Browsing: Score

The Phoenix Suns hit the reset button this offseason and sent 15-time All-Star forward Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets in an NBA-record seven-team deal.

The Suns have turned the page from the Durant era and enjoyed surprising success over the first month and change of the 2025-26 campaign, but they ran into their old centerpiece again Friday night in Houston.

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And with a 10-foot jumper in the first quarter of a 117-98 win, the 37-year-old reached the latest milestone of his illustrious, 19-year career. Durant, a four-time NBA scoring champion, needed just four points to become the eighth player in league history to score 31,000 career points.

That’s rare air also inhabited by LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki and Wilt Chamberlain.

Granted that’s the same group Durant accompanied when he cleared the 30,000-point threshold in February last season, but that list of names remains incredibly impressive.

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It’s not out of the question Durant passes Jordan’s mark of 32,292 career points sometime this season. He’ll need to stay healthy, but if he accomplishes that feat, he’ll move up to fifth on the leaderboard, first jumping Chamberlain (31,419) and Nowitzki (31,560).

James, in his NBA-record 23rd season at 40 years old, leads the pack, and it’s not particularly close. He’s got 42,268 points to his name, 3,881 more than Abdul-Jabbar, who is second all-time.

Durant came into the Friday night matchup averaging 25 points per game in his first season with the Rockets while shooting 49.3% from the field, including 37% from beyond the arc.

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Through his first 17 games with the team, he had finished with 20 or more points 14 times, reaching or eclipsing the 30-point barrier on six occasions.

He’s thriving after signing a two-year extension with Houston reportedly worth $90 million this offseason. The Rockets could very well be the fifth and final franchise the two-time NBA champion and one-time league MVP suits up for in a prolific pro career that started in 2007.

Durant scored the bulk of his points with the Oklahoma City Thunder, who were the Seattle SuperSonics when he was drafted No. 2 overall out of Texas.

He won a pair of rings with the Golden State Warriors. Since, he’s starred for the Brooklyn Nets, Suns and now the Rockets.

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Although the success of Durant’s teams has ebbed and flowed, his scoring has been a constant in an ever-changing NBA landscape.

He reminded everyone of his age-defying consistency with 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting Friday against the Suns while adding another notch to a star-studded scoring belt.

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SEATTLE — Alex Carpenter and Hilary Knight scored power play goals 22 seconds apart with less than two minutes to play and the Seattle Torrent got their first win in history, topping the New York Sirens 2-1 on Wednesday night.

New York rookie Kristyna Kaltounkova, the top overall pick, received a major checking from behind penalty and game misconduct with 3:59 to play, meaning the Torrent would finish the game with a player advantage.

After a timeout, Carpenter pounced on a loose puck between the circles and whipped a shot past Kayle Osborne with 1:24 remaining in the game. Carpenter played her first two seasons with the Sirens and is their leading scorer with 43 points in 50 games.

Moments later Knight poked the puck into the net on a scramble in the crease.

That made a winner of Hannah Murphy in her first professional start in goal. She made 23 saves and just gave up Paetyn Levis’ goal 3:15 into the game.

Seattle (1-0-1-1), which drew a record crowd of 16,014 in its home opener on Friday afternoon, a 3-0 loss to two-time defending champion Minnesota, went 2 for 10 on the power play before 8,622 fans. New York (2-0-0-2) went 0 for 10.

The Sirens play at the other West Coast expansion team on Saturday, facing the Vancouver Goldeneyes

Seattle is home again on Dec. 17 against Ottawa in the third of five-straight home games.

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Six weeks into the High Score fantasy basketball season — about one quarter of the NBA regular season — certain patterns are emerging that continue to shape how I manage my roster. The scoring format is simple but demands a balance of strategy, consistency and thoughtful decision-making throughout the week.

After tracking trends, adjusting lineups daily, and navigating injuries across multiple teams, here are the four biggest lessons Iâ€ve taken away so far.

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1. Use lineup flexibility to raise your weekly ceiling

Why lineup flexibility matters in High Score

My first takeaway is obvious, but still needs to be said. Don’t get stagnant, setting and forgetting your lineup like it’s the showtime rotisserie oven. Throughout the week, I regularly adjust my starters based on performance, matchups, and availability. Iâ€m not trying to bench players unnecessarily — Iâ€m simply trying to replace my lowest score with someone who has the potential to post a higher one.

