‘Not On Him’: Daniel Gafford Backs Cooper Flagg After 3-Of-19 Night In Dallas Mavericks’ Loss To Sacramento Kings

DALLAS — Cooper Flagg told his Dallas Mavericks teammates he was sorry for how he played after Monday night’s 115-100 home loss to the Sacramento Kings, center Daniel Gafford said.

Flagg finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals in 39 minutes, 33 seconds at American Airlines Center. He made 3 of his 19 shots, missed all 4 of his attempts from three, and turned the ball over 6 times. All 11 of his free throws went in.

Through the five games he played before Monday, Flagg averaged 26.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 6.6 assists while shooting 55.7% from the field. Sacramento came in 0-6 and had lost five of those games by double figures.

Gafford makes a point of speaking life into any teammate he sees with his head down.

“I never really pay attention to the reaction because I know he’s going to bounce back,” Gafford said. “So I just, whenever it comes to just the conversation throughout the locker room, I always say our response is going to dictate how we feel the next day or just like the next game. So it’s more of just me. I try to, like I say, speak life into people.”

“So whenever it comes to where I see anybody has their head down, one of the main things he said was, ‘I’m sorry for how I played tonight.’ It’s not on him,” Gafford continued. “This is a team game. It’s night in, night out. If one person has a bad game or two people have a bad game, I mean, that’s still on the team because we play defense at the end of the day, too. So it’s like, it’s not just on one person at the end of the day.”

Dallas plays again Wednesday at San Antonio. Throughout most of Monday’s game, Gafford made sure he talked to Flagg and the rest of his teammates, because he knows they would do the same for him.

“I got all the confidence in the world,” Gafford explained. “I was trying to make sure I talked to him, pretty much any guys, throughout the majority of the game, because I know they’ll do the same for me. Trying to build confidence and just speaking life into people. That’s one of the things that will help us down the stretch of the games that we have. There will be games where shots don’t fall. But at the end of the day, we still got to play defense, too.”

“So it’s like they get a rebound, get back in transition. You may get a blocked shot. You may make a play to where it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, and that’s making an impact for the game,” Gafford added. “Now, that should let you know it’s not the end of the world. We have possessions further and further into the game. So we just got to keep playing.”

Dusty May, Walter Clayton Jr. Detail Sacramento Kings’ Plan For Cooper Flagg

Flagg went 2-of-10 in the first half and 1-of-9 after it. The Kings blocked three of his shots, with Emanuel Sharp getting one late in the second quarter and Precious Achiuwa and Malik Monk each getting one in the fourth.

Dallas missed its first 10 three-point attempts. Several of them were good looks, Mavericks coach Dusty May said, and the misses only fed what Sacramento was trying to do against Flagg.

“They loaded the paint,” May said. “And there’s a cadence to it where he’s fanning out early, and we miss our first, probably, I think we miss our first eight threes, and we thought several of them were good looks. And at that point, it fuels their fire to get to him even more in the paint, and they’re collapsing on the run, second guy, third guy at him.”

“I don’t think our spacing or the relocations were great as a whole,” May detailed. “And we just didn’t, we didn’t find any rhythm together.”

Guard Walter Clayton Jr., who scored 20 off the bench, expects Flagg to bounce back in the next game. The Kings timed their help off Flagg’s dribble, by Clayton’s account.

“I think it was just kind of timing his dribble, and everybody was getting down there to the paint, playing him for his middy. Obviously, they was going under on his screens,” Clayton said. “And I think they just was in a gap heavy on him tonight. And obviously, it’s 82 games, like I said, man. Cooper is going to be good. He’s going to bounce back next game. He’s been great for us, and he’s going to continue to be.”

The Mavericks played without Kyrie Irving, who sat with left knee injury management. Max Christie left in the second quarter with a right hip injury and did not return.

Flagg Goes 11-Of-11 At The Line As Dallas Mavericks Head To San Antonio Spurs

The 11 free throws without a miss set a career best for Flagg. He became the first Maverick to make at least 11 free throws without a miss in a game since Irving did it against Milwaukee on March 1, 2025.

Flagg made 4 free throws in the third quarter, when he scored 6 points on 1-of-6 shooting. His lone fourth-quarter point came on a technical free throw after Sacramento was called for a delay of game with 10:40 left.

May said he did not see Flagg grab at his shoulder late in the fourth quarter. Flagg missed the Oct. 24 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs with a left shoulder sprain he suffered a night earlier at Indiana.

After the injury, Flagg returned for the Oct. 26 win at Miami. Dallas won that game and its next two, over Oklahoma City and Houston, before Monday’s loss dropped the Mavericks to 4-3.

Dallas visits the Spurs on Wednesday at Frost Bank Center. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.