DALLAS — As Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg set the NBA record for points by a teenager with 49 on Thursday night in a 123-121 loss to Charlotte, he broke the franchise rookie scoring record he shared with Mark Aguirre — whose jersey was retired at halftime.
“Mark Aguirre is special. Such a special night for him and the whole organization,” said Flagg, who turned 19 in December. “I just feel blessed. It’s a pretty cool thing.”
“You saw history,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “We saw history at halftime, and we got to see a young man play the game at a very high level. To have Mark in the building and break his record was pretty special.”
Also special for the No. 1 draft pick last summer from Duke was playing his first NBA game against Kon Knueppel, his roommate as Blue Devils freshmen last season. Knueppel, drafted fourth, set his own career record with 34 points and hit the two winning free throws with 4.1 seconds left after being fouled at the rim by Flagg.
“Cooper, he played like the best player we’ve played all season,” said Knueppel, who set a franchise rookie record hitting eight 3-pointers. “He had a heck of a game, he’s a heck of a player, and he’s going to have a heck of a career.”
Flagg referred to Knueppel as his “brother for life.”
Cliff Robinson set the previous NBA teen record of 45 at age 19 for New Jersey in a game against Detroit on March 9, 1980. Flagg’s previous high of 42 points also came in a defeat — 140-133 at Utah on Dec. 15. As did Aguirre’s, in a 118-112 loss to Golden State on Nov. 14, 1981.
It didn’t start out looking like a historic night for Flagg. He shot 1 for 4 in the first quarter as the Mavericks fell behind by 15 points. He caught fire in the second period, hitting 8 of 9 including 2 of 3 from downtown plus 5 for 5 at the free-throw line. His 23 points in the period and 25 at halftime were both Dallas individual highs this season.
Knueppel conversely came out hot. He hit his first three shots from behind the arc, 4 for 5 in the first period and added another in the second quarter.
“When he sees some easy ones go in to start the game, it’s never a good thing [for an opponent],” Flagg said of Knueppel, who turned 20 in August. “That’s how it is for a lot of great shooters.”
Any trash talk?
“Chirping back and forth,” Flagg said. “Just having fun.”
The two leading candidates for Rookie of the Year finished the night with Flagg averaging 19.5 points per game, Knueppel 18.9. They’ll meet again on March 3 in Charlotte.
It will be difficult to match their collective effort on Thursday night.
“We’ll both be looking back on this night and this whole year in general [for] the rest of our lives,” Flagg said.
