Mavs’ Cooper Flagg hurts shoulder, is benched in crunch time

Dallas– Mavericks Cheater cooper flag He injured his left shoulder in Monday night’s opening possession. 101-94 defeat till oklahoma city thunder And the coach’s decision led to much of the critical time being spent watching from the bench.

Flagg finished with only two points on 1 of 9 shooting, two rebounds and no assists in 31 minutes, leading to being “flat” in his second straight NBA game.

Flagg, the No. 1 pick who scored 22 points in last night’s win Toronto RaptorsWhile he was on the bench throughout the game, he wore a large Heat scarf over his left shoulder. He received treatment and icing after the game, and said he hoped he would be available for Wednesday’s home match. Indiana Pacers,

“We’re probably going to get some scans or whatever, make sure everything is clean, but I think it’s a little sore,” said Flagg, who thought he injured his shoulder while boxing. “Just want to keep an eye on it, ice it, do some rehab and be good to go.”

Dallas trailed the defending champions by 22 points, but cut the deficit to one with 54.8 seconds remaining before the Thunder took over. Flagg sat out almost the entire duration of the crunch, checked out with 8:14 remaining and only returned for a pair of late defensive possessions.

Mavs coach Jason Kidd credited Flagg for showing he is a “tough kid” by playing through pain, but said the decision to sit the 18-year-old for an extended period of time was based on giving the Mavs the best chance to win.

“Tonight wasn’t her night,” Kidd said. “We’re a team, and so we understand that the group that was there put us in position to win the game. He wasn’t on the field, but he was cheering for his teammates.”

Flagg admitted that being on the bench during difficult times was something he had never experienced, but he had no problem with Kidd’s decision.

“The way the game was going, we had a group that was really performing and running well, so I’m seeing where the coaches were,” Flagg said. “And I mean, I was flat. I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t impacting the game at a high level, wasn’t doing the right things. So obviously, it’s an easy decision for coach. He was just trying to win games.”