By Paul Joseph
Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks made history as the first teenager to score 49 points in an NBA game, despite the Mavericks losing 123-121 to the Charlotte Hornets at the American Airlines Center.
At just 19 years old, Flagg surpassed Clifford Robinson’s long-standing record of 45 points, which was set in 1980 while he played for the New Jersey Nets against the Detroit Pistons.
In his 43rd game of the season, Flagg also became the youngest player to achieve at least 40 points and 10 rebounds in a single game.
Kon Knueppel of the Hornets, who was Flagg’s roommate at Duke University, also had a standout performance, scoring a career-high 34 points and making eight of his 12 attempts from beyond the arc, establishing a rookie record for Charlotte.
The duo’s combined total of 83 points marked the highest scoring by opposing rookies in over 50 years, and they became the first pair of rookies from the same college to each score over 30 points in the same game.
Currently, the Dallas Mavericks are in 12th place in the Western Conference after suffering four consecutive losses, while the Charlotte Hornets have won five straight games and are positioned 11th in the Eastern Conference.
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