Cooper Flagg’s all-around effort sparks Mavs past Nets

Cooper Flagg scored 27 points and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the visiting Brooklyn Nets 113-105 on Monday.

Naji Marshall paired 22 points with nine assists, while Klay Thompson had 18 points on 6-of-9 3-pointers as Dallas snapped a two-game skid and extended Brooklyn’s losing streak to four.

Michael Porter Jr. returned for the Nets after being rested in Memphis on Sunday and posted 28 points and nine rebounds, while Day’Ron Sharpe contributed 14 points and 12 boards off the bench.

Porter buried 6 of 10 from 3-point range. The rest of the Brooklyn team went a combined 3 of 27 from deep.

Jaden Hardy was the early instigator for the Mavericks with 11 first-quarter points, while Sharpe pulled down six offensive rebounds in less than seven minutes.

The Nets hit 1 of 10 from downtown for the period, compared to Dallas’ 6 of 10, spearheaded by Hardy’s 3 of 5 as the home side led 32-23 after one.

Flagg dominated the second frame, pouring in 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting.

The rookie, who was coming off a quiet night against Chicago, followed an off-balance, contested jumper with a massive swat of Terance Mann which he sent into the stands. The No. 1 overall pick in last June’s draft added five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Flagg knocked down a pair of free throws with 8.3 seconds left to make it 56-42 before Mann finished the half with a trey on the buzzer to trim Brooklyn’s deficit to 56-45.

After Dallas pushed the lead out to 63-49, Porter and Drake Powell piloted a 9-0 response to trim the gap to 63-58, before the Nets — who hit 12 of 17 for the period — closed further to 74-71.

Nembhard rattled in a long two on the buzzer to ease the Mavs’ cushion to 84-77 with a quarter to play.

Brooklyn continued to chip away in the fourth, reducing the margin to three before Flagg took control late, following a steal and slam with a shot-clock-beating three to push the difference back out to double digits with 1:32 remaining.

Siakam’s floater lifts Pacers past Celtics

Pascal Siakam scored a go-ahead basket with 6.8 seconds left on Monday night to propel the Indiana Pacers to a 98-96 victory over the Boston Celtics in Indianapolis.

Siakam produced 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Jay Huff scored 20 points and Andrew Nembhard chipped in 13 points and nine assists for the Pacers, who have won a season-high three straight games. Jarace Walker added 11 points off the bench.

Payton Pritchard led Boston with 23 points, followed by Derrick White’s 18 and Anfernee Simons’ 16. Neemias Queta added 15 points for the Celtics, who have dropped three of their last four games. Leading scorer Jaylen Brown (29.5 points per game) sat out with lower back spams.

Trailing by three at halftime, Indiana scored the first eight points of the second half and took a 61-56 lead on Huff’s 3-pointer with 8:25 remaining in the third.

The lead ballooned to 13 on Nembhard’s 3-pointer at the 4:43 mark, but Boston finished the third on a 17-6 run. Luka Garza’s mid-range jumper pulled the Celtics within 79-77 entering the fourth.

Jordan Walsh’s dunk and White’s 3-pointer cut Boston’s deficit to 91-90 with 4:52 remaining. After Siakam’s putback layup put the Pacers ahead by five, Pritchard’s triple cut Indiana’s lead to 96-94 with 2:16 left.

White’s layup tied the score with 29.1 seconds to go, which set up Siakam’s game-winning floater off the glass. White missed a 3-point attempt as time expired.

Neither side took a lead larger than four until White’s four straight points stamped an 8-0 Boston run to give the visitors a 24-17 lead. Micah Potter’s basket cut Indiana’s deficit to five entering the second quarter.

Walker’s 3-pointer knotted the score at 38 apiece at the 7:32 mark of the second. Siakam’s three-point play and Huff’s dunk gave the Pacers a 46-43 lead, which forced a Boston timeout with 5:35 left in the first half.

After Pritchard’s layup gave the Celtics a three-point edge, Siakam’s basket trimmed Boston’s halftime lead to 56-53.

