With Dallas leading 111-109 and 31.1 seconds remaining, Andrew Wiggins rose for a 23-foot 3-pointer that could have put Miami ahead. Cooper Flagg blocked the attempt. Later, after Dallas used a timeout, Flagg drove for a layup with 10 seconds left, making it 113-109. Five seconds after that, Zaccharie Risacher rejected Davion Mitchell at the rim.
That sequence captured Dallas’ 113-109 victory Monday night in Miami. Flagg’s return mattered because he was available for the possession that demanded a defensive answer, then the one that required an offensive finish. But the final stop belonged to Risacher, and that made the ending more substantial than a solo rescue act.
Flagg scored 12 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter while also handing out 11 assists. His defensive line included five steals and three blocks, along with six rebounds. The production was expansive, though hardly immaculate: he committed five turnovers and committed two charging fouls in the final four minutes.
His most important fourth-quarter scoring stretch began with Dallas ahead 101-97. At 4:52, Flagg made an 11-foot turnaround jumper and the free throw that followed. At 4:23, he added a 7-foot driving floater, assisted by P.J. Washington, to push the Mavericks’ advantage to 106-99. Those were controlled answers to a Miami team that kept making the margin uncomfortable.
The biggest offensive sequence began with Flagg’s missed layup at 2:11. Dallas retained possession. Wiggins was then called for a loose-ball foul, and at 2:02 Flagg used the extra opportunity to make a 24-foot 3-pointer, with Kyrie Irving credited on the assist. The shot made it 111-105. Dallas did not produce a perfect possession; it recovered from a miss and converted the second chance.
The extra basket mattered because the Mavericks nearly gave Miami enough openings to steal the night. Flagg was charged with offensive fouls at 3:59 and 3:39, with a steal of Mitchell’s bad pass in between. Irving followed with a bad-pass turnover at 3:11, and Bam Adebayo dunked on Miami’s next possession to cut the margin to 106-103.
Dallas had 17 turnovers overall. Flagg’s closing value came with some untidy possessions attached.
The help around him kept those mistakes survivable. Washington scored 20 points and made four 3-pointers. Walter Clayton Jr. supplied 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in 17:10, including a driving basket and free throw that helped Dallas regain control earlier in the quarter. Daniel Gafford added eight points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 4:08 to play.
Morez Johnson Jr. then converted a possession that could easily have disappeared. Washington missed a 3-pointer at 2:46, Johnson secured the offensive rebound and put the ball back in at 2:40. The basket extended the lead to 108-103. It did not solve Dallas’ center problem for the remainder of the night, but it gave the Mavericks an extra cushion before Miami’s final push.
