Dallas Mavericks rookie forward Cooper Flagg was ruled out for the second half of Wednesday’s 118-109 loss to Denver after spraining his left ankle, the same joint he injured two nights earlier.
At a Glance
- Cooper Flagg sprained his left ankle in the second quarter and did not return for the second half.
- The injury occurred while defending Peyton Watson with 6:01 left in the second quarter.
- Coach Jason Kidd said he does not know if Flagg will play Thursday against Utah.
- Why it matters: The No. 1 pick had already missed only one game this season; another absence would test Dallas’ depth during a brutal injury stretch.
Flagg was whistled for a foul while contesting Watson and rolled the ankle as he hit the floor. He limped to the bench, continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2:35 before halftime. The 19-year-old never re-emerged after intermission; the team announced he was out for the remainder of the game.
Same Ankle, Two Nights Apart
The setback mirrors an incident 48 hours earlier against Brooklyn. Flagg twisted the same ankle, briefly exited to have it taped, then returned to score 27 points in a 113-105 victory. Coach Jason Kidd confirmed the connection: “He stepped on someone’s foot. Last game, he twisted his ankle, too. We decided to hold him for the second half.”
Flagg was unavailable to reporters after Wednesday’s game. Kidd said he had no update on whether the rookie-or center Daniel Gafford-would suit up Thursday in Salt Lake City for the second night of a back-to-back.
Frontcourt Crisis Deepens
Before Gafford exited in the third quarter with a persistent right ankle sprain, Dallas was already down its top two big men:
- Anthony Davis-10-time All-Star-faces six weeks on the shelf with ligament damage in his left hand.
- Dereck Lively II is out for the season after foot surgery.
Gafford’s injury, described by Kidd as something that has “bothered him most of the season,” further thins a frontcourt that has started 16 different combinations through 41 games.
Iron-Man Streak in Jeopardy
Flagg had been the lone constant. The Duke product has logged 40 NBA appearances, three more than he managed during his lone collegiate season when he led the Blue Devils to the Final Four and earned Natalie A. Brooks men’s player of the year honors. His only previous absence came in November because of a non-COVID illness.
Entering Wednesday, the Rookie of the Year front-runner was averaging:
| Stat | Per Game |
|---|---|
| Points | 18.8 |
| Rebounds | 6.3 |
| Games Played | 40 of 41 |
“We Keep Fighting”
Dallas has used 25 different starting lineups, the most in the Western Conference. Kidd praised his team’s resilience: “This is a hard time for us. We have had a lot of injuries… We have been hurt since day one of training camp. This is the norm. The character has been displayed in tough times of being down. But we keep fighting.”
The Mavericks dropped to 19-22, sliding into 11th place and 1.5 games behind the final play-in spot. They now embark on a four-game road trip beginning Thursday against Utah, where availability for both Flagg and Gafford will be determined after morning workouts.
Key Takeaways
- Flagg’s left ankle has now been sprained twice in three days; the team will monitor swelling and mobility before tip-off in Utah.
- Dallas has already lost Davis for six weeks and Lively for the season; Gafford’s chronic ankle issues add another layer of concern.
- The rookie’s durability had been a rare bright spot-his potential absence would force the Mavericks to lean even more heavily on smaller lineups featuring Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson.
Copyright Natalie A. Brooks
