The Dallas Mavericks edged the Denver Nuggets 131-130 on Tuesday at American Airlines Center, snapping a two-game losing streak behind Cooper Flagg’s 33 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd highlighted the team’s depth, saying, “We have people sick, people hurt, next man up. Guys came in and executed the game plan. Ball started to fall for us.”
Kidd singled out Flagg’s performance, noting, “On a back-to-back… for him to come and set the tone for us tonight, he filled up the stat sheet, almost had a triple double… he found the right guys and executed on both ends of the floor.” He also praised Anthony Davis, saying, “He was kind of a monster there in the middle… AD has stepped up and has played at a very high level for us.”
Turnover management was a key part of Kidd’s game plan. “We’ve talked about that. The turnovers in the last game… have been extremely high, but when we can keep the turnovers down, we get shots… keeping them out of transition was a big part of us winning tonight,” he said.
Kidd also addressed the pairing of Daniel Gafford and Davis in the fourth quarter. “They went big… playing big last night was hopefully to our advantage. AD had a smaller guy, but being able to play the pick and roll with Cooper was great… he got a lot of guys wide open shots.”
The coach highlighted Caleb Martin’s contribution off the bench, noting, “His energy has been great. When his name has been called, he’s responded in a positive way.” Kidd also discussed Flagg’s confidence from deep, saying, “He likes to get to the basket… being able to be confident, you could see that tonight, he was very confident from the three.”
Dallas controlled the pace despite playing on the second night of a back-to-back. Kidd explained, “The ball was moving. We weren’t turning the ball over. We had 20 assists at one point… everybody was positive in the timeout and on the floor.”
Kidd emphasized the challenge of facing Denver, stating, “Understand they’re one of the best teams in the league… you have to be prepared and ready to play your best basketball, and we did that tonight.” He concluded by reflecting on the close-game experience and team growth: “No matter who’s playing in that uniform, they play hard… it’s fun to be with this group. Merry Christmas and happy New Year.”
The Mavericks improved to 12-19 with the win, while Denver fell to 21-8. Flagg hit a career-high fourth 3-pointer late in the game, and Anthony Davis added 31 points with nine rebounds. Denver lost Cameron Johnson to an apparent knee injury, and Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 31 points and 14 assists.
