Flagg’s 26 points cannot rescue Mavericks in 135-111 preseason finale loss

Cooper Flagg finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, but the Mavericks allowed 21 three-pointers and closed their preseason with a 135-111 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday at American Airlines Center.

Dallas stayed within five after a 39-34 first quarter. The second quarter changed the game: Atlanta outscored the Mavericks 34-20 and took a 73-54 lead into halftime. Dallas finished its four-game exhibition schedule at 1-3.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker led Atlanta with 25 points, including six three-pointers on 10 attempts. Jalen Johnson added 20 points and 14 rebounds. The Hawks attempted 51 threes and made 41.2 percent; Dallas went 13-for-33 from outside.

Atlanta’s bench helped open that gap. Jock Landale made two three-pointers in the opening two minutes of the second quarter, both assisted by Alexander-Walker. Landale finished with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Aaron Wiggins added 19 points and made four threes. Their combined seven three-pointers gave the Hawks scoring well beyond their starting lineup.

Flagg gave the home crowd several reasons to keep watching. He scored on a running dunk with 3:37 left in the second quarter, then blocked Dyson Daniels at the rim early in the third, according to ESPN’s play-by-play. He added four assists, two steals and a block in 30 minutes, shooting 8-for-20 from the field and 8-for-9 at the line.

Flagg is entering his second NBA season. The preseason finale was his first game alongside Irving since both sat out Wednesday against New Orleans.

Kyrie Irving and Zaccharie Risacher each scored 18. Irving made five of his seven three-point attempts and had five assists without a turnover in 25 minutes. Risacher shot 8-for-12 against his former team and added five rebounds and four assists.

Dallas had trouble matching those contributions. P.J. Washington scored eight points on 3-for-13 shooting, including 2-for-8 from three. Rookie Morez Johnson Jr. collected seven rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench, while Sergio de Larrea had eight points, four assists and two blocks.

The deficit kept growing after halftime. Atlanta won the third quarter 29-24, leaving Dallas down 102-78 entering the fourth. Both teams scored 33 in the final period.

The game was intended to give coach Dusty May a fuller look at his rotation. Grant Afseth reported for Dallas Sports Journal before tipoff that Flagg and Irving would return after sitting out Wednesday’s loss to New Orleans. Their production Friday was enough to lead Dallas’ offense, but Atlanta also finished with a 55-42 rebounding advantage and made 34 free throws to the Mavericks’ 18.

ESPN box score and play-by-play · Mavs Moneyball’s game report · Dallas Sports Journal’s rotation preview