The UTIL spot is central to this strategy because of its positional freedom. If my lowest score comes from a guard, I can replace it with a frontcourt player, and vice versa. This structure allows you to stay proactive, maximize your weekly total, and avoid wasting potential points on your bench.

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[High Score is a new way to play Fantasy Basketball on Yahoo with simple rosters and scoring. It’s not too late to create or join a league]

2. Move players interchangeably to maximize upside

A simple lineup adjustment that expands your options

To piggyback off the first takeaway, another technique thatâ€s been especially effective is rearranging players to widen your replacement pool. The goal is to ensure your lowest score occupies the position that can be upgraded by either position group.

Hereâ€s an example:

• G: Tyrese Maxey — 54

• G: Ryan Rollins — 34

• FC: Alex Sarr — 46

• FC: Julius Randle — 51

• FC: Nic Claxton — 49

• UTIL: Cade Cunningham — 53

Rollins†34 fantasy points is the score you want to improve. But with Cunningham sitting in UTIL, your only option is to swap in another guard.

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By moving Cunningham into the G slot and shifting Rollins to UTIL, you free up the most flexible position. Now you can replace that 34 with either a guard or a frontcourt player from your bench, depending on who has the better matchup projection or opportunity. Having players with dual eligibility makes this action easier, as they can be swapped into any position in the starting lineup.

This small adjustment consistently increases your chances of upgrading your lowest-performing output and helps you squeeze more value from the schedule and lineup.

3. Daily management isn’t necessary, but it can help

How early-week decisions shape your total score

While you can simply start your best players and rely on their predictable production, High Score rewards managers who pay attention to opportunity. Early in the week, lighter slates create windows where your top players might not be on the floor, and thatâ€s where your bench becomes useful.

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If a role player draws a favorable matchup, gets a spot start, or sees an uptick in minutes due to injuries, that early-week opportunity can produce a valuable spike in performance. This could be a chance to mine the waiver wire to start the week or going with an already rostered player you might typically debate starting.

Banking one of those surprise performances before your stars play later in the week gives you a better foundation for your total score. Also, if you’re losing heading into Sunday, you may have to bench an underperforming star with no games left to sub in another option to achieve the win. It doesn’t always work out, but it gives you a chance at a clutch, outlier performance.

Your stars will provide stability. Your bench provides variance — and variance is often how you create separation in High Score.

4. Roster percentage shouldn’t dictate drop decisions

Donâ€t be afraid to cut ties

If a player consistently scores under 30 fantasy points per game and isnâ€t showing signs of improvement, it becomes difficult to justify the roster spot — even if the name is significant. Jakob Poeltl, Matas Buzelis and Devin Vassell are all over 88% rostered, and fall into the highly-rostered underachieving bucket that fantasy managers can safely drop for a better waiver option.

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From an injury perspective, the limited bench space often presents some tough business decisions. For example, my IL spots are tied up, and Zion Williamson’s latest adductor injury will sideline him for at least three weeks (and likely more). I need to keep pace with my league mates, so I’m likely going to drop him, since there are viable replacement-level options in a default 10-team High Score waiver pool. Cutting a well-known player is uncomfortable, but the goal here is to maximize points week over week — not to hold players based on their draft value.

High Score demands that you react to what players are doing right now, not what you hoped theyâ€d be.

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It was a memorable night for a trio of Nashville Predators in their 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena.

Reid Schaefer, who was called up from the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday, scored his first NHL goal and recorded his first career fight against Brayden Pachal.

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Steven Stamkos netted his 1200th career point and Ozzy Wiesblatt scored his first career NHL goal. Jonathan Marchessault added a goal in the second period, his fifth of the season. Michael Bunting also scored in the third period.

Juuse Saros picked up his eighth win of the season, making 27 saves on 28 shots. His shutout bid was spoiled in the third period by a power-play goal from Morgan Frost.

It was a heavily penalized game as the Predators were in the box 20 minutes to the Flames 18.

“There were a lot of special moments for a bunch of different people,” Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. “That’s what makes the game great and to cap it off with a win makes it even better.”

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Here are three takeaways from the Predators victory over the Flames.