Maxey scores 33, lifts 76ers over Raptors to split season series

Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points Monday night and the visiting Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Toronto Raptors 115-102 to gain a split of the two-game set.

The 76ers were a different team, playing stronger defense with the return of Joel Embiid and Paul George, who did not suit up when Toronto won 116-115 in overtime on Sunday.

Embiid had 27 points and eight rebounds while George scored 15 points. VJ Edgecombe added 15 points and eight assists to help Philadelphia split the four-game season series.

Immanuel Quickley scored 18 points for the Raptors and Brandon Ingram added 17. Scottie Barnes had 15 points, A.J. Lawson scored 14 and Collin Murray-Boyles tallied 12 alongside seven rebounds and six assists.

The 76ers led by 22 points entering the fourth quarter. Toronto scored the first five points of the fourth, reducing the lead to 17. Barnes made two free throws to trim the lead to 15 with 4:53 left before Embiid responded by sinking a driving hook shot.

Toronto fans gave a big ovation to former Raptors’ stalwart Kyle Lowry, who has seldom played this season, and entered the game with 1:57 to play. It could be his last appearance in Toronto as a player.

Maxey scored 18 points to help the 76ers take a 45-28 lead after one quarter.

Jabari Walker nailed a 3-pointer and came back with a layup after a Toronto miss to give the 76ers a 22-point lead with 9:47 to play in the second quarter.

Edgecombe nabbed a steal and passed downcourt to Kelly Oubre Jr., who made an uncontested layup to bump the lead to 26 with 7:42 to play in the half.

Maxey’s 3-pointer stretched the advantage to 29 with 4:13 remaining. The margin reached 31 before Philadelphia held an 80-51 halftime lead. It was the most points Toronto has allowed in a half this season.

The 76ers faced little resistance in the first half, shooting 73% (27-for-37) from the field and 65% from 3-point range (13-for-20).

Toronto shot 37% (17-for-46), including 15% (3-for-20) in 3-point attempts.

Edgecombe’s 3-pointer gave Philadelphia a 33-point lead with 8:24 left in the third quarter. With Embiid on the bench, Toronto used a 17-3 run to cut the lead to 18 with 40 seconds left. Philadelphia led 99-77 after three quarters.

Jazz bounce back, rally past Cavaliers

Keyonte George collected 32 points and nine assists and Lauri Markkanen had 28 points and 12 rebounds as the visiting Utah Jazz rallied past the Cleveland Cavaliers 123-112 on Monday night, bouncing back from a 55-point loss in their previous game.

George, who made all 12 of his free throw attempts, poured in 16 points in the third quarter and scored nine in the fourth for the Jazz, who trailed by 10 early in the second half. Utah was manhandled 150-95 by the Charlotte Hornets at home two days earlier.

Jusuf Nurkic finished with 11 points and 17 rebounds and Svi Mykhailiuk and Kevin Love each had 11 points as Utah won for the second time in its last eight games.

Darius Garland had 23 points and eight assists and Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points for the Cavaliers, but they made just 14 of 35 shots from the field. Evan Mobley had 15 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three blocked shots — all after the first quarter.

Markkanen pushed the Jazz’s lead to 116-104 with two free throws with 3:38 remaining. George delivered the dagger with a 3-pointer that made it 123-109, starting Utah’s five-game road trip with a surprising victory.

Cleveland had won five of its previous seven contests.

The Jazz sprinted out to a 21-4 lead midway through the first when the Cavaliers missed 11 of their first 13 shots, carrying a 34-22 advantage into the second. Markkanen had six points and six rebounds, while Mitchell paced Cleveland with five points.

Garland put the Cavaliers ahead for the first time at 54-52 with a jumper, then beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer to extend it to 62-54. Mitchell and Garland each scored nine in the quarter, which Cleveland finished on a 26-8 run.

Jazz center Nurkic (left toe sprain) and rookie shooting guard Ace Bailey (left hip flexor strain) both returned after two-game absences. Small forward Georges Niang (left foot stress reaction) is traveling with the team, but has yet to play this season.

Cavaliers power forward Dean Wade (left knee bruise) was unavailable for the fifth time in six games.