Knueppel, Hornets overcome Flagg, Mavs in rookie showdown - ESPN

DALLAS — This was a night Cooper Flagg figures he'll be talking about with his former Duke roommate Kon Knueppel for decades.

That's probably true for almost everyone at the American Airlines Center who witnessed the thrilling display Thursday night in the first NBA meeting between the Rookie of the Year front-runners.

Flagg, the No. 1 pick, had 49 points, the most in NBA history by a teenager, breaking the Dallas Mavericks' rookie record he shared with Mark Aguirre, whose No. 24 was retired in a halftime ceremony during the game.

But Knueppel, the No. 4 pick, finished with 34 points and made the critical plays in the final moments to help the Charlotte Hornets earn a 123-121 win, their fifth straight. He forced Flagg into committing a turnover with 7.6 seconds remaining and hit the winning free throws after drawing a foul on his friend in transition.

Flagg's tightly contested jumper bounced off the back of the rim at the buzzer.

«Just a crazy ending to a phenomenal game,» Knueppel said. «He was the best player on the floor tonight. Probably, I mean, that's the best player that's played against us all season. It's just fun competing against the best, and obviously, being close with him, that kind of adds to the competitiveness. So, it was really fun.»

Flagg (-400) and Knueppel (+280) entered the night with the best odds to win Rookie of the Year, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, creating a unique buzz around a late-January game between two teams below .500. Flagg and Knueppel more than met the anticipation by becoming the first pair of college teammates to each score at least 30 points while playing against each other as rookies.

According to ESPN Research, their combined 83 points are the most by a pair of rookies in