DALLAS, Texas — P.J. Washington did the early damage and Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving closed it out as the Dallas Mavericks pulled away from the Utah Jazz for a 112-100 NBA Cup win Friday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Washington piled up 22 of his season-best 26 points before halftime, hitting five of his six first-half tries from deep, and the teams went to the locker room even at 57. He finished with six 3-pointers.
Both Dallas stars were quiet early. Irving opened 1-for-11 shooting and scored all but two of his 14 points after the break. Flagg posted 17 of his 21 in the second half and came close to a triple-double with 10 rebounds and seven assists, plus three steals.
The game turned late in the third quarter. Flagg and Irving accounted for 21 points in a 22-10 surge that flipped a one-point deficit into an 81-70 Dallas lead, and the margin grew to 16 before a Utah 3 at the buzzer. Washington’s last 3 kept Dallas up by double digits through the fourth.
Rookie Morez Johnson Jr. had his first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, 10 of them on the offensive glass, as Dallas grabbed a season-high 55 boards. Santi Aldama, out since knee surgery in March, came off the bench for eight points and nine boards in 13 minutes in his Mavericks debut. Dallas also piled up 11 steals and eight blocks, and the win pushed its run of 100-point games to nine straight.
Lauri Markkanen scored 24 for Utah, which has dropped seven in a row and sits at 1-8. Dallas is now unbeaten through two NBA Cup group games and sits atop West Group A.
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