Overview
- Following a 111–107 defeat in Houston, Kidd delivered an expletive-laced defense of his plan for Flagg and cut off the press conference by walking out.
- Before leaving, Kidd blasted the officiating on Flagg’s late drive, naming Sean Wright, Simone Jelks and Jason Goldenberg and calling their performance unacceptable.
- Flagg followed a 49-point night with 34 points and 12 rebounds, becoming the youngest NBA player with consecutive 30-point double-doubles as Kevin Durant said the rookie has figured it out.
- Dallas has dropped four straight to fall to 19–30 and 11th in the West, with injuries including Irving’s torn ACL and limited availability for Anthony Davis weighing on the roster.
- Across 45 games Flagg is averaging about 19.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists, bolstering his Rookie of the Year candidacy even as some national critiques have drawn local pushback.