Cooper Flagg’s 49-point eruption sets teenage NBA record in Dallas defeat | Cooper Flagg
As Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg set the NBA record for a teenager with 49 Thursday night in a 123-121 loss to Charlotte, he broke the franchise scoring record he shared with Mark Aguirre — whose jersey was retired at halftime.
“Mark Aguirre is special. Such a special night for him and for the whole organization,” said Flagg, who turned 19 in December. “I just feel blessed. It’s a pretty cool thing.”
“You saw the story,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “We saw the story at halftime and we got to see a young man playing at a very high level. Having Mark in the building and breaking his record was pretty special.”
Another unique feature of Duke’s No. 1 pick last summer was playing his first NBA game against Kon Knueppel, his roommate as a freshman for the Blue Devils last season. Knueppel, drafted fourth, set his own career high with 34 points and made both game-winning free throws with 4.1 seconds left after being fouled at the rim by Flagg.
“Cooper, he played like the best player we played all season,” said Knueppel, who set a franchise record as a rookie with eight 3-pointers. “He had a hell of a game, he’s a hell of a player and he’s going to have a hell of a career.”
Flagg called Knueppel a “brother for life.”
Cliff Robinson set the previous NBA teen record of 45 at age 19 for New Jersey in a game against Detroit on March 9, 1980. Flagg’s previous record of 42 points also came in a loss – 140-133 at Utah on December 15. Just like that of Aguirre, during a 118-112 defeat against Golden State on November 14, 1981.
It didn’t start out as a historic night for Flagg. He shot 1 of 4 in the first quarter as the Mavericks fell behind by 15 points. He caught fire in the second half, hitting 8 of 9 including 2 of 3 from downtown plus 5 of 5 from the free throw line. His 23 points in the period and his 25 at halftime were both individual highs for Dallas this season.
Knueppel, conversely, was hot. He made his first three shots from behind the arc, 4 of 5 in the first half and added another in the second quarter.
“When he sees easy players come in to start the game, that’s never a good thing (for an opponent),” Flagg said of Knueppel, who turned 20 in August. “That’s how it goes for a lot of great shooters.”
Trash talk?
“Chirps back and forth,” Flagg said. “I’m just having fun.”
The two leading candidates for Rookie of the Year finished the night with Flagg averaging 19.5 points per game and Knueppel 18.9. They will meet again on March 3 in Charlotte.
It will be difficult to match their collective effort on Thursday night.
“We will both remember this evening and this entire year in general for the rest of our lives,” Flagg said.
