The Dallas Mavericks have another notable injury to worry about, as the rookie star Cooper Flagg left Wednesday night's game against the Denver Nuggets with an injury.
Late in the first half, the Mavericks watched Flagg leave momentarily with a limp. He seemed to be dealing with an ankle-related concern. It wasn't long before Flagg returned to the Mavs' bench and, eventually, the court.
Flagg managed to make it to halftime, but it wasn't a painless stretch for the young star. After getting evaluated at halftime, the Mavericks decided to ultimately rule out Flagg for the remainder of the game with a left ankle sprain. The Mavericks were trailing by double-digits heading into the third quarter.
With Flagg's night concluded, the No. 1 pick wrapped up his evening with a 15-minute showing. During that time, he shot 3-9 from the field, missing all three of his shots from beyond the arc. Flagg finished with six points, one rebound, one assist, and one block on the night.
This year, the 19-year-old has been a bright spot on an underwhelming Mavs team. Heading into Wednesday's action, the rookie had 39 games played. With 34.6 minutes per game, Flagg has been averaging 19.1 points while shooting 48 percent from the field.
Along with his scoring, the rookie forward has been coming down with 6.4 rebounds per game and dishing out 4.3 assists per outing. Flagg has dealt with some minor ailments at times, but he has just one absence this season. He missed a November 19 outing against the New York Knicks.
Flagg's potential setback could cause a major issue for a struggling Mavericks team. At 15-25, Dallas sits 12th in the Western Conference, only in front of the Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings, and the New Orleans Pelicans.
Recently, the Mavericks found out that Anthony Davis isn't going to return for at least six weeks. In addition, the All-Star guard Kyrie Irving doesn't have a target return date in place just yet as well.
Following Wednesday's action against Denver, the Mavs will host the Utah Jazz on Thursday night. Flagg's status for that game is likely up in the air, as they'll want to see how his ankle responds after some rest.
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