Mark Daigneault holds 100 on Cooper Flagg’s 2-point performance

In a 101-94 loss to Mark Daigneault and the Oklahoma City Thunderfirst overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks, Cooper Flagghe had perhaps the worst outcome of his rookie campaign so far. He finished with two points on 1-for-9 shooting, including 0-for-3 from deep. Then, to make matters worse, Chet Holmgren posterized Flagg on a transition dunkwhich could go down as Cooper’s “Welcome to the NBA” moment.

After the victory, Daigneault addressed Flagg and the surrounding area the latest association phenomenon.

“He’s obviously a really talented player who has a very bright future,” Daigneault said. “I think because he’s the number one pick in the draft, it becomes like a day trade in terms of how he performs every night. But he’s going to get better month by month and year by year because he’s obviously a very talented guy who has a great feel for the game. He’s been very impressive so far.”

Thunder head coach Mark Daigno watched Flagg make his preseason debut against the Thunder earlier this month, finishing with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, six rebounds, three assists and one block in 14 minutes. Then came MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and the defending regular-season champions — a different animal even without All-Star Jalen Williams.

Still, Mavericks All-Star Anthony Davis (26 points, 11 rebounds) led by nearly 22 points as Dallas pulled within three points (97-94) with 21.3 seconds left in the final frame. Oklahoma City defended them. Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks never led.

Chet Holmgren has been upgraded to available for the Thunder’s matchup against the Mavs

In the midst of dealing with back pain, Thunder forward Chet Holmgren is listed as questionable against the Mavericks before being cleared to play on Monday. In Game 1 of the Thunder’s first back-to-back regular season games, Holmgren turned in another strong performance with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, 11 rebounds and four blocks.

All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a team-high 23 points on 10-of-22 shooting, including 1-of-3 from deep, eight assists, four rebounds and one steal. Five players scored in double figures for the Thunder, including a double-double from Isaiah Hartenstein (16 points, 12 rebounds) and 17 points from Ajay Mitchell, who led the bench production.

The Thunder will host the Kings at the Pike Center on Tuesday.