He didn’t get to 50 again.
But Cooper Flagg surpassed 40 points for a second consecutive game on Sunday to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 134-128 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
In total Flagg tallied 45 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal in another remarkable entry to his rookie campaign. On the heels of his 51-point effort in a loss to the Magic on Friday, the effort also established new milestones for the Mavericks rookie.
Per NBC, Flagg is the first rookie to post 40-point efforts in consecutive games since Allen Iverson did it five times during the 1996-97 season. And his 96 combined points in two games are the most by a rookie since Wilt Chamberlain.
When Flagg scored 51 last week, he became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 50 points at 19 years and 103 days old.
On Sunday he had to outduel LeBron James to reach his tally.
With Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić both out with injuries for the remainder of the regular season, James is the unquestioned No. 1 option in the Lakers lineup. James responded Sunday with 30 points, a season-high 15 assists and 9 rebounds to lead the Lakers.
But it wasn’t enough to power his shorthanded team past Flagg’s Mavericks to victory.
The win doesn’t do much for the Mavericks, who have long been out of the Western Conference playoff race. But the loss is critical for the Lakers, who are now tied with the Denver Nuggets for third place in the West.
They stand 1.5 games ahead of the fifth-place Houston Rockets. The top four teams in each conference will have home-court advantage in their first-round playoff series.
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