The Predators have a deep prospect pool and one of the players leading the charge into the future is Schaefer. He earned his first career call-up on Friday after recording 14 points in 15 games with the Milwaukee Admirals.

In the first period, Fedor Svechkov made a toe-drag move to open up the slot and get a shot on net. His original attempt was saved, but Schaefer was in front to put the puck in via the right post.

“I kind of blacked out. It went into the net and I was like ‘oh, what did I do here,’ Schaefer said. “It’s a pretty cool moment.”

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He wasn’t done there as he’d square off with Calgary’s Brayden Pachal in the second period. Pachal got the better end of the fight, but that did not stop Schaefer from hyping up the crowd after the tilt.

“I just laid a hit and he (Pachal) said let’s go. I got up and dropped the gloves,” Schaefer said. “I didn’t really think too much of it.”

In a year full of struggles, the Predators have looked to their youth, and it’s paid off throughout the season. Schaefer’s first career goal was the third time a Nashville rookie has found the back of the net alongside Ozzy Weisblatt and Matthew Wood.

Schaefer’s family was also in attendance for Tuesday’s game.

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Stamkos’ tenure in Nashville has been rough to say the least. In 25 games, he has just 10 points, but he’s had moments throughout these two seasons that serve as reminders of how decorated his career is.

In the second period, Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Evangelista sparked a 2-on-1 rush. Instead of shooting the puck, Evangelista took it behind the net, causing goalie Devin Cooley to start sliding. Stamkos caught the pass from Evangelista and had a wide-open net to shoot into.

It was Stamkos’ 1200th career point in his 1190th career game. Doing some quick math, that is around a point a game over his 18-year career.

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“It’s cool and special. You can enjoy it more in a win, and you get to celebrate a little bit,” Stamkos said. “It’s more of a thing that you kind of look back on when your career’s over. When you’re in it, you’re just trying to do what you kind of help.”

Playing with Stamkos has left an impression on a few of the younger Predators players and seeing him reach another impressive milestone makes the moment more surreal.

“They’re video game numbers,” Weisblatt said on Stamkos’ scoring his 1200th career point. “It’s cool to be playing on his team. I remember not too far back, I’m playing (EA Sports) NHL, and I’m (playing as) Steven Samkos.”

Patience paid off for Weisblatt in the second period as the Predators’ rookie netted his first career NHL goal after 23 games played this season. He has done just about everything over the last two months, from enforcing, penalty killing and contributing to three other goals.

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Off a shot from Michael Bunting, Weisblatt tipped the puck just enough to deflect it past Cooley. In an exasperated celebration, Weisblatt pointed to the sky when skating back to the bench, honoring his late brother, Orca Weisblatt.

“It’s about time,” Weisblatt said on scoring his first goal. “I feel like I’ve been all over it lately, and I’ve had so many chances this year to score and been robbed a ton. It’s just, just relief for me. I’ve thought about pointing to the sky for my brother for a while now, and it’s cool feeling.

“That was for him (Orca) and just huge relief for me.”

Orca died in September in a car accident, while Ozzy and brother Oasiz were at Predators training camp.

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With Weisblatt working toward netting his first of his career and playing for his brother, both Stamkos and Brunette said that celebration on the bench was the most explosive of the season.

“It makes you emotional in a lot of different ways,” Brunette said. “You’re involved in a pretty special thing. Just being on the bench and seeing the emotion that just not just from Ozzy (Weisblatt) and seeing what he did speaks volumes of the group of guys we have and how close they are.”

Similar to Schaefer, Weisblatt didn’t stop at his first NHL goal. He tried to drop the gloves against Calgary’s Joel Farabee, but instead, both were called for roughing in the first period.

Weisblatt’s night ended early as he’d fight Blake Coleman and head back to the locker room after the tilt.

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Up next: Nashville Predators (9-13-4) at Florida Panthers (12-12-1) on Thursday at 6 p.m. CST

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The High Score 100 — the top-100 players in Yahooâ€s newest fantasy basketball format — is a running reflection of year-to-date performance and trending production. Each weekly update captures whoâ€s actually delivering value and who’s fading.

Hereâ€s a breakdown of the biggest risers and fallers through the sixth week of fantasy basketball — with the complete High Score 100 at the bottom of the article. I’ll be updating my rankings every Tuesday throughout the fantasy basketball season.

