Cooper Flagg scored 49 points — the most ever by a teenager in a single NBA game — but it wasn’t enough to save the Dallas Mavericks from a 123-121 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday.
On a dominant night, the 19-year-old forward who was the top pick in last year’s NBA draft scored a three-pointer to tie the score 121-121 with just 30 seconds left.
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But in the final seconds of the game, Flagg committed a turnover and immediately ran down the court and fouled fellow rookie star Kon Knueppel, who converted two free throws.
And Flagg then missed a potentially game-tying 20-foot jump shot on the game’s final play, to end his record-breaking night on a bittersweet note.
Yet with his 49 points, Flagg surpassed a record set nearly half a century ago by Cliff Robinson, who scored 45 points as a 19-year-old in 1980.
It was a third straight loss for the Mavericks, but a fifth straight win for the lowly Hornets, who sit 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Charlotte’s star recruit Knueppel — a college roommate and teammate of Flagg — also had a career-high night, with 34 points.
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Elsewhere, the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder collapsed to a 123-111 wire-to-wire loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, despite another 30-point haul from reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards said the beating was revenge for Minnesota’s loss to the Thunder in last year’s Western Conference finals.
“It’s personal for me because they knocked us out last year and they got the reigning MVP,” Edwards said.
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“And I think a win like this shows…if we bring our defensive intensity every night, we’ll be fine.” Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey combined for 77 points as the Philadelphia 76ers earned a 113-111 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Maxey, 25, who has often overshadowed his more established teammates this year, surpassed the 40-point mark for the fifth time this season, adding eight assists and four rebounds.
Cameroonian veteran Embiid scored 37 points, but in the deciding play of the evening, he passed the ball to his younger teammate, who drove to the basket and scored a game-winning layup with five seconds remaining.
Dillon Brooks scored a career-high 40 points in the Phoenix Suns’ 114-96 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons.
And the Washington Wizards triumphed 109-99 over the Milwaukee Bucks, who were without injured Giannis Antetokounmpo – the subject of frenzied trade speculation ahead of next week’s deadline.
