made 4 of his 30 shots. He then went 6-of-8 after halftime Wednesday night in the Dallas Mavericks’ 112-111 loss at the San Antonio Spurs.
Flagg scored 15 of his 19 points after the break and was plus-18 in the second half. He finished with 10 rebounds, 5 of them offensive, and 5 assists on 7-of-19 shooting in 40:02.
Before Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz, Mavericks coach Dusty May said Flagg got a couple of putbacks in that second half and played more assertively. Flagg is averaging a team-high 24.3 points this season.
“First, I just feel like he just started impacting the game in so many different ways, and that’s the beautiful thing about Coop,” May said. “He has the ability to impact literally every single possession on both sides of the ball. He got a couple putbacks. He just looked like he was more comfortable. He wasn’t overthinking because the shots weren’t dropping, and that’s a tough thing for a young player.”
“After six games, including the three preseason games, your shot profile’s been this, and you’ve been one of the most efficient scorers, and then those same shots aren’t dropping,” May continued. “Sometimes you have a tendency maybe to overthink it, but he just started … He played better. He’s more assertive. Just started having more of an impact on all facets of the game.”
Cooper Flagg Shot 4-Of-30 Over Three Halves
Flagg scored 17 points on 3-of-19 shooting in Monday’s 115-100 home loss to the Sacramento Kings. In San Antonio, he went 1-of-11 in the first half, and Victor Wembanyama blocked him three times before halftime. Flagg had 4 points at the break.
In the third quarter, he scored 7 points on 3-of-4 shooting, including a transition dunk off a pass from Kyrie Irving. With 6:05 left in the fourth, Flagg finished an alley-oop from Caleb Martin and made the free throw to tie the game at 100. His driving finger roll with 2:54 to go cut San Antonio’s lead to 107-106.
Flagg had 4 rebounds and no assists before halftime, then 6 rebounds and 5 assists after it. May liked the passing and the floor game in the second half, he said after the game Wednesday night.
“I thought the same thing in the first half. I thought he was making shots that he had made all year up to that point, and they just weren’t dropping for him,” May explained. “But I thought he just got lost in rebounding, and I thought he made great passes. I thought he played really well in just a really good floor game in the second half.”
Dallas Mavericks Host Utah Jazz At 4-4
The plus-minus column stood out to Irving afterward. Flagg finished plus-2, the only positive mark among Dallas’ starters.
“He’s going to go through ups and downs just like every other professional. It doesn’t take away from his talent or his skill set or what he’s capable of doing,” Irving said. “He’s just got to figure it out, and we’ve got to do a better job as teammates of giving him that support. He has the confidence in himself, but I think he knows it’s just a choice that he’s got to make at times just to go out and be aggressive and seek his own shot.”
Flagg, the first overall pick in 2025 and the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year, missed the first meeting with San Antonio on Oct. 24 with a left shoulder sprain he suffered the night before at Indiana. He and Irving combined for 68 points when Dallas opened NBA Cup play with a 116-111 win over the Houston Rockets on Oct. 30.
The Mavericks have lost two straight since. Utah (1-7) has lost six in a row.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT at American Airlines Center.
