Cooper Flagg leads Mavs over Nuggets, draws praise from Jokic - ESPN

DALLAS — Cooper Flagg offered a simple, if sarcastic, explanation for the best long-range shooting performance of his spectacular rookie season in the Dallas Mavericks' 131-130 win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.

«I had my birthday,» Flagg said after scoring 33 points on 14-of-21 shooting, including a season-high four 3s. «I'm 19. I've only missed like one 3 since I turned 19.»

Flagg is actually 5-of-7 from 3-point range in the two games since the league's youngest player turned 19 on Sunday. It's a sudden improvement of the one significant flaw in Flagg's game, as he shot only 23.4% from 3-point range in 28 NBA games as an 18-year-old.

It was clear that Flagg was feeling it early against the Nuggets. He made his first seven shots from the floor. After the final shot of that streak, a 3 from well behind the line, Flagg turned and pointed toward the Mavs' bench, poking out his tongue as he smiled.

«Just having fun,» Flagg said. «I think I'm at my best when I'm just playing free and having fun.»

In that moment, Flagg was acting his age. But the teen's maturity after Denver rallied from an 18-point deficit was what left the biggest impression on Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets' three-time MVP.

«He was definitely a hot hand out there,» said Jokic, whose 29-point, 14-assist performance ended with him drawing a crowd in the paint and finding Peyton Watson for a wide-open corner 3 that rimmed out at the buzzer. «But just, I'm going to say the poise that he played with, he doesn't feel like he's so young out there. He seems like he played meaningful games and he was winning before. That's my opinion. He looked really mature out there.»

Flagg finished with 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, joining Luka Doncic and