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[High Score is a new way to play Fantasy Basketball on Yahoo with simple rosters and scoring. It’s not too late to create or join a league]

Before jumping into the risers, itâ€s worth noting the ripple effect of stars returning this week. Tyler Herro (36) and Jalen Williams (53) made their season debuts in Week 6, pushing rotational players down the list as usage and minutes normalized. As more stars come back from injury, expect more volatility in the middle tiers of the rankings.

Zach Edey – FC, Memphis Grizzlies: 76th overall (â¬†ï¸ 16)

The Grizzlies’ big man is becoming such a dominant force in the paint. I had to move him up in the ranks because of his outstanding play to close out week 6 in a win over Sacramento, racking up 32 points, 17 rebounds and 5 blocks on 16-of-20 shooting. A 64-point fantasy outing was shocking. Still, at this pace, he’s tracking to be a 37-40+ fantasy point asset in High Score. Edey’s averaging 13 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks per game since returning from injury — keep him locked into your lineups.

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Josh Hart – G/FC, New York Knicks: 87th overall (â¬†ï¸ 16)

Hartâ€s rotation minutes have ticked up as New York shuffles through injuries, and heâ€s responded with the multi-category contributions we’ve come to love and expect. Over the past four games, Hart is averaging 17 points, 11.8 rebounds, 7 assists and 3.3 stocks per game, equating to 52.5 fantasy points in High Score. A promotion was necessary after that level of production in Week 6. We can expect that type of stability as long as OG Anunoby remains out and Mitchell Robinson doesn’t play in back-to-backs.

Cooper Flagg – G/FC, Dallas Mavericks: 58th overall (â¬†ï¸ 15)

Flaggâ€s been showing signs of growth offensively over the past month. The rookie phenom posted consecutive weeks of registering at least 50 fantasy points in High Score. Also, he became the youngest player in NBA history to drop 35 in a game in a win over the Clippers in Week 6. Flagg’s versatility is beginning to shine through on both ends, showing the kind of upside fantasy managers expected when drafting him as a top-50 player. The usage spike and month-over-month improvement as a scorer will only send him further up the ranks.

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Ausar Thompson – FC, Detroit Pistons: 118th overall (â¬‡ï¸ 28)

Thompsonâ€s name appears on the fallers’ list in consecutive weeks because his production continues to trend downward. Even though he’s returned to the starting lineup, he hasn’t eclipsed 30 fantasy points since November 9. In his last seven outings, his highest score is 27 and for the season, Thompson is averaging 30.2 fantasy points per game. That’s on the cusp of not being worth holding on your fantasy roster in a default High Score league. He’s playing less than 30 minutes per night this season, so a boost in minutes would certainly improve his production.

Jarrett Allen – FC, Cleveland Cavaliers 100th overall (â¬‡ï¸ 20)

Like Thompson, Allen is back again and loosely holding down the final spot in the High Score 100. A finger injury has been affecting his performance lately, but we can’t ignore the stats. He hasn’t gone over 30 fantasy points in over two weeks, causing his average to dip to 31 fantasy points per game. He’s actually ranked 107, but I’m giving some grace for his finger ailment.

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Jaden McDaniels – FC, Minnesota Timberwolves: 101st overall (â¬‡ï¸ 10)

I expect McDaniels will have a brief stint on the fallers list after a disappointing Week 6, where he scored 26 fantasy points. With Jalen Williams and Tyler Herro returning, someone had to drop off, and McDaniels’ play of late hasn’t been enough to warrant keeping in the top 100. After a hot start to the season, scoring 18 ppg, which has normalized to 14 ppg over the past 14 games, with improved efficiency that unfortunately won’t factor into High Score.

Complete High Score 100 rankings

The High Score 100 is a running reflection of year-to-date performance and trending production.

Stay tuned for the next look at the High Score 100!

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ST. LOUIS — Mason McTavish and Pavel Mintyukov each scored first period goals to help the Anaheim Ducks beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 Monday night.

Leo Carlsson also scored, Chris Kreider added an empty-net goal and Ville Husso made 22 saves for Anaheim who successfully killed six St. Louis power plays.

Jordan Kyrou scored for St. Louis, and Joel Hofer made 19 saves in relief of Jordan Binnington.

