Cooper Flagg scored 27 points and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the visiting Brooklyn Nets 113-105 on Monday.
Naji Marshall paired 22 points with nine assists, while Klay Thompson had 18 points on 6-of-9 3-pointers as Dallas snapped a two-game skid and extended Brooklyn’s losing streak to four.
Michael Porter Jr. returned for the Nets after being rested in Memphis on Sunday and posted 28 points and nine rebounds, while Day’Ron Sharpe contributed 14 points and 12 boards off the bench.
Porter buried 6 of 10 from 3-point range. The rest of the Brooklyn team went a combined 3 of 27 from deep.
Jaden Hardy was the early instigator for the Mavericks with 11 first-quarter points, while Sharpe pulled down six offensive rebounds in less than seven minutes.
The Nets hit 1 of 10 from downtown for the period, compared to Dallas’ 6 of 10, spearheaded by Hardy’s 3 of 5 as the home side led 32-23 after one.
Flagg dominated the second frame, pouring in 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting.
The rookie, who was coming off a quiet night against Chicago, followed an off-balance, contested jumper with a massive swat of Terance Mann which he sent into the stands. The No. 1 overall pick in last June’s draft added five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Flagg knocked down a pair of free throws with 8.3 seconds left to make it 56-42 before Mann finished the half with a trey on the buzzer to trim Brooklyn’s deficit to 56-45.
After Dallas pushed the lead out to 63-49, Porter and Drake Powell piloted a 9-0 response to trim the gap to 63-58, before the Nets — who hit 12 of 17 for the period — closed further to 74-71.
Nembhard rattled in a long two on the buzzer to ease the Mavs’ cushion to 84-77 with a quarter to play.
Brooklyn continued to chip away in the fourth, reducing the margin to three before Flagg took control late, following a steal and slam with a shot-clock-beating three to push the difference back out to double digits with 1:32 remaining.
