Rookie forward Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks sprained his left ankle twice over his last two appearances. Photo by Jose Mendez/EPA
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg sprained his left ankle during a loss to the Denver Nuggets. He attempted a return, but was later ruled out.
Flagg, who twisted the same left ankle during a win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, stepped on Nuggets guard Peyton Watson’s foot and sustained the same injury with 6:01 remaining in the first half of the 118-109 setback Wednesday in Dallas.
He returned less than four minutes later, but did not play in the second half.
“They decided to hold him [out] for the second half,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd told reporters. “And so it’s next man up.”
Flagg totaled six points, one rebound, one assists and one block in the loss. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft averaged 18.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game through the first 40 starts of his career.
Mavericks center Daniel Gafford also sprained his right ankle in the loss. He totaled six points and 10 rebounds.
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray totaled a game-high 33 points. Center Aaron Gordon logged 22 points, six rebounds and three assists. The Nuggets out-shot the Mavericks 49.4% to 44.1%, including a 42.1% to 14.7% edge in 3-point percentage.
Kidd said he did not know if Flagg or Gafford would be available for their next game Thursday against the Utah Jazz. The Mavericks (15-26) sit in 12th place in the Western Conference.
They will host the 13th-place Jazz (14-26) at 8:30 p.m. EST Thursday in Dallas.
UPI Pictures of the Year 2025: Winning moments in Sports
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (C) celebrates with teammates after the Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in 11 innings in Game 7 to win the World Series in Toronto on November 1, 2025. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI | License Photo
