‘In Good Spirits’: Cooper Flagg To Be Evaluated For Left Shoulder Soreness After Flagrant Foul In Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — Cooper Flagg has left shoulder soreness and will be evaluated over the next couple of days, Mavericks coach Dusty May said Friday night. Flagg did not play in the second half of the Dallas Mavericks’ 121-105 win over the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse after Aaron Nesmith fouled him from behind on a breakaway with 59.7 seconds left in the first half.

Nesmith was assessed a flagrant 1 on the play. Whether Flagg would need an MRI was still unclear when May spoke after the game, and Dallas hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night in the second game of a back-to-back.

“I really don’t know. I saw him in the locker room. He’s in good spirits,” May said. “We’ll know over the next couple days what’s going on, what’s next.”

How Cooper Flagg Was Hurt Against The Indiana Pacers

Flagg had 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block in 17 minutes, and he finished a plus-34. He made all four of his shots in the first quarter, two of them threes, and scored 12 points in the period as Dallas built a 44-27 lead.

With 1:02 left in the half, Flagg stole a Pascal Siakam pass and broke for the basket. Nesmith fouled him from behind, and players from both teams came together after Flagg went down on his left shoulder. Nesmith and Naji Marshall were each assessed a technical foul on top of the flagrant 1. Flagg made both free throws to put Dallas ahead 75-40, and Max Christie checked in for him.

Marshall started the second half in Flagg’s place. Indiana won the second half 62-44, and Dallas never let the lead drop below 13.

Kyrie Irving Wants The Mavericks Keeping Each Other Aware

Kyrie Irving had checked out about 30 seconds before the foul. The Mavericks have to keep each other more aware of what is happening on the floor, he said after the game.

“The NBA is just momentum-based in terms of when guys are going on a fast break like that, you gotta be careful. You foul somebody like that going up for a dunk and they’re not anticipating the foul or whatever’s going on and you fall recklessly,” Irving said. “It’s just, that’s why I feel like it gets dangerous, and we wanna protect our teammates, and that’s why you saw [us] going to have Coop’s back.”

“It’s a hard foul in the NBA, and Coop got back up and knocked down his free throws. And that’s what we want in terms of [not] showing a weakness. But obviously he didn’t finish the game, and that’s not something we want at all,” Irving continued. “So we gotta do a better job of, as teammates, just making sure we keep each other aware of what’s going on out there.”

“We couldn’t anticipate it, it was a tough foul, but we had each other’s backs, and we just don’t wanna have to deal with those things moving forward,” Irving added. “But if we do, we gotta be able to galvanize the group and just be ready to pick each other up after that.”

P.J. Washington And Dusty May React To Aaron Nesmith’s Flagrant Foul

P.J. Washington, who was on the floor for the play, called it “a bad foul” and said plays like it are “a part of the game.” He finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

“Cooper is a talented player. We knew what he could do on the floor, so for us, it was just a next-man-up mentality and just to have his back,” Washington said. “Obviously, we hate that he went out tonight, but we’re glad we got a win for him, and hopefully he’s doing well.”

Two Mavericks players also appeared to leave the bench during the altercation. May said he did not see it because he was in the fray, but he was told the two went out of bounds to check on Flagg, who was down near the camera operators.

“Nesmith is a great guy, a heck of a player. I’ve known him since he was in high school. Obviously an unfortunate play,” May explained. “Hopefully Cooper’s fine. But, yeah, obviously something we wish wouldn’t have happened.”

What Comes Next For Flagg And The Dallas Mavericks

Flagg, the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, was named Rookie of the Year last season. He scored 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting in Wednesday’s 128-110 season-opening loss at Houston.

Saturday’s home opener against San Antonio tips off at 7 p.m. CT at American Airlines Center. Dallas is already without Santi Aldama (right knee surgery), Tarik Biberović (right heel bursitis), Jett Howard (right calf tightness), Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery), and Caleb Martin (right thumb sprain).

Dallas Is Also Managing Irving’s Minutes Restriction

Irving is also playing on a minutes restriction, which May confirmed before Friday’s game. Staggering Irving’s minutes is part of the plan so Dallas avoids the kind of long drought it had in Houston, May said.

“We spoke about it a couple times and obviously leaning on his feedback and what his expectations are certain parts of the game and being flexible and discussing [with] him how to get him in the best rhythm. But anytime you’re on a minute restriction, you can’t roll out your normal rotations and flow,” May said. “And so once again, it’s a collaborative effort between the staff [and] then also with the guys that are in with them. And then also how we stagger his minutes so we don’t have that long drought that we had.”

After the Spurs game, the Mavericks visit the Miami Heat on Monday.