Carlsson scored his 14th goal of the season 5:58 into the third period to put the Ducks ahead 3-1. It was his third goal in his last four games.

Binnington allowed two goals on five shots before being pulled after Mintyukov scored his second goal of the season with 9:36 remaining in the first period to give Anaheim a 2-1 lead.

Kyrou scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season just 20 seconds after McTavish scored his sixth goal of the season to put Anaheim on the board 6:33 into the first period.

Beckett Sennecke assisted on McTavishâ€s goal to give him points in eight straight games to match Paul Kariya for the longest points streak by a Ducks rookie.

St. Louis was playing without forwards Jimmy Snuggerud, who will miss at least six weeks after being placed on injured reserve with a left wrist injury that will require surgery, and Alexey Toropchenko who is week to week after sustaining scalding burns on his legs in an accident at home.

The Blues recalled rookie forward Aleksanteri Kaskimaki from the clubâ€s AHL affiliate in Springfield, but he did not arrive in time for the game due to travel delays forcing Blues coach Jim Montgomery to dress seven defensemen and 11 forwards.

Ducks: Host Utah Wednesday night to open a three-game homestand

Blues: At Boston Thursday to open a three-game road trip.

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The calendar has flipped to December and we’ve played a quarter of the 2025-26 NBA season. We’re also just over three weeks away from the Christmas Day NBA slate, the best time of the year. Of course, in Yahoo’s new fantasy basketball format, High Score, the top output for a player in a given week is all that matters. So far we’ve seen plenty of superstars top out and even have a few surprising performances. Below we’ll go over the perfect lineup based off the top-six scores from November.

The top-six performances overall by position from November.

More on the top performers

Cade Cunningham, guard: The Pistons have the best record in the Eastern Conference and Cade has the best High Score of any player all season. Cunningham posted an astonishing 46-12-11 triple-double with seven stocks, good for 101 fantasy points, in an OT win over the Wizards on Nov. 10. The Pistons All-Star has had a wide range of outcomes this season, ranging from 28 fantasy points back in October in a loss to the Cavaliers to that explosion against Washington. He’ll almost always have a high floor given his assist numbers, averaging 9.4 per game on the season, second-best in the League.

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Tyrese Maxey, guard: Let’s be real, the 76ers are Maxey’s team. Unfortunately, Joel Embiid isn’t the same player and hasn’t even been able to play in half of Philly’s games so far this season. As a result, Maxey has gone full takeover and is chasing his first scoring title in the NBA, averaging 32.2 points per game, third behind Luka DonÄić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. There are few players who can fill it up like Maxey on any given night. He did just that with a career-high 54 points in an OT win over Milwaukee on Nov. 20, propelling him to 95 fantasy points. Maxey was a fringe first-round asset during draft season and is looking like he should have landed in the top five.

[High Score is a new way to play Fantasy Basketball on Yahoo with simple rosters and scoring. It’s not too late to create or join a league]

Jalen Johnson, frontcourt: Perhaps the most surprising name on this list, though we should give the budding star some credit. Johnson has taken over as the No. 1 option in Atlanta in the short-term with Trae Young dealing with a knee injury. Johnson posted a 31-18-14 triple-double with seven steals for 98 fantasy points in a win over the Jazz on Nov. 13, the second-highest fantasy total in High Score on the young season. We may not see another performance like that from him the rest of the season.

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Nikola Jokić, frontcourt: Real quick, we’d have Jokić on this list multiple times but we aren’t going to repeat players. The three-time MVP has been the best player in the High Score format (and honestly fantasy basketball overall so far this season). He’s leading all players in average fantasy points per game (70). Jokić doesn’t have fewer than 55 fantasy points in a game all season and has reached 80+ on four occasions — two High Scores of 89. There’s no reason to think he won’t be the top fantasy asset the rest of the season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, frontcourt: The Greek Freak recently returned from a groin strain. While the Bucks have struggled so far this season, Giannis has still worked in a few ceiling games above 80 fantasy points. His ability to score at will and rack up plenty of rebounds, assists and stocks give him one of the best floors in High Score. He topped out with a near 41-point, 15-rebound triple-double for 86 fantasy points against Chicago, a team he generally dominates, on Nov. 7.

