Rookie Cooper Flagg scored 12 of his season-best 29 points in the fourth quarter and also had seven rebounds and five assists to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 118-115 victory over the visiting New Orleans Pelicans in NBA Cup play Friday night.
PJ Washington added 24 points, and Max Christie scored a season-best 23 as the Mavericks won for just the third time in the past 12 games. Jaden Hardy scored 11 points, and Brandon Williams added 12 assists for Dallas.
Trey Murphy III scored 25 points, and Zion Williamson added 22 for the Pelicans, who lost their eighth consecutive game. Jeremiah Fears had 21 points and seven rebounds, while Derik Queen registered 20 points and 11 assists for New Orleans.
Dallas is 1-2 in West Group B play, while the Pelicans dropped to 0-3.
Williamson converted a three-point play with 1:53 left and added two free throws 16 seconds later as the Pelicans took a 115-111 advantage.
Flagg got a favorable bounce on a shot with 1:19 to play, and then Dallas moved ahead by one on Naji Marshall’s trey with 31.7 seconds left.
Washington then got a hand on Fears’ errant trey with 21.1 seconds to play, and Christie made two free throws to make it 118-115 with 10.9 seconds to play.
Murphy and Queen each missed 3-pointers in the final seconds before Washington won the fight for a rebound shortly before time expired.
Washington and Christie each made five 3-pointers for Dallas, which hit 16 of 43 from behind the arc. Overall, the Mavericks shot 47.6% from the field.
New Orleans shot 45.7% from the field but was just 7 of 27 from long distance.
D’Angelo Russell (illness) sat out for Dallas.
The Mavericks trailed by 14 entering the third quarter before outscoring the Pelicans 36-22. Dallas was 5 of 8 from 3-point range in the quarter, while New Orleans missed all four of its attempts.
Dallas scored 29 of the first 40 points in the quarter to take a 78-74 lead on a 3-pointer by Williams with 5:02 left in the period.
Fears split two free throws with 0.3 seconds left to knot it at 85 entering the final stanza.
Murphy scored 15 first-half points as the Pelicans led 63-49 at the break. Washington had 14 in the half for Dallas.
