Mavericks top short-handed Thunder behind Flagg's 26 points

Dallas Mavericks guard Cooper Flagg scored 26 points and handed out eight assists Wednesday night as the team beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-96. P.J. Washington added 18 points for Dallas, which improved to 3-2 on the season.

The Mavericks led by 12 points at halftime and by 27 in the fourth quarter. The win pushed Dallas above .500 for the first time since Flagg joined the team last fall. Kyrie Irving scored 15 points, including 13 in the first half, when he made his first four shots. Three of those came from behind the arc. The game was Irving's first home regular-season appearance since March 3, 2025, when he tore the ACL in his left knee. He sat out the second half of Dallas' home opener last week during a back-to-back.

Oklahoma City fell to 4-1. Ajay Mitchell led the Thunder with 29 points, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21. The Thunder played without Jalen Williams (broken leg, dislocated ankle), Cason Wallace (torn labrum) and Chet Holmgren (patellar tendinitis in his right knee). Alex Caruso also sat out with patellar tendinitis.

Dallas made 16 of 45 three-point attempts, a season high, with 11 of those in the first half. Oklahoma City hit 5 of 32 from deep, a season-low 15.6%. Center Daniel Gafford made his first career three-pointer on his 2,384th NBA shot. He had previously attempted one three, on March 29, 2022, while with Washington. The win was the first home victory for first-year Dallas coach Dusty May.

Dallas hosts the Houston Rockets on Friday. Oklahoma City visits Houston on Saturday.