Cooper Flagg didn’t need to outrun Pascal Siakam. He stopped, rose into an 18-foot pull-up and shot over him. Dallas needed that kind of nerve on Monday night. Indiana had built a 13-point lead, and its veteran forward had spent the first half shooting holes in the Mavericks’ defense. By the end of Dallas’s 125-122 victory at American Airlines Center on November 9, Flagg had supplied something considerably tougher than a promising performance. The 19-year-old had dragged his team through a game it kept threatening to give away.
Siakam’s Barrage
Siakam made eight of his nine first-half shots. From behind the arc, he hit five of six, forcing Dallas to defend a scorer who needed almost no daylight. Early on, Flagg answered with consecutive dunks during an 11-0 Dallas run. Those bursts couldn’t keep Indiana quiet for long, especially once Siakam started making jumpers that punished every inch of separation.
Dallas led 48-45 in the second quarter. Indiana answered with an 18-2 run, turning a manageable evening into a chase. Siakam scored 26 points before halftime, and the Pacers carried a 66-56 lead into the locker room. Flagg had 13 points, half Siakam’s total, with Dallas staring at another 24 minutes of difficult defensive choices. The Mavericks needed to get closer to Siakam without handing the rest of Indiana clean looks. They also needed their two best scorers to make the Pacers work considerably harder at the other end.
The Kyrie-Flagg Surge
Flagg opened the third quarter with a turnaround jumper, a pull-up and a floater. Those first three baskets came from different distances, making Indiana defend more than a straight-line drive to the rim. He went 6-for-6 from the field in the quarter and scored 14 points. Kyrie Irving added 10, helping Dallas cut the deficit to 93-90. Dallas finally dictated the terms again. Indiana still held the lead, but Flagg and Irving had made its defenders start reacting to them.
Irving’s assignment carried a physical cost beyond the usual back-to-back fatigue. After missing roughly 19 months with a torn ACL, he had played about 28 minutes in Sunday’s 130-93 win over Brooklyn. On Monday, he logged a season-high 38 minutes and scored 35 points. His seven makes in 10 three-point attempts helped Dallas outscore Indiana by 29 points during his time on the floor. “Kai’s shotmaking righted the ship for us,” coach Dusty May said afterward. Irving supplied exactly the relief Dallas needed when a difficult possession threatened to become another empty trip.
Meanwhile, Dallas sent extra defenders at Siakam. He moved the ball out of double-teams and finished with eight assists, but he scored only three points after halftime. The fourth quarter started with Flagg and Irving scoring Dallas’s first 13 points. Irving’s three-pointer for a 98-97 lead put the Mavericks ahead for good, although Indiana would make that advantage feel painfully temporary. Together, the pair scored 26 of Dallas’s 35 fourth-quarter points. Irving stretched Indiana wide; Flagg punished the space inside. Flagg’s pull-up worked like a crowbar under a bolted door. Indiana crowded him; he created the opening anyway. The NBA spends too much time treating the midrange jumper like a moral failing. A scorer who can manufacture that shot deserves room to use it. With 1:02 remaining, Flagg pulled up over Siakam from 18 feet to reach 41 points and give Dallas a 120-116 lead. His stop mattered as much as his elevation: Siakam’s length couldn’t erase the separation Flagg created before releasing.
Flagg’s 40-Point History
Monday brought Flagg’s fifth career 40-point game and his first this season. His career high remains 51 points against Orlando on April 3. The final line against Indiana read 43 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals. He shot 16-for-25, made three of six threes and went 8-for-8 at the line.
At 19, Flagg joined Kevin Durant as the only teenagers to record at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in an NBA game. Durant reached those marks for Seattle in the final game of the 2007-08 season.
Those rebounds also helped keep Monday’s comeback within reach. Dallas beat Indiana 43-27 on the glass and collected 10 offensive rebounds to the Pacers’ one. Washington contributed nine rebounds, while Flagg grabbed two of Dallas’s offensive boards. The Mavericks kept recovering possessions that Indiana couldn’t afford to surrender. One more of those recoveries would matter enormously. Naji Marshall would get it with the game nearly out of time.
The Final 26 Seconds
Aaron Nesmith’s three-pointer had cut Dallas’s lead to 120-119 before Marshall drew a foul. Marshall made his first free throw, missed the second and recovered his own miss, giving the Mavericks another possession. With 26.3 seconds remaining, Flagg faced Andrew Nembhard and created space for another 18-footer. He stepped back and buried it, pushing Dallas ahead 123-119. Nesmith answered from three again, this time off a Siakam assist. Irving then made two free throws with 18 seconds left, restoring a three-point cushion at 125-122. Indiana still found another chance for Nesmith. His potential tying three missed, and P.J. Washington collected the rebound before Siakam fouled him with four seconds remaining.
Washington missed the first free throw. Then he missed the second, leaving Dallas with nothing from a trip that could have ended the argument. Obi Toppin grabbed the rebound, and Indiana called timeout with 3.7 seconds left. May replaced Irving with Caleb Martin, trading one of the night’s scorers for the defender who would finish it. Nembhard sent a long pass toward Siakam near the opposite sideline. Martin jumped the passing lane and tipped it away before the two collided. Martin got the steal with 0.9 seconds left. Indiana never got a shot.
Rick Carlisle confronted the officials at midcourt, arguing that Dallas should have drawn a foul. No whistle rescued the Pacers, and the Mavericks escaped. Flagg and Irving scored 78 points. Martin scored none, then saved their work with one reach. The league’s highlight economy badly undervalues that kind of scoreless labor. Martin finished with three rebounds and five assists, but his final intervention gave Dallas the only number it still needed: a win. Dallas improved to 7-4 and swept its three-game homestand, while Indiana fell to 3-8. A trip to Minnesota on Thursday comes next, with a much clearer picture of what the Mavericks can ask from their youngest star. Flagg has already outgrown rookie expectations. Forty-point nights now belong in the job description.
READ ALSO: Cooper Flagg NBA Impact: 10 Rookie Moments That Mattered
FAQs
How many points did Cooper Flagg score against the Pacers on November 9, 2026?
Flagg scored 43 points, including 30 after halftime, as Dallas beat Indiana 125-122.
Did Cooper Flagg set his career scoring record against Indiana?
Flagg set his season high with 43 points. He scored his career-high 51 against Orlando on April 3, 2026.
How many career 40-point games did Cooper Flagg have after this win?
Through November 9, 2026, Flagg had five career 40-point games. The Indiana game gave him his first of the season.
How did Kyrie Irving help Dallas beat Indiana?
Irving scored 35 points and made seven of 10 three-point attempts. Dallas outscored Indiana by 29 points during his minutes.
Who made the final defensive play for the Mavericks?
Caleb Martin tipped away Andrew Nembhard’s pass toward Pascal Siakam. His steal denied Indiana a final shot.
