Dallas Mavericks’ No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg scored the most points ever by an 18-year old.
Plus Nikola Jokic and Alperen Sengun both put up triple-doubles in overtime madness in a clash of the titans and one of the games of the season.
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Flagg, 18, put together a monster night in Utah with 42 points, seven rebounds and six assists, shooting 13-of-27 from the field and 15-of-20 from the free throw line in 42 minutes.
It topped the previous highest-scoring performance by an 18-year old set LeBron James with 37 points against the Boston Celtics back in 2003.
But the Mavericks fell to the Jazz 140-133 as Utah’s Keyonte George (37 points) and Lauri Markkanen (33 points) led the way in massive performances of their own.
Flagg got all the touches he could handle with Anthony Davis out and Kyrie Irving still sidelined. And the rising star, who turns 19 on Sunday, took full advantage.
While the game went into an extra period, Flagg only added two points in OT, setting the scoring record for an 18-year old late in the fourth quarter.
Flagg surpassed his previous NBA career-high of 35 points, while it comes exactly a year after he scored 42 points for Duke.
In Denver, Jokic (39 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, two blocks) outdueled Sengun (33 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals) in Denver’s 128-125 win over Houston in an overtime thriller.
Jokic and Sengun went head-to-head with massive buckets down the stretch as part of an enthralling sequence between the two sides. It included a Sengun hook shot giving Houston a 117-116 edge with 2.3 seconds left.
Denver drew a technical foul for tripping on the next inbound and Jamal Murray nailed the free throw to tie up the scores at 117-117. But Jokic missed a 3-pointer on the buzzer to send the game into OT.
The Nuggets started the extra period on a 7-0 run to go up 124-117 with less than three minutes remaining. But Houston responded with back-to-back buckets and Jokic fouled out with Denver up 126-121 with 1:23 left in the ball game.
A Sengun and-one led to the Rockets getting one last chance to win the game, but the star Rockets centre missed a triple in the dying seconds as Denver clinched the victory.
Murray added 35 points on an inefficient 9-of-17 shooting from the field and 14-of-15 from the free throw line and the 19-6 Nuggets, still missing Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun, won their fifth in a row to move into outright second in the Western Conference.
It marked Denver’s second win over Houston, who fell to 16-7 to drop below the Lakers and Spurs in the West’s fifth seed.
ELSEWHERE …
Cade Cunningham scored 32 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics 112-105 to extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
Pistons point guard Cunningham produced another potent offensive display in a back-end-forth duel that saw the lead change hands 15 times before Detroit pulled away in the final minutes.
Cunningham, averaging just under 27 points this season, rattled in six three-pointers in 11-of-21 shooting from the field to help Detroit improve to 21-5 in the Eastern Conference.
But Detroit were made to work hard for their fourth straight win after a dogged performance from Boston, who led by as many as 12 points in the second quarter before being reeled in.
“We love games like this that are tough, muddy,” Cunningham said.
“I think the game getting that way turns us up a little bit more.” Detroit’s starters were backed by 47 points from the bench, with Caris LeVert coming on to add 13 points in 19 minutes on court and Jaden Ivey finishing with 10 points.
“We’re deep — we got starters up and down the roster,” Cunningham said. “Guys who come in and do their job better than anybody in the league. It’s fun to play with.”
Jaylen Brown led Boston’s scoring with 34 points while Derrick White finished with 31.
The Toronto Raptors improved to 16-11 to move into third place in the Eastern Conference with a 106-96 road win over the Miami Heat.
Brandon Ingram’s 28 points laid the foundation for Toronto, who outscored Miami 32-19 in the fourth quarter to wrap up the win.
-AFP
ALL RESULTS
Pistons 122 Celtics 105
Raptors 106 Heat 96
Mavericks 133 Jazz 140 (OT)
Rockets 125 Nuggets 128 (OT)
Grizzlies 121 Clippers 103
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