Cooper Flagg's career-high 12 assists power Mavericks' 130-93 rout of Nets

DALLAS — Cooper Flagg needed less than 30 minutes to produce the finest passing night of his young career. The 19-year-old forward scored 25 points and handed out a career-high 12 assists as the Dallas Mavericks routed the Brooklyn Nets 130-93 on Sunday night at American Airlines Center, a wire-to-wire win in front of 19,184 fans that gave Dallas its second straight victory.

Flagg did his damage in just 28 minutes, shooting 8 of 13 from the field, 3 of 5 from three-point range and a perfect 6 of 6 from the free-throw line, adding five rebounds for his third consecutive double-double and fourth of the season. The NBA noted he became the first teenager in league history to record at least 25 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in under 30 minutes of playing time.

Flagg takes over early

Flagg's floating jump shot put Dallas ahead 4-2 early in the first quarter, and the Mavericks never trailed again. He opened hot, hitting 5 of 6 shots in the first period, and reached 20 points, seven assists and four rebounds by halftime on just 10 shots.

Seven of his assists came in the second quarter, when Dallas outscored Brooklyn 33-20 to take a 66-46 lead into the break. Six different Mavericks scored off Flagg passes, and five of Daniel Gafford's seven baskets came directly from his feeds. His previous career high was 11 assists, set on October 26 at Miami, and he entered the night averaging 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and a team-high 6.4 assists.

Gafford and Irving keep the rout rolling

Kyrie Irving, facing his former team, scored 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting with four assists, while Gafford added 18 points, five rebounds and three blocks in only 19 minutes on 7-of-8 shooting. Eleven of Gafford's points came in the third quarter, when he went a perfect 5 of 5 from the field, and he sat out the entire fourth quarter with the game decided.

Santi Aldama scored 12 points and Zaccharie Risacher added 11 as Dallas kept pulling away. Gafford's dunk and Irving's layup capped a 12-2 run that made it 92-62 late in the third quarter, Irving completed a three-point play to give Dallas a 100-71 lead entering the final quarter, and Flagg's three-pointer to open the fourth stretched the advantage to a game-high 32 points.

A season-best night for Dallas

The Mavericks shot a season-best 57.1 percent from the field and scored a season-high 130 points, finishing with 31 assists on 48 field goals. Dallas dominated inside, outscoring Brooklyn 64-40 in the paint and making 32 of its 42 shots there. The 37-point margin was Dallas's largest since October 22, 2022, and its largest ever against Brooklyn.

Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 19 points and nine rebounds, Nolan Traore added 14 points and Julius Randle scored 13, finishing minus-33. Brooklyn, swept in a back-to-back to start a four-game road trip, fell to 2-8, while Dallas improved to 6-4 with its fourth straight win over the Nets.

It was the ninth game for Dallas under head coach Dusty May, who won the 2026 national championship at Michigan before the Mavericks hired him in June. May noted that Brooklyn plays a defense Dallas sees every day in practice, and on Sunday his young star picked it apart anyway.

Brooklyn never found an answer. The Nets trailed by 20 points at halftime and by 29 entering the fourth quarter, and Dallas coasted home while resting Flagg, Irving and Gafford for most of the final period. The break also keeps the trio fresh for Monday's back-to-back finale against Indiana, the second night of a home set that opened with the most complete performance of Dallas's young season.

What comes next

Dallas closes a home back-to-back against the Indiana Pacers on Monday at 7 p.m. CT, while Brooklyn continues its road trip at New Orleans on Wednesday. For one night, though, the story was simple: a 19-year-old who entered the game shooting 21.6 percent from three-point range made 3 of 5 from deep, ran the offense like a veteran and left the floor early with the rout complete, five rebounds short of the first triple-double of his NBA career.