Luka DonÄić, utility: Of course it isn’t a High Score list without Luka on there. After starting the season injured, missing three of the first five games, DonÄić is back and producing at a high level. His gem of the season was a 35-8-13 line with seven stocks for 91 fantasy points in a two-point win over the Spurs on Nov. 5 — far from the easiest matchup. Even with LeBron James back in the lineup, this is DonÄić’s Lake Show to run.

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The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Anaheim Ducks at the United Center on Sunday afternoon. After losing five in a row, the Blackhawks were looking for a big performance to get out of their funk.

This plan did not get off to a good start, however, as the Ducks had a 3-0 lead about halfway through the first period. It was as sloppy a start as the Blackhawks have had this season.

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At 17:57 of the opening period, on the power play, Connor Bedard hit Frank Nazar for a shot that was deflected in by Tyler Bertuzzi to get the Blackhawks on the board. That 3-1 Ducks lead bled into the first intermission.

In the second period, which has been the bad period for Chicago this year, they were magnificent. It could be their best middle frame of the season. While outplaying Anaheim, they scored two goals compliments of Ryan Greene and Colton Dach to tie the game. At the second break, the game was tied 3-3.

Early in the third period, the Blackhawks were awarded a power play thanks to some good work by Artyom Levshunov, but Alex Killorn scored a short-handed goal for the Ducks. Jeff Blashill then successfully challenged the play for offside, so the goal did not count, and the game remained tied.

Ducks goalie and former Blackhawks Petr Mrazek left the game with an injury midway through the third, which forced them to put in Ville Husso.

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Quickly after that, Connor Bedard made a magical play to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 lead. He found the puck all alone in front of Husso and put a brilliant move on him to score. Itâ€s a tough break for Husso, fresh in the game, but Bedard alone with the puck is difficult for any goalie.

Bedard wasn’t done there. He made it a four-point game with his empty net goal. Now, Bedard has 37 points in 25 games played.

That 5-3 score stood as the final. They scored five unanswered goals to earn the comeback win and end their five-game losing streak.

Teuvo Teravainen Update

Ahead of the game, the Blackhawks had Teuvo Teravainen listed as a game-time decision. He needed to take warmups to decide if he was good to go. It turned out that he was fine, and he had an assist in the win.

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Watch Every Blackhawks Goal

What’s Next For Chicago?

Up next for the Blackhawks is a long road trip. That will begin on Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights.

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Cooper Flagg became the youngest-ever player to score 35 points in an NBA game as he helped the Dallas Mavericks rally to a 114-110 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.

The 18-year-old went 13 for 22 from the field in his 20th career game. The top pick in this yearâ€s draft also grabbed eight rebounds. The only other 18-year-old to score 35 points in an NBA game is LeBron James, who did so twice in his rookie season. His first came when he was 18 years and 348 days old, five days older than Flagg was on Saturday.

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“Heâ€s only 18 years old, but he seems like heâ€s been in this league before,†Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “He did it all tonight. He had the ball. You can call it point guard or whatever, but he ran the offense for us. He drove the ball. The ball touched the paint. He got to the rim, got to the free throw line, stepped up and made free throws for us late. Just his composure on both ends [impressed me]. He competes at a very high level. You saw that tonight, but you saw that last night, too.â€

Related: The NBAâ€s dress code was seen as policing Black culture. Instead it inspired a fashion revolution

Flagg also impressed in Fridayâ€s game, when he faced Jamesâ€s Lakers. In that game, he had 11 assists, an NBA record for an 18-year-old. His 35-year-old teammate, Klay Thompson, is another admirer.

“Cooperâ€s upside is limitless,†Thompson said. “He has every tool to be great. Sometimes I canâ€t believe he should be a freshman in college.â€

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Flagg was aggressive all game against the Clippers, including a spectacular dunk over Ivica Zubac.

“Being aggressive right now is obviously right for me, and thatâ€s what Coach has stressed to me,†said Flagg. “Iâ€ve got to be aggressive, and weâ€ll live with some of the mistakes, but you just have to be aggressive and trust all the work.â€

Thompson also had an impressive outing: he hit four three-pointers in the fourth quarter, his final one putting Dallas ahead for good with 1:51 left. He shot 6 of 10 from long distance overall as the Mavericks snapped a three-game losing streak. He finished with 23 points, 17 of which came in the final quarter.

