Mavs Fall to Spurs in Defensive Battle of Top Picks

Top draft pick Cooper Flagg lived up to the box-office acclaim in his second NBA Summer League game, but his 31-point effort wasn't enough to lead the Dallas Mavericks through the stout defense of the San Antonio Spurs, as San Antonio defeated Dallas 76-69 Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas.

The Thomas & Mack Center played host to the first meeting between the two top picks from the 2025 Draft, with No. 2 pick Dylan Harper of the Spurs making his debut against Flagg.

Harper lived up to the hype with an exceptional two-way performance with his size and agility. He was joined by versatile forward Carter Bryant, the No. 11 pick this year, in the Spurs' aggressive pressure that limited Dallas to a 36.9 percent shooting clip for the game.

Flagg came alive offensively in the second quarter, helping the Mavs flip the switch for a 21-12 second quarter scoring output after going down by double-digits after the first. Flagg had 12 points in the period, needing to kick off some more rust from the free throw line in the process. He also hit his first three-pointer after starting 0-6 from deep dating back to Dallas' opener on Thursday.

San Antonio held a slim lead at 33-32 at halftime, but the Spurs responded with more shot-making in the second half, outscoring the Mavs 26-17 in the third quarter to take a 59-49 lead into the fourth quarter.

Dallas would bring the score back within single digits multiple times, but San Antonio took care of the ball and got the win in a low-scoring affair overall.

Flagg saw another 30-minute load of playing time, but the shots were falling at a much more efficient rate after his 10-point outing in his debut. The phenom shot 10-21 with three made triples to tally up a game-high 31 points. He added four rebounds, one assist and one block to his stat line.

Rather than settling for jump shots, Flagg attacked the basket with a vengeance Saturday and was able to get to the free throw line at will. He only shot 8-13 at the stripe, but his jumper continued to look more comfortable as the game went on, especially from long-range late in the contest when Dallas trailed and he was forced let it fly.

Unfortunately Flagg's offensive output was not matched by his teammates. That was most noticeable in last game's leading scorer Ryan Nembhard, who was held to an awful 1-10 shooting mark. The young point guard did lead the team with seven assists.

Harper and Carter got the better of the Mavs' rookies as they played very disciplined throughout with their relentless defense. They each had multiple highlight-reel blocks and often made things difficult on the ball-handler by picking up the point guard full court. We saw a Carter-on-Flagg matchup in a lot of those situations.

Harper shot just 5-12 in his debut, but also got to the free throw line quite a bit to finish with 16 points. He was active everywhere with six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block to go with his team-high in scoring.

The box score doesn't tell the full story of Carter's impact and promising future, as he impacted the win by forcing turnovers and broken possessions with his length and quickness at 6-foot-8.

The annual Summer League can get accustomed to seeing defense-first game plans as that is the phase of the game that can be dictated most through the players' mentality. Most of the guys, outside of the top rookies, are scraping and clawing to earn a roster spot or training camp invite, so their determination to hustle on defense can make a major impression on a coaching staff.

For Flagg, we could start to question how much playing time the star rookie will receive moving forward, having already proven that he has what it takes to play an important role for the Mavs right away.

Dallas' next Summer League game will come on Monday, July 14 against the Charlotte Hornets at 5:30 p.m. CT on NBA TV.