The Dallas Mavericks went into the break level with Utah at 57-57, and the game changed once the second half began. Cooper Flagg scored 17 of his 21 points after the interval and finished with 10 rebounds and seven assists in Friday's win, according to TalkBasket's account of the game.
The decisive stretch came in the third quarter. Flagg and Kyrie Irving combined for 21 points during a 22-10 Dallas run that turned a one-point deficit into an 81-70 lead. Irving had started 1-of-11 from the field and, per the same report, scored 12 of his 14 points after halftime, so the run depended on two players finding their scoring rhythm at the same time.
The first half belonged largely to P.J. Washington, who scored a season-high 26 points, six of them three-pointers, and kept Dallas within reach. Morez Johnson Jr. added 13 points and 17 rebounds off the bench, a double-double that TalkBasket described as his first in the NBA.
Flagg's line matters because it shows the value of his role beyond scoring. Ten rebounds and seven assists put him in the middle of Dallas's possessions at both ends, and the Mavericks finished with 55 rebounds to Utah's 41. Dallas stretched the margin to 16 points at its peak and held a double-digit cushion through the fourth quarter.
The result is one group-stage game, not a trend yet. But it is a useful marker for Flagg: when Dallas needed a second-half lift, the ball and the scoring went through him.
