The Dallas Mavericks suffered a probably vital scare Friday evening when Cooper Flagg was compelled to go away their > sport towards the Indiana Pacers after taking a tough foul from Aaron Nesmith.
PACERS-MAVS GET CHIPPY AFTER
A FLAGRANT FOUL ON COOPER FLAGG 😳Flagg went to the locker room after the arduous foul https://t.co/pQjg9P61KK
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) 6
Flagg went down awkwardly and instantly grabbed his left shoulder, setting off a heated confrontation between the 2 groups. The Mavericks later dominated their star ahead out for the rest of the sport with left shoulder soreness.
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Flagg leaves after arduous foul from Nesmith
Flagg was racing towards the basket in transition late within the second quarter when Nesmith challenged him from behind. The contact despatched Flagg crashing to the ground, the place he remained for a second earlier than getting up and heading towards the locker room. Officers reviewed the play and assessed Nesmith a Flagrant 1.
The foul instantly sparked a confrontation between the Pacers and Mavericks. Dallas ahead Naji Marshall confronted Nesmith, resulting in a short scuffle between the groups. Nesmith and Marshall had been every assessed technical fouls following the altercation.
Flagg truly stayed on the courtroom lengthy sufficient to shoot the 2 free throws awarded due to the flagrant foul. He then went to the locker room and didn’t return for the second half.
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Mavericks will now look ahead to extra data
The largest concern for Dallas is the severity of Flagg’s shoulder subject. The Mavericks formally listed him with left shoulder soreness quite than saying a particular structural harm, that means there was no rapid indication Friday evening of how a lot time he might probably miss.
Flagg was having one other spectacular efficiency earlier than the harm, ending with 14 factors, 5 rebounds, six assists and three steals in 17 minutes. Dallas had constructed a large lead earlier than his departure, getting into halftime forward 77-43.
The Mavericks in the end held on for a 121-105 victory, however the outcome grew to become secondary to the situation of their franchise participant.
Flagg’s standing will now be intently monitored, notably given his significance to Dallas getting into his second NBA season. The 2025 No. 1 general decide received Rookie of the 12 months final season after averaging 20.1 factors, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
For now, the official prognosis is simply left shoulder soreness. The Mavericks will want extra analysis to find out whether or not Friday evening’s scary exit turns into one thing extra critical.
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