Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has done everything he could for the team on Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks. However, rookie forward Cooper Flagg is doing the same thing, trying to lead the Mavericks past the Lakers.
Before the game, the Lakers announced that both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have been ruled out for the rest of the 2025-26 NBA season. The team's two leading scorers have suffered unfortunate injuries, leaving James to be the only star in the lineup. It's now up to the 41-year-old star to finish the campaign strongly.
But the Mavericks are not going down easily, and Flagg has put up a fight in their final bout of the season.
LeBron James And Cooper Flagg Make First-Half Scoring History
Without the two best scorers for the Lakers, James took over on the offensive side and had 22 points in the first two quarters. On the other end, Flagg scored 26 points in the first half, which led them to make history together.
They participated in the first game where two players—one 40-year-old and the other a teenager—scored at least 20 points in the first half. The NBA announced this historic game on X.
"FLAGG AND LEBRON MAKE HISTORY 🚨" the NBA posted. "They are the first players in NBA history to each score 20+ PTS in the same game with one player age 40+ and the other a teenager🤯"
Both players have proven to be elite scorers this season. James has scored 43,338 regular-season points, the only player to score at least 40,000 points. Flagg, meanwhile, has displayed his offensive brilliance on Friday. The Mavericks rookie had a 51-point game, the youngest and only teenager to reach the 50-point mark in a single game.
Although he's in the early stages of his career, Flagg continues to shine as a go-to scorer. Before the third quarter against the Lakers ended, the former Duke star already recorded a stat line of 30+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists. It was the fifth time he reached that stat line as a teenager, surpassing former Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who had four during his rookie season. The only player who has more than him is James, who did it 11 times.
Unfortunately for Flagg, the Mavericks don't have enough games left this season for him to chase James' record. However, he can still add more to his total in his second season, as he won't turn 20 years old until Dec. 21.
