Cooper Flagg makes Luka Doncic forget and the San Antonio Spurs with an announcement

Only two teams had no games on Tuesday in the big Christmas run-up. A packed night usurped No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg. The youngster made the headlines with a sensational performance against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

Flaggmania of the night: poster dunk as the icing on the cake

Cooper Flagg must once again have delighted fans of the Dallas Mavericks (12-19) with the stroke of luck of winning the lottery in the summer. He gave 33 points to no less a team than the ambitious Denver Nuggets (21-8) and also led his team to a 131:130 home win.

His first seven attempts from the field found their target. After 48 minutes his yield was 14/21 and also 4/6 from beyond the three-point line. He rounded out his statline with 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal and 1 block with 2 turnovers.

Led by the youngest player in the league, the hosts stormed to an early 22:6 lead against the Nuggets led by Nikola Jokic (29 points, 14 rebounds) and Jamal Murray (31 points, 14 assists). Midway through the third quarter, he brought the American Airlines Center crowd out of their seats with a spectacular poster dunk.

Blowout of the night: Spurs beat Thunder again

In the second duel of the season between the San Antonio Spurs (22-7) and the Oklahoma City Thunder (26-4), the Spurs once again retained the upper hand over the reigning champions – clearly. The anticipated top game between the two heavyweights of the Western Conference only remained tense for three quarters.

The scoreboard at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio showed 15 lead changes and 13 ties before the hosts pulled away thanks to 25 points from Keldon Johsnon and 24 from Stephon Castle. For the Thunder it was by far the most significant defeat of the season after the defending champions had only been defeated by a maximum of five points so far this season.

A three-pointer from Victor Wembanyama, who was still questionable before the game (calf), gave his team their first double-digit lead nine minutes before the end, which increased to up to 21 points in the following minutes. The Frenchman scored 12 points and started the game on the bench, as he did last time. Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander kept his 20-point streak alive. The MVP of the previous regular season and finals finished the top game with 33 points.

The Spurs visit the Thunder on Thursday.

MVP of the night: Kawhi Leonard explodes

In the midst of the LA Clippers’ (8-21) plague season, head coach Ty Lue should be somewhat relieved by the fact that Kawhi Leonard is currently in top athletic shape. He gave the Houston Rockets (17-10) a whopping 41 points on Tuesday and led his team to a dominant 128:108 home win. 16 of his 23 throws found their target (4/5 3P), so even the sixth-best defense in the NBA couldn’t find a way to counter “The Claw”.

For Kawhi, it was the eleventh game in a row that he finished with at least 20 points. In this interim spurt, the 34-year-old scores around 26 points per game. For the first time since December 8, 2023, he also managed to break the 40-point mark. That time it was also 41, against the Utah Jazz.

To make matters worse from the perspective of the losing guests, James Harden also found his rhythm and scored a strong 29 points. For the fourth time this season, Kawhi and Harden contributed at least 25 points for the Clippers, while the gala performance against Houston was the first since November 29th.

Voices of the night:

Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs) expects motivated Thunder on Christmas Day: “They will be focused. Probably more than ever before. I know they are a team full of quality. But we will be there too.”

Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) praises Cooper Flagg highly: “He doesn’t seem that young out there. It seems like he’s played big games and won before. That’s my opinion. He really seemed very mature on the field.”

Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks) turned 19 on Sunday: “It was my birthday. I’m 19 years old. Since then I’ve only had one threesome or something.”