Cooper Flag and the Mavs finally win a close game

He spread both arms like airplane wings as the final buzzer sounded. Way to Cooper Flagg to mark the moment: finally a victory for his team and him. Success against the Blazers that we had to go to overtime.

Two days earlier, this extra period did not favor the Texans, who were defeated by the Clippers (after two overtimes). Earlier that week, the Bucks also came away with a two-point victory in Dallas. Same for the Pelicans earlier in the month.

Basically, the Mavs have trouble winning this season, especially when the gaps are closing: before this game against the Blazers, they had just 2 wins and 8 losses in “clutch” games (down by five points or less in the final five minutes) this season.

To overcome this syndrome, they could count on their rookie. It was he, a minute from the end, who forced the decision to break into the circle and equalize (117-117). He also, after missing an important free throw and a possible game-winning shot in the final moments of overtime, converted two important shots in overtime. Approaching even closer to the circle.

Ghostly first half

« They played a good part of the end of the match with their center (Donovan Clingan) on the bench. If they won’t have circle protection in play, we have to use our size », note by Cooper Flagg to justify his aggressiveness at the end of the game. He scored 9 points in the last 17 minutes of the match, and finished with 21 points (9/16 on shots), 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks in 37 minutes.

And this, after a particularly timid first period that ended with only 2 points (1/3 on shots). There, Daniel Gafford, who followed him a lot, said two words to him. ” I could see he was frustrated at halftime. I talked to him a little. He told me he felt like he wasn’t involved. I told him: ‘Calm down a bit. It will come to you, no need to force the game. Sometimes the game comes to you by itself.’ That’s exactly what happened », Judiciary.

Daniel Gafford (20 points and 6 rebounds) who would also have a decisive impact in overtime, like his counter on Shaddon Sharpe’s dunk attempt, before finishing under the basket. Not forgetting PJ Washington (21 points), author of a counterattack dunk seconds earlier on a serve by Cooper Flagg who had just grabbed a defensive rebound.

The kind of action that makes Jason Kidd say that “ Cooper responded at both ends of the court. Offensive and defensive. » Her young star sees this winning of “time for money” as a way to gain experience. “ There are so many different situations you can find yourself in, and experiencing them with your teammates is huge for us. These experiences, repeating them over and over again… We begin to understand a little bit how it works », term-t-il.

How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.