Kawhi Leonard led Los Angeles with 30 points and eight rebounds. James Harden added 29 points, 11 assists and eight boards for the Clippers, who dropped their fourth consecutive game. John Collins scored 21 and Ivica Zubac had 19 points and 11 boards.

Los Angeles (5-15) have lost seven straight at the Intuit Dome since beating New Orleans 126-124 on Halloween night. The Mavericks (6-15) scored 20 points off 18 Clippers turnovers.

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• 

  Tim MacMahonNov 30, 2025, 02:54 AM ET

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  • Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
  • Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks
  • Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Cooper Flagg packed a lot of history into the Dallas Mavericks’ back-to-back games against the NBA’s two Los Angeles squads.

On Friday night, Flagg dished out 11 assists, the most ever by an 18-year-old, in a loss to the Lakers.

Twenty-four hours later, Flagg became the youngest player to score 35 points in a game, a feat that was much more satisfying because it occurred as he led an injury-depleted Dallas team to a 114-110 win over the Clippers at the Intuit Dome.

“He’s only 18 years old, but he seems like he’s been in this league before,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “He did it all tonight. He had the ball. You can call it point guard or whatever, but he ran the offense for us. He drove the ball. The ball touched the paint. He got to the rim, got to the free throw line, stepped up and made free throws for us late. Just his composure on both ends [was impressive]. He competes at a very high level. You saw that tonight, but you saw that last night, too.”

Editor’s Picks

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LeBron James is the only other 18-year-old to score 35 points in an NBA game, having done so twice as a rookie for the Cleveland Cavaliers in December 2023. James’ first 35-point game occurred when he was 18 years, 348 days old, five days older than Flagg on Saturday night.

The highlight of Flagg’s career-high scoring outing was a spectacular drive and two-hand dunk over Clippers center Ivica Zubac, an All-Defensive selection last season. Flagg attacked the basket relentlessly throughout the game, going 13-of-22 from the floor with eight buckets within three feet of the basket.

“Being aggressive right now is obviously right for me, and that’s what Coach has stressed to me,” said Flagg, who also had eight rebounds and two assists in 38 minutes. “I’ve got to be aggressive, and we’ll live with some of the mistakes, but you just have to be aggressive and trust all the work. My teammates are extremely confident in me, and I feel that. And when they’re confident in me, it enables me to just be free up there.”

Flagg, who had struggled in the second night of his previous back-to-backs, started the game hot, scoring 12 points in the first quarter and 21 in the first half. He also finished strong, keeping his poise after a couple of costly turnovers in the fourth quarter to score eight points in the final 2 minutes, 47 seconds.

“Cooper’s upside is limitless,” Mavs shooting guard Klay Thompson said. “He has every tool to be great. Sometimes I can’t believe he should be a freshman in college.”

It was Flagg’s oldest teammate, the 35-year-old Thompson, who made sure the rookie No. 1 pick had an opportunity to close out the Clippers. Thompson scored 17 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, the sort of sizzling streak he was famous for while starring on four championship teams with the Golden State Warriors.

Thompson, who was briefly listed as out due to right knee soreness on the official injury report Saturday before changing his mind after a swim in the ocean, was 6-of-8 from the floor and 4-of-6 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter. His 28-footer with 1:52 remaining gave the Mavs the lead for good.

“It felt like a relief,” Thompson said. “I haven’t shot the ball well these first 20 games, at least not to my standard. So when you have a night like that after the tough start we’ve had, it just gives you relief to keep going. It really inspires me to be out there as much as I can.”

It has been a rough start for Thompson and the 6-15 Mavs, who got more bad news a couple of minutes before tipoff when starting forward P.J. Washington landed on a basketball and sprained his right ankle. Washington joined Kyrie Irving (knee surgery), Anthony Davis (calf injury management), Daniel Gafford (ankle injury management) and Dereck Lively II (foot) as key Mavs who were unavailable against the Clippers.

As much misfortune as the Mavs have had, they had an incredible stroke of luck when they landed Flagg by winning the draft lottery despite only a 1.8% chance.

“It’s pretty cool to be a part of it” Thompson said, referring to the start of Flagg’s career. “We all can be witnesses to what he’s going to do for a long time.”

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