Cooper Flagg dominates with 29 points, Dallas adds to winless Miami’s misery with 113-109 victory

MIAMI (AP) — Cooper Flagg had 29 points and 11 assists, plus blocked a shot that would have given Miami the lead in the final moments, and the Dallas Mavericks sent the reeling Heat to 0-4 with a 113-109 win on Monday night.

PJ Washington added 20 points, Kyrie Irving scored 18 and Walter Clayton Jr. had 15 for Dallas. Flagg had 12 of his points in the fourth, and his block of a 3-point try by Andrew Wiggins with 31 seconds left preserved a two-point Mavs lead.

The 19-year-old Flagg also had six rebounds, five steals and three blocks.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had his first triple-double since joining the Heat, finishing with 29 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. Davion Mitchell scored 21 for Miami.

The Heat are 0-4 for the fifth time in team history, the first since 2008-09.

Miami started slowly, getting down 19-11 midway through the opening quarter — then outscoring Dallas 37-17 over the next 12 minutes to take a 12-point lead, its biggest so far this season.

It didn’t last.

Dallas was up 53-52 at the half. The back-and-forth continued in the third, with Miami going up 10 not long after halftime but settling for an 84-83 lead going into the final 12 minutes.

Dallas took the lead back midway through the fourth and kept it, on a night where Miami missed 11 of 25 free throws.

It was the first meeting between first-year Dallas coach Dusty May and Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. May coached nearby Florida Atlantic to the 2023 Final Four and his son, Jack, worked in Miami’s video room before joining his father’s Dallas staff.

“He’s a heck of a coach,” Spoelstra said of May, who led Michigan to the 2026 NCAA title. “There’s no doubt about it.”

Up next

Mavericks: Host Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

Heat: Visit Atlanta on Wednesday.

___

See AP’s full NBA coverage here