Cooper Flagg injury update: Mavericks star exits after hard Pacers foul leads to skirmish originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Mavericks got off to a much better start Friday night than they did in their season opener, but an injury that sent Cooper Flagg threatens to put a damper on those good feelings.
Flagg was on the receiving end of a Flagrant 1 foul from Indiana's Aaron Nesmith and remained down in pain under the basket before heading back to the locker room late in the first half.
The play led to a large skirmish between the Mavericks and Pacers as Flagg's teammates rushed to his defense.
Here's the latest on Flagg's status after he left Friday's game.
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Cooper Flagg injury update
The Mavericks ruled Flagg out for the remainder of the game with what they describe as "shoulder soreness" after this hard foul from Nesmith.
Aaron Nesmith was called for a Flagrant 1 for this play on Cooper Flagg. Double technicals were given to Nesmith and Naji Marshall after the play. https://t.co/P0xLooKo9S
— ESPN (@espn) October 24, 2026
Flagg's Mavericks teammates quickly got in Nesmith's face, sparking a scuffle on the baseline as Dallas' second-year star remained down. Flagg also dealt with a left shoulder injury as a rookie, so the Mavericks could simply be opting for caution with a large lead over the Pacers.
Flagg had 14 points, five rebounds and six assists in just 17 minutes on Friday, helping the Mavericks build the lead, and he put up 32 points in Dallas' season-opening loss to the Rockets.
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