DALLAS (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 29 points and 11 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs overcame rookie No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg's fourth consecutive 30-point game in a 135-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.
Flagg scored 32 points to extend his NBA record for consecutive games with at least 30 points by a teenager. The 19-year-old joined Michael Jordan, Bernard King, Allen Iverson and Jalen Green as the only rookies to score at least 30 in four
straight games since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77.
Harrison Barnes was another of seven San Antonio players in double figures with 19 points, and De'Aaron Fox scored 17 points while pushing through a rough shooting night with two clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. The second came on Wembanyama's sixth assist and gave the Spurs a 131-123 lead with 1:24 remaining.
Stephon Castle had 18 points and seven rebounds, the last board coming on his empathic and punctating follow dunk for the final points.
Naji Marshall matched Flagg with 32 points for Dallas, and Daniel Gafford had 16 points and 10 rebounds a few hours after the trade deadline passed without the center leaving in a deal when he was the subject of speculation.
The Mavericks were playing their first game since trading 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis, who had been sidelined a month with a left hand injury.
Wembanyama made his first five 3-pointers and had 20 points at halftime as the Spurs led by double digits several times but couldn't put the Mavericks away until the final two minutes. The 7-foot-4 French star missed his last four 3s and was 9 of 14 from the field.
Flagg did most of his damage after halftime, scoring 22 points as the Mavericks cut a 13-point deficit to one but never could go in front.
These teams play again in San Antonio on Saturday.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
