The Dallas Mavericks suffered another close loss on Wednesday night on the road to the Denver Nuggets. No one has played more clutch games than the Mavericks, and they've found a way to win just 36.6% of them.
Late in the game, Cooper Flagg jumped for a pass but was undercut by Nuggets forward Cam Johnson, and Flagg landed hard on the ground, reopening a wound on his left elbow and at least bothering his right wrist. He got a little blood on his jersey and was in some obvious pain, but he gutted out the rest of the game.
Coop takes a hard fall
Denver fans don't like the foul call pic.twitter.com/Mq2uBlzrmY
— MavsHighlights (@MavsHighlights) March 26, 2026
Afterwards, he spoke about the physical toll his body has taken since he returned from his midfoot sprain a few weeks ago.
“Doing okay,” Flagg said. “It’s tough, playing a lot of minutes, a couple overtime games back-to-back, and physical games. Just got to take care of my body and get ready for the next one.”
Despite the hard fall, it looks like Flagg will be good to go for this final stretch of games. Before Wednesday's loss, the Mavericks lost consecutive games in overtime to the LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors, both at home. This late in the season, everyone is dealing with some kind of injury.
Ahead of Friday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Mavericks do not have Cooper Flagg listed on the injury report at all.
Full Dallas Mavericks Injury Report vs Portland Trail Blazers
The Dallas Mavericks will be without a big piece again on Friday night. They'll still be missing Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II, who are recovering from season-ending injuries. Lively has been on the trip and is down to just wearing a walking boot. It has been a slow recovery for him, but he is making sure to take his time with this.
Daniel Gafford will be out once again after going down late in Monday's game against the Warriors with a shoulder contusion. He missed Wednesday's game and will continue to sit, as there's no real reason for him to play through injury with the team already eliminated from postseason contention.
Caleb Martin (right plantar fascia strain) will also be out for the Mavs.
The Portland Trail Blazers will be without Shaedon Sharpe (left fibula stress reaction) and Damian Lillard (left Achilles surgery recovery). Robert Williams III (left knee injury management) is questionable, while Vit Krejci (left calf contusion) is doubtful.
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